#alt-metal

[gbhbl]

Album Review: Ghøstkid – Hollywood Suicide (Century Media Records)

There’s no creative line that Ghøstkid aren’t willing to cross, no emotion that they aren’t willing explore, and no fear of what the response to their music will be.

The rise and rise of Ghøstkid has been nothing short of phenomenal, and now the alternative metal band return with their most provocative release yet. Called ‘Hollywood Suicide’, it will be released on March 22nd, 2024, via Century Media Records. There’s no creative line that Ghøstkid aren’t willing to cross, no emotion that they aren’t willing explore, and no fear of what the response to their…

[thisaintascenereviews]

Slipknot - The End, So Far There are a bunch of people, mainly older, that would say that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was the last true “rockstar,” but I would disagree, whether it’s because the term rockstar has changed over time or that there are musicians and bands from the last 20 years whose name sort of eclipses their music. Nirvana ended up becoming a band like that -- people buy their shirts all the time without knowing who they are, or if they do, they only know a couple of songs but think their logo is cool. There’s nothing wrong with that, but a great example of a band that came a little bit after them that has the same level of fame and notoriety is Slipknot. Yeah, sure, they’re a metal band, but they’re a band, like Nirvana before them, changed the face of rock and/or metal. Frontman Corey Taylor is a celebrity at this point. Even if you don’t know who he is, you know he’s the singer of Slipknot, and even if you don’t know Slipknot’s name, or their music, you’ve seen their logo somewhere. They’re one of the biggest metal bands in the world, right up there with Metallica. Their first two albums, 1999′s self-titled and 2001′s Iowa are records that revolutionized rock and metal, more specifically nu-metal and alt-metal, but there’s a lot of debate on whether or not Slipknot were a nu-metal band. I don’t think so, because they pulled from a lot of different sounds, but they had elements of it in their sound and helped to pioneer it, along with Korn and Deftones. I say all of this because it’s a big deal when Slipknot releases a new album. They’re one of those bands that everyone is going to be glued in, listening to what they’re doing now, because they have so many diehard fans (as well as a lot of people that hate everything after Iowa). Even if you don’t like them, whether at all or anymore, you’re still paying attention, most likely. I’m a couple of weeks late to this review, but I’ve been really excited to write it, as I’ve wanted to talk about the new Slipknot record, entitled The End, So Far. This isn’t their last album, so no need to fret, but their last album with longtime label Roadrunner Records, whom they’ve been with since 1999. This is also their first in three years, coming off the heels of 2019′s We Are Not Your Kind, which is an album I liked, but I didn’t love. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I was going to listen to this, but something told me to check it out, because who knows, maybe it would be good. You never know if you don’t check it out, right? It’s been a couple of weeks, but a lot of that has been due to life getting in the way, thanks to getting married over the last few days, so I haven’t had time to review anything for the last four or five days, but I knew that this was the first review I wanted to write when I came back from our brief honeymoon, simply because The End, So Far isn’t just one of my favorite albums of the year, it’s also probably one of my favorite Slipknot albums. The End, So Far is an album that totally took me by surprise; I had no idea that I would love this album as much as I do, whether it’s because this is a late state Slipknot album, and Slipknot is a band that I’ve been spotty on. I love their first couple of albums, and everything else is hit or miss. On each album afterwards, there are songs I like and songs I’m not crazy about, but it’s because of how they’ve started experimenting with alt-metal, hard-rock, and progressive sounds and ideas over the years. This record is one of their most interesting albums to date, and it seems like people split down the middle -- people either love it or hate it. It took a few listens to really grow on me, but I can’t stop listening to it. The biggest reason that I’m really loving this thing is honestly because the band sounds great here. Every member is on fire, and the performances on here are incredibly tight, especially Corey Taylor. He’s one of those vocalists that just sounds better and better on each album. His vocal performance on this record is utterly fantastic. He’s got the best control of his voice, where he can passionately sing one second, but literally a second later in the same song, you hear his gnarly and beastly growls. He doesn’t skip a beat, and even on the few tracks I’m not as crazy about versus others, he sounds top notch. Taylor is one of the best vocalists in rock and metal today, period. I also really love how this album is a bit more experimental. Opening track “Adderall” is this six-minute slowburn that’s more on the post-punk / goth-rock / industrial feel, playing more with Nine Inch Nails than the nu-metal fury that they’re known for. It’s just Taylor singing, but it sounds awesome. I can see why that track might not grip a listener going into it, but it’s got my attention immediately, because it’s so weird and left-field for them, so I want to hear more. We get a lot more softer moments, such as “Yen,” “Acidity,” which has this blues feel to it, “Medicine For The Dead,” and a few other cuts. That’s not to say they don’t bring the rage, because on singles “The Dying Song” and “The Chapeltown Rag,” we get classic Slipknot. They’re heavy, brutal, and fun, but my favorite track on the album is also the heaviest and most vicious, which comes in the form of “H377.” but it’s a doozy. That might be one of the heaviest Slipknot songs I’ve ever heard. I can’t get enough of that song. That’s also one of the heavier tracks that doesn’t feel like a stock Slipknot song, and that is my biggest complaint here, that the songs we get that are more in the vein of classic Slipknot are just typical Slipknot. “H377″ is a cool song, because it transcends their sound, but still being brutal and heavy, whereas the singles are just standard Slipknot and nothing more. They’re great songs, but they do nothing I haven’t heard before, even though they do it well. The End, So Far is one of my favorite albums of the year, despite it being an hour long (I don’t know if it needed to be an hour, but it doesn’t really feel like it, especially by the end when I realize I’m on the last song), because it merges Slipknot’s heavier side with a softer and more experimental one. They place both sides of their sound pretty evenly on the album, but I have seen a lot of people say that this just sounds like (Corey Taylor’s other band) Stone Sour. I don’t agree with that comparison at all, because they still bring the house down, whereas Stone Sour doesn’t, so the heavy stuff is still here. Just because it has some soft moments doesn’t negate the heavy ones. I can understand some of the discourse behind this album, especially the heavy songs being more standard cuts, but the experimental stuff is what I like most. The heavy stuff is great, too, and a few of the heavy songs are some of my favorites, but I love when the band gets weird. It shows that after 20+ years, they’re still willing to experiment and not just make the same album over and over again. You’ve probably already heard this album, but if you haven’t, it’s worth hearing. I haven’t been into Slipknot for awhile now, but this is the album that got me back into the fold. I’ve been playing their first two albums again a lot, and those albums still rule, but it’s cool hearing their older material versus their newer material.

[everoutoftouch]

If you have Spotify reblog this and tag what your number one song on your “on repeat” playlist is.

[vispercruor]

Vampyrmoon

[pomonarocks]

NEW METALCORE ESSENTIALS 2024.05

Listen to New METALCORE Essentials 2024.05 byPomona Rocks on hearthis.at Episode 191. Tom Featherstone returns with 14 new metalcore, alt-metal and post-metal releases to bring in May 2024. Featuring new music from cover stars VENUES, plus CAGE FIGHT, OUR MIRAGE, AVRALIZE, DEFOCUS, NUMENTO, DAEDRIC and more. To subscribe to the Pomona Rocks EXTREME podcast feed, copy and paste this link into…

[slrmagazine]

Alt-Metal Act VEXED Releases Official Video for “It's not the end”

Alt-Metal Act VEXED Releases Official Video for “It's not the end”. #vexed @vexedworldwide

Following the release of their most brutal, vicious critically acclaimed album, 2023’s ‘Negative Energy’, UK alt-metal force VEXED returns with an official video for its most poignant offering, “It’s not the end”. This title is a tribute to a deceased loved one, acknowledging struggles in the grieving process. VEXED has received incredible praise from national and international press for…

[yamamiya]

SIIICKBRAIN - Psychopath

Can't ignore a psychopath Can't ignore a psychopath Hands strapped down to my back while you break it Twist my mind like a game rearrange it I could spin your world Make it go real crazy Look right through Yeah my eyes are gettin vacant hallucination manipulation I'm not afraid It's always The same shit One way One way One way One way Push right past me Bodies in the backseat Concrete cracking Do you really want it all? Do you really want it all? Push right past me Bodies in the backseat Concrete cracking Do you really want it all? Do you really want it all? Can't ignore a psychopath ignore a psychopath Choking when I'm breathing If you touch me I can't feel it Getting challenged By the freedom In the prison of my mind Black eyes like a demon If you're coming Then I'm leaving Getting weaker By the season So don't look me in my eye One way One way One way One way One way One way One way Push right past me Bodies in the backseat Concrete cracking Do you really want it all? Do you really want it all? Push right past me Bodies in the backseat Concrete cracking Do you really want it all? Do you really want it all? Can't ignore a psychopath Can't ignore a psychopath

[bl00dfroma-fairy]

[starbbypluto]

[restingcorpse]

[gbhbl]

Album Review: For The Fallen Dreams - For The Fallen Dreams (Arising Empire)

This is For the Fallen Dreams, and they’re evidently reinvigorated as they mark 15 years since the release of their debut album.

US metal outfit For the Fallen Dreams return with their self-titled seventh album, set for release on the 10th of March 2023 via Arising Empire. The bravado showcased on this album could only come from a band that oozes pure confidence. A band comfortable in their skins, able to combine their past glories with one eye on the future. This is For the Fallen Dreams, and they’re evidently…

[thisaintascenereviews]

Sleep Theory - Paper Hearts / Post Profit - Self Defeater

We’re about a few weeks into the new year and not much has come out yet, so I’m just biding my time until a new album comes out that I’d like to really talk about, but I do have a couple of EPs that I’d like to talk about briefly. I feel very similarly about both of these EPs, but I’ll get to that in a second. These EPs are the debut EP from Sleep Theory, entitled Paper Hearts, and the new EP (and label debut) from Post Profit, entitled Self Defeater. Who are these bands exactly? I’m sure you’re wondering, as these two bands aren’t very popular… Yet. That’s the key word. They have the potential, but I feel similarly about both of these EPs in the sense that they have that potential, but these are both lacking a unique flavor, per se.

Okay, let’s break these down briefly, starting with Sleep Theory. Sleep Theory is a band from Memphis, of all places, that combines metalcore, alt-metal, nu-metal, and pop/R&B. If this sounds like something familiar, you’re not wrong. This is basically the Issues formula, and I mentioned this band in my tribute to that band from a few days ago, and how this band keeps that “R&Bcore” sound alive. These guys have a vocalist with a pop and R&B-sounding voice, and they use that to incorporate catchier and groovier textures that you would find in an Issues record. I saw a review of Paper Hearts that described this band as Linkin Park if they liked R&B, instead of hip-hop, and that makes a lot of sense. Instead of rapping and hip-hop beats, they use R&B sounds and vocals, but they also use metalcore, alt-metal, and nu-metal sounds.

Post Profit, on the other hand, is a hard-rock / alt-metal band from Longview, Texas, and they’re basically bringing back the 90s and 00s style of alt-metal, hard-rock, and post-grunge that was popular at the time, but they aren’t doing too much that separates them from the pack. At least other than have a modernized version of it, which is good, and they are a band that executes that sound well. They have a great vocalist as well, and their musicianship is very good and versatile. They have some heavier moments throughout their new EP, and their debut for Sharptone, Self Defeater, but they do have a debut album from 2022. Personally, it’s a good record, but I haven’t gone back to it much, because their debut is very rough around the edges in spots, and it feels way too long. This EP, however, has better and stronger songwriting, and it’s shorter, obviously. The debut just felt repetitive, versus being memorable, and hard hitting, despite a handful of songs having some cool moments in them. The EP shows more of that potential, however, but it still shows their limitations, as this EP is generic alt-metal with some heavier moments and solid hooks / vocal work. It’s just nothing you haven’t heard before.

That’s the best way to describe both of these EPs, as they’re both really good, but they’re lacking something that makes them stick out. Sleep Theory sounds a lot like Issues, which is cool, but what makes them different? They do have good hooks, and they sound like they’re primed to take over rock radio, but at the expense of sounding unique. Post Profit executes their brand of alt-metal quite well, but if you enjoy Alice In Chains, Deftones, and a lot of other bands in that vein, you’ll like this, too. The biggest takeaway I want from this piece is that these bands are good, and they have potential, but these are merely just humble beginnings that could propel the band to do more unique and interesting things. They’re worth listening to if you’re interested.

[superbellsubways]

bonus points if they start caring for people either platonically or romantically

[buried-freak]

[warhysteria]

just like me fr

[myosotisa]

some of y'all have seriously forgotten that Eddie is an absolute loser who doodles dragons on every single piece of paper he can get his hands on