Sunday, March 8, 2020

Album Review: MY DYING BRIDE The Ghost Of Orion (3/06)


My Dying Bride are an English Doom/Death Metal (early)/Gothic/Doom Metal (later) band formed in Bradford in 1990. Along with Anathema and Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride were a forerunner of the British death doom and gothic metal genres during the early 1990s. Aaron Stainthorpe (vocals) and Andrew Craighan (guitars) are the two original members remaining.

It feels like a great occasion for an album from My Dying Bride as we live this moment of a virus outbreak, financial crisis and horrible gray weather. It can't get much 'more doom' than that! The Ghost of Orion is the sextet 13th studio album. It comes after a turbulent period with Aaron’s daughter being diagnosed with cancer (thankfully recovered in the meantime) and one guitar player and drummer leaving the band. Given those circumstances, Andrew wrote the album by himself and it is the band's longest gap (5 years) between studio albums to date. Despite all of that, it's interesting that the tone and mood of the album is not as dark or depressive as I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it's still intensively depressing and heavy but also catchy and accessible at moments. The album features 6 proper long songs. There are also two short songs: the title track, a pseudo instrumental song without any drums (we can barely hear the whispering lyrics) and closer "Your Woven Shore" (a church choir vibe).

I was not familiar with the band's sound so I can't compare The Ghost of Orion to their past records. But I was intrigued by the album's first single, "Your Broken Shore" and decide to give it a try. This beautiful track has it all and exemplify the record: Guitar riff driven music, mid-tempo layered with sorrowful violins and keyboards by Shaun Macgowan, melancholic instrumental breaks intertwined with heavy drum fills and the impressive vocal performance of Aaron. He manages to go seamlessly from beautiful clean singing to deep death growls. Overall the album relies heavily on the clean vocals and beautiful catchy melodies. Songs like "To Outlive the Gods" and the second single "Tired of Tears" are perfect examples. They represent the more accessible side of the record: no death growls, around 8 min, catchy choruses and overall just great songs. By the way how great is the title "Tired of Tears"? Then, we must talk about the track "The Solace" because it is very unique due to the female vocals by Lindy Fay Hella (Wardruna) sang over guitar riffs. The whole song goes like this and transmit a folk vibe. It also serves as a watershed in the album. The second half is "less accessible" (yet also great) and features two epic songs. The 10-min tracks have again death growls and long instrumental passages. "The Old Earth" being the heaviest song on the album. Some small moments reveal the fantastic song writing and attention to details. For example: The instrumental interlude on "The Long Black Land" where we have this moving guitar arpeggios with violin and a choir setting the tone, but broken three times by some very solid drum riffs before the whole band joins back in. Genius.

I love the production values on The Ghost Of Orion. First of all, it's very dynamic. Then, the guitars sound thick and heavy which goes very well with the excellent low and thick drumming sound. I also appreciate that the keys are low in the mix to support the harmony and rarely taking the emphasis. This choice not only gives the album this old school doom sound but also let the violin shine in great contrast with the heavy guitars and drums. Finally the artwork resembling a Baroque style painting such as Rembrandt's work is beautiful and memorable.

Overall The Ghost Of Orion is a very good album from a legendary band that went though a lot and almost didn't make it. However, the commitment of Aaron and Andrew kept the fire alive and we can only be thankful for that. This display of heaviness under an intensively depressing atmosphere delivers many shades of the doom color pallet. I am looking forward to visiting My Dying Bride'a discography.


SCORE: 82/100
Genre: Gothic Doom Metal
Released by Nuclear Blast Records on March 6th, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Top 20 Guitar Solos Of The 20th Century By BeMetalways

Just a few years after discovering rock and metal, I started to play the guitar. Unfortunately, I don't play it often these days but I still love it. This list is heavily influenced by the first songs I learned or the first guitar heroes of that time (late 80's/early 90's). The criteria is a mix of musical proficiency and emotions. But mostly, guitar solos that mean something to me. The playlist on Spotify can be found here.

20-Money by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd, 1973)
Another guitar here of mine while I was growing up. Out of one of the best rock albums of all times, Money has a collection of very cool solos as only Gilmour sensibility and phrasing can produce. We can split the solo in three parts, the high tempo solo following the sax solo, the bluesy part which sounds amazing specially on headphones and then the final high tempo part.

19-Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming by Steve Morse (Deep Purple, 1996)
Steve joining DP was a positive surprise to me at the time. This song is by far my favorite of his tenure with the band. It's such a unique and amazing riff using artificial harmonics which seamlessly blends with the guitar solo.

18-Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy by Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, 1996)
It's such a fun song. The solo is quite short but Paul shreds through it and the cherry on top of the cake is the use of a drill machine to close the solo.

17-Cemetery Gates by Dimebag Darrell (Pantera, 1990)
The mighty Dimebag! I love this song and the solo specifically because it starts very melodic and then goes into shredding mode like only he could so it.

16-Crazy Train by Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne, 1980)
Another one on the list who left us way too soon. Of all the possible choices, I choose this one because my University band use to play this song and I always loved when the solos kicks in. In any case, anything Randy recorded was magical. So safe choice.

15-Painkiller by Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest, 1990)
One of the best albums of all time! This solo is regarded by many as Tipton at his best. It's so energetic and yet melodic and technical.

14-Symphony Of Destruction by Marty Friedman (Megadeth, 1992)
This ones brings the memories when it was released and I had a high school band. Very nicely constructed solo by Marty, I love how he uses the whole neck in relatively short solo.

13-5150 by Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen, 1986)
There's can't be best of guitar list without Eddie. A genius! You can really pick any of his solos, if live even better. I choose 5150 also because I was learning how to play it during high school and fell in love with the riffs and solo on this.

12-Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, 1983)
Another hero from my teenage years who left us way too soon. This is of course blues and therefore different from any other players in the list. His unique style was so impressive. Particularly here in the way Stevie uses the whole fretboard and different techniques.

11-Tumeni Notes by Steve Morse (Steve Morse, 1989)
I love this album and specially this song. It's basically an arpeggio lesson and it can be argued that the whole song is a guitar solo. So much to learn from it...

10-Edge of Thorns by Chris Oliva (Savatage, 1993)
One of the most underrated players in this list, Chris left us way too soon but his legacy remains. He was a very melodic player and this masterpiece of a song is one of the best examples.

9-Sweet Child O' Mine by Slash (Guns N' Roses, 1987)
Who hasn't heard this one? If Chris was underrated, Slash may be overrated, but still he also has a great sensibility for melodic solos and despite this song being a cliche, I still like it. It bring a lot of memories from the 80's.

8-Stairway To Heaven by Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, 1971)
Sorry for another cliche song, but there's a reason why! It's a brilliant song from one of the best bands in rock music and an absolutely amazing player.

7-For the Love of God by Steve Vai (Steve Vai, 1990)
This was a new album when I started playing guitar and I was mesmerized by this song. It's almost a 6-min solo. It is not only super technical (using 7 strings) but so beautiful and melodic. So many techniques and tools are used that it becomes a guitar master class for students.

6-One by Kirk Hammett (Metallica, 1988)
Growing up learning rock guitar in the 80's means that you were influenced by Kirk and James in one way or another. This album was particularly important to me and with the song book in hands I learned most of those songs and solos. I loved Kirk's playing in the 80's, his solos sounded great and yet they were very fluent to play.

5-Far Beyond the Sun by Yngwie Malmsteen (Rising Force, 1984)
This one needs no introduction! Another almost 6-min solo. No need to say how influential this song, album and player have been to so many guitarists. I regret that when I was at my peak year I didn't try to learn it. Now it's just not possible.

4-Stranger in a Strange Land by Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden, 1986)
Maybe the first guitar solo I ever learned how to play from my personal guitar hero. I love the big emphasis the song places on this solo. It's very melodic with a build up that gives me goose bumps every time.

3-2 Minutes To Midnight by Adrian Smith & Dave Murray (Iron Maiden, 1984)
I bought the guitar book with all tabs from Powerslave and Somewhere in Time. This song was probably the second Maiden song I ever learned how to play. I love both solos and specially how they transition into each other. I really enjoyed playing it, Adrian's part using the pentatonic  scales, simple and yet effective.

2-Comfortably Numb by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd, 1979)
The master of playing and choosing the right notes at the right time. David is absolutely a major influence to me and Pink Floyd. Here we don't have just one, but two solos. The very slow and melodic one at the middle of the song and the longer one at the end. I actually miss when bands would finish songs with guitar solos. This is an absolute guitar masterclass.

1-Crushing Day by Joe Satriani (Joe Satriani, 1987)
This song and solos are so amazing that I literally wanna cry when I listen to it. It brings me tons of memories as I spent countless hours trying to learn it. Joe is by far my favorite virtuoso player and I love his discography. His sensibility and technique is just jaw dropping. 

Honorable mentions: 

Let It Be by George Harrison (The Beatles, 1970)
My favorite rock band didn't quite make it to the list but Harrison has to be acknowledged. This was one of the, if not the, first solos I tried to learn. Like the whole song, it features great melody, and additionally the heavy guitar tone gives it a lot of punch.

Flight Of The Icarus by Adrian Smith & Dave Murray (Iron Maiden, 1983)
By far the two most influential guitar players as I was learning how to play. Not surprisingly from my favorite metal band. But regardless, this is a fantastic solo, well, it's actually 3 solos. First Dave then Adrian in the middle of the song and then the final solo from Dave. Overall it represents the work of those two. It's short but impressive and very melodic. Dave uses lots of licks in his first solo as he usually does and then the transition to Adrian's solo with the initial bend is just perfection.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Album Review: INTRONAUT Fluid Existential Inversions (2/28)


Intronaut is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California, that incorporates complex polyrhythms, progressive rock, and jazz. It's been a five-year since 2015's The Direction Of Last Things which was my first contact with the band. I was really impressed with the album which reached my top tier on that year list. Their sound is influenced by a wide variety of genres (stoner metal, post-metal, and sludge metal). In addition to callbacks to 70's prog rock, Intronaut remind me of bands such as Mastodon (early), Tool (ambient soundscapes / ethereal breaks) and BTBAM (late).

Now it's 2020 and the quartet is finally back with the sixth LP, Fluid Existential Inversions. The only line-up change is the addition of drummer Alex Rudinger (The Faceless, Whitechapel). His addition behind the kit definitely played a key part in the album's sound. While Intronaut have always used polymeters and polyrhythms, Alex's performance is insane. A song like "Cubensis" is practically a 7-min drum solo, listen to the playthrough here. From the get-go this song, which is my favorite on the album, displays a recurrent feature throughout the album: Transitions from heavy distorted portions into ambient jazz-infused soundscapes. I love that the clean vocals in the slow section which remind me of BTBAM's "Mordecai". In fact, vocals often alternate from screams and growls to clean singing. But even the harsh vocals are rarely super aggressive as you would hear in BTBAM for example. All in all, I enjoyed all tracks on this album, each one brings a unique flavor while keeping a consistent album feeling. "The Cull" for example sounds instrumentally influenced by Tool and vocals by Baroness and it works surprisingly well. The fact that often the guitar tone is not super distorted and Sacha Dunable/David Timnick play many arpeggios gives room for a prominent bass guitar (e.g. "Contrapasso") by Joe Lester. Joe's bass often serves as the primary melodic component of certain riffs (e.g. "Speaking of Orbs"). Actually this song is a Pink Floyd homage until a super heavy riffs kick in. This contrast is what makes this album great. For about 3 min"Tripolar" may be the heaviest song on the album (almost Meshuggah like) before entering an ethereal break from their more intense riffs. As we approach the end, the single "Pangloss" is the grooviest track on the record, but also here it ended up diving into a post-rock section.

The only thing that bugs me a bit in Fluid Existential Inversions is the almost mandatory ethereal break in every song. It works well almost always but by the time we get to the last song it feels a bit forced. that's maybe why the last song "Sour Everythings" appeals less to me than the rest. But this is just me being picky. Overall it is a very good album and a worthy follow-up to The Direction Of Last Things.

Intronaut can be too much to digest - but after a few listens, you hear the beauty in it, so it may take time to get to a final verdict. I suspect that many publications may be rushing to review it and are missing the point. It's really a shame because Fluid Existential Inversions is one of the best albums of the year so far.


SCORE: 83/100
Genre: Progressive Metal
Released by Metal Blade Records on February 28th, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Album Review: DEMONS & WIZARDS III (02/21)



The power metal supergroup Demons & Wizards (a side-project of singer Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian and guitarist/song writer Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth) released their self-titled debut album in February 2000 followed by a short tour. In 2005, the band released their second album entitled Touched by the Crimson King but this time, mo touring. In 2019 the band reunited for a series of shows and festival appearances. Demons & Wizards being a project combining two of my all time favorite bands, it feels weird to say that I never really took the time to appreciate them. Mostly because I am not a fan of supergroups, but as they rejoined forces for touring, I decided to dive into it. I watched the WOA live stream and of course I was quite impressed with what I heard. Following that I spent some time with their first two albums.

After the tour the band announced their third studio album, III. The LP marks the band's first collection of new material in 15 years. Going over the 1 hour mark, the album feels a bit long but manageable. The variability and dynamic certainly help. Each song is independent and delivers a unique story. When it comes to the guitar work, the similarities to Iced Earth are inevitable, John's trademark style is fully present, but the beauty is that when the vocals from Hansi are laid on top of it, then it gets also very Blind Guardian due to his very unique voice and style. Album opener, "Diabolic", is a vivid example of this synergistic dynamic.

Despite those years apart, III feels like a natural progression from the first two albums. The 2000's roots are there, but it has a very intense, modern, new feeling to it. It goes further into adding new directions. For example "Midas Disease" shows this clearly. It's a cool upbeat track in which they go completely old school classic rock as a tribute to AC/DC’s Malcolm Young. But it also sounds a lot like WASP, specially the vocals. The guitar work and solos are simply awesome. Other tracks more traditional heavy metal include: "Universal Truth", "New Dawn" and "Invincible". Interestingly the three were originated in the Iced Earth's Incorruptible writing sessions. But it is "Split" that reminds me of old school Iced Earth (circa Night of the Stormrider). And for the Blind Guardian fans "Dark Side Of Her Majesty" is the closest we get to it, great tune and fantastic vocals. Then for the first time Demons & Wizards go proggy with epic songs around the 10-minute mark. The acoustic dominated leading to a big ending "Timeless Spirit" (a modern folk version of "A Question of Heaven") and the closer "Children Of Cain". Here I feel this song was stretched for the sake of hitting the 10 min mark and not that it really needed.

Overall, III is still a Power Metal album, so you can expect catchy melodies, big choruses, uncountable hooks and overall big and epic feeling. The video single "Wolves In Winter" being a strong example of a short power metal hymn that will be sang along when played live. Unfortunately there are some issues with III. First, it's a bit too long. A song like "Final Warning" felt unnecessary and "Children Of Cain" never gets anywhere. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the production values, it is pristine but maybe too polished. As for the mix, at moments the vocals seem low specially compared to the bass drum and rhythm guitars which are a bit too loud (e.g. "Split").

Like the blend of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian that Demons & Wizards are, their third LP is an epic journey with picks and valleys. While not perfect, it's a worthy follow up from the first albums taking the band's sound into new directions (traditional metal and prog) without loosing their roots (epic anthems, power metal catchiness).



SCORE: 80/100
Genre: Power Metal
Released by Century Media Records on February 21st, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Album Review: PSYCHOTIC WALTZ The God-Shaped Void (02/14)


California Progressive Metal pioneers and innovators Psychotic Waltz debuted in 1990 with their independently financed A Social Grace. Three more studio albums followed before their breaking up in the late mid-90's.  The original members reunited in 2010, touring Europe in support of Nevermore and Symphony X on The Power Of Metal tour. That was actually the first and only time I saw Psychotic Waltz live and I was quite impressed with their sound. Since then they have been playing together in their core line-up from 1985. However in all this time no new record was produced. Now Psychotic Waltz return with their highly anticipated 5th studio album following up 1996's Bleeding and thus the first new music in 23 years.

The God-Shaped Void is a one-hour prog trip in 11 songs. Psychotic Waltz displays a very unique sound. Overall, the album is more prog rock than metal. I would describe as a modern take of early Pink Floyd meets David Bowie and Jethro Tull (yes, there's a flute, but not overused) with a touch of 80's Queensrÿche. There are no bad songs and the album flows beautifully, soon enough the melodies and catchy choruses start to get stuck in your head. It offers quite some diversity and songs may take different directions. The album opens with the single "Devils and Angels" which is a great opener but I can't stop thinking of David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" intro riff when I listen to it. "Stranded" and "Back to Black" pick up the heaviness and speed. "All the Bad Men" gets sludgy and flows seamlessly into the epic and emotional "The Fallen". Here the Queensrÿche parallel is inevitable. Singer Devon Graves shows great versatility but never going into irritating territory. In the slower tempo "Demystified" the band goes more 70's with some beautiful acoustic guitars and Devon Graves put his flute to work. Some songs are also simpler like "Season of the Swarm" which is a rocker. All of it is executed brilliantly by the whole band and perfectly captured with a pristine and clear production. 

After 25 years, Psychotic Waltz returns with The God-Shaped Void, a well-written record with top-notch performances. Like many progressive rock albums, it is a grower and it requires some attention to capture all the nuances. I'm not an expert in their discography, but year 2020, Psychotic Waltz sound like a vital modern prog band with clear roots in the old school prog rock and metal. Highly recommended to any prog fan.


SCORE: 83/100
Genre: Progressive Rock
Released by InsideOutMusic on February 14th, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Album Review: KVELERTAK Splid (02/14)


"Kvelertak (Kuh-vell-er-tack) is a band from Norway that plays rock music." This quote is how the band describe themselves. They were formed in 2007 and released their well received self-titled debut on June 21, 2010. The band's name is the Norwegian for "stranglehold". The band, a sextet with three guitars, has recently welcomed Ivar Nikolaisen as frontman following the departure of Erlend Hjelvik. Ivar is making his studio debut with Kvelertak's 4th album Splid ('discord' in English). Most of their songs have Norwegian lyrics, and their main influences are rock and roll, black metal and punk rock. I remember being quite impressed with their very good debut album, but my enthusiasm diminished with each subsequent release. In 2020 with a new singer, new label, I was curious to hear where they are going. The answer is one hour of catchy riffs, punk rock and heavy metal unusual mix with progressive tendencies.

The first four songs are short and while mostly hardcore/punk influenced, they are quite metallic and engaging. Track 4, "Discord" is the only one in English. Later with "Ved bredden av Nihil" they bring back that black n' roll vibe from the first albums. Those are fun and well executed tracks that will certainly work well live. But the album really shines with the longer tracks. Starting with "Bråtebrann", a 7-min prog adventure with great drumming and metal riffing while still using hardcore vocals mixed with some clean backing vocals. To top it off, a bluesy guitar solo! "Fanden ta dette hull!" is another amazing prog track, it sounds almost like The Beach Boys or maybe even Rush? But it gets also thrashy and becomes a headbanger! The guitar solo section could be out of Kill 'Em All. The last two songs "Delirium tremens"  and "Ved bredden av Nihil" are the other prog highlights. Those four songs are very interesting and it is where Kvelertak excels, this unorthodox mix of genres to create something unique is really cool.

Overall I really like the drum work and the guitar tones throughout the album. Add those to a good production and the result is a clear mix in which even the bass can be heard. The vocal approach is versatile but mostly hardcore/punk screams with occasional black metal growls and moments with clean singing. It all works well.

Prog is one of my favorite music genres, with Splid Kvelertak demonstrated that they can be progressive, epic and unique, so to me it is frustrating to have to skip some punky forgettable songs (e.g. "Uglas Hegemoni") in the middle of the album to get to the prog tracks. Despite those bumps on the road, Splid is their best album since the debut and certainly makes me very curious and excited to see where they are going next.


SCORE: 80/100
Genre: Hardcore / Black N' Roll
Released by RiseRecords on February 14th, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad

Friday, February 7, 2020

Album Review: SEPULTURA Quadra (02/07)


For 35 years now, the Brazilian legend Sepultura have been revered worldwide. Albums such as Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993) and Roots (1996) have had indisputable impact to the global metal scene. Right after its release Beneath the Remains (1989) was one of the first LPs I've ever bought, but the enthusiasm faded over the years and I wasn't following the Derrick Green era closely. All of that is changing since the very good 2017's Machine Messiah album was released.

Therefore I had quite high expectations for Quadra, the fifteenth studio album by the band. Spoiler alert, the expectations were met. The band had the wise decision to not only follow the steps set with Machine Messiah but also to pushed it even further. As it was with the predecessor, they went to Sweden to work with producer Jens Bogren. Without loosing their thrash roots, the band led by Andreas Kisser took risks and incorporated a modern metal sound. More importantly they went further and added even more progressiveness. Andreas explained that the concept of the album is based on Quadrivium, which are the four arts (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). Quadra is the Portuguese word for a sports court, but it also relates to "quatro" which is Portuguese word for "four". Based on this concept the album is construed as a vinyl double album: 12-tracks divided into four sides of three musically similar songs in each.

The A side being thrash metal songs, based on the classic Sepultura sound. These 3 songs sound almost like Pantera, they are thrashy but still very groovy. Throughout the album Green's voice reminds me of a top-form Anselmo. The drummer, Eloy Casagrande delivered some amazing drumming in this record. I mean previously it was already very good, but the band and he himself pushed the boundaries even further. For example the drum fills during the intro and then the instrumental interlude of "Means To An End" are just phenomenal. On this side we are exposed to his speed and voracious beat. The other highlight is Andreas Kisser superb guitar work. Not only the solos and riffs but also the small details like those Roots-like guitar moments in "Means To An End". Despite this side being the most thrash, we also get to hear some subtle choirs.

The B side gets even groovier. The tribal percussion of "Capital Enslavement" makes this clear. These 3 songs are inspired by the groove-percussion oriented sound the band famously explored in Roots and recently in songs like "Phantom Self". But here the band also explored some orchestral arrangements. On this side the band shows their groove and slower tempo songs, specially "Raging Void".

The C side has songs inspired by the instrumental "Iceberg Dances" which is my favorite track from Machine Messiah, but only "The Pentagram" is an instrumental track on this side. However, the other two two songs have lots of instrumental minutes. Do I get a Mastodon/Machine Head vibe on "Guardians Of Earth"?  In any case it's an amazing song. The intro with acoustic guitars, the choir, the melodic guitar solo, it's all fantastic!

Finally the D side, which kicks off with the short acoustic guitar instrumental title track, features slow-paced and melodic tracks, similar to the song "Machine Messiah". The longest track "Agony Of Defeat" features an intro with clean singing, choirs and a Eastern vibe that all cuminate with a slow build up. The album closer "Fear; Pain; Chaos; Suffering" (featuring Emmily Barreto from the Brazilian rock band Far From Alaska) is certainly different but I can only praise the band for taking this kind of risk.

I gotta say I don't have much to complain here, Quadra is Sepultura's best album since Roots. If I push myself to critique the album, I would say I don't hear the bass much, so the mix is sub optimal. With that aside, it's a remarkable disc. An experimental album pushing the band forward at this point in their career is certainly an achievement. I also love the album concept and construction, I'm certainly getting it in vinyl as it was conceptualized!


SCORE: 84/100
Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal
Released by Nuclear Blast Records on February 7th, 2020

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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad