Rate the album you last listened to

[FlyGuyLXI]

Loon Choir - Fire Poems (8/10)

Maybe not as good as their debut but it's still premature to call. Stronger synth elements, chamber/string instrumentation is mostly new, laced all into a driven indie pop sound that alternates hooks on top of poet-like lyrics. Their final track and subtle "Visitation Rights" really tucks the bed nicely. Overall a pleasing experience.

[killer_roach]

Izz - Crush Of Night
6.75/10

Occasionally referred to as "modern symphonic prog", Izz more closely resembles a missing link between 80s neo-prog like Twelfth Night and the more recent symphonic/crossover bands like The Flower Kings or Phideaux. While having some fairly good material on their most recent release, a lot of the synth work seems to serve little purpose but meander around, stalling for time (and if I'm telling you your songs could stand to be shorter, well...). Possibly better suited as background music than as a feature album in one's musical rotation.


Discipline. - Unfolded Like Staircase
9.5/10

The second album from Michigan-based proggers Discipline, and their last until To Shatter All Accord fourteen years later in 2011. About on the same level as the more recent release, it stands out as an impressively well-crafted dark progressive album in the vein of King Crimson or Van Der Graaf Generator.

[FlyGuyLXI]

Modern Time Machines - Continuity Girl (4.5/10)

If you wanted to find an album that could bridge the sound of The Smashing Pumpkins with Silversun Pickups, it's this... doesn't mean it's done efficiently.

As a debut perspective, the Modern Time Machines comes off as a tribute band more than anything with lo-fi production and a piss poor vocalist that obviously tries an attempt to replicate either frontman from either aforementioned artist, but fails and comes off with a tone sounding rather smug and naive. The music itself lacks any creativity whatsoever and half of the time sounds like reworked replications of better post-shoegaze songs.

[killer_roach]

T.R.A.M. - Lingua Franca EP
5.5/10

Jazz fusion supergroup consisting of members of The Mars Volta, Animals As Leaders, and Suicidal Tendencies... unfortunately, the balance on this composition seems way off, with the squawking, aimless reed instrument work of Adrian Terrazas overwhelming everything else, including some capable (but not as good as expected) instrumentals from the other members of the group, including Tosin Abasi and Eric Moore. Would definitely like to hear more from this group, but hope that future efforts are more of a team affair than this.


It Bites - Map Of The Past
2.25/10

It Bites... well, it most certainly does. The current lineup of the crossover prog group is basically Frost* minus Jem Godfrey, which means that you get all of the predictable radio-friendly neo-prog sound of their inspiration, but with inferior vocals and dreadfully bad songwriting (something that is, not surprisingly, a strong suit of Godfrey, and its absence is easily noted here). Despite liking Frost*, I had to force myself to finish listening to this album, and that should say it all.

[ULS_980]

Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon
8/10

Pretty typical black metal, but good record none-the-less.
Enjoyed hearing some guitar solos here and there.


Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
9/10

Really enjoyed this album. The production being good surprised me, especially for a "classic" black metal record. Drums are fantastic, vocals are unique, bass is audible. Aside from that, really enjoyed the music. Again, appreciated the presence of the rare guitar solo here and there. All around, just a great black metal record.

[dragoninforcer]

Green Day - Warning (7.5/10)

Green Day - Kerplunk (8/10)

[FlyGuyLXI]

Rage - 21 (7/10)

It's... another Rage album. There's nothing bad about it, but there's nothing here I would want to joyfully brag about either.

[killer_roach]

Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name
6/10

Decent enough album, but a clear step backward from their prior two LPs. With the exception of "Losing My Insanity" (a song originally written for the debut album of a past winner of Idols in Finland) and parts 2 and 3 of "Wildfire", the best way to sum up the album is "what would Sonata Arctica sound like if they were Americans?". Easily skipped is the track "****load Of Money" (as if the title didn't give that away), and "Cinderblox", replete with some bluegrass influences, will leave you scratching your head. It's not that it's a bad album necessarily, just one that illustrates that Sonata Arctica may have lost the plot.


Hawkwind - Onward
8/10

Surprisingly, a band that I had almost completely written off ends up coming up with one of their best albums in roughly 30 years (since Choose Your Masques, I'd say). A few new wrinkles (including some elements of modern hard rock and industrial on some tracks) end up proving to be just the thing to keep the band's simplistic writing style from dragging on over a double album. There's not much that ends up being a stand-out track, but there's also very little that isn't relatively solid on this album.

[ULS_980]

Thrall - Vermin to the Earth
9/10

Really enjoyed Thrall's brand of black metal. Got this kinda doom thing going on, and while I'm not the biggest fan of doom metal, I gotta say, this is some really good stuff.


Thrall - Away From the Haunts of Men
8/10

Pretty much the same as Vermin to the Earth, aside from the fact that it's a bit more black metal oriented. Think Thrall works better when they slow down and throw in doomier sections though.


Bruce Lamont - Feral Songs for the Epic Decline
9/10

Didn't really know what to expect going into this album. But I was blown away. Really liked the dark, drone-y Americana he's got going on in some of these tunes.


Cloak of Altering - The Night Comes Illuminated With Death
9.5/10

Looking through The Metal Archives at the guy behind this band, and Jesus does he seem to work non-stop. Constantly releasing material for his black metal projects De Magia Veterum (which I'll be listening to soon) and Gnaw Their Teeth (which I've already listened to, and while I like it, I can't really see it being the type of music I'd listen to all that often); I'm just amazed he is able to keep going at this clip and keep three bands going simultaneously.

But I digress, really, REALLY dug this record, and a lot more than the Gnaw Your Teeth album (with some latin name that I'm not going to try and remember, it released last year) which, like I said, was cool, just not something I'd listen to often.
Really loved the synths/electronics in this album just looping and snaking their way through everything. Production is great although a little oppressive. While it's clear and well produced, it's done in such a way (especially the guitars) that it's tough to get a hold of the individual instruments that aren't the synth. Kinda makes you dizzy until you learn how to start focusing on specific things going on in the tracks.
I mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it took a few minutes to acclimate to the music and really start seeing what it's all about.
All in all though, fantastic record.


Anamanaguchi - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (Original Game Soundtrack)
9/10

Not really much I can say here. Really love this soundtrack. Great game too.

[killer_roach]

Spirogyra - St. Radigunds
8.75/10

Very well-constructed progressive folk album with considerable influence from the Canterbury scene. Between unorthodox male vocals, melodic female vocals, and a folk/jazz instrumentation with some particularly intricate rhythmic turns between percussion and bass guitar, comparisons could be drawn to Caravan, Comus, and even Phideaux. Even more impressive that this album appeared in 1971 - production aside, many of their stylistic elements could be right at home two or three decades later.