| 5.0 classic |
| 16 Horsepower Secret South |
| Akercocke Words That Go Unspoken... |
| Altar of Plagues White Tomb |
| Exhilarating; apocalyptic. "Earth: As A Womb", and the first half of "Earth: As A Furnace" is genuinely one of the most compelling experiences I've found in all of metal. The album suffers mildly from bloating in areas, and indulgent ambient/drone outros, but nevertheless straddles the line of a classic rating. - 4.8/5 |
| Altar of Plagues Teethed Glory and Injury |
| Gripping; blood-curdling. Simply put: this album will leave You sweating. Tracks 2-6 are absolutely flooring. Slight loss of momentum towards the record's end, but not enough to stop this from standing firmly amongst the genre's absolute finest. - 4.9/5 |
| Animals As Leaders Animals as Leaders |
| Aquilus Griseus |
| Bathory Hammerheart |
Triumphant; unbowed. Unlike the far more fawned-over "Blood Fire Death", Hammerheart
isn't congested with an amorphous (albeit purely distilled and seminal) unmemorable
midsection (that record was an opening and closing track). Hammerheart is (save for the
forgivably mild dip in quality of "Baptized In Fire And Ice") a cover-to-cover
goosebump-inducing, endearingly amateurish work of heartfelt warmth and inimitable
cultural tribute; track after track embedding -- as though some platonic form -- deeply
in one's psyche, capturing archetypes and paying homage to forefathers.
Quorthon's most soulful achievement. R.I.P - 4.9/5 |
| Bloc Party Silent Alarm |
An unreasonably excellent testament to teenage-hood, and one of the absolute premier
releases of the Post-Punk Revival scene.
- 4.8/5 |
| Cradle of Filth Dusk... and Her Embrace |
| There is nothing else quite like Dusk And Her Embrace. Novel, gripping, chilling (albeit bloated and indulgent in areas), and only Cruelty And The Beast is more devilishly theatrical; forgivably pretentious (substance ultimately wins out), Dusk may very well be Cradle's finest hour. Simply put, this is the definitive extreme Gothic experience. - 4.8/5 |
| Cradle of Filth Cruelty and the Beast |
| The cult classic followup of Dusk And Her Embrace bursts force with life and unconstrained theatrical flair. A more fully realized and morbidly dramatic expression of its predecessor's source material, Cruelty And The Beast descends further into the vivid depravity of its central figure. Unmistakably distinct, and unapologetically polarizing, Cradle doubles down in virtually all respects, delivering an equally distinguished Gothic gallery of sin. - 4.8/5 |
| Daylight Dies Dismantling Devotion |
My Review: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/73208/Daylight-Dies-Dismantling-Devotion/
- 4.9/5 |
| Deafheaven Sunbather |
| Death Individual Thought Patterns |
| Death Symbolic |
Words do not suffice how utterly peerless this record genuinely is. The pinnacle of
metal's greatest artist's career, and my favourite album of all time. "Symbolic" is the
platonic form of Death Metal.
R.I.P Chuck Schuldiner - 5/5 |
| Death Human |
| The stars truly aligned in 1991, bringing together one of the greatest band line-ups in metal history. "Human" is a seminal blueprint for several Death Metal sub-genres, and countless metal bands broadly. If "Human" suffers from anything at all, (being front-end loaded) it tapers off slightly towards its close. Regardless, "Human" solidified Death as one of the truly influential class acts of metal history. R.I.P Chuck Schuldiner - 4.8/5 |
| Deftones White Pony |
| The teleological excuse for the existence of the 'nu-metal' phenomena. Every genre has it's crowning jewel, and "White Pony" unequivocally tears it's competition asunder. Featuring a cover-to-cover gripping experience, a Grammy award winning track, one of the most outstanding finishing stretches an album can provide ("Passenger", "Change", and "Pink Maggit"), and one of my favourite tracks of all time: "Knife Party". "White Pony" was an incredibly influential release for alternative music, and one hell of a way to kick-off the new millennium. - 4.9/5 |
| Deftones Around the Fur |
| Deftones Diamond Eyes |
| Devin Townsend Terria |
| Devin Townsend Ocean Machine: Biomech |
| Devin Townsend's crowning achievement (if one truly had to pick). An all-killer-no-filler (I would argue the ambient mid-section was a necessary breather for the full-listen experience), thematically consistent inspired work of youth and passion. The finishing stretch will knock You on Your ass every time. A strong contender for the greatest Progressive Metal album of all time. - 4.9/5 |
| DJ Shadow Endtroducing..... |
| Emperor Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk |
An experience of novel character and general stylistic flair, "Anthems To The Welkin At
Dusk" is the height of Emperor's creative expression ("In The Nightside Eclipse" was
always too campy for my tastes, as excellent as it was), and one of the genre's most
comprehensive journeys. Want atmosphere? Progressive leanings? Boundless personality and
charisma? Cinematic pretension? It's all here, and it all substantiates itself. Simply
one of the greatest Black Metal albums of all time. - 4.9/5 |
| Ennio Morricone The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| Fen Carrion Skies |
My Review: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/73172/Fen-Carrion-Skies/
- 4.8/5 |
| Genesis Selling England by the Pound |
| Gustav Holst The Planets, Op. 32 |
Words cannot do "The Planets" justice. The midsection of "Jupiter" (later made use of in
the incomparable "I Vow To Thee My Country") is one of the most stirring moments I've
ever heard in music. For my money, the greatest work of the 'Classical' genre.
- 5/5 |
| Have a Nice Life Deathconsciousness |
| Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings: Complete Trilogy |
| The single greatest cinematic soundtrack to the single greatest cinematic experience of all time. - 5/5 |
| Immortal Sons of Northern Darkness |
| Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights |
Alluringly dark, and yet hope-inducing; nighttime-beneath-the-urban-lights,
contemplative, emotionally candid, luscious, and somehow chilling all at once. "Turn On
The Bright Lights" (along with The Chameleon's "Script Of The Bridge") is quite simply
the greatest moment in Post-Punk's storied history. - 4.9/5 |
| Iron Maiden Powerslave |
| Iron Maiden Somewhere in Time |
| Katatonia Brave Murder Day |
In 1996, Anders Nystrom (of the excellent, unsung Diabolical Masquerade) called up
(motherfucking Morningrise era) Michael Akerfeldt to help Jonas Renkse write only the
most distinctive and seminal Doom Metal album ever (debatable, sure, but "sounds like
Brave Murder Day-era" is literally the most frequent comparison I see drawn, in all of
Doom music). Fancy that.
More candidly, this album isn't flawless, but the sheer magnitude of its' personality,
haunting beauty, and inspired composition (not to mention memorable aesthetic) comes
together as one of the style's finest outings. The resonant plucks of the intro of
"Endtime" will send chills down Your spine, every fucking time. - 4.8/5 |
| Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city |
| Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly |
| Koji Kondo The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV |
| An utterly stacked (albeit poorly ordered) tracklist, superb production, several of the most iconic songs of all time (yes, of any genre) and the arguable greatest record from the arguable greatest band of all time. "Four Sticks" is an inconsequential blemish on what many rightly consider the "Holy Bible of Rock'n'Roll". A genuine timeless classic. 5/5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II |
Towering over the many genres invoked, II is arguably the definitive Led Zeppelin
experience, and one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I would argue the
highlights of IV were stronger (and I admit to often skipping "Living Loving Maid" and
"Moby Dick"), however I wholeheartedly feel II is, on the whole, a more cohesive work.
4.9/5 |
| Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti |
| Low I Could Live in Hope |
Albums move us. Why else do we do what we do? The countless hours lost in the combing of
innumerable musical history. Some albums impress us. Others are brushed aside, or, at
times, are not ready to be fully understood or appreciated. Sometimes, however,
sometimes we stumble across a work that is so personally moving, so stirring, that we'd
be lying to ourselves to rate it any lower in some vain attempt at 'objectivity'.
"I Could Live In Hope" is that album for me. Low's phenomenal debut record resonates so
incomparably with me, that it's sheer personality and candid, tender honesty transcends
a mere "superb" experience. Nothing I've yet found is more subjectively personal,
movingly mundane (yes, You read that right), nor produced in quite the same intimate
manner. If one opens their heart (even moreso than their ears) "I Could Live In Hope"
is an invitation to a very personal, very lucid conversation with Alan Sparhawk and Mimi
Parker. - 4.8/5 |
| Megadeth Rust in Peace |
| Although the most tightly crafted, thrilling Thrash Metal album of all time, "Rust In Peace" simply borders on the (endearing as it is) campy for me, and isn't (despite it's jaw-dropping highlights) entirely consistent throughout. Regardless -- as a previous user noted -- "Rust In Peace" is the "checkmate" of Thrash Metal, leveling it's competition handily. - 4.9/5 |
| Mono Hymn to the Immortal Wind |
Enchanting, pure, innocent, and deeply heartfelt, "Hymn To The Immortal Wind" (which is
arguably the most remarkable album title I've ever heard) moment-to-moment breathes with
a near incomparable life. Like most Post-Rock, the indulgence and turgid composition
that typifies the genre is present ("Burial At Sea" is less than spectacular, largely
due to this) however, on the whole, the quality maintained throughout is simply
exceptional. More than mere consistency and impressive heights, "Hymn To The Immortal
Wind" possesses those elusive x-factors that an artist can spend a career chasing
after: character, sincerity, and soul.
With the swelling peaks of "Ashes In The Snow", the reflective beauty of "Silent Flight,
Sleeping Dawn", the innocent tenderness of "Pure As Snow", the rousing homecoming of
"Follow The Map", and the striking resonance of the opening chords of "Everlasting
Light", the subtle magic of this experience is simply a treasure.
If ever You find Yourself struggling to persevere, to find that lofty glimmer of hope in
the most pressing moments of our lives, I urge You: make this experience a part of You.
- 4.9/5 |
| Moonsorrow Verisäkeet |
| Nas Illmatic |
| Simply put: "Illmatic" is the platonic form of Hip-Hop. - 5/5 |
| Night Verses From the Gallery of Sleep |
| Opeth Still Life |
| With outstanding composition, a heart-wrenching narrative, and lush production ("Benighted" is one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard), rich in dynamics and melody, "Still Life" is absolutely essential. - 4.9/5 |
| Opeth Blackwater Park |
| "Blackwater Park" is the platonic form of Progressive Death Metal, battling Devin Townsend's "Ocean Machine" for the greatest Progressive Metal album of all time. - 5/5 |
| Primordial To the Nameless Dead |
| While "The Gathering Wilderness" is rightly argued as the album that solidified Primordial among contemporary Metal's very finest, "To The Nameless Dead" triumphantly cemented them as legends. Less subdued and earthen than its' predecessor, "To The Nameless Dead" boldly soars with a resolute passion the group has never fully duplicated, and few artists ever truly achieve. - 4.8/5 |
| Renaissance Scheherazade and Other Stories |
You can keep Your Pink Floyd's and Your King Crimson's, Renaissance was the crown jewel
of their time.
An enchanting, playful, lucid journey down some of Progressive Rock's most charming
corridors. "Scheherazade and Other Stories" is a dazzling feast for the senses. - 4.9/5 |
| Solstafir Köld |
| An unsung treasure of Iceland's modestly-sized-yet-immeasurably-talented music scene. "Kold" is an exhilarating journey of bold influences, and even bolder ambitions. These ambitions largely substantiate themselves, but the album could benefit from some minor trimming. The title track is pure rapture, featuring the most exhilarating outro I've ever experienced, followed immediately by the enormous "Pale Rider". The Desert Rock-tones-meet-Post-Metal composition, and unabashed cowboy aesthetics are an endearing compliment to an album already bursting with style. Give this record Your time; get to know it, and be rewarded with each subsequent listen. Forget what You've heard, this is Solstafir's finest work. - 4.8/5 |
| Strapping Young Lad City |
| The Chameleons Script of the Bridge |
As many have rightly proclaimed: "Script Of The Bridge" is the greatest album You've
never heard of.
Absolutely essential, and a powerful contender for the greatest Post-Punk album of all
time. - 4.9/5 |
| The Doors The Doors |
| Few others could hope to contend with The Door's self titled debut as the greatest album of the 1960's. An absolutely stacked, cover-to-cover thrill ride, featuring one of the most charismatic vocal performances of all time. Simply iconic. R.I.P Jim Morrison. - 4.9/5 |
| The Fall of Troy Doppelganger |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium |
| Unapologetically idiosyncratic, endearingly eccentric, and a dozen shades of novel, inspired, and motherfucking refreshing. The Mars Volta craft an effortless synthesis of Post-Hardcore, Progressive Rock, Psychedelia, Latin, and Jazz. Featuring tremendous production, a superlative line-up, and more personality than most can frankly handle, "Deloused In The Comatorium" single-handedly revitalized Progressive Rock. - 4.9/5 |
| The Mars Volta Frances the Mute |
| The Mars Volta deliver a cinematic odyssey of sexually tense mystery, goosebump-inducing trumpets, Latin swagger, mesmerizing shredding, and a carefully crafted. larger-than-life production. One of the most ambitious, and unabashedly indulgent albums You'll ever drop a needle to, the sheer scope of "Frances The Mute" is simply inspiring, and an evident labour of love. - 4.8/5 |
| The Sisters of Mercy Floodland |
| The Strokes Is This It |
| The Verve A Storm in Heaven |
| The Verve Verve |
| Yawning Man Rock Formations |
The Fathers of Desert Rock bring us a warm, scintillating journey through the American
Southwest. "Rock Formations" -- and it's seemingly mundane, yet subtly reflective
paleogeological title -- presents the listener with an evocative, fully realized
pilgrimage through its abundant, brilliantly actualized imagery. An immersive experience
from start-to-finish, every track invokes distinct scenery and texture, as though one
is having a vicarious sensory experience. The production compliments the archetypes
throughout superbly, as one can practically feel the desert's heat as they drift through
the wonderfully crafted, redolent soundscapes. The lush instrumentation and composition
is hypnotically recursive in nature, lulling the listener into a comforting daydreaming
daze of escapist wanderlust.
Whether You're a Stoner/Desert/Surfer Rock enthusiast, looking to get lost in an
enveloping musical environment, or simply miss the nostalgia of roaming the deserts of
Red Dead Redemption, "Rock Formations" is a theater of the mind, a distinguished
landmark of the genre (this very band principally made possible), and the single most
evocative album I've ever heard. - 4.8/5 |
| 4.5 superb |
| 16 Horsepower Sackcloth 'n' Ashes |
| A Forest of Stars Beware the Sword You Cannot See |
| Aerosmith Toys in the Attic |
| Aerosmith Rocks |
| Agalloch The Mantle |
| Agalloch Ashes Against the Grain |
| Akercocke Antichrist |
| Akercocke Renaissance in Extremis |
| Alexisonfire Watch Out! |
| Altar of Plagues Mammal |
| Cavernous; pensive; haunting. Disregard the bullshit comparative attitudes typical of critic communities - "x isn't y, therefor it's trash". Indulgent drone and bloat remain present across nearly all of this group's work, but the sheer massive scope of this four-track's opener and closer stun me every time (and yes, I adore the Keening in "When The Sun Drowns In The Ocean"). Johnny King is an absolutely phenomenal (minimalistic) drummer. "All Life Converges To Some Center" is one of my favourite songs of all time. - 4.5/5 |
| Amon Amarth Versus the World |
| Amon Amarth With Oden on Our Side |
| At the Drive-In Relationship of Command |
| Bathory Twilight of the Gods |
| Bauhaus Bela Lugosi's Dead |
| Behemoth Demigod |
| Behemoth The Satanist |
| Between the Buried and Me Alaska |
| Between the Buried and Me Colors |
| Caladan Brood Echoes Of Battle |
| Caligula's Horse In Contact |
| Chelsea Wolfe Pain Is Beauty |
| Circa Survive Juturna |
| Circa Survive Blue Sky Noise |
| Cocteau Twins Treasure |
| Cocteau Twins Head Over Heels |
| Cryptopsy None So Vile |
| Cynic Traced in Air |
| Dance Gavin Dance Downtown Battle Mountain |
| Daughters You Won't Get What You Want |
| David Darling Dark Wood |
| Death The Sound of Perseverance |
| Death Live in L.A.: Death & Raw |
| Deftones Saturday Night Wrist |
| Deftones Koi No Yokan |
| Devin Townsend Infinity |
| Devin Townsend The Retinal Circus |
| Devin Townsend Project Addicted |
| Dimmu Borgir Enthrone Darkness Triumphant |
| Drudkh Autumn Aurora |
| Elder (USA-MA) Reflections of a Floating World |
| Emperor In the Nightside Eclipse |
| Enslaved Below the Lights |
| Enslaved Isa |
| Enslaved Axioma Ethica Odini |
| Enya Watermark |
| Falls of Rauros The Light That Dwells in Rotten Wood |
| Fallujah The Flesh Prevails |
| Fen Dustwalker |
| Fen Winter |
| Forefather Steadfast |
| Gojira From Mars to Sirius |
| Gojira The Way of All Flesh |
| Gorguts Obscura |
| Have a Nice Life Voids |
| Have a Nice Life The Unnatural World |
| Heilung LIFA |
| Hypocrisy Abducted |
| Hypocrisy Hypocrisy |
| Hypocrisy The Final Chapter |
| Immortal At the Heart of Winter |
| Immortal All Shall Fall |
| Interpol Antics |
| Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast |
| Iron Maiden Rock in Rio |
| Iron Maiden Live After Death |
| James Horner Braveheart |
| Jeremy Soule Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Soundtrack |
| Kendrick Lamar Section.80 |
| Ketil Bjornstad and David Darling The River |
| King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King |
| Koji Kondo The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST |
| Led Zeppelin Presence |
| Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy |
| Low Long Division |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd |
| Mastodon Crack the Skye |
| Meshuggah Chaosphere |
| Meshuggah obZen |
| Metallica Ride the Lightning |
| Nick Drake Five Leaves Left |
| Nokturnal Mortum The Voice of Steel |
| Obsequiae Aria of Vernal Tombs |
| Obtained Enslavement Witchcraft |
| Opeth Orchid |
| Opeth Morningrise |
| Opeth My Arms, Your Hearse |
| Opeth The Roundhouse Tapes |
| Panopticon Roads to the North |
"Roads To The North" sees Austin Lunn achieving considerable strides, further
synthesizing Americana Folk with Atmospheric Black Metal (epitomized on "Where Mountains
Pierce The Sky") into something all the more cohesive, adventurous, and -- as ever --
heartfelt.
The sweeping "The Sigh Of Summer", and the rousing and hopeful "Chase The Grain" are
powerful highlights. Arguably the most diverse outing in the genre's most wholesome
artist's catalog, Roads has a little of something for every Black Metal fan. - 4.5/5 |
| Panopticon Autumn Eternal |
A positively fucking inspired, tighter-than-ever release from a revitalized and driven
Austin Lunn. Black Metal's most wholesome artist brings us his most superbly produced,
tightly crafted, infectious work to date. Fan of Americana? The absolutely gorgeous
"Tamarack's Gold Returns" has You covered. Want it blended with Metal? The goosebump-
inducing closer "The Wind's Farewell" will move You. Fan of Enslaved? Check out "Sleep
To The Sound Of The Waves Crashing". Want some gorgeous Doom? "A Superior Lament" is a
must. In need of some triumphant inspiration? "Into The North Woods" will kick Your ass.
Despite this remarkable palette, Autumn Eternal is arguably, track-to-track, the most
cohesive work of Lunn's excellent discography. With a powerful (final four tracks)
finishing stretch, a song or two for nearly any kind of Black Metal fan, and a
reinvigorated sense of urgency, "Autumn Eternal" may just be Lunn's finest. - 4.7/5 |
| Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here |
| Primordial The Gathering Wilderness |
| Primordial A Journey's End |
| Protest the Hero Kezia |
| Protest the Hero Fortress |
| Protest the Hero Volition |
| Queen A Night at the Opera |
| Queen Live at Wembley Stadium |
| Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf |
| Renaissance Ashes Are Burning |
| Rush Moving Pictures |
| Rush Hemispheres |
| Shakey Graves Can't Wake Up |
| Siouxsie and the Banshees Juju |
| Slumber Fallout |
| Solstafir Masterpiece of Bitterness |
| Strapping Young Lad Alien |
| Summoning Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame |
| Summoning Oath Bound |
| Taake Nattestid Ser Porten Vid |
| Tera Melos Untitled |
| Tera Melos Drugs / Complex |
| The Devin Townsend Band Synchestra |
| The Devin Townsend Band Accelerated Evolution |
| The Fall of Troy The Fall of Troy |
| The Fall of Troy Ghostship Demos |
| The Fall of Troy Phantom on the Horizon |
| The Mars Volta The Bedlam in Goliath |
| The Sisters of Mercy First and Last and Always |
| The Streets Original Pirate Material |
| The Tallest Man on Earth The Tallest Man on Earth |
| The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt |
| The Tallest Man on Earth Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird |
| The Verve Urban Hymns |
| The Verve This Is Music: The Singles 92-98 |
| The Water Witch The Heavens In Traction |
| Ulver Kveldssanger |
| Ulver Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler |
| Ulver Shadows of the Sun |
| Voices London |
| My Review - https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/77070/Voices-UK-London/ - 4.8/5 |
| Voices Petrograph |
| Windir Arntor |
| Wintersun Wintersun |
| Yawning Man Pot Head |
| Yawning Sons Ceremony To The Sunset |
| Yes Close to the Edge |
| 4.0 excellent |
| 1349 Hellfire |
| 1349 Demonoir |
| 16 Horsepower 16 Horsepower |
| A Forest of Stars A Shadowplay for Yesterdays |
| Aerosmith Pump |
| Aerosmith Get Your Wings |
| Aesop Rock The Impossible Kid |
| Agalloch Marrow of the Spirit |
| Alan Stivell Renaissance de la harpe celtique |
| Alcest Écailles De Lune |
| Alexisonfire Alexisonfire |
| Altar of Plagues Tides |
Two raw, plodding, pelagial dirges. A stripped down extended offering, coming off the
feathers of 2009's massive "White Tomb". We're treated to a set of harrowing funeral
marches. "The Weight Of All" unequivocally towers as the highlight, at a head-turning
(admittedly bloated) near-twenty minutes; it's passionate building layers peak ten
minutes through, as an enormous breakdown of cascading percussion hypnotizes the
listener for several minutes. This group was truly something special. - 4.2/5 |
| Amon Amarth The Crusher |
| Aquilus Arbor |
| Bathory Blood Fire Death |
| Bathory Under the Sign of the Black Mark |
| Bauhaus In the Flat Field |
| Behemoth Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond) |
| Behemoth The Apostasy |
| Behemoth And the Forests Dream Eternally |
| Behemoth Evangelion |
| Between the Buried and Me Colors_Live |
| Between the Buried and Me The Great Misdirect |
| Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet |
| Burzum Umskiptar |
| Casualties of Cool Casualties of Cool |
| Celestiial Where Life Springs Eternal |
| Celestiial Celestiial / Blood of the Black Owl |
| Chelsea Wolfe Apokalypsis |
| Chelsea Wolfe Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs |
| Chelsea Wolfe Abyss |
| Chelsea Wolfe Hypnos / Flame |
| Chelsea Wolfe Hiss Spun |
| Children of Bodom Hatebreeder |
| Circa Survive On Letting Go |
| Circa Survive Appendage |
| City and Colour Sometimes |
| Cocteau Twins Victorialand |
| Cocteau Twins Sunburst and Snowblind |
| Cradle of Filth Midian |
| Cradle of Filth Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phalluste |
| Cryptopsy Blasphemy Made Flesh |
| Daylight Dies Lost to the Living |
| Daylight Dies A Frail Becoming |
| Deafheaven New Bermuda |
| Deafheaven Ordinary Corrupt Human Love |
| Death Leprosy |
| Deftones Deftones |
| Deftones B-Sides and Rarities |
| Deru 1979 |
| Devin Townsend Christeen + 4 Demos |
| Devin Townsend Project Ghost |
| Devin Townsend Project Transcendence |
| Diabolical Masquerade Nightwork |
| Dimmu Borgir Spiritual Black Dimensions |
| Elder (USA-MA) Lore |
| Enslaved Frost |
| Enslaved Mardraum - Beyond the Within |
| Enslaved RIITIIR |
| Equilibrium Sagas |
| Fallujah Nomadic |
| Fen Ancient Sorrow |
| Fen The Malediction Fields |
| Fen Epoch |
| Fen/De Arma Towards the Shores of the End |
| Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape |
| Forefather Ours is the Kingdom |
| Fuath I |
| Giles Corey Giles Corey |
| God Is an Astronaut All Is Violent, All Is Bright |
| Gojira L'Enfant Sauvage |
| Gorguts Colored Sands |
| Hypocrisy Virus |
| Hypocrisy Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken 1998 |
| Hypocrisy A Taste of Extreme Divinity |
| Immortal Pure Holocaust |
| Interpol Our Love to Admire |
| Interpol El Pintor |
| Iron Maiden Iron Maiden |
| Iron Maiden Piece of Mind |
| Iron Maiden Killers |
| Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son |
| Judas Priest Painkiller |
| Kendrick Lamar untitled unmastered. |
| Kings of Leon Only By The Night |
| Koji Kondo The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker OST |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin III |
| Little Dragon Little Dragon |
| Low The Curtain Hits the Cast |
| Machine Head The Blackening |
| Mastodon Blood Mountain |
| Mega Drive Mega Drive |
| Megadeth Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? |
| Megadeth That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires |
| Meshuggah Destroy Erase Improve |
| Meshuggah Nothing |
| Meshuggah I |
| Meshuggah Catch Thirtythree |
| Meshuggah Koloss |
| Metallica Master of Puppets |
| Metallica ...And Justice for All |
| Minus the Bear Planet of Ice |
| Mree The Middle |
| Numenorean Home |
| Obsequiae Suspended in the Brume of Eos |
| Opeth Damnation |
| Opeth Ghost Reveries |
| Opeth Lamentations |
| Opeth Watershed |
| Opeth In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall |
| Palms Palms |
| Panopticon Collapse |
| Panopticon On the Subject of Mortality |
| Panopticon Kentucky |
Every decade or so, an album will shake up a genre so fundamentally , or so daringly
inject progressive elements that a fanbase is ultimately unwilling to tolerate, or
simply unprepared for. "Kentucky" is most certainly the latter, and made strides towards
achieving the former. If for boldness alone, I doff my cap to Appalachia's son, Austin
Lunn.
Now, I fully concede I am more lenient than most. I don't agree that elements of an
album being too disparate should so deeply shatter the quality of the product. However,
such arguments are not without merit. The production of "Kentucky" practically
highlights just how distinct and stylistically juxtaposing Americana and Black Metal
conventions really are. For my part, when broken down to it's individual components, I
enjoyed the stylings of this record considerably. The campy, rootin' tootin' Bluegrass,
the (punk-in-spirit) socially conscious folk tunes, the humanity of the tasteful voice
samplings, and the ambitiously structured Black Metal tracks. I'll be the first to admit
that tin whistle is irritating, but "Bodies Under The Falls" (particularly past the folk
building mid-section) peaks higher than nearly anything Austin has ever done, and
"Killing The Giants As They Sleep" is a crushing and emotive monster.
Ultimately, "Kentucky" is a bold and unique stylistic synthesis, one that Austin Lunn
would later markedly improve upon, and, for however much it's disparate elements are a
jarring misfire for many, the Wright Brothers didn't learn to fly on their first attempt
either. - 3.9/5 |
| Panopticon The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness |
Without getting mired in the debates of whether these LPs should've been released
separately - "The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness" feels like the record
Austin Lunn has intended to craft for many years.
The countless years of dedication, learning every damn instrument, prolific work ethic
(splits, compilations, remasters, LPs), carefully crafting and structuring his wide body
of work, and all the labour of love that Austin has given us -- time and time again -- I
feel that we owe every truly great artist their space and time to breathe, to
experiment, and to lay out precisely what is in their heart. Fuck the ratings, the
comparative quibbling, and the expectations.
Austin has earned this, and we owe him an open ear and heart. - 4.2/5 |
| Panopticon / Waldgefluster Panopticon / Waldgeflüster |
| Perturbator Nocturne City |
| Primordial Spirit the Earth Aflame |
| Primordial Redemption at the Puritan's Hand |
| Primordial Where Greater Men Have Fallen |
| Renaissance Turn of the Cards |
| Siouxsie and the Banshees Hyæna |
| Sojourner Empires of Ash |
| Solar Fields Movements |
| Solar Fields Mirror's Edge Original Soundtrack |
| Steve Vai Passion and Warfare |
| Steve Vai Alien Love Secrets |
| Summoning Stronghold |
| Summoning Dol Guldur |
| Team Sleep Team Sleep |
| The Chameleons What Does Anything Mean? Basically |
| The Chameleons In Shreds |
| The Doors Strange Days |
| The Doors L.A. Woman |
| The Dubliners The Dubliners With Luke Kelly |
| The Fall of Troy Manipulator |
| The Mars Volta Tremulant |
| The Mars Volta Amputechture |
| The Strokes Room on Fire |
| The Tallest Man on Earth Shallow Grave |
| The Verve Voyager 1 |
| The Verve She's A Superstar |
| The Voidz Tyranny |
| Tsjuder Desert Northern Hell |
| Tyr Eric The Red |
| U2 The Joshua Tree |
| Voices Frightened |
Extreme Metal drumming icon David Gray could now reasonably tour on Chelsea Wolfe's Hiss
Spun. No, no, I'm serious.
What a time to be alive. |
| Wovenhand Refractory Obdurate |
| Yawning Man Nomadic Pursuits |
| Yawning Man Yawning Man & Fatso Jetson |
