ok, NOW we're talking. I love this: huge sounding melodic progressive death metal. really nice high clean vocals, great growls, very atmospheric, great stuff!

I really dig this. it evokes what I love about thrash metal while bringing enough other stuff to keep it fresh and interesting. lots of interesting harmonies, great drums, great mix. I think they could probably have dropped a track: at 54 minutes, this is extremely long by thrash standards but it does *almost* earn it

I had high hopes for this, based on its description, but it's pretty straightforward power metal. not *bad*

70s prog rock. a lot of it feels incidental, easy listening but not much to engage with. more evocative of good prog than good itself. other parts are just good! afterthought, for example, and worried man.

45 minutes and 3 tracks of atmospheric doom metal: sub 50bpm, organ, growls, assorted drones. what's not to love? (nothing. this rules.) I can see why this made a lot of 2020 album of the year lists

this is an early metal album, from 1984. it's still a good listen, but most of it has since been done better. still, the riff on circle of the tyrants (which opeth covered, so I had heard before) stands up, as does the half-time on dethroned emperor.

I'm on a roll, I love this too! Incredible riffs throughout, fantastic drumming, great sound. blackened thrash metal is very much my thing, it turns out! immediately perhaps my second favourite album of the year, this will be going in the rotation.

this EP came out just last week. it's symphonic metal, but with a heavy power metal sensibility, and I love it! they released a full length last year, I'm excited to go back and listen to that

this is a really solid death metal album. a few interesting tracks, nothing too exceptional, but I could see myself revisiting it

brazilian folk/death metal, this is really great! it's very dense, rhythmically complex and driven, really great bass work. it took me a few tracks to get into it, but listening for a second time now it's all great. it doesn't really sound quite like anything else. highly recommend!

this is the first ep by dvne, from 2014, who released one of my favourite albums of this year in march. lots to like in here, and it's recognisably the same band (albeit sans synth), but not up to etemen aenka. the lack of synth is likely responsible for much of that

this is fairly straightforward proggy stoner rock, except for the vocals. the vocal performance is arresting, reminiscent of bent knee, and meshes well with the band. for me, the drums stop it from really hitting, though this is more a reflection on my enjoyment of rock drumming than the drummer, I suspect (not a double kick to be heard!)

I am very much not into explicit gore and their lyricist very much is, so I bounced off this pretty quickly, sadly

this is a good time! death/thrash is right in my wheelhouse, this has some really good riffs and grooves, though is a touch inconsistent. the closing 12 minute track, ensanguined, is particularly great! will definitely be excited to hear more from them

this was a consensus pick from 2020, and I can see why. really incredible black/folk metal, atmospheric, brutal in places, groovy in others. a real masterpiece

i LOVE this. anneke van giersburgen has an amazing voice: I've heard her collaborating in so much other stuff, so I'm surprised I've not listened to this before. the band and composition are also incredible. it's a very simple sound in some ways, but they do an awful lot with it. definitely an inspiration for my own music

this is INCREDIBLE, I love it!! symphonic metal drawing from power and melodeath, every track put a huge smile on my face

this is a mixed bag for me. some excellent moments, and some great individual tracks, but the brutal/technical sections don't really land for me: the drums get a bit ticky tacky at that speed (only really in those sections though, there's a lot of the drumming I do like!), and that takes the life out of them.

good album, I think, but not quite to my tastes