Releases the almost fell through the cracks

Metalcatto

Mistakes were made. Some by me, some by the rest of the MER staff—you know who you are, I’ll find you. So this is the time for us to acknowledge the most important releases that I kept procrastinating to the point that I forgot and then said, “well, shoot. Now I need to write something short about them.” Let’s go.

Sylosis – The New Flesh: How could I miss one of the most important bands in our underground? Life, that’s what happened. I’m not going to lie—this album, like the previous ones, is polarizing. Those of you who’ve been here since the early days might struggle with Sylosis‘s new approach. This is less proggy and more Pantera. I enjoy that The New Flesh also follows the band’s new trend of tighter work. Things go straight to the point and attack you with total disregard for your expectations. If you liked the previous album, then this is that but heavier and with tons of groove. It shows a band taking risks, and I like rewarding that.

Converge – Love Is Not Enough: Another legend showing that the love of the game is alive and well. I can’t recall a time that Converge made anything mediocre. Love Is Not Enough shows a band with maturity and confidence that can craft the most abrasive and metallic music, but also make you get goosebumps at times. It’s melodic, brutal, technical, but most of all, written phenomenally. Honestly, the only real complaint I have here is that one has to compare this with Jane Doe, and that’s a tougher choice than Sophie’s—if you know, you know.

Këkht Aräkh – Morning Star: There’s no secret that Këkht Aräkh is an underground darling that many of you have been waiting years to cry all over like your goldfish died. First of all, I get the charm. The writing is pretty good and melancholic. It’s lo-fi done right. However, isn’t this something we’ve listened to a million times already? Besides, I get that this is rudimentary, but it’s a bit distracting when all the instruments feel like they were recorded in different rooms. Maybe that wasn’t the case, but the mix lacks cohesion, and the album is rather on the long side of the spectrum. With ideas this focused, it’s hard to create something that can keep us entertained for that long. However, I’m confident this has its fans, and they’ll defend it to death.