Capitalizing on the success of the debut EP, Jayn Maiven's brainchild Darkher put forth their debut album, "Realms". And let me tell you, if you thought the "The Kingdom Field" was good despite its glaring issues, then this one should appease your thirst for dark folk-driven doom.

Like I had claimed in that EP's review, Darkher is like a doom-oriented counterpart of Myrkur. I often think of the two together, and also E-L-R (but that's mostly because ... read more

Welcome to another edition of "albums I have Frankenstein'd"! Today's target is none other than Skindred, a name Nu Metal produced and does not get the recognition it deserves. There's quite a bit of lore attached to them, more so than I actually expected, and I think we should approach that before I talk about the Frankenstein bit.

Skindred, Benji Webbe's project, was formed in 1998 in Newport, Wales - wait, there's actually more before that. In reality, ... read more

I would never expect Adam Gontier would return to Three Days Grace after his departure in 2013 after "Transit Of Venus". But with him comes a triumphant return of Three Days Grace, who had been terminally ill with every album after that. While I don't dislike Matt Walst's vocals, the band always was Gontier's project and he was always the "true" voice of the band. Even now, with both vocalists present (which is rather nice), Gontier's the one that brings ... read more

For the fifth year in a row, the folk metal stars Feuerschwanz released an album. But while I did enjoy 2021's "Memento Mori", the cover album "Todsünden" and think 2023's "Fegefeuer" is them at their best, "Knightclub" is the clearest evidence this yearly release schedule, also followed by labelmates Powerwolf and now Lord Of The Lost, is affecting the quality. Astute viewers will realize I skipped 2024's "Warriors": this is ... read more

My beloved Dutch Goths are at it again with their third album, "A Thousand Little Deaths". As you might remember from previous reviews, I did enjoy "A Dark Euphony" as a whole, but there were a lot of moments that ultimately were overshadowed by others in the album. However, I am happy they were able to get signed into Nuclear Blast following their crowdfunded debut and this third effort really shows how hard Zora Cock and crew have worked to further hone their ... read more

I wanted to tackle Friday's releases on the day, but I couldn't, so I know I'm coming into this far later than anyone else. I am not a big Deftones fan: I listen to them often enough, but I haven't dove deep into their illustrious discography. But from my time so far with "private music", I am comfortable saying this might be their best work.

The key factor for this is obvious right from the opener. When I think of Chino Moreno and company, I think of a specific ... read more

Usually, I don't do demos. But I have found a loophole in the shape of Eluveitie's "Vên". "Wild Joy", as it is named in the lost language of Gaulish, is both the demo and debut EP of the Swiss folk metal beloveds. I think some context is handy here.

On 2002, Chrigel Glanzmann formed Eluveitie (an old Etruscan word for "Helvetios"), releasing this demo the year after in 2003. While it was originally meant as a studio project and nothing more, its ... read more

When Connecticut's Melodic Death metal outfit Fires In The Distance released "Air Not Meant For Us" two years ago, I was captivated by its sound. Mixing elements traditionally found on doom and translating them into the typical melodeath landscape felt incredible and refreshing. I just knew I had to add them to my library. And now, we turn the clock back to 2020, where their self-released debut was fished by Prosthetic before its release, allowing the band to release this through ... read more

Lo, Myrkur's debut album "M", released a year after her debut EP "Myrkur". Produced by none other than Krystoffer Rygg of Ulver fame, there's a much darker, brooding atmospheric bubbling across these eleven (plus a bonus demo) track you just don't find on the EP nor on subsequent albums at this rawer level.

You can hear it with opening track 'Skøgen Skulle Dø'. The excellent vocal opening is followed by a solid mix of folk and black ... read more

A quick recommendation that I just got before going back into my usual schtick: ReMark's 'A Bitter Taste'. Leaving Rage and Trap behind, ReMark's new direction appears to be Shoegaze and this seven minute track is a welcome change of scenery after listening to "HyperMark 3".

I wouldn't say there's anything really special or unique in here, but the noise rock and shoegaze elements blend together well enough. A quick and dirty way to describe this would be ... read more

Recommended by @RemisReviews, the artist themselves.

Did I know what Rage was before this album? No. Do I now understand what it is? Maybe. Is it hyperspace trap? But when Remi, one of the most notable AOTY users and one of the most prolific AOTY musicians recommended me "HyperMark 3", I had to pay my respects and check it out. This is an album so far out of left field for my music tastes I wasn't even sure how to approach it. Even for me, whose tastes I consider to be more ... read more

Recommended by @jbjohnston2011, naturally.

The second time Big Ben themselves recommend me an album it's their very own crafted "Luminescence". I'm not too keen on AOTY user-made music, but looking at the multitude of genre tags slapped onto this, I have no reason to dislike it right off the bat: it's a playing field I enjoy my stride in, as shown with their previous recommendation in Bent's "Ariels". A glance at the track list gives me, however, a ... read more

Recommended by @harveySwick.

Allow me to take a short detour to deal with a couple recommendations I've received over the last weeks. First, and most intriguing, comes this one by someone I don't even follow and vice-versa. What falls upon my lap is the debut album of Greek atmospheric/progressive black metal group No Hand Path. From what little I can gather, the five-man band was formed before 2006 by brothers Sotiris (bass) and Haris (drums), as in that year they released the demo ... read more

Coming strong after their 1998 release "Bestiário", an album that is almost lost media, the Portuguese industrial metal group Bizarra Locomotiva would opt to continue this calmer, industrial-driven sound in their fourth album, "Homem Máquina", released by Metrodiscos instead of Simbiose. Like I said in the last review, this is a gem waiting to be dug out and where their sound was cemented. Naturally, it only was truly the case with the next album ... read more

Yeah, no.

I'm not quite sure what's going on with Rise Against as of late. The beloved punk rock band, infused in that melodic hardcore goodness, took a hard turn and released "Ricochet", their tenth album, steeped in pop rock and alternative rock undertones. I know I'm going on ahead and spoiling the big surprise but this album kind of sucks. I know previous albums were not exactly solid, though I find enjoyment with "Nowhere Generation" and its accompanying ... read more

As we approach Septicflesh's fourth album "A Fallen Temple", I must confess this album is one of serious idiosyncracies. First, the objective one: unlike previous albums, this one features an actual human drummer, something that has not happened since their 1991 demo "Temple Of The Lost Race". The other, more subjective: this album contains some of the tracks I remember best from the early years of Septicflesh, and yet, it's one I often hate as much as ... read more

So here we are, at the French blackgaze masters Alcest's doorstep. I became a fan when "Les Chants De L'Aurore" dropped. Complementing my exploration of blackgaze which I had started with Harakiri For The Sky and deepened further with other various atmospheric black metal artists (after all, blackgaze and atmos-black go hand in hand), I just knew I had to add Neige to my library. Their 2007 debut, "Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde", is a good starting point for ... read more

With the success of the first album "Ritual", Shaman managed to gain quite a following. Even more, they were the openers for Iron Maiden in 2004 in their home country. Meanwhile, the year before they were able to put out the live album "RituAlive", though it appears some tracks were left out from the original show due to audio issues in the recording and due to copyright, as they played Angra songs in between. Also worth mentioning is a name change led by copyright issues, ... read more

Let me preface this by saying Good Charlotte has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. In the world of pop punk, the Maryland twins were never a key figure; more of a footnote that sometimes brought people to their side. They were never a group able to really rival the greater heads like A Day To Remember, Neck Deep or Green Day. But now, the Madden brothers return after seven long years, their longest time between two albums. While I'd say "Generation Rx" had some neat moments ... read more

Halestorm is back at it again after three years. While I am not particularly wooed by "Back From The Dead", I can respect its hustle. After all, Halestorm, when it comes to the 2000s trinity that is alternative metal + hard rock + post-grunge, are the ones that managed to be consistently decent over the years, even now, something I can't say for the other two major figures Three Days Grace and Skillet. Of course, like most other hard rock groups, there's a crippling lack of ... read more