UPCOMING ALBUMS (UPDATED May 16, 2024)

March 8
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (DELUXE EDITION)

March 12
Hellgrimm -Sacrifice (FFO Hard Rock)

March 20
Lhaäd - Beneath (FFO Belgian black metal)

April 5
Aristarchos - Martyr of Fire and Star (FFO Black Metal)
Shred Rogers - The Circle (FFO experimental, metal, rock)

April 16
Magistraal - Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht (FFO black metal)

April 19
Antagonyze - Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness (FFO death metal)

April 26
Dead Flesh - Dehumanise (FFO Thy Art Is Murder, Whitechapel, Fit For An Autopsy, Slaughter To Prevail, Spite, Chelsea Grin, Suicide Silence)
Pagan Altar - Judgement of the Dead (FFO heavy metal)
Pagan Altar - The Time Lord (FFO heavy metal)
Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor (20th Anniversary Edition) (FFO progressive metal)

May 24
Sailor Hunter - Evolution EP (FFO melodic death metal)

Question for my fellow reviewers:

How do you decide on a score? Is there a rubric you use? It’s the part of the review I usually struggle with the most.

Pethead wrote:Question for my fellow reviewers:

How do you decide on a score? Is there a rubric you use? It’s the part of the review I usually struggle with the most.

Part of it is "feel" but a bigger part is that albums are usually around 10 songs. 

10 great songs = a 10.

7 great songs, 2 good songs, one dud = 8.

6 good songs and 4 great songs = 8.

10 good songs = 8.



Super scientific as you can see.

My ratings have never been below 7 so far because I preview these bands / songs before choosing to review them.  If I have nothing good to say about what I've heard so far, I stay away.  But if I like the preview songs I usually end up liking the album.

7 = Good but not great. Has some flaws but overall is a decent listen and has a few highlights worthy of note.

8 = Very good album overall, but not stellar.  Still, a very worthy effort with some great highlights.

9 = Stellar effort.  Has qualities to it that clearly set it apart.  Not quite a genre classic, but very few albums are.  

10 = Drop dead classic.  Note that I would very rarely - if ever - give an album a 10 because I consider this the category of albums like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" or Yes "Close To The Edge" or Iron Maiden "Number Of The Beast" - i.e. albums so good that they become standard bearers for a genre or sub-genre.

Most albums I rate end up in the 8 range.  It's rare that I'm going to write an album a 9 or above.  In that sense I'm an easy grader because it's not that hard for me to give an 8 or 8.5 which I feel are very admirable ratings.  But I'm a tougher grader in the sense that you have to have delivered something special to earn a 9 or above.

Plus, If anyone looks at my ratings it will also notice that I use fractional ratings as well.  I gave one album a 9.25, and another a 8.5 and another an.8.75.  that is to indicate that I consider these somewhere in between the whole number ratings.

Thanks, guys. 

I like to use fractions, as well. The new release from Surgical Strike is really good, but it’s not perfect. So I gave it an 8.75, because I thought it was only a smidge away from true greatness.

I tend to be generous with scores, but I do try to note weaknesses I hear in the music. I just submitted a review for a really good album and I was very complimentary, but I did note that a couple songs had awkward transitions in them. I tend to lean towards being more generous with the score despite my critiques, but that might be a failing on my part. Maybe I need to be as tough as I was when I was a grader for my major prof.

March 8
DIABOLIC - Blastmasters, Twisted Metal (FFO death metal)

March 14
Crystal Horizon - Crystal Horizon (FFO Leprous, Porcupine Tree and Radiohead)
LIPZ - Changing The Melody (FFO glam rock)

March 22
DIABOLIC - Mausoleum of the Unholy Ghost (FFO death metal)
CRUZH - The Jungle Revolution (FFO glam rock)


March 29
FESSUS - Pilgrims Of Morbidity / Thresholds Of Morbidity (FFO death metal)
VRSA - Saltwater Circadian (FFO progressive post-metal sludge)
Kólga - Black Tides (FFO rock and roll)
Boundaries - Death is Little More (FFO deathcore)

April 5
Once Upon the End - Archive 200 (FFO Melodic Death Metal)

May 3
Ghost on Mars - Out of Time and Space (Progressive Metal)
Profanation - Skull Crushing Violence MLP/MCD (FFO death metal)

May 10
The Hazytones - Wild Fever (FFO stoner )
WARLORD - Free Spirit Soar (FFO Epic Metal)

March 22
Cobra 1981 - Vol. 1 (FFO heavy metal)

March 29
VENUES - Transience (FFO post-hardcore, alternative metal and metalcore)
Beyond Extinction - Nothing More Wretched (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) (FFO detah metal)

April 5
BELORE - Eastern Tales (FFO Epic Black Metal)
PURULENCY - Transcendent Unveiling Of Dimensions (FFO  Death Metal)
RED SUN - From Sunset to Dawn (FFO space psychedelic instrumental rock)

April 19
HOMECOMING - Those We Knew (FFO Alice In Chains, Tool, Mastodon, The Ocean)
KAWIR - Kydoimos (FFO black metal)
ULTRA SUNN - US (FFO New Beat, EBM, UK Garage to Techno and Trance)

April 26
Blessed Black - Seasons Vol. 2 (FFO doom metal)

April 30
Dauþuz - Uranium (FFO black metal)

May 3
Ossilegium - The Gods Below (FFO 90s black metal)
Hi/Jack - Everything You Know is Yesterday (FFO rock 'n' roll)

May 24
CUTTERRED FLESH - Love At First Bite (FFO progressive brutal death metal)

Constantine wrote:My ratings have never been below 7 so far because I preview these bands / songs before choosing to review them.  If I have nothing good to say about what I've heard so far, I stay away.  But if I like the preview songs I usually end up liking the album.

I've run into this as well.

My first one was a 6.5: from a band I never heard of.

Since then I've vetted the albums. But this has led to 8.5 and above.

I've been contemplating taking some unheard and unknown,  and seeing what happens.  ‍�

I’ve done a few of those “blind reviews,” but I’ve still been pretty pleased. I must just be easy to please. Probably because I’m such a stupendous guy.

I end up spending so much time on the reviews (listening to the whole album a few times, writing, re-writing, etc.) that it is far better for me to have some degree of comfort with what I'm taking on.  

Even "sampling" all the choices takes a lot of time, as you can imagine.
But it is interesting too because I get a feel for what is out there now.

Yeah, you don’t want to sit down to write the review and only be able to say, “what is this crap?”

No I don't think that is fair to the band or to their fans.  
Although the Angry Metal Guy seems to make a living doing that, lol.

I also take the time to do some research on the band so I can talk briefly about their history and background, and where they fit in the overall scene.

I'm going to start aiming for shorter reviews though, where possible.  When I published a metal fanzine way back, the interviews / features were long but the reviews were like 3 paragraphs max.

Good thoughts.

Yeah, it's time consuming. I try a minimum of four pre-review listens and then listen while I write. I want to give the albums their due.

I've discovered I might be missing out in the general music world, as multiple listens have made a few of these really come alive.

Constantine wrote:No I don't think that is fair to the band or to their fans.  
Although the Angry Metal Guy seems to make a living doing that, lol.

I also take the time to do some research on the band so I can talk briefly about their history and background, and where they fit in the overall scene.

I'm going to start aiming for shorter reviews though, where possible.  When I published a metal fanzine way back, the interviews / features were long but the reviews were like 3 paragraphs max.

They told me they want the reviews to be at least 600 words, just FYI.

And yeah, AMG is harsher than I’d ever be.

Pethead wrote:

They told me they want the reviews to be at least 600 words, just FYI.

Oy Vey!  Yeah I vaguely remember seeing that.  

Okay, well being concise is more of a challenge to me than being verbose so...no problem!

Angry Metal Guy gives out 4/5 like gold and 5/5 are like a Golden Ticket.

They seem to take pride in being hyper-critical.

That's what I try to avoid. I noticed a trend (guess it's been 20+ years now) that reviewers think it's noble or a sign of depth/nuance to pick nits. Loving something isn't cool, kool, kvlt, tru, hip or down.

scottmitchell74 wrote:Angry Metal Guy gives out 4/5 like gold and 5/5 are like a Golden Ticket.

They seem to take pride in being hyper-critical.

That's what I try to avoid. I noticed a trend (guess it's been 20+ years now) that reviewers think it's noble or a sign of depth/nuance to pick nits. Loving something isn't cool, kool, kvlt, tru, hip or down.

4/5 and 5/5? No. But 9/10 and 10/10? Way more people need to do that. If you give out 9's and 10's like MrBeast gives out money then they mean nothing. One is currently the only song I have at a 10/10. My goat album, AJFA, still only averages out to a 9.17. But then I also give out 8's like moms give out love, so...

I look at it as I did when I used to grade. I’m not gonna withhold an A score just because I can, or because I could get really pedantic. I believe in rewarding good work. But at the same time I’m reluctant to give 10s, because very few albums are that uniformly strong.

I also try to listen objectively. I might note that a particular song didn’t work for me, but I try to listen to hear what the artist was going for, rather than how I might’ve done things somewhat differently. A song can be a good song even if I might have preferred a faster tempo or something.

Pethead wrote:

Constantine wrote:No I don't think that is fair to the band or to their fans.  
Although the Angry Metal Guy seems to make a living doing that, lol.

I also take the time to do some research on the band so I can talk briefly about their history and background, and where they fit in the overall scene.

I'm going to start aiming for shorter reviews though, where possible.  When I published a metal fanzine way back, the interviews / features were long but the reviews were like 3 paragraphs max.

They told me they want the reviews to be at least 600 words, just FYI.

And yeah, AMG is harsher than I’d ever be.

You can do something between 450 and 600 words; sometimes, less is more unless you feel compelled to write more than that.

April 5
JASON BLAKE feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Candles Burn (FFO string duo)
Degraved - Whispered Morbidity & Exhumed Remnants (FFO death metal)
Brutalism - Solace In Absurdity (FFO death metal)
ERRA - CURE (FFO progressive metalcore)

April 12
IMMINENCE - The Black (FFO alternative metalcore)

April 19 
NEVER ELECTED - Turbulent rerelease (FFO Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains, and Guns N' Roses)
Obscurial - Heretic (FFO death metal)
Devotion - Astral Catacombs (FFO death metal)

April 26
ARÐ - Untouched By Fire (FFO monastic doom)

May 1
MONS VENERIS - Ascent Into Draconian Abyss (FFO black metal)

May 3
Temple of the Beast - Geminian Arcana MLP (FFO Blac metal)
P.O.D. - Veritas (FFO nu-metal) -- I NEED A REVIEWER FOR THIS ONE

May 22
Ataraxia - Centaurea (FFO neoclassical and darkwave)

I’ll take P.O.D. I actually like a lot of their stuff.

Pethead wrote:I’ll take P.O.D. I actually like a lot of their stuff.

Check your folder

April 5
MARIO ROSSI BAND - Smoke Burst (FFO rock and blues)
LOST ZONE - Ordinary Misery (FFO rock)
Ingested - The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams (FFO death metal)
Bilwis - Hameln (FFO Melodic Black Metal)
USTERE - Beneath the Threshold (FFO black metal)
Friends of Hell - God Damned You to Hell (FFO old school metal)

April 12
Týr - Battle Ballads (FFO Viking metal)
Exist - Hijacking the Zeitgeist (extreme metal)

April 19
Bloodbound - The Tales of Nosferatu, Two Decades of Blood (FFO  Swedish power metal)

April 26
STORMBORN - Zenith (FFO power metal)
Amiensus - Reclamation (FFO Progressive Black Metal, Agalloch, Enslaved, Unreqvited, Borknagar, Leviathan)
Futuro Primitivo - Declive (FFO extreme metal and thrash)

May 3
StarGazer - Bound by Spells (FFO extreme metal)
Horn - Daudswiärk (FFO Melodic Black Metal)

May 10
Vaticinal Rites - Cascading Memories Of Immortality (FFO death metal)
Sonic Universe - It Is What It Is (FFO explosive rock) Feat. Corey Glover -Vocals Mike Orlando – Guitar Booker King – Bass Taykwuan Jackson – Drums

May 17
Insanity Alert - Moshemian Trashody (FFO Crossover Thrash)

June 7
Brazen Tongue - Of Crackling Embers & Sorrows (FFO metal)
Cruce Signatus - Cruce Signatus (FFO instrumental, GosT, Pertubator)
Dead Street Dreamers - Countdown To The Reaper (FFO punk rock)

I'd live that Tyr but I already have two on April 12th.

Has anyone seen Son of Nun? We haven't heard back from him. He mentioned to JP that he was facing some personal issues, or so JP told me, but he hasn't gotten back to us despite our emails.