NTTR - No Time to Review

I think Nine is a good Russian Circles album, but I don't think it consistently reaches the level of their strongest work. The main strength is still the rhythm section. Brian Cook and Dave Turncrantz give the music a lot of movement, and that helps the album avoid becoming another sequence of predictable quiet-loud post-rock builds. Empath works especially well because the riff is heavy, direct and easy to remember. Eluvial is probably the best track for me. The build feels natural, the textures change enough over eight minutes, and the final section has real weight without sounding forced. I also like Seventh Seal because it finishes the album with aggression instead of another oversized atmospheric climax. The short running time helps a lot. Thirty-nine minutes is exactly right for this kind of music, and Arletta gives the second half a useful break before the final track. My main issue is that I rarely feel surprised. The synths and nylon-string guitar add some new col...

I think Witch is a good In This Moment album because the band still understands how to make very polished modern metal feel personal. Maria Brink is obviously the main reason it works. Shame and Crawl use her voice particularly well, moving between whispers, clean vocals and much more aggressive screams without making every song feel like the same performance. I Want To Believe is probably my favourite because Rory Rodriguez actually adds something rather than simply appearing as a guest. I also like the amount of contrast. Into The Dark and Wrapped Around Your Finger slow things down, while Heretic does almost the opposite and becomes deliberately chaotic. Father is probably the most important song because the emotion feels much less theatrical and much more direct. My main issue is that In This Moment's formula is becoming very easy to recognise. The industrial production, whispered passages, huge choruses and dramatic builds still work, but I can often predict where a...

I think 2 Big To Rig is a good Ghost live album, but nowhere near essential. The setlist is obviously strong. Cirice , Year Zero , He Is , Rats , Mary on a Cross , Dance Macabre and Square Hammer are all here, and the newer material generally fits well beside them. Peacefield works particularly well as an opener, while Umbra gains some extra weight live. The problem is that I rarely feel I am hearing radically different versions of these songs. The performances are powerful, precise and very polished, but sometimes almost too controlled. I hear an excellent Ghost show more than a live album that changes my relationship with the material. The length is also a real issue. One hundred minutes is generous, but I don't think I need the complete experience every time. I would probably return to selected sections rather than replay the whole album regularly. There are some strong live moments, especially Mummy Dust and Monstrance Clock , where the crowd and extended arrangements...

I think Marrow Deep works because Mastodon sound genuinely hungry again. The opening two tracks are particularly strong. Barbarians Blood has exactly the kind of huge, slightly crooked riff I want from Mastodon, while Poisonous Weapons combines aggression with a very effective clean section from Brann. The heaviness feels purposeful rather than simply nostalgic. I also really like what the keyboards bring to the album. Your Ghost Again , Golden Spires and Moth and Bone have much more colour than I expected, and the seventies prog influences fit surprisingly naturally alongside the sludge riffs. The last part of the album is probably my favourite. The Vanishing has a great Sabbath atmosphere and develops slowly rather than immediately going for another huge chorus. Then The Three Fates gives the record a proper ending, moving through prog, psychedelic textures and heavy sections without feeling like an eight-minute collection of unrelated ideas. The emotional context obviousl...

I think Grimalkin is a good melodic progressive rock album, but I don't think it consistently rises above the level of a very competent genre exercise. The songwriting is clearly the main strength. Maybe All a Dream has enough melody to make the progressive structure feel natural, while Break Away balances hooks and instrumental detail particularly well. I also like Slowly Falls the Flying Man , which is probably the most ambitious track and the one where the different textures actually create something memorable rather than simply showing how many ideas the band can fit into one song. Ted Leonard remains a major asset. His voice gives the album warmth and continuity, and the shorter tracks help prevent the record from becoming overloaded with long-form prog. My main problem is familiarity. I hear a lot of Kansas, Spock's Beard and classic melodic prog in the arrangements, and although Pattern-Seeking Animals handle those influences extremely well, I don't always hear...

I think Ohm has a very strong identity, but I don't think the songs are as memorable as the sound of the album. The combination of analogue electronics, bandoneon, strings and Río de la Plata rhythms is immediately recognisable. Switched On Milonga is probably the best example: the synths feel playful and slightly strange, while the underlying rhythm keeps everything grounded. Acequias and Tres Empanadas also work well because they balance atmosphere and groove without feeling like obvious electro-tango exercises. I also like how compact the album is. Fourteen tracks in forty-six minutes means Bajofondo rarely overextends an idea, and the sequencing keeps things moving. My main problem is that too many tracks function more as textures, transitions or clever studio constructions than songs I really want to return to individually. I remember the palette of the album very clearly, but not enough specific melodies or hooks. Se Fue el Sol is interesting because Cristian Castro ...