ThomasGuy

In many ways, "Aethiopes" is the embodiment of Billy Woods' best qualities. It's thematically and lyrically dense, as well as exceptionally atmospheric. Every single line that Woods utters can be picked apart and analyzed, revealing around 5 different possible meanings or interpretations. Creativity abound, "Aethiopes" carries with it an almost indescribable sound and feeling: that of an artist near the top of their field at the top of their game.

The biggest compliment that I can give "Viva Las Vengeance" is that it manages to be awful in ways that other Panic! At The Disco albums haven't. Brendan Urie spends much of this record fruitlessly attempting to mimic better and more daring acts such as Queen, which means that for this album we swap out generic mainstream blandness in favor of theater-kid-core omages to bands that Panic! at the Disco have never and will never hold a candle too. Truly, we have reached Dante's 9th ... read more

"Stiny" sort of feels like a beginning template that you build off of rather than a fully-fleshed out album. It's effectively depressive, it has some nice riffs, and it's legitimately hypnotic at parts, but it fails to ever truly set itself apart or wow me in a way that other black metal records do.

Each and every song here has at least one melody that is irresistibly catchy and endlessly memorable. This is of course in part due to the excellent guitar work on display here, but it is also because of the absolutely stellar drum fills and cymbal hits that pepper this record's songs. Effectively hopeless lyrics that delve deep into hopelessness and nihilism provide a genuine sense of poeticism to the record as well, which is an element that can be rare in black metal. Though there are some ... read more