This week has already been absolutely hectic (more to do with my personal life) but the music will keep you sane. Or at least that's what I tell myself (haha).
I'm and thankful and kind of glad to see a few EDM style albums being released this week and I seem to be in a grooving/dancing mood. And between The Glitch Mob, Seabound, and Abandon All Ships I think I got what I asked for. Yes we can all argue that AAS has a grasp on the metal side more than EDM, but still find the underlying beats to their songs that make the melodies. In all honesty, that's what makes them stand out is the beats.
(The Glitch Mob - Love Death Immortality)
The album? Initial opinion seems split across The Glitch Mob’s fan base, with the more die-hard, sound-savvy among them expressing a fair amount of disappointment. But like any other topic, those contradicting voices seem to stretch in every vector.
I’m not sure why Drink The Sea became the gold standard for measuring the success of anything The Glitch Mob produce, other than the fact that it’s their only other full-length album. Much of LDI’s criticism seems circumstantial—I could easily see the same criticism being placed on the sound, style, and progression of Drink The Sea if that had been the Mob’s second album and LDI had been their first. -Sensible Reason
(Seabound - Speak In Storms)
As usual, „Speak In Storms“ displays a diverse mixture of spheric, cooly pulsating energy and warmth not patterned on anybody else’s music, but setting its own standards. Those afraid of a weak return from the group’s period of silence are gladly mistaken: „Speak In Storms“ testifies maturity and electronic strength, which only gradually develops from hypnotic vocals and largely reduced arrangements, only to become more intense and energetic. Thus, the transatlantic agreement has by no means done harm to the band. -Dependent
(Abandon All Ships - Malocchio)
The refreshing non-auto-tuned clean vocals almost outweigh the slightly bland unclean vocals, which do not really stand out as anything necessarily extraordinary. Despite a few vocal shortcomings the album overall offers an enjoyable sonic experience. The songs flow well together and the album has a good edge to it. The album title, Malocchio, means ‘evil eye.’ Accordingly so, many of the songs involve karma getting to the people who deserve it; therefore, the Italian slang sets an intriguing stage for the record. -Substream Magazine
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Some more mellowness added to the equation when you have Sam Roberts and Crosses releasing albums today as well. I am sure to winning people over today when convincing them that Crosses is mellow. I seem to look at this group the same way as I look at Nine Inch Nails. Sometimes you get them on a mellow groove with some relaxing vibes (especially with Chino's vocals) and on the other hand you can get a bitch smack of a song, same as you would expect from NIN and something like "Wish" or "Starf**kers Inc.". To me [personally], Sam makes consistent records and not expecting a huge turn of events for his music on this album. It will be enjoyable nonetheless to spin in the upcoming days.
(Sam Roberts - Lo-Fantasy)
Starting out with the disco-fied grooves of "Shapeshifters," Roberts' trademark arena-ready choruses and anthemic growls are filtered through the textures of '90s-era festival rock, evoking, by turns, Primal Scream's worn-out acid house boogie ("We're All In This Together"), dub-y club odysseys (the Clash-inspired "Angola") and stadium-sized pop rock ("Kid Icarus").
And while throwaways like album closer "Golden Hour" and "Never Enough" do little to quiet detractors who have dismissed him as nothing more than a CanCon pretty boy, those willing to get past their preconceived notions may be surprised to find that Lo-Fantasy is perhaps the most dynamic recording of Roberts career. -Exclaim
(Crosses - Crosses)
Yet the rub doesn’t come from the choice to include the previously released material per se. Instead it springs from the decision to mix the track listings of all three EP’s together. If you’re already familiar with the bands past output then you’ve likely an inkling as to what song comes next. There’s an unspoken covenant between a listener and an album/EP. A static expectation established through multiple listens that can be utterly betrayed by this randomized nature.
While a touch more despondent and indicative of their influences; all five of the new songs are a welcome addition to the bands repertoire and fit well when presented side by side. Sure the presentation here may be questionable, but there’s no denying the charm and allure of the end product. -The PRP
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Then we come to the distorted stuff. Newcomers The Unguided and 3 Years Hollow are both dropping some decent albums this week. This marks the debut release for 3YH (and not a bad bonus to have Clint Lowrey featured on the album) as well as the debut (on Napalm Records) for The Unguided. Both bands have some strong characteristics that genre fans will flock to. I can see both groups doing some heavy touring in the near future.
(The Unguided - Fragile Immortality)
The Unguided, a five piece from our metal loving comrades in the tranquil settings of Sweden, with three fifths of the band being made up of former Sonic Syndicate members. These guys already know the tricks of the trade and have put out their second full length album, named Fragile Immortality. With Sonic Syndicate out of the picture at the moment, due to their hiatus, this is definitely a great substitute for those hardcore SSfan, not taking anything from the band as what they have produced here is exciting and fresh.
Despite not setting the world on fire with this album, it is a step in the right direction for a band still finding their feet. If you are a fan of melodic death metal, this is the album for you, if you are not then give it a try anyway, this album has the ability to convert anyone! -Hit The Floor
The riffs are heavy but are lacking of inspiration generally. However, on Remember, there is a solo guitar that stands out as well as this one played by Clint Lowery on For Life. Lost is another guitar driven track with killer riffs, rather complex and interesting.
Musically, if you don’t know the band, It is in the same vein of Sevendust and Nonpoint. The album might appeal in despite of a couple of weak songs even if there are too few risks to make the difference with the other hard rock bands. However, it depends what you are looking for. If you like mainstream hard rock music, this album is for you. -Evigshed
Whew! So that being said, we do what we must to keep artists (new and old) up and running. Head to a local record store or online retailer to grab a physical copy filled with great album art. If digital is more your thing, then be sure to stream/download it from a legal source. Cheers and keep rockin!
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