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
Fatal flaw on Cherry Red Apocalypse - weak guitar.
Melissa Bonny has a great voice, vocals match the overall album flow. Drums and bass are serviceable, but the guitar? Nothing but droning power chords arranged in lazy riffs on each track.
On the positive side, I was totally hooked for the first 5 songs. I listened to this album one time and threw Afterglow on my playlist not thinking much about it, but ever since it has become a total ear worm. The chorus is especially catchy. I'm a ... read more
This album has such a classic feel to it.
A bit bloated in the middle but some real quality subs as well. I especially like the uptempo, funk influenced tracks.
Be Great - immediate add to my 2026 playlist. Love the Trombone Shorty feature. Norf Side - also on playlist, such a fun song.
Like: Dope Shit, Be Great, Offdaback, Norf Side, Pressha, Liftin Me Up, Ode to Nikki, To Be Honest, Right Here Right Now, Ase
meh: Beautiful People, Disclaimer, Pay U on Tuesday, BPOTY, Me 4, The Math, ... read more
Make Me Forget You is my favorite track. Otherwise solid album but not enough to separate it from the pack.
Like: Love is Not Enough, Bad Faith, Amon Amok, Make Me Forget You, We Were Never the Same
meh: Distract and Divide, To Feel Something, Force Meets Presence, Gilded Cage
Dislike: Beyond Repair
Like: Debris, Orchestra, Still in Love with the Pain
meh: Implosion, Into the Black Hole, SWMF, I Keep My Promises, Opera Interlude, Running a Red
Dislike: Something Like an Opera, God Spoke, Big Bad Wolf
Like: Body the Pistol, Video Nasty, Head Up, SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIWAY, Man Bites Dog
meh: Sick of It, Helltarget, My Head Hurts, Is This It
Dislike: City
+2 for solid transitions between tracks.
Like: Closer to You, Morning Forest, Water in the Room
meh: Bye and Bye, Blindspot, Ready to Let You Down, Looking Back, I Believe in Myself, I Can Feel My Own Hands, Chills, Love I've Served
Dislike: Sleeping with the Light On
Alter Bridge has long been a very talented band but something about them just doesn't click with me. I can appreciate the quality of each album, but no single track has ever hooked me. This trend continues with this new album. 🤷♂️
Found this to be pretty unremarkable. Not offensive but nothing here to return to. Songs blend into each other and becomes background music. I found no hooks to lure me in...
Liked this album, has an evil circus vibe to it. Great mix of clean and harsh vocals and enough of a mix between doom and black metal to keep me on my toes throughout the album. Happy to say this played well above my expectations.
I'm going to put this band right below Messa on my Italian Doom bucket list.
Il veleno della Natura was a standout and on my 2026 playlist.
Like: Every Tongue Has Its Thorns, Il veleno della Natura, Silence Walk With Me, In the Flat Field
meh: Lunga vita ... read more
Is it just me or did this album feel a bit half-baked?
First three tracks are great and set the dark tone of the album really well. Starting at Always Everywhere though I started getting the sense that this album wasn't going to be a cohesive as I had hoped. Songs just don't really develop and end when it seems like they should be hitting peak. Transitions between songs are rough as well, further dragging on what appeared at first glance to be an album with vision.
Dying for You ... read more
It's fine but a little derivative of a well-trodden classic rock scene. Tracks like Be Merciful and Wormslayer keep things interesting though. Most songs, however, remind me just enough of the Doors or Pink Floyd to make me just want to listen to those albums instead.
Most relaxing album of the year?
Totally underestimated Dream Life. Wow, what a strong album! I feel like I'm floating on a big pink cloud after listening.
I'll note that the album is markedly better with headphones. Lots of subtleties in the music that are a pleasure to experience... i.e. the little drumstick taps and little beeps that drift across channels in 20 Days of Summer.
I also love how most songs start with an intimate vocal and simple bass/guitar arrangement and then ... read more
Hauntingly beautiful.
Each song comes in waves, but some songs like Root Window didn't develop enough to stick. Can't help but think of Natalie Merchant in some of these songs.
Like: High Houses, Be A Forest Child, Meadowlands, Windhover
meh: It Comes With Shadows, World in a Glass Jar, Wilderness, Root Window
Dislike: None
Progressive without being excessive.
Took me 3 or 4 spins before it sunk in. There's so many layers to each song, but all cohesive. It's refreshing to hear a prog metal album devoid of the excessive noodling that seems to define the genre nowadays.
It's like Karnivool took the best parts of Tool and Haken housed within the depressive side of Porcupine Tree.
All It Takes was an immediate favorite and on my 2026 playlist. Only true miss was Remote Self-Control, which was a ... read more
Decent heavy (power) metal. Definitely would see this band live but this plays more as a tribute to the genre rather than an expansion of it. I think the major flaw is that the lead singer doesn't have the presence necessary to pull this off... he's fine, but sounds a bit cliché.
Like: Follow Me In Death, Eye of the Storm
meh: Midnight Blitz, Tears in Rain, Dead Until Dark, Barren Lands And Seas Of Red, War in Heaven, Blood Sacrifice, Night Raids, Eulogy
Dislike: None
This...please country music, less jelly roll, more of this.
This album is what i wanted from Zach Bryan. It bypasses all my critical thought processes and hits on a much deeper level. Every song has such a good ramp up. Sway is a perfect example, beauty in simplicity until he ramps it up to 10, then catharsis. The Great Divide has major Fleetwood Mac energy.
True Black and Sway - immediate adds to my 2026 playlist.
Like: Caroline, High and Lonesome, True Black, Tumbleweeds, Sway, The Great ... read more
Edit: 85------->79. Album didn't hold up as well on repeated listens, became a bit of a chore to finish.
This album feels like I'm getting a tooth pulled and a massage at the same time.
URGH should come with a seizure warning. It is so chaotic I think i was transported through several layers of the multiverse while listening. This album is tough to describe; there's several distinct genres on each song, all put through a blender to create a sound that's pretty ... 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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