Review 019: Of Virtue – “What Defines You”

This album was released on May 24th, 2019 on SharpTone Records.

I talked about how Stay Sick Recordings was signing every upcoming metalcore and deathcore band under the sun in my review of Extortionist’s Self Titled, but SharpTone Records may be doing even better, picking up seasoned veterans, fan favorites, and overall successful bands. When SharpTone signed Michigan metalcore band Of Virtue, there were always going to be big shoes to fill. For a label to sign heavyweights like Currents, Polaris, and more, a band with not a huge amount of national recognition was an interesting pickup for the label. The gamble paid off though, and What Defines You, while being fairly generic and not separating itself from its contemporaries, is a very fun, bouncy, enjoyable metalcore album that will surely put them in the eyes of a lot more fans.

The five-piece band is no stranger to experience, having been a band since 2009 and releasing several projects before their major-label debut. This definitely was a major positive in the writing process, as the songs are written down to every intricate note, and every vocal melody and guitar riff is pinpoint-precise. Speaking of the riffs, Damon Tate and Michael Valadez weave together some masterful introductions before Tyler Ennis comes in and shreds the song to pieces with his intense screaming.

The vocal delivery is one of my favorite aspects of this album. Ennis is a wonderful screamer, and his performance should not go unnoticed. Songs like “Thanks for Nothing” and “Surrounded” are highlights of his delivery, and his penmanship is also above-average in terms of metalcore writers. There are some songs where some cliché lyrics make for stadium-chanting choruses (“Immortal”) but overall, the lyrics are a very solid addition to the instrumentals of What Defines You.

While this album is bouncy, exciting, and fun, What Defines You suffers from a lack of originality. “Suffer” sounds like a Like Moths to Flames instrumental, and while that isn’t a bad thing, there isn’t anything that stands out from many of the other bands that Of Virtue is rising up with. The sparse electronic elements are a nice touch, but they don’t really make a difference as far as being an integral part of the songs (the ticking in “Immortal” is something that I keep thinking about while I type this). Overall, they could’ve done without them, but them being in the song is not a detriment.

Overall, the album runs for forty minutes and isn’t boring for about 90% of that. Some sections in songs are a little lacking, and that’s because of that lack of uniqueness that was mentioned earlier. Regardless, SharpTone made the right decision to sign this band and release this album. This record may not be what defines Of Virtue, but it’s sure as hell on the right path.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “No Control”, “Thanks for Nothing”, “Surrounded”

Review 018: Hot Water Music – “Shake Up the Shadows”

Hot Water Music has been making music for what seems like an eternity, and have also broken up and got back together a million times. The formula for their signature punk rock flair has changed a lot, just outside of production value alone, but for some bands, changing your formula constantly doesn’t always work. With Shake Up the Shadows, we get five more tracks that carry that poise and swagger the band’s legacy has crafted, and HWM finds themselves even higher in the upper echelons of punk rock. The only downside to these songs is that while they bolster the band’s discography, they won’t help much for the band in the long run.

First, there’s a lot to unpack in this extended play only in that there are a lot of genres clashing here. The Bouncing Souls drummer George Rebelo brings some of TBS’s signature pop-punk bounce into the composition, and there’s a bit of a folk influence (think Bob Dylan, Eric Springsteen) that comes in the form of Chuck Ragan’s signature raspy vocal delivery. Because of these genres seemingly coming together, some of the music sounds a little unorthodox, such as the title song “Shake Up the Shadows”, which feels like it was two separate songs put together into one. The best forms of synthesizing all the pieces into one cohesive work are displayed on “Rebellion Story” and “Afar and Away”, the last two songs on the project. Featuring sing-along choruses and some guitar solos, the songs wouldn’t feel out of place on a late-80s or early-90s hard rock record.

Lyrically, Ragan nails it out of the park and is able to convey a lot of emotion using his soulful voice to bring his words to life. Ranging from fairly straightforward topics such as rising up after being overwhelmed to personal ones, such as the opener “By Any Means”, which deals with a friend who is battling cancer, the content of the record is able to span a lot of different subjects in just under fifteen minutes. It is one of the stronger lyrical presences in HWM’s discography, and with the amount of music on the record, made it hard for there to be filler. Luckily, Ragan recognized that and doubled down on the penmanship. The melodies that Ragan wrote were also a highlight of the EP. Many times, I felt like I should know the words so I could sing along. I have a feeling these songs will do well in a live setting.

As I said before, there’s been many bands that have changed their sound that either flamed out or had to revert to an earlier sound to regain notoriety or even relevance (looking at you, We Came as Romans). A band that is able to change their sound repeatedly over several years (and in HWM’s case, decades), is able to recognize what the current trends are, what can be taken advantage of, and what doesn’t work after so long. The songs on Shake Up the Shadows work, but I think that the mark was missed on current trends. If this EP was released in a time period of about 2009-2012, I feel it would fare better in my eyes. For now, though, SUTS serves as just another project in a massive catalogue. Nothing more, nothing less.

Rating: 6/10

Favorite Songs: “By Any Means”, “Denatured”, “Rebellion Story”

Review 017: Fleshgod Apocalypse – “Veleno”

This album was released on May 24th, 2019 on Nuclear Blast Records.

Symphonic death metal is a spectacle. I have never cared much for it, but after seeing Fleshgod Apocalypse in the lineup for this week’s reviews, I wanted to give myself a little bit of catalogue listening so I knew what to expect (I do this for some bands I know of but haven’t listened to, it’s only fair). This band has gone through so much of a drastic change in production and quality as time has progressed that Veleno isn’t even comparable to their older music. Through the use of engaging melodies, a newfound sense of urgency from the two new guitarists in the band, and the inclusion of real, orchestral instrumentation, Veleno stands as a piece of art that can be examined and deciphered for hours and hours on end.

As far as technicality goes, this is one proficient album. Delivering on all fronts, new guitarists Francesco Paoli (already with the band, just at a different position) and Fabio Bartoletti play some punishing riffs and work with some very intricate melodies to create the backbone for the record. When “Fury” kicks in, the band goes straight to work crafting a sound that has been expanded upon by their previous album King. The only drawback to this sound is that it sounds similar in regards to their previously-released record by using the same concepts to create the atmosphere that is present on Veleno. Of course, the band was able to incorporate jaw-dropping sections, such as “Carnivorous Lamb” boasting an insane solo halfway through the song, or the drumming assault on “Worship and Forget”. In fact, the drumming on this album as a whole is nothing short of insane.

Vocally, Francesco Paoli (who was mentioned already as a new guitarist) puts together a wonderful vocal performance, but the true highlight is Veronica Bordacchini’s soprano vocals that have been featured on previous Fleshgod Apocalypse albums. The criticism that the band seems to get is that they do too much with what they have at their disposal, resulting in chaos for the sake of chaos. Bordacchini’s vocals were used in the perfect capacity on this record, and her singing added an entirely new dimension to the ambience of the album.

Overall, the claims that Fleshgod Apocalypse does too much doesn’t strike me as outlandish. The new record is bombastic, it’s technical, and it has about a million different elements crammed into a fifty-minute runtime. Despite all of this, Veleno strikes me as the best Fleshgod Apocalypse album to date, and is a logical (and successful) progression from King. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, but it won’t take much for them to capitalize on this album.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Sugar”, “Monnalisa”, “Pissing on the Score”

Review 016: Extortionist – “Self Titled”

This extended play was released on May 24th, 2019 on Stay Sick Recordings.

Stay Sick Recordings has signed some of the hardest-hitting newcomers in the -core spectrum and has supplied banger after banger from their roster. In March, Extortionist released their album Sever the Cord to rave reviews and appeared to be heading to the top of the discussion regarding new and exciting metal. Out of nowhere, the band made an Instagram post telling listeners to pay attention, and a surprise extended play was available to be heard when May 24th rolled around. Not only does this release shock everybody, but Extortionist is able to capitalize on their album with six more face-melting tracks that add to their impressive catalogue.

The EP was recorded with their previous guitarist McKay Rockwell, and the music isn’t all that much different from STC. The deathcore meets downtempo sludge-like sound makes a heavy appearance during the twenty-minute runtime, and blast beats and breakdowns are scattered all throughout the record. The pinch harmonics are also pretty prevalent on the record (“Dirty Hands” uses them frequently) and add a bit of a spark to counteract some of the slow-moving verses. Vocalist Ben Hoagland sounds just as fresh as ever, and his snarls are nasty, demonic, and downright evil. The cleans on the album are also very clear and performed well, giving off a very hard rock / nu-metal vibe. Now, as to whether or not I prefer them within in the context of the music, that’s a different story.

As far as originality goes, Self Titled doesn’t make any marks to challenge the boundaries of heavy -core. The elements of downtempo, sludge, and melodic death metal are audibly present, but even with all that can be combined using these benchmark genres, nothing really pushes the envelope. The most creative that the band gets is with their nu-metal inspired sections of clean singing on top of dirty guitar riffs (“Fill the Void” and “Dirty Hands” come to mind). It gives the album a bit of a Slipknot-esque vibe, and is akin to what current Whitechapel is embodying in their music. It isn’t a terrible thing, but after some of the more intense parts of the tracks, it’s a weird sense of relief, one I am not a huge fan of.

All in all, Self Titled isn’t anything that is going to change the landscape of metal music. It’s bouncy, sludgy, heavy, and a lot of other things, but although it is a very solid release, it isn’t genre-defining. Regardless of that statement, Extortionist put a lot of heart and soul into their craft, and it’s very evident that they were proud to release this EP. Will it stand the test of time with other SSR releases? At the rate they’re pumping out music, it’s hard to say. I think it has a chance to stay up there with the best of them.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Circle of Serpents”, “Forget Me”, “No Soul (Part II)”

Review 015: Decayer – “End Note”

This album was released on May 24th, 2019 on We Are Triumphant Records.

From the beginning of the opening track “Face Value”, End Note was bound to be a heavy-as-balls album. The first fifty-four seconds are already pretty relentless and lead into “Finding Purpose”, which introduces Harrison Burkardt’s throat-annihilating vocals, and never lets up. The thing about this album though is that this is more than a cookie-cutter deathcore album (we all know the stereotypes that come with the name of the genre). The topics of this album deal with several hardships in one’s life, dealing with them as they present ourselves to us, and overcoming them through perseverance, dedication, and finding one’s self-worth. The instrumentals aren’t anything to scoff at either. Employing a mixture of metalcore, deathcore, and melodic death metal influences, the album’s sound varies enough to keep you on your toes. Overall, this is a great deathcore album, and Decayer knocked their debut record out of the park.

The album clocks in at just over thirty minutes, so it’s easy to assume that the heaviness would be piled on in droves throughout the entirety of the record. If you thought that, you weren’t wrong! Save for the opening track and “The Cycle Ends”, which are both interludes, each song brings a different approach to heaviness, whether it be the instrumentals building up to a MASSIVE breakdown (“Acid Teeth”) or constant blast beats and frenetic guitarwork (practically the entire album). This isn’t a detriment to the album; it sets itself apart by creating a gloomier atmosphere as the album progresses. The darkness and despair portrayed by the music with the lyrics full of passion and grit make for a unique dichotomy that is seldom seen in this particular strain of music.

As far as the vocal performance goes, Satan himself could’ve lent guest vocals and he wouldn’t have been out of place on any of the tracks. The range switches from pig squeals and gutturals to screeching highs in a matter of seconds, and his vocal performance is one of the better deathcore outings of the past several years. One thing that stood out was the clean choruses, first introduced in “Finding Purpose” and spread sparsely throughout the rest of the album. For elitists, this is an immediate turn-off for the album, and I can see where they are coming from. It is such a drastic contrast from the blistering mood already set that it almost doesn’t make sense to have singing in the mix. I personally think the singing works, however, and adds a stark dichotomy to the overall atmosphere of the album. Lyrically, Burkardt is sharp with his topics, and told a story that, even though incomprehensible at first, makes sense within the context of writing. Dealing with personal experiences, everything was left in the music, and the transparency adds a new dimension to this album, separating it from other deathcore records.

Overall, when it comes to standard deathcore albums (Chelsea Grin, Thy Art Is Murder, etc.), there isn’t much variation. We can all gawk at how crazy the vocalist sounds or how the band added a cool panic chord in a chorus to amplify the technicality of it all (don’t hate me, guitarists, I know that panic chords aren’t too technical). Decayer managed to subvert that trope that’s kept deathcore stagnant and created a very honest, very real album that is a great way to kick off their full-length discography.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Songs: “Finding Purpose”, “Acid Teeth”, “End Note”

Review 014: WVNDER – “Nothing Stays”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on We Are Triumphant Records.

Andy Cizek has a knack for talent. From his solo covers on YouTube (that Sumerian audition still holds a special place in many hearts) to his last album with Makari just last year, the young man stays busy. The band he was in before he joined Makari, however, has been mostly inactive since the release of Precipice in 2016. As stated by the band, they haven’t played a show together in two years (at the time of this review) as well. Why did WVNDER sit on the backburner for so long? Regardless of what the answer to this question is, their new album Nothing Stays sits as their most mature release to date, and is able to show a progression that’s both natural and necessary for the band after the time they had off.

When “Fairytale” starts, the album already takes an approach that sounds like something off of Hyperreal, Cizek’s last album through Makari. There’s a grittier approach to his vocals on this project than his previous albums, and with his voice being at the front of the mix (a common theme with Cizek’s music), it really gives his improved style time to shine. Screams are featured sparsely throughout the course of the album, and when they are performed, they are mostly in place to solidify the emotion being presented throughout the first two acts of the song. Using screaming techniques during the final crescendo of several songs added to the vocal performance and overall ability of Cizek. There’s also a pseudo-rap section on “The Mess You Made” that just adds to Cizek’s dynamic range on this record.

The instrumental performance on this album is a mixture of pop punk and post-hardcore, which is already a deterrent to any band that tries to sound different (most bands who describe their music like this add screaming to light pop punk and label it post-hardcore), but where most bands implement this simple formula, WVNDER adds a more alternative rock approach to their background. This gives the album a dreamscape-like ambience and opens up for Cizek to shine on vocals. The drums are back in the mix, but they add just enough to keep the guitars soaring through the time signatures. The dynamics also change frequently throughout the course of Nothing Stays, as slower, ballad-like tracks lend themselves to soaring choruses and calm verses. There’s more of a peaceful presence on this album than on Precipice, and that may be due to the outside direction that led to the creation of NS, but there is still a mastery here that deserves to be paid attention to.

If you are a fan of Andy Cizek, Makari, or practically any post-hardcore / alternative rock / swancore band, Nothing Stays will have something for you. The influence taken for the creation of this album added a lot of different sounds to the overall structure and soundscape of the record, and although not as technical as Precipice, there’s still a lot to take in with this album, and hopefully that includes a future past the Nothing Stays, which sounds like some possible foreshadowing.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Songs: “Artorias”, “Hourglass”, “Nothing Stays”

Review 013: The National – “I Am Easy to Find”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on 4AD Records.

Ambition is an important trait to have from a musician’s standpoint. It fuels progression in the composition of the music, allows for more artistic expression, and has the ability to completely change the trajectory of an artist’s career. Even though ambition has given us some revolutionary work in the past, it has also given us some very lackluster efforts as well. The typical response to something being off-kilter compared to the rest of one’s discography is that it is their vision and that if nobody understands it, that’s their fault. In reality, some endeavors into the avant-garde can give the public some things to scratch their head at. With The National’s eighth studio album, I Am Easy to Find, I was left with many questions for the five-piece and the direction they took on this new record.

Before the album should even be listened to, it should be made aware that there is a 24-minute short film that is a companion piece to the album. The story of a nameless woman going through life echoes the theme of the album’s contents. The album itself is sixteen songs long, clocking in at sixty-three minutes, so the initial reaction was that the journey IAMTF was going to present would be a rollercoaster, one with ups and downs and some occasional trips to the outside convention that modern alternative music has settled into as of recent. Instead, two (arguably three or four) songs give us some moderately-paced alternative sound… and that’s it. The remainder of the album stays behind the backdrop of an atmospheric piano and muffled guitar, with Matt Berninger’s croon staying in a very low octave for fifty minutes. The album was, for lack of a better term, boring, and didn’t venture outside of this melodious, ambient sound. A high point of the instrumentality was the Bryce Dessner-orchestrated symphonic element. Strings played a major part on the album, and even though the songs bleed together, that specific aspect of the music was very well-executed.

The album differs from the normality in the sense that a majority of the songs feature female vocalists. The contrast between the many vocalists that bring their talents to the record and Berninger’s low tones offer a bit of intrigue through the course of the album. Particular strong performances were on the opener “You Had Your Soul with You”, where Gail Ann Dorsey provides an unexpected beauty before the song. Eve Owen on “Not in Kansas” was another highlight, and contained the best imagery in the story as well. Lyrically, the album is well-written, The words the Berninger (and his wife, who contributed to writing) put across the page are captivating to read along to, despite the musical droning.

IAMTF and the companion film both stand on their own as individual entities that share the same music through reconfiguration and different creative insight, but where the film excels in telling a story and being able to convey emotion through a visual output, the album lacks the ability to match with its audial effort. As ambitious as this release was, and despite the few high points of the album that jumped to the forefront of the presentation, this is not a record that stands to stay in my long-term rotation.

Rating: 5/10

Favorite Songs: “Oblivions”, “Where Is Her Head”, “Hairpin Turns”

Review 012: Rammstein – “Rammstein”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on Universal Records.

Rammstein has been kicking around for twenty-five years and are a household name in hard rock and industrial metal. Their legacy has preceded them with “Du Hast” and “Sonne” reaching monumental levels off success worldwide. Their last album in 2009 was the most recent musical effort they put forth, and there was no rhyme or reason for putting out their new album, Rammstein, other than for the fun of it. The only problem was that this album could damage their legacy just as easily as bolster it. After listening to the album, I can say that it has some decent songs that make the cut and some interesting creative choices that expand upon past albums, but all in all lacks the overall energy and cohesion needed to boost the already impressive résumé.

When Rammstein released “Deutschland”, numerous media outlets praised the single. The infectious riffs and return to form for the band suggested that we were receiving an effort akin to the band’s early years of productivity. As the album progresses, this becomes less and less clear, and a new direction, but pays homage to the past albums in such a way that sounds refreshing. The dance-metal “Ausländer” is an interesting take from the band and is more accessible than I thought it would be on first listen. “Radio” is another interesting synth-rock anthem that was executed well, and the soft “Diamant” adds a very haunting break from the fast-paced metal we’ve experienced for quite some time at this point in the album.

Lyrically, the album continues on the same political and emotional stance as its predecessors, and Till Lindemann is hell-bent on making people think about his words. Already singing about several controversial subjects in the past, Lindemann takes the descent of his home country as the forefront of his lyrical prowess, and expands upon the ridiculousness that has come from the events that have taken place over Germany’s history. Outside of the seriousness of the album, multiple songs have simpler subject matter that teeters between easy-listening and insightful. The lyrics are in German. I couldn’t tell you which songs explain what events. I got this information through research. Regardless, Lindemann’s signature vocal delivery proves to be just as potent as it always has been.

If you listen to Rammstein and aren’t fluent in German, the odds are that you aren’t listening for the lyrics. Despite the powerful delivery of said vocals, the instrumentality in this album is very much Rammstein, and the new album supplies plenty of new music for the hardcore fan. In terms of what this means for the band’s career (rumor has it that this is their last album), this record is kind of a dud to go out on, but only because it is a final album. Place it anywhere in their discography, and I think that it is well worth the listen.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Deutschland”, “Zeig Dich”, “Puppe”

Review 011: Kurt Travis – “There’s a Place I Want to Take You”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on Blue Swan Records.

I am personally in the camp that believes that Kurt Travis has been criminally underrated for his entire career. Every Dance Gavin Dance argument is between crowning Tilian Pearson and Jonny Craig as the best singer for the band, Eternity Forever crashed and burn due to some internal arguing, A Lot Like Birds broke up one album after Travis left, and what happened to Push Over? Every band that Travis has been in has had something dramatic happen to it once he left (praying for you to stay strong, Royal Coda). The one thing that has stayed somewhat constant in Travis’s musical endeavors is his solo career. Everything Is Beautiful showcased a softer side of the artist’s mind (via instrumentals, the lyrics have always been melancholy) and he followed it up with some singles and EPs here and there. With the announcement of TAPIWTTY, the funk is back, and we are treated to some more of the signature crooning we have come to love over the years.

Upon first research of the album, Travis said that TAPIWTTY took five years to complete. The emotional maturity that is present on the album makes this evident that the record will have some emotions attached to it. There’s nothing too out of the ordinary when the album kicks up with a refreshing return to alternative rock / post-hardcore with “Too Much Space”, featuring singer-songwriter Andrés. The groove that has become accustomed to Travis compositions is present throughout a lot of the album as well, especially on tracks like “It’s You”, where the simple guitar lick forms the backbone for the song to showcase the vocal delivery. “We’ll Probably Be Alright” takes more of a harder approach sound-wise, with some pop punk elements thrown in to give the middle of the album an unforeseen turn in framework. Starting with “Best Way”, the album begins to sound a tad monotonous, but the album closer “Lewis” rectifies the sound for a soft, piteous ending to the record.

Compared to Everything Is Beautiful, the album stays virtually the same in terms of lyrical content. Travis has dealt with a lot of demons in the past, most notably smoking and drinking problems, and failed love. Where these topics are a mainstay in the genre (and in most music in general), Travis opens up with an impuissant emotion that has become a trademark of sorts. Painful lyrics reside in songs like “Best Way” and “Tomorrow Will Be Fine”, where a small bit of playfulness with the emotion is in the single “Easy Peasy”, where ignorance is probably a safe haven for Travis’s psyche.

With all of the obstacles that Travis has come to face in his musical career, he has somehow managed to piece together solid music over several projects and efforts. TAPIWTTY continues that trend, and the production of this music that has been in limbo for so long deserved to see thee light of day much sooner. Time well tell of what to come regarding Royal Coda (and Push Over – seriously, what happened there?), but the solo stylings of Kurt Travis are more than enough to give us what we want: groove, funk, honesty, and an honest effort that feels true of heart.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Easy Peasy”, “Tomorrow Will Be Fine”, “We’ll Probably Be Alright”

Review 010: Full of Hell – “Weeping Choir”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on Relapse Records.

There are so many subgenres of metal that it’s almost impossible to tap into them all. Admittedly, I haven’t ventured much outside of metalcore, post-hardcore, and many other -core genres. When I was looking for this week’s albums to review, I came across Full of Hell’s new album Weeping Choir. I have seen their name through various metal sites and blogs, and decided to listen to their album Trumpeting Ecstasy to get a taste for this album coming up. Oh. My. God. I have never heard anything more harrowing, more haunting, more intense and heavy before, and I was instantly hooked and waiting for Weeping Choir to drop. Now that it is finally released, I was not let down by my own expectations of the project. The four-piece band has created an album that is undoubtedly evil and brash to the ear, and left me with a newfound appreciation for grindcore.

From the very first second of the album’s runtime, the relentlessness sets in. “Burning Myrrh” is unabashedly heavy, and it doesn’t stop there. “Rainbow Coil” contains three minutes of disturbing feedback and unsettling distortion that serves as what can only be thought of as an interlude, before “Aria of Jeweled Tears” picks back up with the sound of a machine gun in full automation. The riffs that are present in the album, starting with the ending of “Armory of Obsidian Glass”, when clearly pronounced in the mix (which is fantastic), are face-melting. “Ygramul the Many” is one that stands out as being clear compared to the rest of the composition. According to the band members, they took inspiration from themselves, which includes elements of grindcore, death metal, hardcore, crust, and any more genres that all seem to bleed into one another to create an almost incomprehensible sound. The atmospheric aspect to the overall sound of the album is a highlight that should be listened to fairly intently to understand what is going on.

As many probably have to do, I searched the lyrics for this album and was pleasantly shocked as to how in-depth they are. Dylan Walker’s shrieks and growls are 99% incomprehensible, but his writing style is beautiful, as he laments about death, rebirth, vivid imagery of decay and loss, and other similar emotions. There is not an ounce of positivity on this album, but a sense of haunting beauty encompasses the lyrical content of Weeping Choir.

It’s hard to believe that an album as chaotic and spastic as Full of Hell’s fourth non-collaborative studio album would catch my ear, but listening to the album in whole while reading the lyrics was a very enriching experience, and it opened the hellscape that Spencer Hazard, David Bland, and Sam DiGristine have woven into existence in an entire new light. Grindcore isn’t a mainstay on my watchlist because of this album, but for a genre I once almost completely denounced, Weeping Choir is an album that kept me occupied for twenty-five minutes and may have opened some new doors down the musical rabbit hole for me.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Thundering Hammers”, “Armory of Obsidian Glass”, “Ygramul the Many”