asking alexandria - the black

album art > the actual album

album art > the actual album

exit danny worsnop, enter denis stoff. if it weren't for denis' ukrainian accent, you wouldn't really notice a major difference in their vocals. denis does seem to have a larger range on both screams and cleans but it's really irrelevant here because he's never saying anything worth a damn anyway. i'm not one to get mad at explicit lyrics but how many f-bombs does one album need? we're still dropping them before breakdowns? they even spell it out for you on the last track. it was done "best" on their first album.

i'm glad the band decided to work back in some metalcore and there are times where i'm legitimately enjoying myself. however, these points never last an entire song because that hard rock influence rears its ugly head and i get bored again. who decided that ballads were what anyone wants from them? so many questions and i don't know if i want the answers.

i don't think i ever want to hear this album in full again. i don't think i really love anything about this album. just a lot of mediocrity.

top tracks: let it sleep, circled by the wolves

score: 30

the word alive - dark matter

in space, no one can hear you scream

in space, no one can hear you scream

where do you go after metalcore?  most bands in the scene seem to be nearing this point where they either don't seem to like what they were doing or they want to break into the mainstream with a more accessible version of their sound. so what does that mean? it's time to do the thing everyone does, dig 20 years into the past and blend in the popular sound of that time; in this case we're channeling in nu-metal and arena rock.

many members have quoted this as their most honest record yet, and lyrically i hear that. however, this is the same angst that most people hated on in the nu-metal bands of years past. i can look past this most of the time, but some of these lyrics are mad cheesy. musically, we're dealing with a lot of that cheese too; every track has this sludgy feel to it that works for some and not at all for others. simply put, it's a trek to get through this stuff.

i wouldn't say that this is a bad album, but it just doesn't do any of what it tries to do better than its contemporaries, past and present. it's better than real though.

top tracks: trapped, oxy, sellout, suffocating

score: 51

five for five: vol. 1

welcome to five for five.
five quick takes, five charts, five albums.
for the first volume, i've decided to embrace diversity.

chunk! no, captain chunk! - get lost find yourself

  1. sometimes the french accent gets in the way, sometimes it makes it unique
  2. the lyrical themes are simple and not in a good way
  3. instrumentally sound for an easycore band
  4. i'd rather listen to this than stuff like tigers jaw or man overboard
  5. there's no real reason to hate on them for what they do when they're pretty #positive about it

score: 47

cncc chart.jpg

ludacris - ludaversal

  1. he's hella funny but hella stale
  2. that jason aldean song didn't need to happen but it's cool that he tried
  3. none of the features really did anything to improve the album
  4. he still needed more features though
  5. ludacris might as well retire from albums and just do features for people

score: 55

skrillex & diplo - skrillex & diplo present jack ü

  1. these guys work really well together to create a great atmosphere
  2. there are times all over this album where i wished the beats would hit harder
  3. the justin bieber feature is fantastic and while i am elated to see missy back in action, her part was very straight-forward
  4. a lot of cheesy vocals lyrically but i don't think they're supposed to be that deep
  5. skrillex > diplo

score: 68

snoop dogg - bush

  1. pharrell is the mvp of this project, charlie wilson a very close second
  2. snoop really shouldn't be singing but at least he doesn't sound nearly as bad as a$ap rocky
  3. of course the song he raps on is the best by far
  4. great pacing, doesn't overstay its welcome
  5. i want kendrick lamar on every funk release from here on out

score: 71

veil of maya - matriarch

  1. the addition of clean vocals is not welcomed, but i got used to it
  2. it seems like they went for a more accessible sound and that's upsetting
  3. they're better at playing that accessible sound than most other bands, though
  4. the song titles all being prominent female names makes me value this project more, three-fifty being absolutely hilarious
  5. y'all probably don't care about the hot takes for this album or the chunk! album and for that you're lame, expand your musical palette with me

score: 66