Oops. I Done Did It Again.
I listened to too many gd albums this month. There were too many that looked intriguing and I couldn’t help myself! Please, officer, I promise I’ll be better. Keep those handcuffs away — hey, I said keep them away —!
Behold! The List!
As you can see, I’m enthusiastic about much of this month’s lineup.
I mean holy cow, August was amazing for metal releases. So much so that there are three whole-ass albums on the tier list which aren’t metal but are… close enough. Come on, I have to talk about the new Lingua Ignota, Turnstile, and Gost projects.
S-Tier
Our Place of Worship is Silence — Disavowed, and Left Hopeless
I don’t have much to say but “wow.” What a pummeling listen. It’s big, inventive, and just stuffed to bursting with banger riffs.
Between the Buried and Me — Colors II
I think I’m just going to have to accept the fact that I’m a no-good simp for Between the Buried and Me and move on from there. They haven’t made a single bad record, and their unrelenting blend of genre-defying and playful prog metal is just… it’s tailor-made for me.
It’s inevitable to compare this to the original Colors, but I find the projects hard to compare. The original album is amazing in terms of its ambition as they were a much younger band stretching themselves to the fullest extent of their abilities. Colors II is born of a band more confident in their sound. It’s more honed. Which I realize is rich to say about an album that has three songs around the ten-minute mark and a closer at a whopping fifteen, but it’s true. The original Colors, for as much as I love it, really meanders, which do make the songs feel their length. That’s less so for this one.
Whatever. As I said, I’m a no-good simp, so objectivity? What even is?
A-Tier
Lingua Ignota — Sinner Get Ready
We have reached the first “not-quite-metal” pick.
Anyway. Listen to this album. Just do it. it’s musically fascinating, horribly disturbing but often gorgeous, and very thoughtful too. If you haven’t gotten on the Lingua Ignota train at this point, I don’t even want to be friends with you, tbh.
Turnstile — GLOW ON
Second “not-quite-metal.”
Fuck man, heavy music is rarely this goddamn catchy. The sheer number of earworms on this is record is impressive. This is an album that got hyped to me both by the internet and by friends. As someone who never really cared much about Turnstile before, I have to say this totally lives up to the hype.
Diskord — Degenerations
A review I saw ages back of Diskord’s 2012 release, Dystopics, described them as “skronky death metal.” I still feel that’s the most apt description for this band’s sound, as well as other acts like Pyrrhon and Horrendous. It’s a sound I can’t get enough of. The muddied razor guitars and dizzying riffs give me life.
Fluisteraars — Gegrepen Door de Geest der Zielsontluiking
One of the most intriguing black metal acts around, Fluisteraars have released a solid EP. It’s just as overflowing with ideas as their other works, and even though all three songs are so long and feel directionless at times, they are experts in keeping things fresh.
B-Tier
Gost — Rites of Love and Reverence
Last of the “not-quite-metal” crew: Gost! An electronic act?
A lot of modern synthwave shares similarities to metal music, given the more riff-based approach to synthesizer that genre has, but few have been more explicit about their influences as Gost. I’d only listened to Gost’s first and entirely instrumental album, Behemoth, until now and was pleasantly surprised to hear Gost’s sultry, Peter Steele-esque vocals.
I feel sad having to put this album in the B-tier. Because the songs I love on here I think are truly stunning. Unfortunately, I feel the album really runs out of steam around the midpoint and the back half contains tracks that are good, but not near as excellent as some of the earlier ones. I still strongly encourage a listen.
Wolves in the Throne Room — Primordial Arcana
While I did enjoy this, I don’t feel like I “get” Wolves in the Throne Room just yet. It’s one of those things where I can tell they are making excellent music, but my ear hasn’t quite tuned in on what exactly is so great about it.
Deafheaven — Infinite Granite
I like Deafheaven’s new direction. In many ways, this is an album we all knew Deafheaven were inevitably going to make at some point, but that didn’t make it any less surprising when the first single dropped. They haven’t entirely shed metal though and still are top-notch in juxtaposing harshness and beauty in their compositions.
Lorna Shore — …And I Return to Nothingness
I’d never heard Lorna Shore before now and am not entirely sure why I picked this EP for a listen, but I’m glad I did. I don’t go for deathcore very often, but I always enjoy finding an act that is truly pummeling.
Ex Deo — The Thirteen Years of Nero
I’ve always liked this Roman cosplay reskin of Kataklysm significantly more than Kataklysm. Big and symphonic and totally over the top, but totally awesome, Ex Deo is always a fun listen even though I have a bit of a knee-jerk “yellow flag” reaction to Roman history nerds these days.
Leprous — Aphelion
Pretty prog metal. What a good time.
Jinjer — Wallflowers
I love the versatility of the metal and hardcore styles this album has on display. Special kudos to their vocalist, Tatiana Shmailyuk, who pulls off Benatar on the cleans, Corpsegrinder on the growls.
C-Tier
Spirit Adrift — Forge Your Future
I enjoy this NWOBHM throwback act a decent amount, but the sounds produced by this album feel pretty ho-hum standard for the most part.
Thyrfing — Vanagandr
The second folk-influenced Scandinavian album from this year (the first being King of Asgard’s Svartrviðr) that is fine, but I don’t love nearly as much as everyone else seems to.
Alchemy of Flesh — Ageless Abominations
I like Morbid Angel’s Covenant too.
Qrixkuor — Poison Palinopsia
It’s long and tedious, but there are some real pulse-pounding moments in here. Maybe I’d be willing to enjoy them more often if these songs were split up.
I Gotta Keep the List Smaller
This is just too much to listen to, especially since I’m listening to them multiple times. I like to listen to things that aren’t new releases sometimes.