And now, the other half of "8/80", also sometimes titled as "8 Ou 80", has come out. While I wasn't all that blown away from the first disc, it was still a pleasantly enjoyable experience. Heading into this disc 2, way later than I intended, I find it to be more enjoyable than I would've estimated.

'ansiedade', the opener, has a smooth chill-pop touch in its instrumentals which is then complemented by Rita's good vocals. I confess I liked this one ... read more

After suffering a year's worth of PC troubles, I can finally sit down and continue where I left off, that is, February's releases. In the meantime, I already received five recommendations I'm unfortunately still only taking once I'm done with the current batch. Notwithstanding, there'll be a detour this Friday for Lamb of God's newest album, but I'm hoping I can clear this one before Gaerea's album on March 20.

So, Carpenter Brut's "Leather ... read more

On the eighth album, Rob Zombie starts to get out of the slump he was in for the past 13 years. But, is "The Great Satan" as good as I'd like? The short answer: it's complicated.

Truthfully, ever since I heard 'Heathen Days' and 'Punks And Demons' I was very hopeful: I even mentioned it in my November review of his debut. But now the full thing is out and it's a bit stranger than I previously anticipated. For starters, it's 15 tracks but ... read more

Taking a moment to acquire five new names to my never-ending music library, I am met with three recommendations I'm only touching after this batch ends, with Korn's self-titled debut. For now, the new batch starts with Furor Gallico's self-titled debut. So who are Furor Gallico?

While I have reviewed their fourth album which I had missed at the time, this Italian folk metal band were never as popular or massive as their countrymen Wind Rose. Though these two have shared a label ... read more

Recommended by @thehangingman two weeks ago. Sorry I didn't get to this sooner.

And finally, before my next batch, a recommendation. Coming from @thehangingman's project eastern maneuvers, this 18 minute EP gets hit with my apology because I am not a drone kind of guy. I get the appeal, but I never really liked the genre. Per the usual drone shenanigans, it's also part Noise, and thus I put on my headphones and try to find what to write about to the best of my ... read more

Next up, some bullshit that released a couple days ago without my knowledge: peach tinted's debut LP.

Honestly, the all caps song titles and the cover art do not inspire confidence. I am not really fond of that display style and this is no exception. Still, I kept an open mind up until I pressed play. Opening with the title track, 'WHITE HONDA LEGEND', it instantly tells me this is going to be way less memorable than the Vienna duo probably thought it'd be. Gone are the ... read more

Quietly returning after their frankly forgettable "Heaven Can Wait" in 2024, the post-hardcore punkheads leave Hopeless and join Blood Blast. This EP, "Even If I Never Get There", could be seen as proof-of-concept for their new chapter. But if that's the case, then I'm not really sure what to think.

'Get By Then Die' fuels their post-hardcore vigorously. I honestly wasn't expecting this level of aggression this early. However, I'm not sure I ... read more

Over 18 days later and I'm finally talking about the new releases. Starting off, something I've been excited for: Softcult's debut LP. While not much longer than the preceding EPs, I'm a bit worried the shoegazing riot grrl duo has tripped with this release. Fortunately, they have not. At least, not as much as I thought.

Opening with a minute and forty 'Intro', it's 'Pill To Swallow' which opens the album properly. I'm sad it doesn't pick ... read more

Ah, the dreaded moment where I talk about Avenged Sevenfold. Allow me to explain.

While I don't hate the '99 Huntington Beach boys; in fact, I am a bit of a sucker for their sound. However, I do not like their 2001 debut "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet". While I only found this album later on, after getting their entire discography and not just the self-titled and "Nightmare", I always found this one to look weird and to sound weird. It's not like ... read more

Reaching the third and currently the latest album of Portuguese pop rock phenomenon Amor Electro, the comically named "#4" is a bold experiment and evolution for their sound. In the five years between the second album and this one, they got a Portuguese Globos de Ouro nomination for "Best Song" while collaborating with at the time relevant artist Agir and also creating the new Portugal national football team anthem, 'Juntos Somos Mais Fortes', replacing whatever ... read more

Veering a bit off course, the German Goths of Lord Of The Lost decided to release a shorter EP, "Beside & Beyond", at the start of 2012 and only a couple months before their third album. With the relative success of their largely considered first concept album, the sophomore "Antagony", they embarked on a tour with fellow genre countrymen Mono Inc. in support of them. This Viva Hades tour is also partly why "Beside & Beyond" has a track with them.

This ... read more

From Dave Grohl's band to one of Dave Grohl's favorite albums as cited by him in 2003: Killing Joke's self-titled debut LP. Not to be confused with their 2003 self-titled album where Dave Grohl inexplicably played the drums, this is one of my oldest albums, dated all the way back from 1980. Prefacing this one with the knowledge that I know they debuted with an EP the year before, "Turn To Red", but I do not currently have that and if I ever get my hands on it, I'm ... read more

And thus I am graced by a soft ball in the shape of Nirvana's sophomore album, "Nevermind". After "Bleach" was received decently by critics and selling around 40 thousand copies, they started to plan their second release. By 1990, their label Sub Pop was undergoing major financial troubles and the tentatively titled album "Sheep" was delivered to DGC, in an attempt by Nirvana to "cut out the middleman" and find a major label to take them in, as ... read more

Wait, what's this?

I am a sneaky little devil. Though I may have almost two thousand albums across my artists, there are two particular releases that are more interesting than the rest. These are 30 Seconds To Mars' "Rarities & B-Sides" and Coldplay's "Without Parachutes". Most people do not know this is a thing. Most people do not even know this exist. That is for good reason. As you might have noticed, these two releases are not actually real. Welcome ... read more

And now for something less enjoyable: Ad Infinitum's debut album. I'm surprised I got to review two of their albums as they came out before I even touched their past releases. Starting its life as Melissa Bonny's solo project around 2018, it grew into the current quartet the year after, where it also signed with Napalm, where it still remains. Bonny, who operated as Rage of Light's vocalist at the time, a very, very niche self-proclaimed Trance Metal band, crowdfunded the ... read more

From Caligula's Horse to Haken, the Wheel is set on tackling my progressive metal artists. I believed I had covered Haken's debut before, but when I went to check, turns out I just hallucinated I did. So this day is "Aquarius" day, the London-based progressive metal outfit. Formed in 2007 after a trio of friends came up with the idea all the way back in 2004, icing it in favor of solo pursuits, they started as a six-man crew, releasing the demo "Enter The 5th ... read more

So I've been slacking off on reviews for a couple days now, but it wasn't my intention. With the passing of the Kristin storm my roof got unceremoniously removed and I've been far busier trying to avoid getting my house turned into a giant aquarium than do reviews, as you might conclude. Thankfully, with the worst already behind, I can breathe ever so slightly calmer and take a look at what comes next in my batch. Now I know I missed two releases on Friday, Softcult's debut ... read more

I think the Wheel decided to reward me after suffering through the last two albums and gave me one to have a good time with. Deftones, one of the most acclaimed nu metal / alternative metal bands, puts out their landmark sophomore release "Around The Fur" in the ripe year of 1997. I don't think I need to dive into the history of the band nor the album - not even the cover, which has its own story - as it's certainly all well known, considering how beloved this titan is. The ... read more

In my quest for more doom, I stumbled across two very interesting smaller projects. One was Darkher, which I've completed their discography, and the other was the Swiss trio E-L-R. Formed in 2016 in Bern by the bass player I. R. and the guitarist S. M. (yes, they refer to each other by their initials), they completed the crew with drummer M. K. Three years after, they put out their debut album "Maenad" through the beloved smaller label Prophecy.

Six tracks which run respectable ... read more

A year after "Orchid's" release and its subsequent tour, Opeth was back on the anvil, smithing their next album with precision and constant rehearsing, recordings and attunements. Employing Dan Swanö as the producer for the second and last time, "Morningrise" came out in the summer of 1996 to widespread critical acclaim. Five tracks, one of which their longest to date at 20 minutes, and a bonus demo track written in 1992 by the band's founder David Isberg ... read more