Best Albums Releasing This Week (10/20/2023)
Notable remasters/re-releases (aka you feel old now, you're welcome)
- The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (20th Anniversary)
- Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe (10th Anniversary)
Non-metal releases
Maria BC - Spike Field
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Sparse/minimal indie pop - lush guitars and piano and wonderful vocal layering. Lots of space for everything to breathe in these songs. Concise lyrics too. Accomplishes a lot with a little, in every way.
Metal releases
Battlemaster - Greedgripped & Spellspoilt
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RVA does it again. Thrashy black/death. Technically Dungeons & Dragons metal, but not what you expect when you hear that phrase.
Reckless - Sharp Magik Steel
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Colombian speed metal, with the occasional shriek and gang vocal. If you like black/thrash but haven't gotten into speed metal- I think it's a great adjacent genre to try.
Cirith Ungol - Dark Parade
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Absolute giants of classic heavy metal, active since the late 70s, and one of the few groups of older musicians that haven't really ruined their music in their later years. Vocals might be an acquired taste for some but it really fits well, in my opinion- still plenty of fire and edge. Fun solos and songwriting too.
Diabolic Night - Beneath The Crimson Prophecy
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Including this because I enjoyed the previous record and really enjoy what I hear song-wise on this new one- but I think the production of this album is its biggest flaw and definitely impacts it pretty significantly. It sounds weak and thin, with vocals way too loud in the mix. It almost feels like they forgot to master everything except vocals, or the other way around. Maybe I'll acquire the taste but it is jarring to me.