USA’s Czar is an experimental mathcore band, and Life Is No Way to Treat an Animal is their sophomore album. Their take on jazzy mathcore is refreshing and very enjoyable. Their compositions often wander left and right so naturally that it doesn’t come off as forced or undesirable. With nineteen songs over the course of almost fifty minutes, you’re sure to have enough entertainment for a while!
Nintendocore Lives wasn’t a blog or a page I was familiar with, but that’s changed with the release of their compilation album Glitched. Putting forth nineteen tracks of heavy chiptune music, this compilation reawakens my interest for the genre, which has faded a bit lately mostly because of the apparent lack of artists in the scene – but that’s where I’m wrong. They make sure we are acquainted with more than enough new names, and, although not all songs are created equal, the compilation offers an impressive number of good, even great tracks! Check it out!
88 Fingers Edward is an instrumental melodic progressive metal, and they’ve put out Bold and Brash in November of last year. It’s a very cool little bedroom EP reminiscent of earlier Sithu Aye quite a lot, but with perhaps a slightly sharper jazzy edge. Songs like ‘Monster Krabby Patty’ on this EP shows the promising future of the project! Keep it up!
Melodeath isn’t really my thing. However, Parius manages to grab and keep my attention. Their latest EP, Let There Be Light, swims close to the technical death metal side of things, which I can more easily digest. The prominent bass, the subtle orchestrations, and the sick riffs make for a quite palatable release!
The Mantle has been making the rounds, lately, in the places where I delve for discovering music. They’ve been somewhat unjustly compared to Dream Theater and Scale the Summit, but they’re actually closer to Pomegranate Tiger, if I name only one well-known band. Basically, they’re an instrumental progressive metal with emphasis on melody and technicality. The Mantle is their debut album, and it’s very promising! Sure, some tweaks to the production wouldn’t do it harm, and either an upgrade on their programmed drums or the use of an acoustic set would greatly help. Other than that, it’s a more than decent debut!
Dissonant black metal is cool. That’s a well-known, established, and universal fact. So, you won’t be surprised that Lorn‘s Arrayed Claws is quite an amazing listen. Their blend of genres also include the progressive and atmospheric prefixes, which only add value to the final product. The album officially comes out on February third, but you can listen to it in its entirety on I, Voidhanger Records’ bandcamp page!
The Great Old Ones is an atmospheric black metal band from France with a strong penchant towards Lovecraftian imagery. Eod: A Tale of Dark Legacy is their third full-length, following 2014’s awe-inspiring Tekeli-li. I’m glad to find out that they’ve outdone themselves with this record, and that even though I found their previous one to be slightly hard to get into completely, I’ve absolutely no qualms about this one! It comes out next Friday!
Anal Trump‘s new album, To All the Broads I’ve Nailed Before, inspired by recent political events, is, in pure grindcore fashion, a ten-track, one-minute album with all the abrasiveness you’d ever ask for. What’s more, by buying this album, you’re contributing to supporting Planned Parenthood in the United States. I strongly recommend getting it and their debut, That Makes Me Smart!, which is available on voluntary contribution.