Tag Archives: metalcore album reviews

EP REVIEW: Atreyu – The Moment You Find Your Flame

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Over the past decade, the once-notorious metalcore band, Atreyu have been going through a metamorphosis of sorts. From breakdowns and screams to grand sing-along choruses and arena-rock sounds, the band seems like they’ve set their sights and hearts on a sound dedicated to a bigger space, arenas, and stadiums instead of their frequented small academy slots where the band originally gained fame. This of course has been met with a strong mixture of love and derision from fans and foes alike since the release of their album In Our Wake. With the last album receiving polarising reviews across the board, will the latest of a collection of EP projects, The Moment You Find Your Flame (Spinefarm) allow the band to start winning back audiences and critics alike?

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ALBUM REVIEW: Orbit Culture – Descent

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Orbit Culture is making big waves in the contemporary Metal scene. This Swedish quartet started out a decade ago and there is a groundswell of rumblings that they could be one of the next hottest acts in the genre. Their rare and remarkable talent would absolutely deserve such recognition. Even in their earlier years, they went over and above the traditional melodeath elements by supplementing them with more fervid aptitude. Now they are preparing to release their fourth full-length album, Descent (Seek & Strike Records) and these savvy Swedes have taken their dynamically different drive to new heights by creating songs laden with more fortitude and technicalities.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: IN FEAR – All Is. All Shall Be

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Metalcore is a style of music that will likely always have appeal, and always have avid listeners, but few in the genre can land a knockout at the start. Bristol UK metalcore scene newcomers In Fear have wound up and clocked quite the sucker punch to the noses of the dubious and unsuspecting. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Crown The Empire – DOGMA

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The late-2019 worldwide pandemic has once again found itself sandwiched between album releases, and subsequently left its mark on the band members of Crown The Empire (Rise Records). Their fifth full-length album, DOGMA, produced and mixed by Zach Jones (Fever 333, Poorstacy, Scene Queen, Nova Twins), sees a diverse album fueled by angst, crisis, isolation, and resilience. Touring drummer turned band member Jeeves Avalos completes the lineup for this album cycle and offers his creative input, and thus, it is the dawning of a new age for Crown The Empire.

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ALBUM REVIEW: August Burns Red – Death Below

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For a band that hasn’t changed their sound much over the course of almost twenty years, Pennsylvania quintet August Burns Red miraculously continues to stay not only relevant but one of the most widely respected acts in modern metal. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Polar – Everywhere, Everything

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Everywhere, Everything (Arising Empire) is the fifth album from Polar, the Hardcore natives of Guildford, Surrey (UK), and is the follow-up to 2019’s Nova. It is a collection of songs written together during the pandemic, and with their current lineup for the first time, which had brought a premature end to their tour with After The Burial, Spiritbox, and Make Them Suffer.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Our Mirage – Eclipse

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Metalcore has evolved significantly since the early 2000s, with countless bands finding their own creative strategies to embrace the melodic side of the genre without forgetting about its metal roots. Rising up from Marl, Germany, Our Mirage solidify what makes their brand of metalcore special with their somber yet hard-hitting tone as well as their captivating ways of storytelling. Their sophomore album Eclipse (Arising Empire) takes the heavy rock riffing and balances it with atmospheric touches that bring out a certain delicacy amongst the havoc.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Borders – Bloom Season

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Any band who knows how to blur the lines between two styles that are normally considered drastically different deserves some praise for that alone, and groups like Lincoln, UK’s Borders continue to push those boundaries. Their sophomore album Bloom Season (Arising Empire) ventures further on their seamless mingling of metalcore and hip-hop, yet there is no shortage of either genre’s core elements. While some tracks may embrace one over the other, the balance is consistent, making for a record easily accessible to a wide range of music fans. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Crooked Royals – Quarter Life Daydream

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There is still a ton left to be done in Metal and Rock music. If you’re one of those people who assumes rock is dead simply because it’s not as mainstream as it once was, I am truly sorry for all the amazing new bands you’re missing out on. Among many others, New Zealand quintet Crooked Royals are opening eyes to the many ways the genre is evolving and raising questions of where else it could go from here. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Architects – the classic symptoms of a broken spirit

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Architects have been a busy band indeed these last couple of years, and it was initially somewhat of a surprise when they announced the release of their tenth studio album so soon after 2021’s game-changing career-shift in style on For Those That Wish To Exist, and the records accompanying Abbey Road Live recording that was released earlier this year.

But with For Those That Wish To Exist providing the Brighton based band their first UK number one release, and a diminished touring cycle providing the increased opportunity for writing new material and hitting the studio, it actually makes sense that Architects are looking to capitalise and continue their momentum on the upward trajectory into the arena rock band they are becoming.  

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