Earth "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull"
Release date: 2/26/08
Southern Lord
Stoked!
Something about Earth makes their brand of molasses rock very listenable. I can usually only take slower music in small doses and in right moods, but I could put this album on any time and get lost in it. It's signature Earth: slow, twangy, mellow, ambient. It really sounds like the soundrack of a murderer driving down a lonely desert road at dusk with a body in the trunk, driving to his burial destination. Evil, but beautiful.
Soilent Green "Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction"
Release date: 4/15/08
Metal Blade
Pissed
I don't want to take anything away from "Sewn Mouth Secrets", which is one of my favorite grind/death/southern core albums by saying this album blows. I need to say that. I loved Soilent Green, that album was something never done before and at the time I heard it, it was the first time I'd heard their style, a mish mash of Converge style grind with EyeHateGod style sludge. I haven't heard their last album, I was told to stear clear. I was hoping this one would be ok, but my hopes have been crushed. It seems to me that they sat down and wrote 1,000 different 10 second riffs and hastily glued them all together without looking for any kind of flow. There is nothing on this album that I listen to and say,"Man, you gotta hear this one part!" It's all just boring, I lost interest right away. Bottom line is to go buy "Sewn Mouth Secrets" and hope in a couple years they can put out an album that good again.
Meshuggah "obZen"
Release date: 3/11/08
Nuclear Blast America
Ambivalent
This record's OK I guess. There are some really cool syncopated rhythms on the record, which is expected from the math masters, but as a whole it doesn't blow me away. I also heard that none of the drums on the record are live, they're all programmed. I can appreciate the effort that it takes to program those parts and make them sound like a real drummer, but Thomas Haake is an amazing drummer that could most definately pull this shit off, so I think he should have. A lot of these math pioneers are just getting tired. When it came out it was revolutionary, but there's other stuff now that has raised the bar. Meshuggah needs to go up with that bar.
Torche "Meanderthal"
Release date: 4/8/08
Hydra Head Records
Stoked!
This is the first non-stop, can't leave my CD player album of the year. I can't put my finger on it, and neither can anybody I know. It's just super catchy. I wasn't too happy about the last one they put out, but I think this is the best record they've made. Their self titled full length is cool, but this one just seems so much more cohesive and well written. It's a perfect summer album. The vocals seem to be more on point as well. It's a perfect blend of sludge and pop metal. Definate must listen.
The Sword "Gods of the Earth"
Release date: 4/1/08
Kemado Records
Stoked!
The reason I'm stoked on this one is because of The Sword's progression in song writing. "Age of Winters" was a great album but it became redundant at times and one song seemed to bleed into another. This one seems to have more distinction in each song. There are some Thin Lizzy type riffs to more Slayer style thrash parts and of course the neo Black Sabbath sound that they seem to have mastered. I listened to this one for about a week straight, it plays nice, no real bad parts to it.
The Endless Blockade "Primitive"
Release date: 5/20/08
20 Buck Spin
Stoked!
Where would my life be right now if I had not found grindcore? Nobody knows for sure, but it would definately be lacking because I would not have been introduced to this record. It's pretty much balls to the wall from start to finish. It's a really good throwback to old Napalm Death or Dropdead, charged by politics, anger, and angst. Looks like all Canadian bands don't suck (don't say Rush, because Rush sucks). Cryptopsy used to be good. Who else is from Canada? See, there's your answer.
Boris "Smile"
Release date: 4/29/08
Southern Lord
Pissed
I'm sorry, but this record is garbage. Maybe I'm not hip or intelligent enough, but you can't trick me into thinking this is good. It's basically 8 songs of painfully out of tune singing/guitars with some noise in between being passed off as ambiance. "Pink" was a good record, but I really just can't stomach this. I read a review that gave this like 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I must be missing something, or maybe I'm just not braindead. Fuck this album. Worst album of '08 so far.
Russian Circles "Station"
Release date: 5/6/08
Suicide Squeeze
Ambivalent
Most of this record is very boring. I think I really liked their last record because I liked what they were doing. They're like a bit more metal version of Explosions in the Sky. I was hoping they would progress a bit more, there are so many different ways I thought this record could could go, but it didn't go any of them. The first couple of times I listened I was going to give this a "Pissed" rating, but then I listened to it in my car while driving at night. That is how this record needs to be listened if you want it to be at all interesting. Listening to it my house made me want shoot herion, cut my thighs, and cry. It's just too boring.
Genghis Tron "Board Up the House"
Release date: 2/19/08
Relapse Records
Stoked!
Yay Genghis Tron! You met every one of my expectations for a new record! Congratulations. This record has a lot more groove and melody, but not in a pussy way, they did exactly what they should have done to up themselves from their last record. The first time I heard about them I thought that the whole technogrind thing could go horribly wrong, but they do it in such a way that it's not to Ministry and/or not too fucking gay ass Paul Oakenfold or some shit. Very nice gentlemen. Keep up the good work. One of the few bands that has lyrics I actually care about too. Imagine a chaotic Converge, but from the computer of three crazy guys from Philadelphia.
The Black Keys "Attack and Release"
Release date: 4/1/08
Nonesuch
Pissed
Can I say that these guys sold out without sounding pretentious and jaded? Well I'm gonna say it anyway. I think have Danger Mouse produce this record was a bad idea, it sounds like Gnarls Barkley with The Black Keys playing over it. It's not all bad, there are a few good parts in the album, but over all it's very boring and over pollished. The thing I loved about "Magic Potion" was the rawness, I think it was recorded in a fucking basement. That is surely not this album. I shun you Black Keys.
Next reviews:
Witch "Paralyzed"
Black Cobra "Feather and Stone"
Iron Lung "Sexless/No Sex"
Crom "Hot Sumerian Nights"
Black Mountain "Future Sounds"
In Flames "A Sense of Purpose"
Cryptopsy "The Unspoken King"
