Jigsaw9 6783 Posted June 30, 2016 (edited) June was pretty much dry season for me all around: I haven't heard that many new releases, and what I've heard didn't impress me that much for the most part, however there were some exceptional gems hidden in there. As usual, the rules are pretty simple: you can list what releases you thought were the best, and explain why in a few sentences. You can even pick just 1 album if that's all you've got, and try to keep it to a maximum of 5 items. Feel free to add or remove any albums later if you feel like your taste has changed, etc. Oh, and try to include a sample or two so that others could peep those sweet tunes more easily! Let's see now~ Denner/Shermann - Masters of Evil / I've always been a big fan of Mercyful Fate, so when I heard their ex-axemen are preparing a new project I was delighted. Their first EP, however, found me in a weird spot and just didn't click (I blamed the vocals at the time). Listening more closely tho, I was able to appreciate it, and welcomed the first full album of the dynamic duo with open arms. As expected, Masters of Evil is chock-full of menacing but catchy heavy metal riffs, memorable solos and rockin' hooks. There is a good deal of grandiose ferocity here that makes an awesome metal record. Strongly recommended for old-school enthusiasts, or just heavy metal fans in general! Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us / The grinding powerviolence masters are at it again, and deliver a new full-length that is easily among the most vicious and heaviest recorded material of the year so far. As usual, they're not fumbling about: 21 minutes with 10 songs, the closing track being 8 minutes long, and some of the most crushing stuff I've heard with a cool dose of sludge-y brutality. If you're ever in a bad mood, just pop in this album, close your eyes and let the anger flow (just try and don't break anything in the process). All in all, another killer release in the Nails catalogue! Swans - The Glowing Man / It's hard not to feel sentimental as the curtain closes on the current post-reunion incarnation of Swans, especially since they serve up a final gigantic double-disc 2-hour album. The Glowing Man sees Swans doing it a bit too comfortable and easy, basically giving us what we've come to expect over these past few years: huge sprawling post-rock jammathons that slowly mutate and rise to satisfying crescendos (if ever), all the while retaining a certain sinister groove. The second half of this beast might be a bit more memorable, but ultimately it's an awe-inspiring experience that must be listened to in one sitting. Can't wait to hear what the future holds for Mr. Gira! Honorable mentions Bat - Wings of Chains / Old-school black-thrash in a Venom-esque vein, perfect for this kind of kick-in-your-face sound. Garbage - Strange Little Birds / Solid new offering from the gloomy alt-pop-rockers, they've still got that special touch!水曜日のカンパネラ - UMA / New Suiyoubi no Campanella is moderately pleasing; some fun electro tunes in there for sure. Edited June 30, 2016 by Jigsaw9 1 enyx reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enyx 903 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) June seems to have been the month of quality electronic music for me, and as such all of my recommendations fall somewhere within that spectrum. Julien Mier - Shiny Silver Lining Julien Mier's been on my radar for a while as one of the most interesting non-Japanese electronic musicians not to be on Ultimae Records. In fact I could easily imagine him fitting in with PROGRESSIVE FOrM's plethora of IDM prodigies. His latest effort is perhaps my favourite of his offerings to date and a strong contender for my favourite release of the year so far. Listen on Bandcamp M-KODA - WORKINGS Speaking of PROGRESSIVE FOrM artists, M-KODA has been one of the label's most consistent assets for quite some time now. His latest effort is yet another solid outing that helps to prove why he's one of Japan's most proficient IDM producers. Sample song: contact SCANN-TEC - Unyt SCANN-TEC is an Ultimae Records guy, which for the uninitiated means that you can expect lots of quality ambient, atmospheric, and downtempo music from anything he releases. Despite not being as famous as some of his label-mates like Solar Fields or co-founder Aes Dana, Unyt proves that he belongs amongst the genre's elite. Listen on Bandcamp Edited July 2, 2016 by Pho 2 Jigsaw9 and CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaolan974 6185 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) Palaye Royale - Boom Boom Roon Palaye Royale is an art-alternative-rock'n'roll band. I really love their style. They have old influences. This is their first album and it's really great. letlive - If I'm the Devil... Really good and energetic post-hardcore. Garbage - Strange Little Birds Like you said. Solid album. Their gloomy alternative pop-rock is good. I See Stars - Treehouse New album from this metal-electronic-core. Powerful and melodic. Really like them. Gojira - Magma Solid album from this french metal band. I expected something...more but it's a solid release. DADAROMA - スタンチク (Stanczyk) One of my favorite Visual band since last year. Solid first (best) album. I really like their style. Good songs and pretty good musicians. There are some killer tunes here and it's really great ! 己龍 (Kiryu) - 百鬼夜行 (Hyakkiyakou) I didn't really like Kiryu since their excellent 朱花艶閃 (Shukan Ensen) (2012) but I'm really impressed with their new album. Better than their 暁歌水月 (Gyoukasuigetsu), their new songs are powerful and insane. They finally try new sounds and new influences. Very enjoyable. Edited July 2, 2016 by Shaolan974 1 Jigsaw9 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
