Consistency continues to be High On Fire’s greatest asset as, 25 years in, they still rank among stoner-metal’s absolute best.
Tag: heavy metal
A final double album proves a bittersweet finale for Sum 41, as a pop-punk / metal split produces as many obstructions as it does triumphant hits.
While She Sleeps’ newest album is by far their most diverse yet, a swing into alt-metal that prizes its own modernity and free-thinking creativity, and yields all the unevenness you’d come to expect.
A generically middling sound comes from South Of Salem, thanks to ‘edgy’ hard rock over a decade past its prime, and that was never that transgressive to begin with.
In the first Review Round-Up of 2024, Rough Justice and Island Apes prove that solid stuff can come from either extreme of the complexity spectrum, while The Darkest Moment simply bore all the way through.
Metal excess combined with the influence of their Japanese heritage and culture puts a strong onus on Ryujin’s self-titled album soaring with ease.
Ghost’s playbook is the holy text for the nuns of Dogma, who deliver a brand of classically-infused metal that’s just as fun and flagrantly grand.
A progressive edge and a noteworthy precociousness set HAWXX apart from much of the hard rock and heavy metal set, on a debut that breaks down a lot of doors with its first swift kick.
Even though they can iterate on radio-metal stronger than most, Bad Wolves continue to find it hard to produce something distinctly their own on their new album.
In this Review Round-Up, Annisokay and Samurai Pizza Cats respectively hit heavy and fall short in metalcore; Guilt Trip deliver a strong metallic hardcore debut; and Rocket Pengwin establishes some decent contemporary pop-punk.