Clamfight – I Vs. the Glacier
Overall, this is a pretty solid sludge record. Nothing that I haven’t really heard before, but these guys do it fairly well.
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Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance (30th Anniversary Edition)
In listening to the reissue of Screaming For Vengeance, it suddenly becomes clear that, as “of its time” the production applied to the record was (the effects on “Electric Eye” – all the clanking reverb and robotic imagery – and the glammy metal sheen of “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” are good examples), the record is the “step up” made by a band who knew they had the world’s attention, and continues to command respect thirty years later both for that and for its song craft.
Amenra – Mass V
Overall, this isn’t a bad listen for fans of Neurosis, Zoroaster and the like. That said, I’m not sure this one’s a real winner—especially coming hot on the heels of the former’s latest record.
Convulse – Inner Evil EP
If this is any indication of what is to come, I think that their return couldn’t have come at a better time. I can’t wait to hear the rest of what Convulse circa 2013 is capable of.
Atriarch – Ritual Of Passing
Ritual of Passing is dirty, atmospheric, unsettling and cerebral. Turn down the lights, light some candles and really listen.
Graveyard – Lights Out
Graveyard follow suit to their name, like a rusty tombstone, symbolizing age and progression over time. If cleaned properly, you’ll find a treasure once forgotten, or an antique piece like Lights Out, that just needs to be revisited.
Best of the Best – A Tally of the Year’s Best Albums
I’m not sure exactly what this list means – is this list any better than any of the individual lists? Probably not. Every list that comes out has their own personality, has albums that may be less obvious. But perhaps what this list does show is what the collective metal media thought was the “can’t miss” albums this year.
Voivod – Target Earth
Target Earth is one of those albums that many reviewers will spend more time talking about what is wrong with it than what is right. Since it is the first album to feature Mongrain and it is essentially the start of a new era, you can expect it to be compared over and over to the band’s legacy. This is unnecessary in my opinion, for as Snake sings in “Warchaic”, the band is out “to find a brand new world”, and it is something they manage to do just fine.
Deftones – Koi No Yokan
KNY may be Deftones most melodic album to date. However, they maintain enough crunch so as not to sound like they’ve gone soft.
There’s nothing like the sound of Neurosis in wintertime…
Doom metal, in general, is not summertime music. When the sun’s out, the temperature’s rising and yer sweatin’ balls, you wanna cruise down the blacktop blasting some Kyuss or Fu Manchu, not some slow, melancholic, depressing tunes. Not that I have anything against slow and depressing, mind you–I just don’t have it pumping on the patio.