From the hype around this band, I went into this album expecting it to be totally unhinged, unlike anything I had heard before. It's pretty straightforward grindcore, with death metal trading off with higher-pitched screamed vocals. The second song finds a mathieir angular form of acrobatics touching the riffs, but nothing mind-bending. Are they fairly scathing andd rabid? Yes, but what grindcore band is not? "Life Like a Sickness" blends a cacophanous riff with hardcore chugging.
"Turn From the Ruin" offers more melodic tones to better craft an actual song with, which also brings a crusty black metal sound to the mood. 'A Fucked Up Face' is a harsher outburst that focuses on the feral gnashing of teeth. This is carried over into "Your Sorrows Pin You to this Place", though there is a little more of an angular edge and purpose to the pounding. "A Gift From God' works for me as it is darker and more melodic, so in my wheelhouse.
"Volatile Simian Nervous System" finds them back in the chaos, a little more atmosphere, and not just them attacking you. They revert to their more emo sidde which I enjoy with "Burnt House Horizon."They toy with a more dissonant vision of hardcore toward the end of the album with a dash of grindcore tossed in, a little like Portrayal of Guilt's early work, but not as dark. They close the album by getting back to their grindcore roots. I will give this album a 8, as I appreciate what they are doing but already have this need met in my life by bands who do it better, but for fans of experimental grindcore this is worth your time.Dropping April 16th on Prosthetic Records.
The problem I had with their last album, "All Heads are Gonna Roll," which only earned a 6.5, was that it came across as a one-trick pony. The songs bled together due to the uniform sound. It only gave death metal fans stuck in a certain era the fix they needed: the energetic 90s death metal, breathe. They are redeeming themselves here. The band came with more purpose this time around, finding the opening track holds more in common with American death metal than it does with the Swedish countrymen that normally either default to melod-death with twin guitar harmonies that sound more like power metal, or they are a total Entombed rip-off.
A song like "Forever Scorned" might not be the most original thing you are going to hear, but it shows they learned their lesson and can slow things down and attack you with greater purpose at slower speeds. There is a great deal of groove, melody, and purpose from "Wrath Unbound," which is really all I am asking death metal bands to bring to balance out the aggression and keep things from being a monochrome battery of the ears. It is not until the title track that they really pour on the speed, which was the focus of the last album. It's not as effective as what they did on the first four songs. The song that follows this "Cataclysmic Flesh Front" is also racing with a great speed behind it, resulting in a blur of guitar. Dropping on Metal Blade Records.
"Two and a Half Men" is fast but more thrashing, so it's not just a buzz of guitars rushing past you. Some of the more nuanced moments are handled in a more Cannibal Corpse-like manner here. The bass line to "Erased in Red" helps set the powerful tone for the song. It shows they are stronger with groove at the core of the riffs. "The Zombie War General" also carries purpose in it's chug rather than getting caught up in a blur of speed until it's called for. "Oblivion Protocol" finds the guitar solos at the beginning, setting the tone for the song's epic nature with larger-than-life drumming taking command.This album is a huge improvement over the previous release so much so it gets a 9,not breaking any new ground for death metal, but working well with the tools already in place.
Florida's Bodysnatcher plays a larger-than-life version of metalcore that sounds more like it is rooted in actual hardcore. They might own a Terror album or two. Though they obviously must be big fans of the band as Scott Vogel appears on the song "Survive of Die" in the album's thrid act. They are pretty big on breakdowns, and the vocalists do drop down into a more guttural death metal gurgle in places. Four albums in, they are aware of who they are and what they do with little experimentation involved in the formula. Gang vocals chime in for "May Your Memory Rot". Could this be considered deathcore? Sure, though I feel there needs to be more death metal in the instrumentation; they just have a vocalist who likes death metal, which I don't feel defines the whole vibe.
They declare they "see a fucking crime scene in your future" on "Violent Obsession." This seems like big words coming from just average Joe-sized guys. But they do carry a great deal of technical precision, which is more of their strength than the gym. Midway into the album, I begin to get the itch to hear a little more of what they can do aside from just dropping big breakdown riffs. Instead, they give me more of the ear-hammering, tough-guy attitude. This is where the monochrome aggression begins to make things feel uniform. I guess the guitar solos are another more death metal element.
"Blade Between the Teeth" finds the heavy chugs dialed in. But it is more predictable than not. I am not sure what the chorus is or where things are really heading aside from another breakdown. But some kids are into that sort of thing. All I know is they'd better show me another side to what they do in the next three songs.
"Two Empty Caskets" carries a little more djent in its groove. Their drummer is certainly good, but you have to be to play this sort of music. The songwriting is more defined on this one, so it pacifies me for now. "Hell is Home" closes the album; it is a little more anthemic. Overall, I enjoyed this album; it was well done. I appreciate that they are more aligned with hardcore than the poppier modern metalcore scene. Sure there is a bit of uniformity in what they do, but it's fun for what it is and they made the album they set out to make, so I will give this a 9. Out on April 10th
This band is one half of Type O Negative and one half of Crowbar. So as expected, it's a 90s -post-grunge collision with sludge. Kenny Hickey handles the vocals as the stoner swagger moves with monolithic grooves. It's even more impressive than you can imagine. The second song reminds me of Type O more than the first. This can be heard in the flavor of despair haunting the chorus. Kirk lends his voice in places to serve as a burly counterpoint to Hickey's tenor.
There is more doom in "Coming Down." They rumble out of it with the more swampy shuffle of "All You Wasted". There are some more melodic guitar sections buried in this blues-tinged dirge. Halfway into the album, my favorite song is "When It's Time to Leave," as it goes in a darker and thoughtfully melodic diretion. Hickey's voice feels like it is in its sweet spot here. They are amore overtly metal on "The Promise Song," which carries a late 90s post-grunge swagger to it.
It does not sound like they were smoking as much weed as when they recorded "October Rust." I suppose some of the more psychedelic moments must have been thanks to Josh, though there is a slight trippy shimmer amid the thunder of "Black to Red". They drop back into darker, doomy riffs with "What You Are," which highlights their peak sound. Perhaps this might just be the sound I prefer, as I am obviously a bigger Type O Negative fan than Crowbar. "In the End" reminds me of solo Ozzy. It is more of a power ballad. I will give this album a 9.5. To their credit, it is not steeped in nostalgia but reminds me of a great time for music in the mid to late 90s when it came to this kind of post-grunge metal. Fans of both bands will appreciate it, as well as anyone looking for an awesome doomy album with stellar attention to detail when it comes to songwriting.
Below is an interview I did with Type O / Suns Don't Shine Drummer Johnny Kelly
"We Are Always Alone" stands as a masterpiece that this band's work is to be measured against. Up to this point, they have not met that head-on, but played around with more extreme and experimental sounds at various genre crossroads in heavy music. Grindcore being one of the more frequent ones, hardcore is another more notable sonic flavor they have painted their compositions with. This album finds them opening their arsenal to include a greater range of sounds, while tightening the songwriting to make songs that are digestible to broader metal audiences without compromising their unsettling, confrontational style. The opening track is more of a David Lynchian guitar piece that sets the stage before they launch into a darker and more melodic mood while still packing a punch that hits more like sludge.
"Heaven's Gate" is more explosive, but anchored by a beefy bassline. Ambience still haunts the corners of the song, creating dynamics rather than just bashing your ears out. "Under Siege" has more hardcore in its punk-driven charge. They show you can be hooked into music this abrasive by providing hooks even amid the unhinged fury. The vocals bark with purpose. The songs have something to say. The album is well broken up with the more experimental forays into things falling outside of the bounds of metal, breaking it up and giving the listener room to breathe. "Ectasy' was one of the lead singles, so I was prepared for its brand of weird that draws from 90s alternative while not forsaking the rough edges.
"Death From Above" takes a turn down a darker alley. More metallic stomps accent the shadows here. The vocals drop into a more resonant death-metal growl. "God Will Never Hear Me" is another beautifully brooding song that is not dark in a post-punk or goth manner, but effective at introspective self-loathing. The counterpoint is a more dissonant, sludged-out, clanging. A more unexpected direction is Texas rapper Slim Guerilla appearing on "Chamber of Misery." At only a minute, it's more of a bizarre interlude.
The riff that opens "Total Black" might be the most pleasing to more mainstream metal. The song grooves in its own way, even when the riff drops out to create space. "Object of Pain" is less intense and almost mroe like Crippling Alcoholism in how it slithers over ashtrays and empty liquor bottles. They close the album with the more in-your-face explosion of "The Last Judgement" that opens up on the verse, so give the vocals room to be more than an afterthought. These guys once again show that you can make one of the heaviest albums going this year without having to skimp on hooks to keep you engaged in the song. It's not too experimental; your ears are just boring. I'll give this one a 10, not even Neurosis and Converge took this many chances.
This project is more nu-metal than it is industrial. There is a great deal of brooding after the more Fear Factory-like thrashing of the opening track. I do like that things get darker as this album progresses. Synths play a larger role on "Cyan Spirits, though entrenched firmly in the dynamics of the nu-metal formula. Mudvayne being remixed by Prodigy is a fair enough assessment of "You Flew a Plane into My Heart".
The title track is just an electronic instrumental thumper, which is not generic, but really, all the button-pushing music tends to sound similar, given the nature of technology in 2026. The guitar and vocals of "Lowbender" that follow it underscore the importance of representing actual instruments. Perhaps there were some in the previous song that got obscured by the other sounds. It is all about balance, as when they dig deeper into metal, they tend to sound like everyone else on "Metrh Communion."
It does not take much in some ases the right groove for things to work, which can be heard on the trickier time changes they hit you with on "Villain Maw". Some moments get a little chaotic as I had to give "Angelsmoke" a second listen, some of the more electronic-driven portions fade into background music for me. It makes sense as it feels more likea an interlude that holds tension, while never building to the place it needs to. The payoff does not come until the next song as they close the album with "Shitkill" which is a more banging Slipknot-like tune that has ample melody even when it drones a bit.
The verdict-
To the band's credit they are not ripping off anyone while jumping on the nu-metal band wagon, sure Static X might be the most dominant influence4 here, but what they are doing feels like this is who they are, so I will give that a 9 as it means they showed up to the part with enough of their own indentity to make me appreciate what is going down here and a welcome edition to the genre.
March is now in the rearview, so let's get you abreast of new releases. This might help you, casual readers, with what you might have missed. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This helps me organize my lists for the end of the year by listing the album's genre. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most. I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til June, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month, there is a wide variety from Sudge to pop to post-punk, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for March of 2026.
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