Snare is crispy. I like crispy snare.
I liked this album a lot on first listen. Maybe I was just in the mood for some approachable prog metal this morning. Think this will be in my rotation for a while, so I'll probably revisit this review at some point.
Here are some first pass notes:
Yeah, that fucking snare is great. The production on the drums is so solid throughout the album. Gold fucking star.
I'm thinking a lot of Metallica's Black Album when listening to this...maybe ... read more
Not my jam, but can appreciate the artistic merit here.
Debated whether to even post this review. Esoteric is the first word that comes to mind when listening to this album and reading the reviews, which is fine, i'm sure this will hit hard for a bunch of y'all. For me the layering doesn't always work and feels more random than purposeful. I'm not so much into dissecting lyrics so that's probably the final death knell for me on this album.
Like: Can I Have You For ... read more
Joyce Manor emphasizes the pop in pop punk.
Solid album, but I would have appreciated a bit more uptempo songs. Songs like Falling Into It and After all you put me through drag an otherwise strong album down, especially given the short length of the album.
Like: I Know Where Mark Chen Lives, Well Whatever it Was, I Used To Go To This Bar, The Opossum, Well Don't It Seem Like You've Been Here Before?
meh: Falling Into It, All My Friends are So Depressed, Grey Guitar
Dislike: After ... read more
Cowboys from Hell walked so Vulgar Display of Power could run.
This is one of the first albums that initiated me into metal. As such it's tough to review objectively. The first half is simply stellar: Cowboys from Hell, Psycho Holiday, Cemetery Gates, and Domination are all classics. Hell, I'd even put Primal Concrete Sledge up there for pushing the sludgy metal sound, and Heresy just for the chorus and all of Diamond - I mean Dimebag's guitar chugging and Phil's little ... read more
Strong album front to back. First 6 songs are perfection. This Love is probably my favorite Pantera song (although there are a few top contenders). Second half drops off just a tad but still a faceful fist throughout and definitely Pantera's strongest album.
Like: Mouth for War, A New Level, Walk, Fucking Hostile, This Love, Rise, Live in a Hole, Regular People (Conceit), By Demons Be Driven, Hollow
meh: No Good (Attack the Radical)
Dislike: none
This review is a work in progress of this criminally under appreciated album. Rough notes so far....will be a song by song review.
P.O.S.:
Ground:
Serpent Boy: is out of place on the album and should be switched with Firsty. The transition from Ground to Firsty is pretty seamless and maintains the uptempo beginning tracks, then Serpent Boy kind of resets the tone with the long intro, which sets the stage for the mid-tempo absolute fucking FIRE songs TOS and Darky.
Firsty:
Tired of Sleep ... read more
Nearly perfect album.
I love how I can dig into the juicy lyrics or just listen in the background and still catch so many vibes. Don't Hurt Yourself is a hall of fame song...pure anger distilled into song form. Freedom joins in that hall of fame...such a badass motivating song. Daddy Lessons is a little foreshadowing into the Americana sound of Cowboy Carter.
Only miss for me (and not total miss by any means) is 6 inch. I don't know exactly why, but it comes off as a bit of a mess ... read more
Is there anything that hasn't been said about this album?
It's a fucking masterpiece. Nuff said.
The perfect Foo Fighters album.
Walk is my all time favorite Foo Fighters song. The rest of the album just burns, not much else to say. Negligible weaknesses. Gotta rank this a 100.
Like: Bridge Burning, Rope, Dear Rosemary, White Limo, Arlandria, These Days, Back and Forth A Matter of Time, Miss the Misery, I Should Have Known, Walk
meh: none
Dislike: none
Prime Queensryche.
First off, I find it incredibly tough to review albums I have loved for 30 years. I picked this album up as a CD in 96 when I was 14 years old and just developing taste in music independently from my parents incessant easy listening radio hits. This is a seed album that eased me into progressive rock and metal, so I guess I'm saying there's not going to be much objectivity to this review.
Queensryche had a stellar run of LPs from Rage for Order to Promised Land ... read more
Please tell me why this deserves an 86.
Perhaps I don't have the full historical context of this album but to me The Stone Roses sound like Beatles fan fiction with echo turned to max. I think The Stone Roses have one solid, grade A hit song (I Wanna Be Adored) and people are bamboozled by that song and mesmerized into rating this album higher than it should be. Certainly there are other good songs on the album, but many bands have debuts with 3 or 4 good songs and get rated much lower. ... read more
Amorica has, in my opinion, just the perfect amount of pubic hair for an album cover.
The third release by The Black Crowes, Amorica, is a decent entry in the band's discography but like many albums in the early to mid 1990s, it falls prey to bloat. These songs overall are just too damn long and repetitive. Gone for example - at 5:08 is trending into prog rock territory but there's absolutely no progression on it. Just a straightforward jam. Should have been 3 minutes tops (and would ... read more
I really like this new Goldfinger, it is a throwback to more carefree days, and there's not much in here to complain about. Overall strong release that maybe has a bit of a lower ceiling due to playing it safe in the classic pop punk sound, but as I've said, I got a huge soft spot for this type of fun album. And let's give it some credit for clocking in at a lean 31 minutes, which does not overstay its welcome.
Thanks, Goldfinger!
Like: Chasing Amy, Freaking Out a Bit, Last One ... read more
Fun way to go out, if indeed this is Dave Mustaine's Megadeth swan song.
Some genuinely good songs here (Tipping Point, Let There Be Shred), some absolute shit (I don't care), but like most recent Megadeth albums, most songs fall somewhere in between.
Like: Tipping Point, Hey God?!, Let There Be Shred, The Last Note, Ride The Lightning
meh: Puppet Parade, Another Bad Day, Made To Kill, I Am War
Dislike: I Don't Care, Obey The Call
Empty Hands has the personality of a fluorescent ceiling light.
Here I am, sitting in an auto repair shop, waiting for a mechanic to tell me that I indeed burned out my clutch due to excessively aggressive interstate driving. I could use some stimulation...anything really would be better than watching some fucking douche bags complain about their kitchen on HGTV. So Poppy should be perfect, right? Negative Spaces was in my top 20 two years ago...fucking loved it. Empty Hands though? ... read more
Wow, what a strong start to the album.
Love Ignorance is Bliss, Coasting and Visions (and Boogie Man) but the rest of the album really can't live up to the fast start. Not sure why; each song from 6-13 seems to start out with a unique foundation/intro but by the chorus turns similar sounding in tempo and vocal inflection. Still, gotta give it some credit for the first 4 tracks. I think Ignorance is Bliss will end up on my playlist and the rest will be forgotten by the time I press post ... read more
This album is a good example of how the "Like," "meh" "Dislike" rating system doesn't always work, even though I am pretty set on the overall score. Every song is hovering very close to the like/meh line, and probably could change back and forth depending on listen. This is an OK album...easy to listen to the whole thing, just no standout tracks.
Like: Krushers of the World, Barbarian, Blood of our Blood, Psychotic Imperator
meh: Seven Serpents, Satanic ... read more
Create an account to rate and review albums.
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."
Advertisement