After a little more than a year, Massachusetts deathcore band Within the Ruins is back with another full length release, entitled Phenomena. People who have followed this website since the beginning will know that Elite was actually my first review, and it’s hard to believe that more than a year has passed by since. Releasing back to back albums in such a short amount of time leads fans to wonder whether Within The Ruins is overflowing with ideas, or simply attempting quantity over quality for the money. After listening to Phenomena for a few times, I can promise you that it is not the latter. Phenomena keeps the sound signature that WTR implemented in Elite, but extends on much of the musical concepts to create another powerful and scintillating album. Continue reading →

Technical Death Metal has never been one of my favorite genres due to its overwhelming nature, with the music seemingly going in every direction. However, Elements of the Infinite has made me think twice about my generalization, as this is perhaps the most impressive release I’ve listened to in 2014. This album is the third studio release from Colorado band Allegaeon(uh-lee-juhn), and it succeeds both Fragments of Form and Function and Formshifter. Elements of the Infinite has garnered much acclaim in the metal community, and for good reason; with its technical instrumentals and great melodic vibe, it may very well be the best death metal album of 2014.

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Australian metalcore/post-hardcore band The Amity Affliction is back again with their fourth studio release, entitled Let the Ocean Take Me. After its initial release on 6/9 via Roadrunner Records, the album has sold decently well, hitting #1 on the Australian charts and #3 on the U.S Hard Rock charts. The success has obviously not come easy for The Amity Affliction (if the lyrics reflect reality), as the record takes you through an emotional journey of depression and hopelessness that one of the band members went through. Although predictable and simplistic at times, Let the Ocean Take Me is studded with catchy tracks and retains a good flow throughout. Continue reading →

Real– my first album by The Word Alive, and boy was I unimpressed. I wasn’t originally planning on reviewing this album, but there seems to be a lot of hype surrounding TWA on the internet. Released on 6/10/2014, Real is their third studio record. The album was released through Fearless Records, which is probably why it was able to garner so much attention. However, when I actually listened to this album, I was engulfed by one of the most monotonous and clustered music I have ever experienced. I don’t understand the hype. Continue reading →

After two years, Howard Jones is back in the metalcore scene following his departure from Killswitch Engage. His new band(aggressively named Devil You Know) consists of Francesco Arusato(formerly of All Shall Perish) and John Sankey(formerly of Fear Factory). Devil You Know can be easily be referred to as a metal “supergroup”, and there was quite a lot of hype surrounding The Beauty of Destruction prior to its release. Unfortunately, the album falls short of my anticipation, as I feel that the band could have done so much more with their talents instead of simply adhering to one general formula.

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