Sum of Seven – Echoes of the Hypermind

Vicky

Is this the last album I’m late with? Probably not. But is it at least worthy of a review? Absolutely. It reminded me that Prog Metal can also be mellow, without too many jazzy additions (as in, saxophone solo, overuse of keyboards, and others). Don’t get me wrong, those are pleasant too, but sometimes, the bands who appreciate them tend to forget that the point of prog metal is… metal, actually.

Obscure Fate – Shaded of a Dying world

Metalcatto

There are very few things as reliable and comfortable as Finnish Melodic Death Metal. You always get exactly what you’re expecting. Obscure Fate brings us an album with a name that again promises consistency: Shades of a Dying World. The only real question is whether this will be genuinely melodic or fall into Arch Enemy-level corny territory. Either way, those guitars will shine. Let’s see.

The Losts – Venom Within

Metalcatto

We still have some fresh reviews out of the oven for you before the holidays doom us all. I’ve loved all sorts of weird French Metal, you know that. However, we don’t get Darkwave Heavy Metal every day. In fact, my real fear is that The LostsVenom Within ends up being some kind of cheesy ride just like many other albums in the subgenre, but the season says I should be hopeful. So, I’ll do my best to not be a total snob today.

Adamantra – Act III: Pareidolia of Depravity

Elyna Kahn

Are you familiar with the words “Pareidolia” and “Depravity”? Pareidolia refers to a psychological phenomenon where the human mind perceives faces in random images, lights, and shadows. A good example is the classic emoji, known worldwide due to social media. When keyboard characters combine, we see a face expressing a specific emotion, though it is merely signs arranged in a certain manner. We attribute that combination of signs to a particular facial expression and emotion.