Feel like this was a step back from No Pleasantries.
I really loved No Pleasantries, it had that classic Alice in Chains grunge sound but I didn't find it to be derivative of AIC. The Heavy, however, sounds a lot like AIC fan fiction. Second half is definitely stronger so at least it ends on a strong note.
Free is by far the best song on the album. Brings in an Indian influence and sounds tribal. Just all around great song. Probably not as good as Godless from the first album but just ... read more
Loving the Dead is top tier.
Rest of the album is pretty solid, though I agree with other reviewers that the vocals are a weak point. Vocals were emotionless and very flat throughout. Instrumentals are fabulous.
Like: From These Woods, The Skies Turn Black, A Second Death, Loving the Dead, Smile of Hate
meh: Kraken, Build and Destroy, Chaos, Flammen, Echoes of Life, The Earth Rumbles
Dislike: None
Sultry dance pop is the best kind of dance pop.
New Cobrah is pretty straightforward dance pop but dark and sultry and lightly industrial. Pretty sick. Atmosphere feels like an NYC basement dance club.
Torn and Platinum are the highlights for me so far.
Like: Torn, Platinum, Hush, Dog, Hit Girl, Excusez Moi, Really Hard
meh: IG, Charming, Snow White, Unoriginal
Dislike: None
Like: THE SCYTHE, PHONY, MUTT THAT BIH, HOOPTY
meh: LIT EFFECT, YOU AINT GOTTA LIE, UP
Dislike: TAN
Yeah, I'll probably forget about this one pretty quick.
Like: I'm Fine
meh: Celebrate, Neon Eyes, Caught Up in the Up Down, Deep, What You're Made Of, Don't You (Forget About Me)
Dislike: none
Definite promise here. A lot of really strong prog metal and mostly clean vocals and some well-placed harsh vocals (wish there would be a bit more of those). I mean, this shreds, see Scarecrow for a good example. Real weakness is Freakshow, which seems kinda like a joke song but on a 5 song album there's not really room for a weak middle track. Also, overall it's short, a couple more tracks might have made it a bit more memorable.
Regardless, I'll be on the lookout for more ... read more
Surprise official leak made my week.
New Johnny Blue skies is a no skips album. I get a lot of ZZTop mixed with some 70's Funkadelic energy. Every song is clutch. I love Make America Fuk Again, especially the Hunter Biden energy lyric. Fantastic.
After two listens I think my favorites are Viridescent, Situation and Venus.
Stellar album and exactly what I needed going into a tough March.
One of the more pleasant stoner/psychedelic rock albums I've listened to lately. Album went by in a flash, need to dig in more but I take that as a good sign. Usually I'm bored to tears with these kind of bands.
I'll be back
OMFG I haven't felt so good about a Rob Zombie release since The Sinister Urge.
Seriously, this is the most I've wanted to get in a mosh pit in quite a while. First five songs are fabulous. The rest of the album is hit or miss, but this is the first Zombie album in 20 years that I actually want to listen to again. For later tracks, The Black Scorpion was insanely fun. How could one not dance to it?
Like: FTW 84, Tarantula, (I'm a) Rock "N" Roller, Heathen Days, Black ... read more
Bruno is always a fun listen but The Romantic sounds a bit derivative of his prior releases.
I liked the direction of the first two songs; Bruno works well with the Latin sound. Unfortunately that doesn't last long, and as other reviews note, this album sounding a lot like Silk Sonic B sides (I'm looking at you God Was Showing Off). This felt a lot longer than it was... just kinda drags
Like: Risk it All, I Just Might, On My Soul
meh: Cha Cha Cha, God Was Showing Off, Why You ... read more
I feel like I need a disclaimer on this review "these song rankings are subject to change with future listening"
Not sure it's possible to accurately review an album with such a kaleidoscopic sound after two rotations. What i can say is that I was entertained The whole time and didn't want to skip any tracks (except maybe Casablanca). Damascus went directly on my 2026 playlist.
I'll revisit after a few more spins.
Like: The Mountain, The Moon Cave, The Happy ... read more
Most fun I've had listening to this type of jazz in years.
I put on this album directly after listening to the new Stabbing release and can't help but notice how much more layered and complex the songs are on this album. I like texture, and this is the epitome of a layered, textured metal album. I get that brutal death metal and melodic death metal are separate sub genres but I think this speaks to the artistic vision of Sylosis, who explore a lot of territory in the broad metal genre.
This is great on first listen but did fall off a bit on the ... read more
This is 100% TEMU Archspire
I don't know, I found this to be kind of repetitive and boring. Didn't get much out of it after Inhuman Torture Chamber. Everything blended together. The mixing is super muddy, which helps deliver the heaviness, but contributes to the samey sound throughout.
Like: Inhuman Torture Chamber
meh: Rotting Eternal, Masticate the Subdued, Eon of Obscenity, Reborn to Kill Once More, Ruminations, Nauseating Composition, Their Melted Remains, Symphony of ... read more
Think I liked this more than I thought after seeing the AOTY user score.
Could be because I don't care about the lyrics they much. Lyrics are super generic so I can see how that might get on people's nerves. Ialso like power metal so that probably gives me a higher tolerance for cheesy lyrics. The music is fine, mostly stock symphonic metal, but the little electronics and distortion filters etc... are a nice touch. It does get a little repetitive toward the end of the album.
I ... read more
I kinda hated this album TBH.
Gave it a few listens, tough to even get past Thrust. Just a messy feeling album right from the outset. Transitions between songs are non-existent. Maynard somehow sounded pretentious and clueless at the same time. Just feels like a clusterfuck minus a couple decent tracks (A Public Stoning). The musicianship is fine. The lyrics are cringe throughout.Just a mess across the board.
Like: Normal Isn't, A Public Stoning,
meh: Bad Wolf, Self-Evident, The ... read more
First five songs are fantastic. Great momentum at the start.
Dead and Gone - immediately on my playlist.
Like: Look Into My Eyes, Dead and Gone, Revival, Been a Minute, Goodbye Goodmorning, Best of Me, Sunrise, FREE
meh: Burning Up, Most Wanted, Me Minus U, You ARE a Star, Tight Up Skirt, Talk to Me Nice, Heaven
Dislike: None
I love me some Altin Gun.
Anatolian psychedelic rock FTW! I could listen to this all day. Definitely sucks to not hear Merve on this album but overall the Altin Gun product remains strong.
Like: Neredesin Sen, Oldurme Beni, Nigde Baglari, Benim Yarim, Sucum Nedir, Zuluf Dokulmus Yuze, Bir Nazar Eyledim
meh: Gonul Dagi, Gel Yanima Gel, Gel Kacma Gel
Dislike: None
Absolutely underwhelming.
I was really hyped for this album. Loved watching Absolutely sing I Just Don't Know You Yet with Raye at Jingle Ball. I didn't realize, however, that I Just Don't Know You Yet is by far the most dynamic song on this album. Unfortunately the backing instrumentals do Absolutely a disservice on just about every track. Feels lazy, most songs don't develop, leading to quite a vanilla background listening experience. Doesn't mesh well with ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@llamaqwerty feel like it's pretty generic metal. Weak nu metal i guess. I saw these guys open for good bands a bunch back in the day and they never impressed me all that much, so went with the most generic typology i could think of at the time i reviewed it."
On By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
"@OnsPascal Everyone digests music differently. Like I said, I respect the artistic merit here, just not for me, probably for the exact reason that you provide here. Doesn't mean I shouldn't share my thoughts."
On HomeSession3's review of Soen - Reliance
"@HomeSession3 nice review. Agree on a lot of points, and I like the straightforward alt-metal sound, but found it a bit conservative given their talent. I wish they would lean just a bit more into their prog roots and juice the instrumentals a bit."
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@Kendrickgoatedg they were contemporaries... but yeah, pretty close in sound. I think they were trying to hit a nu metal version of soundgarden. Maybe a bit better musically but a bit generic."
On Hayley Williams - EGO
"@Killuah K Stan"
On DJ-SLIM's review of Norman North - Over the Influence
"LOL I almost added this last Friday but felt the same way."
On Bugeater_'s review of Squid - Cowards
"Agree 💯. The Narrator is still stuck in my head, nothing from this album is anywhere near as innovative and has the ear candy that the first album had."
On Orgone - Pleroma
"@Pangota72 💯 more people need to appreciate this masterpiece. 6 months in and it only keeps growing on me."
On Ethel Cain - Perverts
"Makes more sense re Dr. Luke. That dude ruins everything."
On Andwella - World's End
"@parannemi Thanks! It's airways fun stumbling on an old hidden gem like this album. I felt like it needed someone to pay homage."
On Alkymist - UnnDerr
"@chemjay300 even their tiny cookies are awesome."
On NTTR's review of VOLA - Friend of a Phantom
"You were spot on with the similar bands! Maybe a little Soen in there as well."
On Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
"@Zackhy the last three minutes were awesome! I get that layering sounds too create the end stage of each song is a process and I respect that. I'm sure that my opinion would change drastically after seeing them live."
On 40 Watt Sun - Little Weight
"@Doofy Fair point. I will leave this one in the rotation for a bit to see if it grows on me."
On Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God
"@leoxmi You're right, I should. My favorite Nick Cave song is the Passenger off the Batman Forever soundtrack...I'll check out some of the early/mid-90s albums."
On Orville Peck - Stampede
"@dasturbo totally agree. With the right manager he could end up a legend in alt country. Just needs to steer clear of all the pop country industry nonsense."
On The Marías - Submarine
"🤷♂️ I didn't expect to be a citric but I'm not feeling this one."
On Maggie Lindemann - HEADSPLIT
"Cool. I'm going to have to check out the first two albums. Thanks!"
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"the self-titled album is much better. The lyrics are still a liability but the music has a lot more originality and funk to it. There were some good musicians in the original line-up, but they're all gone by now. It is tough to put the self-titled album in any one genre, but this album is kind of a one-trick pony."
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"Lyrics have been a problem with this band for its whole existence."
On Inherus - Beholden
"I have to be honest with you, XsVrits...I don't know what you're trying to convey with your statement here."
On The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony
"Yeah, maybe t's not so much the harmonies as it is the actual lead vocals remind me of a mix of weird Al and Tiny Tim. The harmonies are actually decent, but that only exacerbates the weak lead vocals. Maybe that's my issue with it. I don't know, every time I turn this on to try to analyze it I just get a visceral reaction to something in the vocals."
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