A lot of bands have released new albums recently... or their albums have leaked on the internet. Either way there's new stuff out there, some from bands that are pretty big on this forum.
It would be fun to hear people's opinion on them.
Here's some I listened to recently.
Angra - Aqua
Sounds a little like the last couple of albums production-wise. Starts off pretty straight forward with some simpler but catchy songs. The intro track does NOTHING for the album and I don't understand why band nowadays must have a 1-minute intro track for the sake of having an intro. You can hear some experimental stuff in the first few tracks already but not until the pretty cool semi-ballad Lease of Life would I say they play prog metal. I LOVE the beginning and the instrumental sections of the following song The Rage of Waters but the chorus is really weak. The bass section in the middle of the song is noteworthy but then again I get a hard-on as soon as there's any sort of solo bass.
I'd say there aren't any real full-on ballads on the album but the rest of the album, Spirit of the Air, Hollow, A Monster in Her Eyes, Weakness of a Man and Ashes, are all pretty chilled down compared to the opening tracks. Especially Ashes which, well, yeah..- okay, it is a ballad.
I've just listened to it once and a few songs twice but it's definitely a grower, I can hear that already. A lot better than Aurora Consurgens, and pretty much on par with Temple of Shadows. Anyone who likes anything from Angra should definitely check it out.
7.5/10
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time
I was disappointed at first because the album starts off with Sacred Worlds, a song which I until recently didn't like at all. I thought the rest of the album was kind of meh as well the first time I gave it a listen. But I guess that's the new Blind Guardian for you.
The production, with a lot of layers making a "wall of sound" (in a good way like Devin Townsend or Zappa, not cranking everything max like Metallica or in SXs' Paradise Lost), will have you discover new stuff every time you listen to it.
I'd definitely say it's a grower, much better than a Twist in the Myth. My favorites are Ride Into Obsession which is a good blend of Old and New Blind Guardian, the ballad Curse My Name, Control the Divine with one of their catchiest choruses ever and A Voice in the Dark which sounds a little like it could be off Nightfall in middle-earth.
8/10 (actually 7/10 but I'm a fanboy)
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Some people say this album is a return to form but I'd say it's not. Sure they've gone back a little to their darker roots, but at the same time they've let in clean vocals and lighter passages in pretty much every song. Now they're like a norwegian post-black Opeth if anything. I like it though. It's no Mardraum but it's god damn good.
Pretty much every song is 6-7 minutes long and packed with quality Enslaved goodness. Instead of highlighting songs I'd rather just say that Axioma is a pretty unecessary ambient track and that the rest of the album is just really fucking good.
8.2/10
It would be fun to hear people's opinion on them.
Here's some I listened to recently.
Angra - Aqua
Sounds a little like the last couple of albums production-wise. Starts off pretty straight forward with some simpler but catchy songs. The intro track does NOTHING for the album and I don't understand why band nowadays must have a 1-minute intro track for the sake of having an intro. You can hear some experimental stuff in the first few tracks already but not until the pretty cool semi-ballad Lease of Life would I say they play prog metal. I LOVE the beginning and the instrumental sections of the following song The Rage of Waters but the chorus is really weak. The bass section in the middle of the song is noteworthy but then again I get a hard-on as soon as there's any sort of solo bass.
I'd say there aren't any real full-on ballads on the album but the rest of the album, Spirit of the Air, Hollow, A Monster in Her Eyes, Weakness of a Man and Ashes, are all pretty chilled down compared to the opening tracks. Especially Ashes which, well, yeah..- okay, it is a ballad.
I've just listened to it once and a few songs twice but it's definitely a grower, I can hear that already. A lot better than Aurora Consurgens, and pretty much on par with Temple of Shadows. Anyone who likes anything from Angra should definitely check it out.
7.5/10
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time
I was disappointed at first because the album starts off with Sacred Worlds, a song which I until recently didn't like at all. I thought the rest of the album was kind of meh as well the first time I gave it a listen. But I guess that's the new Blind Guardian for you.
The production, with a lot of layers making a "wall of sound" (in a good way like Devin Townsend or Zappa, not cranking everything max like Metallica or in SXs' Paradise Lost), will have you discover new stuff every time you listen to it.
I'd definitely say it's a grower, much better than a Twist in the Myth. My favorites are Ride Into Obsession which is a good blend of Old and New Blind Guardian, the ballad Curse My Name, Control the Divine with one of their catchiest choruses ever and A Voice in the Dark which sounds a little like it could be off Nightfall in middle-earth.
8/10 (actually 7/10 but I'm a fanboy)
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Some people say this album is a return to form but I'd say it's not. Sure they've gone back a little to their darker roots, but at the same time they've let in clean vocals and lighter passages in pretty much every song. Now they're like a norwegian post-black Opeth if anything. I like it though. It's no Mardraum but it's god damn good.
Pretty much every song is 6-7 minutes long and packed with quality Enslaved goodness. Instead of highlighting songs I'd rather just say that Axioma is a pretty unecessary ambient track and that the rest of the album is just really fucking good.
8.2/10
FtP:2.5/10(Garbage, far worse than Ghost Opera, and that was a step down at the time)
