Mutoid Man - War Moans

Artist: Mutoid Man
Album: War Moans
Year: 2017
Rating: 80/100

After Bleeder was well received by both critics and fans alike, Stephen Brodsky and Ben Koller thought it would be a good idea to give the world another Mutoid Man album. The big question, of course, is are we getting more of the same?

In a word, yes. Brodsky and Koller (along with bass player Nick Cageao) set their sonic attack level as high as possible and never let the intensity let up. The trio are a tight, cohesive unit, playing with such energy and intensity that the first half of the album rattles by in such a rush that it could leave the listener feeling dizzy if they aren't careful. Brodsky is growing in confidence with the quality of riffs that he has written on War Moans, while Koller doesn't put a single beat out of place behind the drum kit.

If there are criticisms of War Moans to be made, it's that the lyrics are verging on outright silly at times, while some of the songs on the first half of the album rattle past at such a rate they don't really get time enough to bed in with the listener. Any other criticism, however, would be being picky for the sake of it. War Moans isn't quite as instantaneous as Bleeder, but there's still plenty to enjoy nonetheless.

Track listing

1. Melt Your Mind
2. Bone Chain
3. Micro Aggression
4. Kiss of Death
5. Date with the Devil
6. Headrush
7. Irons in the Fire
8. War Moans
9. Wreck and Survive
10. Afterlife
11. Open Flame
12. Bandages

Do Make Say Think - Stubborn Persistent Illusions

Artist: Do Make Say Think
Album: Stubborn Persistent Illusions
Year: 2017
Rating: 82/100

Toronto outfit Do Make Say Think are another band returning with a new album after a lengthy period of inactivity. Stubborn Persistent Illusions is the first release of theirs in eight years, since 2009's Other Truths. The big question is, how does it stack up?

Well, for a start, it seems that even with a lengthy time away from the limelight, Do Make Say Think felt that they shouldn't change things up too much, if at all. Everything is present and correct: tremolo guitars, scattershot drums and rich, expansive textures that successfully help Do Make Say Think skirt the trap of becoming too cluttered or self-indulgent. A lot of the transitions between songs are seamlessly done to the point where it's sometimes difficult to tell where one song ends and the next one begins, but when Do Make Say Think get it right, they still sound majestic, especially on closing number "Return, Return Again" and "As Far as the Eye Can See".

Do Make Say Think aren't treading any new ground on Stubborn Persistent Illusions, but all things considered, they don't really need to. It's not a perfect album, but there's still enough to enjoy and sustain the listener's interest. Like most post-rock albums, listening to this one through headphones enhances the experience.

Track listing

1. War on Torpor
2. Horripilation
3. A Murder of Thoughts
4. Bound
5. And Boundless
6. Her Eyes on the Horizon
7. As Far as the Eye Can See
8. Shlomo's Son
9. Return, Return Again

Elder - Reflections of a Floating World

Artist: Elder
Album: Reflections of a Floating World
Year: 2017
Rating: 95/100

I'm not ashamed to admit that the first time I ever laid ears on Elder I went in all guns blazing on how good I thought they were; Lore was a fantastic album, after all. The trio evidently don't believe in resting on their laurels, either. How exactly do you improve on an album that good? By releasing a better one, of course, and that's exactly what Elder have done on follow up Reflections of a Floating World.

Opener "Sanctuary" sets the tone from the start, its wall of sound guitars, scattershot drums and Nicholas DiSalvo's clean yet raw vocals. As on Lore, Elder demonstrate a perfect ear for when an idea or a riff needs changing up, and it's always timed to perfection. Each song feels more like it has been crafted rather than written, almost as if the band are treating the songs as if they are a personal labour of love. No riff, vocal melody or time change feels out of place on Reflections of a Floating World.

From a creative point of view, Elder are on a roll that shows no signs of slowing down; at least, not yet, anyway. Reflections of a Floating World is the complete package, an album that delivers on every promise, and the riffs and melodies go on for days. Do not miss this one at all.

Track listing

1. Sanctuary
2. The Falling Veil
3. Staving off Truth
4. Blind
5. Sonntag
6. Thousand Hands

Samsara Blues Experiment - One With the Universe

Artist: Samsara Blues Experiment
Album: One With the Universe
Year: 2017
Rating: 86/100

Berlin's Samsara Blues Experiment occupy their very own niche within the stoner rock and psychedelic rock spectrum. They don't rely too heavily on a powerful vocal line to carry them through, instead preferring to let their musical dexterity take them wherever it is they wish to go. One With the Universe marks their tenth year as a band and their fourth studio album. What can we expect?

The usual fare of sparse but well placed vocals, guitars with fuzz and wah as the main pedals used (in much the same vein as their contemporaries Colour Haze), a taut, tight rhythm section that lets itself go wherever the music takes it, and occasionally anchors the band at whenever they need a new idea. Not only that, we get the odd swirly keyboards thrown in for good measure, which augment the SBE sound rather than hinder it. Not only that, while the music is more than sufficiently hypnotic to skirt the trap of it being boring, if SBE decide an idea needs something fresh and new doing with it, they change their course and off they go.

One With the Universe is an interesting and enjoyable listen. There's more than enough on here to keep the listener occupied, and it is fascinating to follow Samsara Blues Experiment on their trajectory, wherever it may take them.

Track listing

1. Vipassana
2. Sad Guru Returns
3. Glorious Daze
4. One With the Universe
5. Eastern Sun & Western Moon

Iron Reagan - Crossover Ministry

Artist: Iron Reagan
Album: Crossover Ministry
Year: 2017
Rating: 81/100

Don't tell the thrash metal purists this, but despite my respect for thrash's Big Four (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax) I will always have a soft spot for the crossover side of the genre. Splicing thrash metal and hardcore punk, and popularised by the likes of Suicidal Tendencies and D.R.I among others in the 1980s, Iron Reagan are one of its main modern exponents (vocalist Tony Foresta and guitarist Phil "LandPhil" Hall also play in fellow crossover thrashers Municipal Waste). Crossover Ministry is the quintet's third full length effort, and how does it stack up?

The answer: pretty damn well. Of the 18 tracks on offer here, only "Dead With My Friends" clocks in over the three minute mark, with its ethereal piano intro before it deviates back into the band's standard attack. Otherwise, the songs fly by while being long enough for Iron Reagan to get their point across. All the standard thrash metal elements are here; palm muted buzzsaw guitars, beer, the odd bit of politics and plenty of tongue in cheek humour.

Although Iron Reagan may not be doing anything original, Crossover Ministry is an enjoyable piece of work without doubt. It's catchy, fun, beer party crossover thrash metal. Put it on, crank up the volume and enjoy.

Track listing

1. A Dying World
2. You Never Learn
3. Grim Business
4. Dead With My Friends
5. No Sell
6. Condition Evolution
7. Fuck the Neighbors
8. Power of the Skull
9. Crossover Ministry
10. More War
11. Blatant Violence
12. Parents of Tomorrow
13. Bleed the Fifth
14. Megachurch
15. Shame Spiral
16. Dogsnotgods
17. Eat or be Eaten
18. Twist Your Fate

Slowdive - Slowdive

Artist: Slowdive
Album: Slowdive
Year: 2017
Rating: 93/100

Ladies and gentlemen, Slowdive are back. No, this is not a drill. After disbanding following 1995's Pygmalion, the Reading, UK, quintet got back together three years ago, primarily to play the festival circuit. Now, they have finally added a fourth album to their discography.

Let me just get one thing out of the way right off the bat: this album is exquisite. It has everything you would expect from a Slowdive album: wall of sound guitars, ethereal vocals from Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead and synthesizers so spaced out that it makes the listener feel a little like they're floating. This feeling is only enhanced when the listener wraps their ears around the album's lead off singles, "Sugar for the Pill" and "Star Roving".

We can only be left to imagine how prolific Slowdive might have been had they not split up when they did. While their self-titled album doesn't quite reach the dizzy heights of their 1993 release Souvlaki, it definitely comes close, and the influence of Slowdive on their modern shoegaze peers is undeniable. Slowdive is a superb addition to an already fantastic canon.

Track listing

1. Slomo
2. Star Roving
3. Don't Know Why
4. Sugar for the Pill
5. Everyone Knows
6. No Longer Making Time
7. Go Get It
8. Falling Ashes

Darkest Hour - Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora

Artist: Darkest Hour
Album: Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora
Year: 2017
Rating: 77/100

With nine albums under their belt and 22 years together as a unit, Darkest Hour have comfortably established themselves as one of the leading lights of modern American metal, along with such contemporaries as Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and the Black Dahlia Murder. Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora is their ninth studio full-length, drawing on the customary blend of Scandinavian melodic death metal and aggressive old school hardcore, and is also their first release on Southern Lord.

Immediately as the album starts with the hard hitting "Knife in the Safe Room", we get the indication that Darkest Hour have safely returned to the sound that we expect from them; no frills, intelligent metal with coruscating riffs, John Henry's
screamed vocals and some seriously powerful drumming. Unlike its self-titled predecessor, Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora feels like an album Darkest Hour actually wanted to make; it comes as no surprise that the band had it crowdfunded and brought in Converge guitarist and producer extraordinaire Kurt Ballou to handle the reins. This as a result gives the album a feel of some of their previous works, not unlike the excellent Undoing Ruin or Deliver Us.

With Darkest Hour, you know what you're getting. Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora is solid without being spectacular, but Kurt Ballou's production is crisp without being too polished or too muddy either way, and elevates the songs from above average to enjoyable. A good starting place if you're new to Darkest Hour's music.

Track listing

1. Knife in the Safe Room
2. This is the Truth
3. Timeless Numbers
4. None of This is the Truth
5. The Flesh & The Flowers of Death
6. Those Who Survived
7. Another Headless Ruler of the Used
8. Widowed
9. Enter Oblivion
10. The Last of the Monuments
11. In the Name of us All
12. Beneath It Sleeps