Animals As Leaders - The Madness Of Many

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Guitar master Tosin Abasi is ready to show his skills again on Animals As Leaders' new record The Madness Of Many. His complex playing goes beyond djent rhythms and spidery riffs, spreading into some different instrumentation and electronic sounds.

The album begins as you'd expect, but still with a twist. The song 'Arithmophobia' kicks the album off with an Indian vibe, a sitar-esque instrument sounding and bending its note. The familiar djent rhythms soon return, powerful and spidery guitars soon sounding high above the thick punches. There are some very crazy and innovative guitar sounds on the album, some tinged with electronica will others feature variations of Abasi's signature delay.

Frantic and evil sounds continue to serve as a recurring theme throughout the record - it carries right into the next track 'Ectogenesis,' beginning with ominous electronica before the frantic guitars build the track, the rhythm tight yet sporadic. 'Private Visions Of The World' sounds like good fighting evil; the song's dreamy textures sound beautiful as the high guitars soar as if they were flying. The nightmarish djent soon kicks in, contrasting the dreamy guitars in a violent dance as the two fight stand off in a heroic battle.

What's most refreshing about this album is it's end - electronic experimentation gave the intro some color, and the acoustic guitars make the record as fresh as the start. The album's lead single 'The Brain Dance' is the first of the two acoustic-centric tracks, and is a blend of the distorted nature of the band and a light acoustic side. Our review of the song complimented its refreshing sound, and that remains unchanged in the record. It still serves as a powerful track with a sweet blend of acoustic and electric. Closing track 'Apeirophobia' ends the record on a fully acoustic note. 'Apeirophobia' is the fear of eternity, and the song, in a way, reflects that. It's a cinematic song, sounding very elegant and classical. It's gentle, but also frantic, as if running from something. The track's infinite atmosphere gives it a lot of dimension that helps it sound beautiful in its fear.

Animals As Leaders really know how to channel emotion through their art. The Madness Of Many is a solid record, and though some tracks are pretty standard for the band, it definitely shows the mastery they have at their instruments and their willingness to expand on it. A new era of Animals As Leaders is coming - The Madness Of Many is just the start.

Favorite Tracks: Apeirophobia, Private Visions Of The World, Arithmophobia

Least Favorite Track: The Glass Bridge

Rating: 79 / 100

Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage

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Metal and theatric grandiose always blend well together - Avenged Sevenfold are the band to bring the two together with flying colors without fail. Their surprise seventh record The Stage progresses their giant sound even further. 

It's been a long few years for the band since the release of Hail To The King in 2013. The Stage is the band's first record with drummer Brooks Wackerman following the departure of their drummer since Nightmare, Arin Ilejay. The band also changed record labels, with The Stage being their first on Capitol. It's a confusing and impactful time for the band, and it'd probably be best to take things slowly and test the waters.

Nope. Avenged Sevenfold have done quite the opposite; The Stage borders progressive metal, songs featuring complex structures and multiple sections, the majority of the tracks on the record clocking in at over five minutes long. It's the band's longest record to date, beating out City Of Evil by a minute. There was surely uncertainty in the creation and risk of the record, but Avenged Sevenfold burst into it confidently and succeeded with flying colors. 

The record does, however, get off to a bit of a bumpy start. The title track 'The Stage,' also the album's lead single, kicks off the record, and if you read our review of the track, you could probably tell that I was not a fan. I'm not quite certain what it is; whether it's the lack of a clichéd music video accompanying it or the context of the record, the track certainly sounds like less of a trainwreck as it did upon my first impressions. That doesn't mean it's a standout; it's more like a mild derailment. There's a lot of things going on with the song, and it doesn't play towards the benefit of it. Wackerman doesn't make a great first impression on this track - and that's not his fault. It's the fault of whoever mixed and produced the drums on this track. There's never been a deader or messier kick drum sound than what you hear in the intro of the song behind the tapping guitar. The lyrics are just plain embarrassing, too; how can "Jesus Christ was born to die / Leave it to man to levitate his own to idolize / We’re simply sociopaths with no communication baby / I see your angle but we differ from our points of view" be acceptable in any song? The melody is still tacky and the parts don't really feel cohesive. It sets the foundations of what the record will introduce later on, but the song itself doesn't cut it.

The album only gets better from there; in fact, it gets better and better as it progresses. 'Paradigm' kicks in with immediately more impressive (and better produced) drumming and a powerful guitar riff, the verse furthering this as the guitar imitates the drums and M. Shadows escapes his shaky melodies from the former track and returns to his signature vocalizations, complete with an epic scream to really bring the entire song together.

Big riffs are a key element of any A7X record, and The Stage is no exception - in fact, it may have set a whole new standard. Creepy, dark powerchords dance with the thick rhythm guitars in the intro of 'Sunny Disposition' before the pounding drums drive the song through the chugging guitars and classic A7X melody. The song ends rather rawly, a peaceful and mysterious guitar line falls in line with an equally pretty bassline to end it all off. 'Creating God' also has a powerful riff, though pretty simple. It's just ascending powerchords, but there's something in the way it imitates a big bass synth line that makes it sound a bit robotic and all the more powerful. 

Electronics make a surprising debut as a key part of some songs on The Stage. Though there aren't any songs that fully blend the line between electronica and metal on the record, there's some toying around with the idea. 'Fermi Paradox' is the last place you'll expect to hear synths, its thrashing intro leading into powerful verses. You then meet the bridge of the song, synthy electronic keyboards supporting an amazing bluesy solo from Synyster Gates that shifts the mood of the song to something more retrospective. After one final verse, the soloing returns and brings the song to its end.

The album is closed by the fifteen minute progressive rock epic 'Exist.' It begins right away with arpeggiating synths and the same beautiful orchestral elements that build the previous track 'Roman Sky' and its tragic drama. 'Exist' is a sort of summation of the record - it's almost like the polar opposite of 'The Stage' - 'Exist' is a showcase of the mastery of every single element introduced on the record, while 'The Stage' hides in the shadows as an uncertain projection of what they wanted to sound like. The phenomenal, dramatic intro blasts straight into a thrashing mix of pounding drums and dual sweeping guitars. The song then bursts sporadically into both heavy and thick riffs until it hits its halfway mark, where the distorted riffs are replaced by another great, bluesy solo before clean guitar reminiscent of Radiohead's 'Electioneering' come into play and the first vocals of the song are sung. Shadows sings in a pained tone, "Our truth is painted across the sky / In our reflection we learn to fly," profound lyrics that emulate the searching adventure of the track. 'Exist' is a journey through space in search of an escape from the tragedies of Earth and to find a place for a chance at redemption; somewhere to start anew, unbound by any burdens of the past.

The Stage is a monster of a record. It may take a bit to get it up and roaring, but when it does, it takes metal to an epic level. Avenged Sevenfold hit it big with this album - it's by far one of their most introspective and honest ones to date. Despite all of the brooding changes and pressure on them, they burst into this new frontier with confidence and took it over and made it their own. The Stage is a successful experiment, though not free of imperfection - if it was, how would the next record be able to top it? Because if this is the direction they take, it certainly will.

Favorite Tracks: Exist, Roman Sky, Creating God, Angels

Least Favorite Track: The Stage

Rating: 87 / 100

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation

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Nothing is forever - not even chaos. The musical embodiment of such, The Dillinger Escape Plan, are calling it quits after the tour for their sixth and final record Dissociation runs its course.

There was never really a quantifiable way of describing The Dillinger Escape Plan. Their chaotic music gave them their niche and was always hard to understand. It's a hit or miss scenario for much of their discography - even their softer tracks. Dissociation wasn't much different, for me. As someone who's never actively listened to the band before, I was quite confused by the record for much of its runtime.

Then, everything started making sense when 'Nothing To Forget' played, particularly during the soft part in the bridge. The chaos and doom of the verses painted a tortured picture, but as the soft, symphonic bridge kicked in, it showed that it was all a controlled chaos. In the tortured mind, thoughts are often riddled with hopeless optimism. Amongst the anger and grit of everything else, there's still a sense of hope that is found at the core of it. It's the emotionally connotation of this soft bridge part that really tied the meaning of the record together. The bridge leads to an even heavier, angrier breakdown to end the song, in which Ben Weinman screams "Please let me be by myself / I don't need anyone else" over and over again, as if to try and escape his own mind from its full state.

The album is a representation of internal chaos. It's the interworking systems of a brain, at times schizophrenic and at others on the brink of self-destruction. Upon the second listen of the album, after the revelation of the album's theme, 'Symptom Of Terminal Illness' became more powerful. Originally, the intensity of the track stood out because it was less insane-sounding than 'Limerant Death', but its creepiness build a different complex. That creepiness builds unsettling pictures on top of restraint. It feels as if at any moment this song could abruptly explode into undying rage built up over years.

There's a general unsettling cloud that floats over a lot of the album. 'Fugue' is weird and unsettling, making the unease of the album greater as it gets into its core, with 'Low Feel Blvd' frantically and chaotically searches for a means of escape. It's the musical expression of tipping over the point of sanity and insanity. The song's majority is heavy and unrelenting, but a jazzy, bluesy bridge separates the beginning's anger from the end's. It's the constant change of sound and type of anger that makes the album constantly feel like its going through a mood change between songs.

It can't be forgotten that this is the band's final record, though. It all comes to an almost tragic end with title track 'Dissociation'. Brought up with a beautiful string intro, a droning bass kicks in, in time with a crazy drum beat. The song isn't angry, but it is neither satisfied. It's more like its come to terms with itself. The chaos is a part of it, and this song is about giving up and letting it take over, ironically making the chaos more refined and less apparent. The band's end comes at a tragic note, but a powerful one all the same. The band is concluded with the dying words "Finding a way to die alone" as the song fades out to its last breath.

Much of Dissociation feels like, to me, a mess of hitting drums and downtuned guitar tracks, and the album's meaning can't change that, but justify it. It doesn't make it good, it just makes it understandable. The album is Dillinger's final, and perhaps most powerful. It's internal, personal chaos and degradation rather than aiming to simply sound like it. There's meaning in there somewhere, but it's buried under layers of a dying mind. If Dillinger will be back one day is yet to be seen, but this album feels like the appropriate farewell.

Favorite Tracks: Dissociation, Nothing To Forget, Symptom Of Terminal Illness

Least Favorite Tracks: Limerent Death, Fugue

Rating: 73 / 100

Avenged Sevenfold - 'The Stage'

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Avenged Sevenfold have a reputation of being the pop boys of metal. It's fair to say - they definitely have one of the more accessible sounds in the genre. While remaining easy to listen to in terms of the levels of metal, they often do it well. Their new song is not one of these cases.

'The Stage' is perhaps one of the most uncreative, gimmicky songs the band has ever put out. From the over-the-top angsty music video to the absolutely dreadful drum mix, this song really has hit all the checks for bad.

You'd think progressive A7X couldn't be that bad. You'd have thought wrong, though. 'The Stage' is melodramatic in the worst ways possible. The band is known for being bombastic and upfront, but this is just distasteful. It does have multiple distinct sections that work to a passable ending that takes the song out on its only positive note. The intro is brought straight from the title track 'Hail To The King' from their 2013 effort Hail To The King in a move which shows that the band is basically ripping themselves off (at least it's not Metallica this time). The song abruptly segues into a clean, almost bluesy bridge after an electrifying solo. The guitar in this part is really great, the instrumental as a whole sounding really genuinely pretty.

Then the heaviness comes back. It's not as bad as the verses had set up, but it's still not great. The song ends with dual guitar solos in that 'Nightmare'-esque fashion and pounding drums (the only part of the album where the drums are tolerable). A classical acoustic ending brings the song to an awkward end as the crash cymbal fails to fade out with the rest of the instrumental. Also, why did they end with an acoustic guitar? What is the relevance?

Not only is the performance out of place, but the instruments themselves just sound awful. The kick drum in the intro sounds like something a teen trying out a double-kick pedal or a sampling pad for the first time would sound like. The tone of it is so completely dead, too. The snare is okay, and the cymbals are fine, but as for the rest of the kit; it's like they forgot to mic them appropriately. Their new drummer Brooks Wackerman is really not doing them any favors - Bad Religion won't miss him if this is his work now... The guitar lacks bass or crunch, sounding floppy and weak. The lead parts are good, as is expected from Synyster Gates, but what happened to the rhythm guitar? Why does M. Shadows sound like a dying horse in the third verse? What's going on?

To make matters worse, the lyrics are absolutely laughable. By some tragic miracle, M. Shadows seems to have misplaced his own lyrics with an angry middle-schooler's diary. Who let "When did the walking apes decide that nuclear war / Was now the only solution for them keeping the score? / Just wake up / Can’t you wake up?" be words to a song? The key to being prolific and making a statement is ripping cliché metaphors straight out of angry YouTube comments? The second verse sings (in the song's awful, failing melody) "Jesus Christ, was born to die / Leave it to man to levitate his own to idolize / We’re simply sociopaths with no communication baby / I see your angle but we differ from our points of view," as if this isn't the cringiest line you've ever heard in a metal song (barring Limp Bizkit, of course, who made that their thing).

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, the music video is atrocious. It's a giant metaphor on war and corruption, with handpuppets replaying scenes from the history of man, including the beheading of Louis XIV and World War I. An interesting concept, but done with the wrong song and the the wrong direction. Watching puppets in these scenes with crappy metal playing in the background doesn't do any justice. When Hillary Clinton and Vladmir Putin appear at the end as puppets controlling the other puppets, you can't help but say "Oh, come on." Then another set of strings control those puppets, the strings attached to a skeletal hand that presses a button the detonate a nuclear bomb, sending us back to the age of cavemen, because that's how evolution works. 

There's so much wrong with this song, and it makes me angry. I want this song to be good. Repeated listens lighten the initial "what and why is this" reaction, but fails to make the bad elements of the song any better. It's a badly produced song and a badly produced video to combine into one fail of a show. Hopefully the rest of Voltaic Oceans holds up, because if this song (and the edginess of the album title) are proof of what's to come, we're doomed.

Rating: 59

Rating w/ Video: 40

Animals As Leaders - 'The Brain Dance'

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Animals As Leaders are famous for good reason. There are few people in the world who can exhibit such a mastery of their craft as Tosin Abasi, a modern guitar legend. Their new album The Madness Of Many is out November 11, and the first single from it is 'The Brain Dance'.

Their unique blend of incredible playing and djent comes to an interesting crossroads in 'The Brin Dance'. The song actually begins with an acoustic nylon guitar, plucked with mind boggling brilliance as drums and bass slowly start joining the mix. The nylon guitar eventually becomes the band's signature electric guitar, performed with a mix of slap and plucks. The song then concludes as it began, peacefully with one final chord on the acoustic and bass.

The beauty of the song is that it truly emits fascinating imagery with only instruments, and guitar and drums at that. It doesn't need heavy, djent riffs downtuned to Drop A to be impactful; in fact, it's not wrong to say the acoustic guitar performance has more of an impact than the detuned guitars would. 'The Brain Dance' invigorates the mind as it tries to follow the sweet guitars and the jazzy vibes. The aesthetic and atmosphere of the song are pure and show the band's talent isn't limited to trudging, sludgy riffs with spidery guitar above. The talent lies in the playing itself - every element of the song soars in their own delicate dance.

Animals As Leaders are a different force on the block. There's nothing quite as evocative as they are in the format in which they perform in. The beautiful playing is sometimes heavy, but when it's softer and jazzier there is not complaint. This band is full of legendary players with underappreciated talent, and their next album is bound to be a testament to that.

Rating: 85 / 100

Opeth - Sorceress

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The masterminds of progressive metal are back once again. Opeth challenges new heights on their twelfth album Sorceress, continuing their exploration of a jazz and metal fusion.

Many would have claimed that the band was approaching its doom when vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt began to abandon his brutal screams in favor of being more melodically centered. That choice has only seemed to propel the band a step further into evolution, opening up the music to new heights and new places.

The clearest example of this new progression is the acoustic single 'Will O The Wisp' - our review of which can be found here. Åkerfeldt wanted a song with the capo up really high, placing it at the fifth fret to give the song a very glittery sound, as he explained. The simple, catchy melody is contrasted by the song's dark meaning, proven by the beautifully executed chorus that chants, "You're stuck to the failures of your life / Marred with the sorrows of your strife / And time it waits for no one / It heals them when you die / And soon you are forgotten / A whisper within a sigh." The blues solo at the end really adds a new dimension to it, resonating beautifully above the bright and somber acoustics.

The album continues with the experiments of its predecessor, 2014's Pale Communion, which dabbled in jazzy and bluesy textures. A lot of the record's creepy organ keyboards and jazzy, frantic arpeggios make a return on Sorceress. Pale Communion was bashed for these elements, but Sorceress seems to bring out the best of them. The jazzy distortion makes its return on the title track 'Sorceress', groove taking its place on the track to set the momentum of the record. There are lots of interesting guitar moments throughout the song, found between the thrilling heavy unrelenting powerchords of the choruses and their soaring, powerful vocals.

The creepy organs take a background roll in tracks like 'The Wilde Flower', the song instead capitalizing on wild guitar arpeggios to give it its niche. The jazzy grooves of the intro are soon transitioned into something darker and brooding, almost creepy and evil by its end. The quiet ending allows for a reprieve from the chaos of the track, transitioning beautifully into 'Will O The Wisp'. Jazzy textures return later on the album for 'A Fleeting Glance', in between the confident shouts of baroque-esque guitar licks.

The album prioritizes on darkness and evil themes instead of continuing an exploration of genre. The evil grumbles of the guitars in 'Chrysalis' serves as a crucial turning point for the album. Gone is the transition from Pale Communion into the present; this is where Sorceress really sets its own sense of purpose. The dark arpeggios of the song lead to a crazy solo that switches between guitars and wild organs at its core, it's seven-minute runtime proving to be a very providing track. Dark progressions continue in 'The Seventh Sojourn', a Middle Eastern-tinged instrumental track that feels like it's straight out of an Indiana Jones film. The mystery of the track provides a adventurous image, traveling the desert or jungle with a final destination in mind. 

The downside of this record is its lack of a thick climax. Most songs have big moments, ultimately ending in epic, climactic moments of their own, but in those huge endings there is a certain punch missing. The doom ending of 'Strange Brew' serves as an example - there doomy guitars get across their mood, but it lacks a crunch to give it a little extra evil. Is it the fault of seeking a cleaner melodic sound? The album doesn't suffer from it in an end-all way, but it missed out having a stronger impact upon execution.

What's great about Opeth is that they can do anything, and that's what Sorceress tells us. The band can combine metal, rock, melody, doom, evil, and jazz all into one epic fusion of progressive rock greatness. Opeth is a band without expiration date - they're like a fine wine, becoming greater as time goes on. Sure, their time as a truly heavy metal band are gone, but they've become so much more than that. They're no longer bound by genre - they're free to create as they want to.

Favorite Tracks: Will O The Wisp, Chrysalis, Sorceress, Strange Brew

Least Favorite Track: Persephone (Slight Return)

Rating: 84 / 100

Opeth - 'Will O The Wisp'

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When Opeth has an album on the way, the metal world can't help but to stop and stare. Sorceress is out at the end of the month and promises to be the band's heaviest effort since 2008's Watershed. The title track 'Sorceress' seemed to combine the jazz flavors of 2014's Pale Communion with the band's heavier and experimental moments. The next single 'Will O The Wisp' shows the album is much more diverse than what you may expect.

'Will O The Wisp' is an acoustic track inspired by Jethro Tull's 'Dun Ringill', as frontman Mikael Akerfeldt told Team Rock. Speaking of the song's composition itself, he claimed: "I wanted to do a song with my capo really high, so it's up on the fifth fret. It makes the guitar sound really glittery. I just wanted to go for a simple, catchy vocal melody. It has a slightly positive vibe to it, but the lyrics are really, really dark. It's a beautiful song, I think. I'm really happy with that one."

The song does live up to Akerfeldt's description. It's acoustic instrumentation is bright and warm with an almost baroque vibe to it. The lyrics are upbeat yet hold a dark message to them: the pre-chorus and chorus regally chant, "You're stuck to the failures of your life / Marred with the sorrows of your strife / And time it waits for no one / It heals them when you die / And soon you are forgotten / A whisper within a sigh." The song progresses, eventually gaining a beat and closes our with an electrifying blues solo. The solo feels oddly mature - it's not very metal or wild in any way, it's just an expressive, beautiful guitar solo that feels right at place among the end of the track and acoustic guitars.

Opeth are masters of their craft. Whether it be the demanding jazz metal of 'Sorceress' or the stark acoustic beauty of 'Will O The Wisp', they can handle anything they tackle. Sorceress is bound to be an incredible album and definitely a standout in their discography. Now, we play the waiting game.

Rating: 90 / 100

Gojira - Magma

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French behemoths Gojira never go lightly into a new frontier. The band's sixth effort Magma shows a more emotional side to the band, being written and recorded after the death of the band brothers Joe Duplantier's and Mario Duplantier's mother. The album feels angry and seeks vengeance, confidently taking strides with each powerful track making a new mark.

Gojira has always been an interesting band. Their lyrics always had some charge to them, typically that of a pro-environmentalist view. Magma doesn't feel the same way other big albums from this band has felt. The impact of their critically acclaimed From Mars To Sirius is present on this album, but in a different kind of light. There's a very apparent disposition on the album. The instrumentals speak for it - melody combines with cavernous and brooding booms of noise that create a tense atmosphere around each track. 

Melody is a key component in this record, and something that is somewhat new for Gojira. Their music never really keyed in on the melodic side of things. This has changed with Magma, where many tracks even centralize themselves around melody. Single 'Stranded' is the first song to give a taste of a revitalized Gojira, beginning straight off with an electrifying riff with a crazy guitar effect. The song bases itself around the riff before the climax of it, where a clean and melodic part comes in - a first for the band. The part of the song comes as a big surprise and a fresh taste of something different. It's big and epic, and doesn't bring the song down in any respect - if anything, it raises it to something new.

Melody plays different roles throughout the record. The brutal 'Pray' makes use of moody dark melodies on top of crushing riffs to create a giant atmosphere. 'Pray' is perhaps the most metal sounding song on the record, beginning with that dark atmosphere with distant flute in the background (the flute plays a surprisingly major key in this record, too). There's something so hauntingly dark about this song that goes beyond it's composition, its hard to comprehend. Title track 'Magma' has much the same structure, beginning creepily before a threatening instrumental kicks in. The verses feature a strange guitar line and almost monotonous vocals that feel like a religious chant. The choruses have giant vocals with resonating harmonies, progressing on from the verses. The bridge is just massive, incredible screams that bring the song into its instrumental climax. The large majority of the song is centered around the guitar, which is featured in an electrifying solo with that strange guitar effect, before a cleaner distortion ending kicks in to end the track with violent vocals.

Of course, with any metal band, the instrumentals have to play a big role in the composition of each track. As mentioned prior, flute makes a big but subtle impact throughout the record, being featured in the background of multiple tracks. Big riffs carry many of the songs forward, including intro track 'The Shooting Star', bringing the album in on an intense note. The big riffs accompanied by the expansive vocals create a giant epic track. The guitar riffs in this song progress in a such a dark way, that small movement in the verses adding so much intensity to it.  'The Cell' is all about the riffs, literally being a three-minute punch in the face of heaviness. Instrumental interlude 'Yellow Stone' is slow and dark, like much of the rest of the record, and progresses the album into its darker half with ease. 'Only Pain' features that same guitar effect from 'Stranded', ending even bigger than the single does. Guitar is the central focus of 'Silvera', epic riffs accompanied by brilliant melodic guitars that soar high above the dark rhythm. The album ends, surprisingly, on a soft note. 'Low Lands' is a heavy track that ends acoustically, leading into the final track, the instrumental 'Liberation'. The track is just as the title claims; it's the aftermath of the brutality of the album and the consequences of its intensity. Its a very stripped down track, acoustic guitar and a tribal drum beat. It's calm and recollective, not much to it besides the reprieve of the end. An interesting choice to end the album on a song such as this. Perhaps it was a send off from the brothers to their mother; the album was the emotion they faced at her loss, and the end is their final release and acceptance.

Magma is a huge album. It's unlike other albums of its kind in that it doesn't focus on the riffs. Instead, it focuses on the emotions of the music. It's dark and angry, but with a disposition that makes it personal. It's the summation of sound of anger that burns within us at the time of loss. It's the summation of the sadness we feel, too. It's the summation of that side of the human spectrum of emotion, and with that, it made its brilliant mark.

Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

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There are two ways good metal can go: with heaviness comes brutality and jams, or with heaviness comes beauty and connectivity. In their seventh record, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, post-hardcore/metal outfit Architects seamlessly find the compromise of those two types of metal.

After a decade of evolution, Architects have settled on a sound that's hard to wrap your head around. It's definitely metal, but somewhere along the lines, they formed something new. The music on All Our Gods is giant, atmospheric, and crushing while still being melodic and technical. It's as hard as it is to explain as it is to comprehend. All that's clear is that it's brilliant.

There is no break on this record. It's 46 minutes of unadulterated intensity and raw emotion. This album begs for multiple listens; once through for the epic instrumentals, and a second to appreciate the lyrical work on it. Vocally, this may be Architects' best material yet. Sam Carter brings out amazing melodies in his violent screams (giving the music tastes of melodic death metal) while still finding moments in between to bring in softer moments. 'Deathwish' is perhaps the most impressive vocal and lyrical moment on the album, the chorus admitting "I know you know we’ve been living a lie… We’ve passed the point of no return… We just want to watch the world burn." Looking beyond the lyrics, you can find huge melodic screams and a sung bridge, a moment of reprieve from the blistering intensity of this unforgiving album. 'Gone With The Wind' brings in more killer vocals - the chorus melodies soar to different heights and the bridge provides a moment of consideration of the lyrics, before the powerful instrumental and giant vocals return.

More noticeably epic and groundbreaking than the vocals are the incredible instrumentals found on each song. There is not a dull moment on any track whatsoever - every note is another punch to the face and every word is taken to heart. Straight from the beginning, this becomes apparent, with opener 'Nihilist' begrudgingly opening with some of the most intense screaming found on the record, with a reprimanding and brutal instrumental to back it. Epic guitars found on 'Phantom Fear' back up the absolutely crushing outro to the song - a start-stop djent breakdown that'll send you into an abyss. The eight-minute epic conclusion to the record, 'Memento Mori' is as dark as the title and length may suggest. There's something brilliantly dark found within the guitar synth that begins the song, a seemingly unimportant moment, yet so unforgettable and demanding at the same time. What separates this song from the rest (besides the qualities that can be gathered before the song even begins) is that it highlights the electronic aspect of the album. The album's electronic backgrounds are arguably just as important as the massive guitars and double bass kicks that make up the foreground - it's like the Hybrid Theory of 2016; the album loses an entire level of power without the electronics. The entire song builds up and progresses until it reaches its gentle climax, but each section of the song has a new offering that needs careful listening for a full appreciation. It's a perfect ending to an album of this caliber.

I found the center of the album to be a level down from the beginning and end, there's a song at the core of the album that really ties it all together: 'A Match Made In Heaven'. The album seems to refuse the idea of hooks and memorable choruses in order to give it its appeal, but this song seems to tread towards the playability aspect a little more closely. The chorus is anthemic and just powerful enough to not be forgotten. The song itself sums up the album, and what makes Architects so great, in a perfect way. Raw intensity of the vocals paired with a slew of technical riffs make the song a whole different force. In an album full of unforgiving and unorthodox songs, this song ties in a more modern structure with the different elements found dispersed in songs that accompany it.

Architects set a new precedent for modern metal bands with All Our Gods. It sounds familiar, yet it's not quite like anything you've ever heard before. For those who don't like the reprimanding lyrics or technicality of the instrumentals, this may not be the album for you. But even if that's not something you can get down with, this is an album that cannot be skipped - it's an instant classic for metal. In the beauty of its crushing atmosphere and rampant riffage, part of you that begs for rebellion and desire comes out. This album, while brutal, is capturing and comes from a disposition we've all shared. Architects is like fine wine - they get better with age. They've changed the game with this record, we may not be ready for what's to come next.

Favorite Tracks: Memento Mori, A Match Made In Heaven, Deathwish, Phantom Fear

Least Favorite Track: The Empty Hourglass

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Top 10 Albums Of 2016 (so far):

  1. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
  2. AURORA - All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend
  3. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
  4. Deftones - Gore
  5. Dream Theater - The Astonishing
  6. Foxes - All I Need
  7. Daughter - Not To Disappear
  8. Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere
  9. Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
  10. Lacey Sturm - Life Screams