A Few Underrated Albums: Part Two!

So a couple weeks ago, I posted an entry about the best underrated albums of the year.  Fortunately, I had a comment about a new album so I checked them out.  I decided to do a quick review and post up the official album stream for your enjoyment.

Dissentient by AngelMaker

I'm not really into the whole metalcore scene, or whatever they wanted to be called these days, but this album rocks.  They are so incredibly technical that I cannot help but become enthralled with every song.  I am a big proponent for technical death metal and so when metalcore bands decide to throw in some major technical prowess, I have to appreciate them.  Overall, this album really surprised me since I am not a big metalcore fan and I would highly recommend it to any technical metal fan.

A Few Underrated Albums of the Year

So we've all been there.  Checking out some blog or podcast that we frequent and our favorite song or album isn't on their "Top 5 List." We go bananas.  I know I do.  Lately I've been listening to quite a few albums that aren't making it onto any top 5 lists and I feel they should.  So I've decided to make my own list of albums that have been under appreciated lately.  Check one out, you may be surprised!

Profan by Kampfar 
Looking for something totally blackened with a very old school feel to it?  Then these guys are your go-to band.  They have been around quite awhile and are constantly putting quality albums out.  Black metal has a very specific niche, so it's understandable why these guys get overlooked.

Exercises in Futility by Mgla
Another black metal band that pushes the limits.  All of the songs are movements of the overall theme and are filled with dark, engaging lyrics.  When I first listened to this album, I ended up having it on repeat for several loops.  The drum work is quite enjoyable.

Inescapable Damnation by Murashita
Time for some quality technical-melodic-thrash-death-metal.  Ok, so maybe we are just jamming genres of music together at this point, but the thrash elements show up more than to just make them a novelty (and oh yes, there is a wah solo).  And listen to the bass lines for some great technicality.  The riffs also throw some serious melody at your face.  Definitely pick this album up if you like thrash, melodic or technical death metal.

Road to Heaven by Dead Scream
Straight up melodic death metal anyone?  Yes please.  Sometimes you just need to throw on a quality album that moves at the speed of light.  When I listen to a good melodic death metal album, I like to feel the music move beneath me like a locomotive.  I haven't had this feeling in an album since Master of Puppets.  Highly recommended.

Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards by Gloryhammer
Is this serious?  You bet it is.  Sometimes you just need to put on album that doesn't take itself too seriously.  I've loved Gloryhammer since I heard Tales from the Kingdom of Fife, and while Space 1992 is not quite as remarkable, the charm is still there.  Along with the fun guitar work and symphonic feel, the album produces exactly what you expect a Gloryhammer album to deliver.  If you find it at a bargain, definitely pick up this "masterpiece."


So what did I miss?  Let me know of some of your favorite albums that just didn't get the recognition they deserved this year and put them in the comments below.

Album Alert: Slayer - Repentless

http://loudwire.com/files/2015/06/Slayer-Repentless1.jpg

Slayer released their newest album on September 11 of 2015.  I got my hands on it, listened to it a few times and have some first impressions.

Overall, the album is slightly above mediocre.  I hate to say that, I really do, but the truth hurts.  This article is less of a review and more of a "what I wish it could've been."

A few years ago Jeff Hanneman passed away and Slayer struggled with the idea if they should continue writing music.  Tom Araya wanted to stop, but Kerry insisted they push on.  I think that's what Jeff would've wanted anyway.  After all, when Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died in a tragic bus crash, Metallica put out ...And Justice for All.  Which, in my own personal opinion, ranks as one of the better, if not best, Metallica albums.  The songs were heavy, the riffs were in your face and James Hetfield just sounded pissed off on every track.  

I was expecting the same from Slayer on this album, but unfortunately I didn't get it.  I think if Jeff would've died when Slayer was young and in their twenties, this would've been a crazy album.  There would've been added anger to an already angry band.  But now, in their fifties, Slayer just sounds depressed after losing a close friend of over 30 years.  The album seems a little void and empty.

Sure, there are classic Slayer riffs and solos, but nothing is too memorable.  I can't think of a single track that I went back and listened to again immediately after it finished.  If this was an album dedicated to Jeff, they fell a little short.  All Repentless really made me do was want to go back and listen to their classic albums, maybe throw on Reign in Blood or Seasons in the Abyss and remember the days of Jeff.

Below you can check out a track and judge for yourself.  If anything, they are still Slayer.  Their sound hasn't changed, but now they are just a bunch of 50 year old metalheads instead of the angry 20 year olds they used to be.

underground test

This goes in the underground