Post-Millennial's Guide To Metal (And Some Other Stuff)

At this time you all know PMMetalGuide's feelings towards post-hardcore. With the exception of a  few groups, we are not fans. So I am not going to sugarcoat you with a lengthy opening about that, or anything else. And for this album, I don't want to.  Palimpsest is, without a doubt, the strangest and most dividing album I have listened to in a long time, and maybe ever. I cannot remember another time where my ideas of pleasure and distaste occupied such a similar space that they became so interwoven beyond my own comprehension, yet still managed to display both flavors in equal and fluctuating quantities (and if you got confused by that sentence; good. That's how I feel about this album in a nutshell.) I always knew Protest The Hero  existed in the progsphere, but I never bothered to listen to them due to my endless curiosity and desire to follow the next form of dark, aggressive, or occasionally poppy art. Seeing as this is the group's first effort since I have re

As we finish off perhaps the strangest academic (or general) year in an extremely long time, graduation for many has been sacrificed for online meetings and rotating-car ceremonies. Recounting my graduation from high school a few years ago, I adorned my cap with a simple black background, and in an Olde English font brandished You Will Never Be One Of Us . Obviously a shoutout to the 2016  Nails  album of the same name, it not only showed my extremely obscure taste in music but also shouted a sentiment somewhat befitting of the pride-filled ceremony. I also really dug that album, as I do still all of their releases, and that ultimately brings me to my main point. In my punk subgenres, I want things unbridled as can be. Mathcore giants like Converge and The Dillinger Escape   Plan  are both extremely erratic as well masterfully crafted to create some of the most intricate music out there. Orchid  is a massively under-appreciated group that brings out the best in emo and power violence

Noise channels a different style of heaviness than rock or metal. Where those guitar-driven genres rely mostly on overdrive, distortion, and gain, the electronic world of noise finds its heaviness in metalized waves of all sorts of varieties. These styles however do share one thing; their broad spectrum of sound. Take progressive metal groups with shiny, extremely clean instrumentation and vocals comparatively to something like Ulcerate , whose music is sonically and rhythmically complex that comprehending it is a challenge. In noise, this is also present. A group like  Yellow Swans takes beautiful melodic ideas and throws them into a blender to pierce through the layer of harsh static, whereas Many Blessings  takes a much more atmospheric approach to the style.  On the sophomore release by the frontman of extreme sludge metal band Primitive Man , Ethan Lee McCarthy, I was surprised with what I experienced. Primitive Man  live was one of if not the loudest and most intense bands

In our review of our favorite album of last year , The Austerity Program 's Bible Songs 1 EP , we touched extremely briefly on a term known as 'The Uncanny Valley.' While I won't repeat what I said in that review, I can give you a brief summary of what was discussed; Basically, the Uncanny Valley describes something's likeness to humanity, particularly pertaining to robotics and advancements made in artificial intelligence. Originally described by Japanese professor Masahiro Mori, the concept explains that as robots appear more humanlike over time, we become more intrigued and appealed by their sensibilities, but only to a certain extent, after which point there is a significant plummet in interest, and in most cases, inverting completely, showing a repulsion to these objects. In that review, we discussed the seeming inhumanity of the release, citing the drum machines nearly immaculately accurate but increasingly dissonant tonality as a primary example, wit

As I put the finishing touches on this article, it is currently five months after the original publishing goal. Deadlines and expectations are interesting beasts, but given the dreadful state of this year so far, hopefully this list can provide some form of consumable enjoyment. To say 2019 was a strong year for metal and its related musical styles would be a drastic understatement. It felt like every week was punctuated with several immensely strong releases from every corner of the heavier music world. The past year contained bands paying homage to the greats while refining a novel element of their sound, artists charting entirely new sonic territories through wild blends of unrelated styles and everything in between. This list could have easily been 100 entries long with plenty of fantastic records still being left on the cutting room floor. Many have called the 2010’s the “golden age” of contemporary underground metal and the decade's final year seems sufficient proof of t