Rating: 3/5
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Mind over Metal Limerick 37

Rating: 3/5
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‘Hymnes de la Montagne Noire’ is a decent black metal album, but leaves much to be desired in terms of composition—the songs are too long for not having an epic flavor, and often run together without establishing any defining hooks.

Patterns, yay! I think the end of the year is making me crave shorter albums and greater efficiency—so yes, expect more of these in threes. Here’s “Evermore Darkly”, “Carbon-Based Anatomy”, and “Dromomania” for intensifying your holiday season.

Rating: 3/5
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The Breath of Mozym emerges to not only rate, but write a fucking SONG for this review!

Four Worlds Media releases Killing Joke (with all original members) and Thin Lizzy (with lots of newer dudes), while Niji Entertainment Group reacquaints us with The Elves (before they became Elf).

Rating: 3/5
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Scythia…have the potential to grow more fun like Korpiklaani or get serious like Eluveitie—the choice is theirs. But if mainman Dave Khan wants to continue, he has to find the right party for the quest who wield formidable weaponry, and learn the ancient roots of his Vancouver homeland.

Rating: 3/5
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Mind over Metal Limerick 29

Rating: 3/5
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Listen, it’s great that the band (literally) regrouped for this album; I admire their perseverance. But seriously, dudes, I have another old adage for you: sometimes less is more. Shorten the songs, have fewer of them, and pour your soul into no more than one tender tune per album. My focus is scattered more than ever before, and plenty of other bands are capably competing for attention.

Rating: 3/5
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“Vermin To The Earth” doesn’t have much lasting appeal, even though many of the songs are actually pretty good. It all boils down to the over-the-top production, which spoils the misanthropic doom-ish atmosphere of the album.

Rating: 3/5
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Wino only appeared in passing as I grew up—limited to Bullring Brummies, really—though I’ve thoroughly loved his late-career TKO of “Punctuated Equilibrium”, “Adrift”, and the superb Shrinebuilder debut. The man hits 50 this year, and still has the chutzpah to churn out quality music. Itself an achievement, yes, but I felt something would not fully resonate with me, and that something is Premonition 13.