1. Pray For Plagues
2. Tell Slater Not To Wash His Dick
3. For Stevie Wonder’s Eyes Only (Braille)
4. A Lot Like Vegas
5. Black & Blue
6. Slow Dance
7. Liquor & Love Lost
8. (I Used To Make Out With) Medusa
9. Fifteen Fathoms, Counting
10. Off The Heezay

This album has 3 things: repetitiveness, potential and boredom. Oh wait, you’re the one who has the boredom.

Bring Me The Horizon are a fairly popular band in the UK and you could say their lead vocalist, Oli Sykes, is somewhat of a sex symbol amongst the teenage female population. Unfortunately, I would even go as far as to say that he is one of the only reasons anyone (mainly the girls of course) would want to listen to them. Much of the music listening population is divided over Bring Me The Horizon, but some of the hatred they get could be unjustified.

Count Your Blessings starts off full of energy with Pray For Plagues until Oli Syke’s vocals come in. One of the main problems with the album as a whole is his vocals. He simply cannot project his scream properly. This is a problem with many screamers, but even more so with Sykes because the end result is worse. It sounds like a cross between black metal shrieking and a high pitched whisper. Unfortunately, the former part means that they just completely don’t suit the music and the latter is just intolerable. He sounds constantly out of breath and this takes a lot of energy out of the music except in certain points where he actually brings some variation into his vocals, such as when he growls “pray for plagues” in said song. But this variation is hardly worth noticing as it’s so slight and other vocal variations are uncommon and ineffective when they are attempted.

Their guitaring, whilst not over the top, suits the music rather well. The intro to Braille and the thrash-style solo at the beginning of Tell Slater Not To Wash His Dick, the main riff in Black & Blue etc are, there’s no other word for it, sweet. However, any merit gained by their guitarist is lost in his mannerisms. You can obviously see that he has great moments, but that’s all they are, moments. The breakdowns are incredibly boring and generic. It’s not that they can’t do good breakdowns, as evidenced by the one straight after “move” in Tell Slater Not To Wash His Dick but once their moment of glory passes, that’s it. For example, from the same song, after the first breakdown, there’s a fairly neat lick, and then there are just generic palm muted thumps. Once again, we see another main problem, they don’t vary things up enough and end up sounding repetitive and bland.

Another high point is the gang vocals in A Lot Like Vegas. This is probably the best part of the album, whilst being an overused concept in metalcore, they manage to project a good amount of emotion into the gang vocals. But as it is on the rest of the album, it’s ruined by the repetitiveness of other parts of the song such as the breakdowns after the solo. The solo really is quite something, especially as the guitaring turns more lead based, underlying the vocals. But again, the breakdowns and the blandness of Sykes’ vocals ruin it.

Yes, repetitiveness is a key problem in this album, and no, I won’t stop talking about it. They do attempt to vary things up but fail miserably. Black & Blue for example literally chugs along. I don’t think they even change notes on it at the beginning of the song. This makes it sound overly generic and boring. Furthermore, the album is full of gimmicks that a listener would look forward to, for example, the squealing lead guitar in one of the riffs of (I Used To Make Out With) Medusa. It’s far too hard to look at songs as a whole since there is virtually nothing to differentiate parts apart from these. The album is very shallow in that sense.

The drumming is also a problem. Whilst the guy’s by no means bad, he’s boring. He lacks that kick that most metalcore drummers have. It might be the mixing, it might be an improperly set up drum kit, whatever, there’s nothing to take your interest to the drumming. He doesn’t change his drumming style a lot either; his fills aren’t anything to be happy about and the only time you take notice to him is when he gives that extra kick in the breakdowns.

The songwriting, whilst being in typical metalcore and like their music, somewhat death metal style, are fairly average but yet they manage to hold your interest. This unfortunately, soon wears off as they write about the exact same things over and over again. The song titles are fairly cringeworthy but if you take them at face value; just a bit of fun, then it’s a bit easier to get into them. This still does nothing for the overall, pretty average songwriting.

Assuming you’re at a part of the album where you can actually hear the bass, it’s boring. Their bassist plays only simple lines. As for the rest of his basswork, it’s just impossible to tell if it fits the music right or not. Not much to say here; whoever mixed the album needs to be murdered in their sleep.

In conclusion, Count Your Blessings is an average effort by Bring Me The Horizon. Full of potential, repetition and cringeworthy moments.

4/10

It’s certainly not as bad as the elitists of the music community will  make it out to be, but finding Oli Sykes hot is no reason to listen to BMTH either.

Recommended tracks:

(I Used To Make Out With) Medusa
For Stevie Wonder’s Eyes Only (Braille)
There was a pretty cool solo in another song but I don’t remember which one because the album sounds the frickin’ same all the way through.

Oh and by the way, any potential they had on this album was lost on their follow-up, Suicide Season. It’ll be interesting to see if they recover from the depths of mediocrity but don’t hold your breath…

1. Dark Horse
2. Reap What You Sow
3. Axe To Fall
4. Effigy
5. Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast
6. Wishing Well
7. Damages
8. Losing Battle
9. Dead Beat
10. Cutter
11. Slave Driver
12. Cruel Bloom
13. Wretched World

Shove over Coalesce, this is the comeback album of the year.

You Fail Me and No Heroes were excellent albums but all in all, messy and somewhat unco-ordinated affairs. Jane Doe remained arguably their most focused release, and now Converge are back with their only real Jane Doe rival.

More specifically, Kurt’s guitaring left a fair amount to be desired. Whilst creative, fairly technical and so on, it was the main factor that led to the messiness of No Heroes and You Fail Me. A lot of thought has gone into the guitaring in Axe To Fall; the riffs are dissonant in the vein of Petitioning The Empty Sky and dare I say it, catchy. Note the title track and Dark Horse in this regard.

Ben Koller’s drumming remains as fast as ever and his fills as interesting as always. Whilst his drumming is very good, it is never exceptional but it’s commendable that he keeps up a good standard during the album which never slips.  This is not to say that his drumming is ever average, or just good, but there are no particular high points, such as Jane Doe’s Heaven In Her Arms. The main highlight of the album is not the individual components that make it up such as the drumming, vocals, blabla.. it’s how they collectively combine to rape your ears. You’ll find no real melody in Converge, just pure dissonance. Even with genre metalcore genre overflowing, no bands sound quite as raw as Converge and although their signature sound may have slipped a bit on You Fail Me and No Heroes, it’s back in full swing.

One of the most noteworthy elements is the addition of several guest vocals from Neurosis, Blacklisted, Genghis Tron and other epic names. Cruel Bloom is possibly the album’s highest emotional point (thank you Steve Von Til) and if you thought the title track sounded more brutal than the rest of the album as I did, you can put that down to George Hirsch from Blacklisted. None of the guest vocalists detract from the music, indeed, they are essential in some songs (see: title track). This shows how having guest musicians isn’t only a publicity stunt but it can be put to good use. One problem I will say with the guests is the instrumentation such as the drumming on Wretched World which probably would have been just as great without.

However, Wretched World itself is a problem. It is one of the most emotional tracks on the album but it leads nowhere, leaving a somewhat empty feeling. Whatever the guitars and dramatic vocals will have you feel, it’s just for nothing. This is the only song on the album which could have been improved quite a lot.

9/10

Converge… is back.

Recommended tracks:

Dark Horse
Axe To Fall
Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast
Cruel Bloom

1. As Horizons End
2. I Remain
3. First Light
4. Frailty
5. Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us
6. The Rise of Denial
7. Living With Scars
8. Last Regret
9. Universal Dream
10. In Truth

Paradise Lost are one of a few bands known for pioneering the doom metal sound. They had a rather large stint in their career that gained them a lot of new fans (which amongst other things, involved cloning Depeche Mode) but for the first time in years, we’re reminded why they could have possibly been considered one of the pioneers of doom.

If anyone reading this is an old era Paradise Lost fan, don’t get your hopes up about their style based on the summary. Their progression from Symbol of Life is complete and we’re back to their doom influenced metal. Gone are their poppy, Depeche Mode rip elements and this is their heaviest album in years, and their darkest album (alongside Lost Paradise which wasn’t really that good…). This is a perfect example of progression, building upon your old foundations but improving and changing things. There are several modern elements though such as the presence of synth (don’t think Believe In Nothing synth, it’s used purely for accompaniment and mostly in the background) etc. They still have a few surprises left and shows that they’ve grown as a band.

Their dependency on a good (and perhaps catchy) chorus is gone. Although this means that for some people the album will take repeated listens to get into, it gives their songs a more lasting impact since there isn’t only an addictive chorus to look forward to in the songs. This makes the album seem less of a gimmick than their synthrock material since the focus of the song was on the chorus. The keyboards have also been greatly reduced but you can still hear them in the background alongside the synth. The guitar leads are exceptional; whilst sounding dark and foreboding, they’re melancholic which reminisces of their work from Icon.  You can still hear a lot of riffs similar to Shades of God and Holmes’ dirty vocals have returned for the first time in what, 15 odd years? The chorus is no longer at the forefront of their music but dark riffs and melancholic leads are but don’t get me wrong, there’s still a sweet chorus in many of the songs.

Nick Holmes’ vocal range is simply excellent on this album. He alternates effortlessly from sincere and anguished (but yet not guttering) lows to your typical metal shout to smooth and clean highs such as in I Remain. Unlike the sterile vocals of pretty much all modern music, from death metal to pop punk, Holmes manages to convey true emotion whether it be the haunting melody of the title track or the energy filled lines in Cardinal Zero.

One complaint that I will give is that the album starts to become tedious and repetitive, or rather too repetitive, near the end. It’s not such a great problem since it’s well… the end. The album closer, Cardinal Zero, is surprisingly full of energy making this problem miniscule, but it’s something to think about in future releases.

In conclusion, progression is where this album shines. It takes the good from their past and almost completely ditches the elements that divided their fanbase and caused many people to scratch their heads going “…wtf?” The lyrics are typical Paradise Lost, dealing with hardship and other issues such as religion and are interestingly written; “tear me down and break me, I remain.” Whilst the topics and tone may be rather predictable, their writing style is not and this (if you care enough about them to pay attention to them) keeps you listening even if everything else fails.

Final rating:

7.5/10

Possibly the most satisfying release of this year.

Recommended tracks:

I Remain
Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us (if you can get over the cheesiness)

1. Intro
2. FreaXXX
3. Skeet Skeet
4. Late Night Call
5. Booty Call
6. Get Crunk!
7. Short Yellow Bus
8. Get Up
9. Jealousy
10. Poppin’
11. 40 Oz
12. Sex Toys
13. Rockstar
14. Schitzo
15. Scene Girls
16. Tipsy
17. I’m Sorry.

I love albums like these. They reaffirm my belief in the fact that humanity is slowly, but surely, destroying itself. 17 tracks of pure fucking torture…

As difficult as it may be, I will try to be professional whilst reviewing this…

Brokencyde are an awful mix of electronica beats and screamo. As if their debut EP was not enough to scar the world, putting all their genius to work, they came out with this monstrosity. Mixing electronic beats and hip-hop is pretty common but you’d be interested to hear what it sounds like with screamo. But interest is where it ends. After the pointless but in the end, inconsequential intro, the album blasts off with Freaxx. I mean what the actual fuck? It might have been tolerable without the awful and out of place screams in the background but it’s not even physically listenable. Personally, I’m not even sure if they’re screaming actual words or just screaming due to a dildo being stuck up their collective anuses.

To be honest, the electronica aspect of their music is sound but it doesn’t mean a god damn thing with the vocals and lyrics. Oh god the lyrics. They pull their panties down, they take their pants off. Yes, we heard you the first time. You make my pee-pee hard. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT?! Admittedly, they do use words that require an IQ over 50 to use correctly. One example of which is….. er…

The album is as catchy as shit but this fact works against them because it’s the most godawful music ever produced by mankind. Not much else to say here…

Their absolutely fucking stunning diversity is shown in I’m Sorry whereby the tempo is slowed by a factor of 50 in comparison to the rest of the album.  The lyrics are still unspeakably cringeworthy, although nowhere near as bad as the rest of the album. At least they’re not singing about their hard pee-pees, but hey, I found an example of a line they use that requires an IQ over 50 to comprehend: I fell asleep again, when will this tempest end, I’m sorry. And yet, when placed in it’s context of the song, I’m Sorry, it’s still as cringeworthy as the experience of everyone laughing at you whilst you pick up this album from your local record store. Trust me, if you didn’t actually see laughter coming your way, the whole store exploded in it as you left.

Final rating:

2/10

Recommended tracks:

I’m Sorry

Because it’s the only track even remotely close to tolerable…

I tried to review this professionally… I really did. I will leave you to your thoughts with this:

The fact is, if you don’t want to take a sledgehammer to these two guys after listening to I’m Not A Fan But The Kids Like It, then may your god be with you in these dark times…

1. The Face of My Innocence
2. Maddening Disdain
3. Seven Whispers Fell Silent
4. Return
5. Worship Depraved
6. Carnal Ways To Recreate The Heart
7. Dust and Guilt
8. Elegant and Perverse
9. The Sadistic Motives Behind Bereavement Letters
10. Looking To Nothing
11. Wholly Night

Technical. Melodic. Kickass vocals. Amazing drums. What more could you want in a death metal album? (Unless you prefer constant face pummeling.) Every genre has a few releases  that make the listener go “oh shi-” and here we are at A Celebration of Guilt, one of the best American melodic death metal albums.

The first thing to note is that James Malone seems to be a jack of all trades. He did the vocals, the guitar AND the bass on the album. How they managed to pull this off live before recruiting more band members, I don’t know. But he performs each and every task amazingly and almost never shows signs of letting his effort fall during the album. In this album, he pulls off layered harmonics, fast but yet not pointless shredding and riffs that’ll have you banging your head in no time. On the other hand, the harmonics get tiring after a while since they’re just used so much. In addition, whilst the basswork is good, it’s nothing else, nothing particularly noteworthy.. referring to the parts you can actually hear the bass of course.

The vocals work extremely well on this album; Malone has no problems projecting his screams and although they are a typical death/black metal rasp, he brings across a sense of urgency that bands with similar genres fail to. You could easily compare Malone to popular black metal vocalists such as Ihsahn from Emperor and Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir and this shows the extent of variation across the album. Leading on from their vocal influences…

Arsis incorporate influences from death, thrash and hell, even hints of black metal into A Celebration of Guilt. What’s impressive here is that influences from these are balanced and although you could choose to categorize them as melodic death metal or just death metal, there’s no denying the presence of other genres. Not many bands can pull this off without one genre overpowering the other influences and this foundation is present across every single track. This makes the album pretty damn consistent in terms of style and gives their music a sense of focus.

Mike Van Dyne is simply a beast behind the drumkit. Whilst he does spam double bass, a common criticism of death metal, it never sounds repetitive or boring. One could argue that he’s being technical and fast just for the sake of it, but he isn’t. Although the drumming almost never slows down until the end of the album, it suits the music perfectly. It is fast, it is technical, but it works in it’s context of Arsis’ music. However, this leads me onto one of the downsides; the drumming works great but it could have been that much better with more creativity behind the kit.

The lyrical work is very good… if you can understand it. It’s pretty much completely metaphorical and without thinking too hard on the subject, you probably won’t understand it. Some of the lyrics just sound as if they have no purpose being there, and although it is excellently written, it may not have been thought out very well. Considering these guys are death metal though, their lyrics are surprisingly poetic. You just have to dig deep to figure out the meaning of some of the songs. Even if you don’t understand them however, you won’t get bored by them since they are interestingly written.

Final rating:

9.5/10

An excellent album, let down by only a few tiny things that they could improve on. A must have for any metalhead.

Recommended tracks:

The Face of My Innocence
Return
Dust and Guilt

1. Echoes
2. Tears Times Seven Salt
3. The Company of Storms
4. Fallen Grace
5. The Coming Dark Age
6. Born Again
7. A Desert In The Heart
8. Formal Absences of Precious Things
9. Of Masks and Martyrs
10. The Cry of Mankind

Epic metalcore. How many metalcore bands can you actually call epic? Over the years, whilst metalcore has risen in popularity, it’s variety and innovation has fallen drastically. The Whispered Lies of Angels is hardly a new album, having been released in 2000 but yet it’s one of the most breathtaking metalcore albums out there.

First, a bit of background about Undying. Formed in 1998, arguably when metalcore started to become a more mainstream genre, they sound like your typical band of the time. Vegan, new to the scene etc etc. What made them so different to their peers? The answer is, not much. Whilst they’re not brimming with originality, they bring something that the more stagnant (i.e. the majority of) metalcore fails to deliver, power and even emotion.

The guitars have greatly improved compared to their previous releases. The leadwork is heavily emphasised on and one of the main highlights of the album. Although there’s not much (see: nothing) in the way of solos, the excellent leadwork almost makes up for this fact. Solos could have been used to their advantage in songs such as The Cry of Mankind and The Company of Storms to compliment the even better lead there. Following on from this, the bass is actually, for lack of a better word, epic. It fits the guitar excellently and although it’s not the most audible thing in the world, it’s extremely effective in delivering that punch that makes the album simply what it is, a powerful piece of music.

The drumming, whilst not being excessively technical is fairly creative and fits the music well. After all, the most important part of a band is all the different instruments working in sync with each other to produce their desired effect. It’s fairly fast which helps put on a sense of urgency but it’s also varied. One possible complaint is that it’s not too varied within tracks, but that’s just me nitpicking. The double bass isn’t used sparingly but it’s only used when it’s needed. Since it’s not being spammed endlessly, it’s simply more powerful and intense when it is. Of Masks and Martyrs is an excellent example of this. So no, the drummer isn’t just keeping a beat. The fills are quite good but sound awkward in some places, although again, it’s just nitpicking.

If there’s one complaint I have, and oh lord is it a complaint, the vocals. I don’t know if Undying are cursed or something but they’ve always had awful vocalists in their career. For example, Logan White, hailed by many fans for being an excellent vocalist (because she’s like, a girl… no other reason.) didn’t sound like she could project her screams properly on At History’s End. Now their new vocalist sounds like he’s constantly out of breath. It’s not such a problem in the first half of the album but it becomes tedious to listen to them.

Another thing to mention are the interludes. If you were as blown away by Echoes as I was, then the first interlude (Tears Times Seven Salt) was placed well, giving the album a chance to cool off. The second interlude, (Formal Absences of Precious Things) is placed right before the final track, The Coming Dark Age. It really sets the mood for the final track and makes The Coming Dark Age even more memorable than it already is.

The lyrical work is quite simply, excellent. Whilst some of it may have no purpose, when you can distinguish them (which is another problem with the vocals), the songwriting is strong and very interesting with lines such as “Where would our paths take us without the whispered lies of angels?” and “Love is not lost, it dies like all things do.”

The production is nothing spectacular but that’s part of what makes the album epic and powerful. It’s not overproduced like the metalcore of today and doesn’t sound like it was recorded under the Niagra Falls like most black metal but it manages to make the album sound raw but yet focused and intelligible. Of course, nothing could have been done to save the vocals. A lost cause.

Final rating:

8/10

An extremely powerful album let down by terrible vocals. A must listen for everyone though. If you can get over the vocals, you’ll love it. And damn, the title is just fucking win!