Spotlights are part of a legion of bands (see also: Holy Fawn, Niights) who take their shoegaze and post-metal influences beyond the My Bloody Valentine and Deftones aping of their peers to create something they can truly call their own. Their last album Love & Decay made my Top 20 list last year, so naturally … Continue reading Spotlights – We Are All Atomic EP Review
Several years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Crowbar open for Carcass. While I was a much bigger Carcass fan at the time, I was floored by both bands' performances. They're on different ends of the subgenre spectrum, but in the moment the booking made sense. However, the thought didn't occur to me until … Continue reading Beggar – Compelled To Repeat Review
Hyborian are cursed in the sense that every review of them mentions Mastodon and Baroness. But it's hard not to - Hyborian takes cues from those bands' riff-driven Leviathan and Blue Record periods respectively, but with vocal heights that neither band could reach at the time. Their 2017 debut album Volume I was top notch. … Continue reading Hyborian – Volume II Review
"Progressive metal" can be a loaded term. On one end, you could be in for some engaging, envelope-pushing music. On the other, you'd be hearing dudes with gauged ears ripping off Meshuggah and Tesseract. While I can't speak to the state of Vancouver band Neck of the Woods' ear piercings, I can say their new … Continue reading Neck of the Woods – The Annex of Ire Review
Huntsmen are a band that describes themselves as "Americana metal". Or at least they were - their latest album Mandala of Fear sounds much more post-metal, with sludge, doom, and prog blended in as well. Don't get me wrong, there's still a good amount of their folk and country influences present too. Maybe think Americana … Continue reading Huntsmen – Mandala of Fear Review
Splid is sort of a pivotal moment for Kvelertak. It's their first album in four years, and first with new singer Ivar Nikolaisen and new drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Given these circumstances and the fading spotlight the band once had in the early 2010's, this album is a test of whether Kvelertak can still remain … Continue reading Kvelertak – Splid Review
Yatra is special to me in that their debut album Death Ritual was the first new album I listened to in 2019. While their latest album doesn't hold the same honor for 2020, I'm still impressed at how quickly the Maryland stoner doom trio were able to churn out another release. Yatra's second album Blood … Continue reading Yatra – Blood of the Night Review
