Tue. Sep 23rd, 2025

album review

Review: Amorphis – Borderland

You do something for thirty-plus years, and eventually, you stop worrying about whether you can pull it off. You just do it, and you do it really well. Finland’s Amorphis, now thirty-five years into their career, are a perfect example. They didn’t start here, they started in death metal, raw and aggressive; but over the decades, they’ve gradually honed a sound that sits at the intersection of progressive, gothic, folk, and doom metal, all with a cinematic rock sensibility. Their music is grounded in folk-inspired melodies, crunchy riffs, enormous, soaring choruses, and a stately, almost solemn atmosphere. It’s a sound that’s unmistakably Amorphis, and after three decades, they’ve become masters at it. 

Review: Swans – Birthing

In what stands as perhaps their most nuanced and introspective work to date, Birthing emerges as a masterful distillation of Michael Gira’s four-decade-long sonic odyssey. This final chapter in the band’s storied history represents not just a conclusion but an evolution – a thoughtful synthesis of all that has come before while simultaneously charting new territory.

The Halo Effect – March of the Unheard

In Flames, a pioneer in shaping the early Swedish melodic death metal scene during the 1990s, shifted towards an alternative metal sound starting from their album Reroute to Remain and continued until I, The Mask . This change was met with dissatisfaction among many long-time listeners who yearned for the days of The Jester Race and its successors.

Review: Baroness – Stone

Since their debut album Red in 2007, Baroness has risen as one of the top sludge metal bands. Constantly building upon their past efforts, Gold & Grey, their 2019 effort, was their most confident and well-rounded material. After four years of waiting, they have put out one of their most compelling albums.

Review: Avatar – Dance Devil Dance

Avatar, over the years, has proven to be a band that doesn’t just sit on its laurels. Dance Devil Dance is a testament to this. Over the last decade and a half, the band has accrued quite an interesting and dedicated fanbase, and with each album, they’ve pushed for a different sound or further experimentation. This time around, they move forward by looking a bit to the past.