Rating: 3/5
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One gets the sense of a rough framework that is completed differently with each performance—like Ehnahre could never play the same song twice. It would be foolish to assume that this style of music has no place, but by its very deconstructive nature, it must be sparingly unleashed.

Rating: 3/5
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I don’t care how complex and enigmatic you purport to be—gimme some friggin’ songs. Tub Ring is one of those bands that frustrates me because something tells me that I ought to like this music. Every allusion to Mike Patton’s various projects triggers my happy sensors, but with the amount this band misfires, I keep questioning my own instincts.

Rating: 4/5
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Årabrot’s sound is reminiscent of the sonic explosions of Khanate, Shellac and Harvey Milk. They’re not playing heavy metal as one might expect it to be played, but rather use it as a tool to drag the listener into the darkest depths of an abyss of pure despair. That should come as no surprise from a band that takes its name from the local garbage dump in the town, Haugesund.

Rating: 4.5/5 …

Now, in 2010, the third installment of this series finally sees the light of day. The record captures the band’s concert at the Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands in 2007. It’s been 8 years since the previous record in the series was released – what has changed since then?

Rating: 4.5/5

Black metal is one of the farthest-reaching genres in all of metal. It manages to put in question many of the ideas of what we think of as metal. The Ruins of Beverast is currently doing this more so than anyone else. Could this sound be the future?

Rating: 4.5/5

When listening to ’342′, the best advice I can impart was once given to the White Rabbit by The King of Hearts: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” It is exhausting yet exhilarating art, passion without pretense.

Rating: 5/5

Interestingly, and thankfully enough, I discovered Consecration for myself shortly after learning ISIS was breaking up. As I prepare for their final show tonight at Club Soda in Montréal, I have hope that this Serbian quintet will pick up where that band left off, creating genre-bending atmospheres for our aural pleasure.

Rating : 3.5/5

“A Determinism of Morality” is not bad. Not at all. It sounds completely and wholly like Rosetta. Every square milimeter of these songs is typical of their style. It just disappoints in comparison to their past, as they don’t quite execute the sound with the same fervor that you might expect them to. If you would like a recommendation of a good Rosetta album to start with, look earlier in their career. If you’re looking for good albums thusfar this year, look here. It may not be on any best of lists, but it certainly deserves a couple listens at the very least.