NTTR - No Time to Review

I think Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem is a solid album, but I don't think the songwriting is consistently strong enough to make it more than that. Lea Amling Alazam is easily the main reason it works for me. Her voice gives the music much more personality than the usual stoner/doom formula, especially on Drifters on a Quiet Stream , where the slower pace and piano create a genuinely different emotional space. Accelerating Hearts is another highlight because the groove is immediate and the duet adds some useful contrast. I also like Oblivion as a closing track, which brings back the darker, more melancholic side of the album without simply repeating the heavier songs. The problem is that quite a lot of the record blends together. The guitar tones are good, the production is warm and the riffs are consistently competent, but too many tracks occupy the same space between fuzzy hard rock, doom and melancholy. I also don't think the hooks are as memorable as they initially seem...

I think Live at Dunk Festival 2025 is a good live album, but I don't think the atmosphere is quite enough to make it a truly strong one. The Pyre is probably the highlight for me. The slow build works because the drums and guitars gradually give the piece real physical weight, and the final section feels earned rather than automatic. An Heir to the Throne also benefits from the live setting and makes a very effective ending. I also like The Woods . The sparse vocals help a lot because they give the quieter sections an emotional centre instead of leaving everything to texture and dynamics. My main issue is repetition. A Swarm of the Sun are very good at moving from fragile, restrained passages into huge walls of sound, but several tracks rely on a similar emotional arc. Once I understand that pattern, some of the later climaxes lose part of their impact. The live setting does add intensity, but not every song feels substantially transformed. I often remember the overall mood,...

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...