Cassels – A Gut Feeling (God Unknown)

One of the first heavy-hitters of the year is noise rock band Cassels’s newest ≮-tagged release: A Gut Feeling. After last year’s Black Country, New Road domination, I feel this year Cassels have given us a title worthy of the very best of 2022 in its category. A Gut Feeling is full of repeating riffs and songs with exploratory structures and progressions, with a rather unique delivery, between speaking and singing, that’s sure to make them stand out. It’s one of the strong noise rock releases this year!

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The Dali Thundering Concept – All Mighty Men: Drifting through a Prosthetic Era

The Dali Thundering Concept are known since their debut album (almost exactly 10 years ago!) for their technical and groovy metalcore riffs. They’ve released a handful of albums now, but in my opinion none so brilliant as All Mighty Men. On their newest full-length they freely explore how other genres blend with their vision: you get some hip-hop passages, some extended chords reminiscent of jazz, orchestral and cinematic interludes, all elevating their brand of metal to a higher level. A really good, innovative, and immensely heavy album from TDTC!

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Hoofless – Ad nauseam

You know it’s going to be good post-rock when you read the words “chamber” and “cello” and see that no song is shorter than ten minutes. Well, strap in because that’s some great GY!BE worship! I won’t spend too much words describing Hoofless’s sound, because you know what you’re getting into: long drawn-out buildups, melancholic atmospheres, and huge swells and payoffs… Yup, that feels good!

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Voïvod – Synchro Anarchy (Century Media)

Voïvod was formed in 1982. Just so we’re clear, that’s forty years. 40 years! ⅩL! It’s amazing that these guys keep going, but it’s truly mind-blowing that they manage to stay relevant and put out great music. Maybe their career had highs and lows, but I’ve got to say that Synchro Anarchy is a high point! The band really has found their sound, their own unique niche. Bothered by no competitor, and making music that appeals first and foremost to them, Voïvod is set for a truly remarkable year!