2026/06 Listening Log

Genre: Hyper.. Metal.. maybe?

I don't know, but this didn't click with me at all. Most of it even actively annoyed me, which is not a feeling I come across often when listening to music.

Tier: F
(Failed to find any enjoyment)

Genre: Black Metal

The clean vocals on this are some of the most offensively bland and uninspired I've heard in a long time, which is a shame cause the album is otherwise completely fine. Not for me, then.

Tier: C-
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Death Metal

Some very technically impressive and fast death metal here, with an amazing variety in its percussion in particular. Plenty of great individual passages throughout the EP, but no standout songs. It's impressive while being generic at the same time, which is a shame.

Tier: B-
(Better than average)

Genre: Stoner / Sludge Metal

Deliciously heavy grooves, great guitar tone, and playful rhythms that shake things up with a bunch of weird polyrhythms and time signatures without sounding like a jumbled mess. Huge power and great energy drives the record all the way through. A very pleasant surprise this month.

Tier: A-
(Awesome)

Genre: Hardcore / Crossover

A decent offering from this UK five-piece. They hit grooves consistently, and are a cut above the rest when it comes to riff variety. Overall I don't think there's anything particularly new or interesting here, but it's good for a casual listen. And I imagine it's quite better live.

Tier: B
(Better than average)

Genre: Indie Rock

This sounds exactly like what I imagine the average manic-pixie-dream-girl listens to in their oversized headphones while walking around the city. Very organic and 'vinyl-sounding' production, with a slight punk attitude, while still being fairly upbeat. For me though, this does not qualify as anything else but background music.

Tier: C
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Stoner Rock

I feel like there's been some buzz around this record. For me though, this record seems very much like par for the course for this genre. I prefer my Stoner music much grittier than this.

Tier: C
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Metalcore

So formulaic I almost had a hard time staying awake. I don't know why this is being hyped in the way that it is. To me this is just completely uninteresting.

Tier: D+
(Didn't remember anything)

Genre: Melodeath

Man, I can't stop listening to this. There's a rawness and power to this record that clearly sets it apart from the other recent releases within its genre. The album is probably a bit too long and yet I'm still enjoying every minute of it. It consistently breaks into headbobbing grooves, and the gravelly vocals tickle my ears just right.

Tier: A-
(Awesome)

Genre: Swedish Melodeath

The swedes are at it again! I love when metal bands can pull off great melodies without resorting to clean vocals. There's plenty of speed and power here as well. Very easy to enjoy if you already like melodeath, as it sounds like a good blend of early Soilwork and Dark Tranquility.

Tier: B+
(Better than average)

Genre: Death Metal

A pretty decent piece of grimy death metal which is ruined by bad production. It's very strange and inconsistent, like it's completely neutering all the transients, making the album sound quite flat. The cavernous sound of the vocals don't match the rest of the music and it triggers me. One of those albums that I would probably be into if it didn't sound like shit.

Tier: C+
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Speed Metal / OSDM

Delightfully old-school death-slash-speed metal production which sounds very organic and 80s coded. These guys have plenty of energy and speed to spare. Great gravelly vocals. All in all, very good as a genre record, but it's not something I would intentionally put on to listen to.

Tier: B-
(Better than average)

Genre: Heavy / Doom Metal

An immediately appealing record with immaculate production. Clearly a band that know how to write good songs. It sounds exploratory in a way, like you're on a journey the entire time. Guitar licks and harmonies definitely take center stage, and harsh vocals are used only sparingly, but to good effect. Just really solid and good music here, but it still falls slightly outside the scope of my personal taste. Otherwise this would definitely be in A tier.

Tier: B+
(Better than average)

Genre: Fuck if I know, some odd experimental indie rock maybe?

Yeah, I've been trying to get into this after spinning it a couple of times now. I really did give it a fair shake, but it's just not happening. I do understand the appeal, but I'm not feeling it.

Tier: C+
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Blues Rock

Apparently the Keys wanted to go a bit more traditional with this one. That's all fine, they're still a good and talented band, and I enjoyed their previous two releases. However, this record ended up being too traditional for me, resulting in a bunch of very uninteresting and non-memorable songs.

Tier: C
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Hardcore

It certainly has the raw energy this genre needs, but the constant dissonance, the weak shouty vocals, and overall disjointed sound simply made it unenjoyable to listen to as far as I was concerned. Fans of the genre might object, and that's fine. Simply not my cup of tea.

Tier: C-
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Progressive Death Metal

Here we have a clearly Meshuggah-inspired release, featuring some really cool 80s retro-sounding synths for its more progressive passages. The album is long, but the songs are dynamic and interesting, ranging from really beautiful pensive moments to stellar and tight djenty death metal. I love this.

Tier: A
(Awesome)

Genre: Thall

I'll be honest, this genre has never really clicked with me, but this record immediately drew me in. It's brooding, intricate, somber, menacing, and extremely heavy. It's a bit long at almost 50 mins, but for some reason I never got bored. To me, this is one of those albums that does something genuinely new and different.

Tier: A-
(Awesome)

Genre: Blackened Melodic Death Metal

Quite lofty and grandiose in its sound. Choral vocals and chanting, huge guitars, strings, etc.. Has a lot going on, but doesn't really manage to evoke any real awe or reverence in me despite that clearly being what it's going for. Fine for what it is.

Tier: C+
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Some perfectly fine female-fronted grimy death metal for when you just want those gurgles, chugs and blast beats. The most impressive part is probably the vocals, given how deep and coarse Bridget Lynch's voice gets. I don't think I'll be revisiting this one though, as I was honestly a little bored with it.

Tier: C+
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Metallic Hardcore

Oh, hell yes! This is that raw unbridled hardcore rage that I love so very very much. You can almost smell the sweat through the recording with how hard this goes. It is unfortunately just a 14 minute EP, but god damn, you probably need a breather once it's over regardless. I almost can't imagine this genre being done better than this record.

Tier: A-
(Awesome)

Genre: Rap Metal/Hard Rock

This british band's got a good sense of groove and rhythm, but the rhymes and vocals are far too weak for this genre. There are a couple of sections that I genuinely enjoyed, but overall this fell flat for me.

Tier: C-
(Cool, but not my thing)

Genre: Melodeath / Thrash Metal

This band seems to be onto something with this particular genre blend because I'm immediately enjoying it already from the first proper track. The songs have a lot of energy, and they're dynamic and well written. Plenty of variety within the songs without sounding spastic, and it stays heavy all the way through.

Tier: A-
(Awesome)