Your music diary for albums, shows, and reviews.

Encephalic Angels

Killing of a Sacred Deer

Brutal. Raw. Fast. Aggressive.

Hidden History of the Human Race

Blood Incantation

Starspawn

Blood Incantation

Who Loves The Sun

Chat Pile

There’s something oddly hypnotic about this album. Chat Pile blend the earthy, raw heaviness of sludge metal with the cacophony of noise rock, yet somehow emerge with some of their catchiest material to date. “Same Rules” captures that contrast perfectly, its restrained melody providing a strange sense of equanimity before unfurling into a visceral outburst of emotion. On the other end of the spectrum, tracks like “Family Funeral” lean into the band’s noise-rock tendencies, building from uneasy restraint into something abrasive, chaotic, and unapologetically heavy. Who Loves the Sun showcases a multitude of styles, but instead of pulling the album apart, it makes for a surprisingly cohesive journey through Chat Pile’s increasingly expansive sound. It’s unsettling and abrasive, yet melodic and strangely infectious. This album is a strong effort from a band that keeps maturing without sanding down the unabated chaos that made them compelling in the first place.

Null Crowned the Infinite

Sworn

Solid album, need to give it another spin.

Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence

Funebrarum

Goh-Ka

Sigh

A culmination of Sigh’s intrinsic need to push the boundaries of music and venture ever deeper into the avant-garde realm of auditory alchemy. There’s almost no better way to describe Goh-ka than as a delectable fusion of psychedelic and progressive rock, traditional Japanese folk, and extreme metal, with unmistakable nods to influences like Black Sabbath and Slayer. Yet beneath the controlled chaos is a constant contrast between beauty and brutality. Traditional instrumentation, swirling psychedelia, and melodic passages collide with bursts of black metal and thrash, giving an album centered around mortality and decay a surprising sense of vibrancy. More than 35 years into their career, Goh-ka is both a welcome continuation of Sigh’s wonderfully unorthodox style and a remarkably fresh listen. Few bands this deep into their catalogue still sound this restless, adventurous, or genuinely interested in discovering where else heavy music can go.

Hempispheres

Sleep

Decent album, but Matt Pike's presence is missed, and this falls short of the band's previous efforts. Very little stands out other than the title track.

Damnation's Veil

Ninth Realm

Crossover thrash album. All heavy thrash and no frills. No real standout tracks.

Cycles in the Infinite Dream

REZN

A strong, cohesive effort that blends psychedelic and shoegaze textures with REZN’s crushing stoner-doom foundation. Rob McWilliams’ powerful and soulful vocals sit at the heart of the album, giving even its heaviest moments an emotional, almost uplifting quality. The band’s ability to move from the saxophone-laced psychedelia of “Transient” and the massive, chugging riffs of “Cloudfall” to the dreamier “Primal Thread” and cathartic album closer “Terra Preta” shows REZN’s range at full blast. Heavy, hypnotic, and surprisingly melodic, Cycles in the Infinite Dream finds a compelling space somewhere between crushing doom and cosmic psychedelia.