Choose a Side
We have some really good discussions this week, and a bunch of differing opinions. To the latter, Nick and Brian only completely agree on one of these albums. So, we want YOU to get in on the conversation in the comments on the site or social media and choose a side!
And remember – Stay inside. Stay healthy. Stay Metal.
Reviews:
Katatonia – City Burials (Peaceville)
Barishi – Old Smoke (Season of Mist)
Werewolves – The Dead are Screaming (Prosthetic)
Umbrae Vitae – Shadow of Life (Deathwish)
Katatonia – City Burials
Barishi – Old Smoke
Werewolves – The Dead Are Screaming
Umbra Vitae – Shadow of Life
BLACK LABEL:
The Artisan Era
The Sideshow Podcast 
No Trivium? Their latest release, “What The Dead Men Say”, is a very good album. It shows Trivium settling into a difficult niche that I feel like they’ve been trying to carve out for about 8 years now: that being crafting music that can be played on metal radio while not sounding like a “sell-out” and still staying “trve” to who they are (and yes, metal radio still exists on Sirius XM). Their new album is at least as good as their previous album “The Sin and the Sentence”, though the two are pretty similar in their feel.
I’m listening to a couple of other albums of note: “Stare Into Death and Be Still” by Ulcerate and “Forever Black” by Cirith Ungol. “Forever Black” by Cirith Ungol is some good ol’ classic heavy metal. It has a bit of a NWOBHM vibe, and I find the vocals to be just different enough to be interesting and enjoyable.
As for Ulcerate, it fits the bill of what I call “night metal”. I like to listen to music immediately before going to bed. But let’s face it: at least 80% of the metal music we listen to doesn’t exactly wind you down and put you in a state to be ready to fall asleep. The last thing I want to do before going to sleep is to get pumped up and sing along with some catchy chorus. Instrumental post-metal stuff like Russian Circles and Pelican are some obvious choices to listen to at night, as well as anything “atmospheric” including black metal such as Panopticon and Agalloch. Proggy stuff such as The Ocean and Ne Obliviscaris also work great to listen to at night. And I’m finding Ulcerate fits that bill as well. When I listen to Ulcerate at any random time during the daylight hours, I don’t think this album is anything special. But after a long day of work in these stressful times, listening to Ulcerate to end the day somehow provides the release I need from the day while still calming me down without the music being boring.
Brian: I still have listen to Ulcerate, which I plan on doing this week. I guess I’ll try it at night. Lol.
As for Trivium, I turned it off after a few songs. It was simple and inconsistent. I also didn’t care for Haefy’s singing on those big choruses. ‘Sin’ was fine but it not something I go back
Well, that’s fair that you checked out the new Trivium and decided it wasn’t for you. But I’d bet that Nick likes it.