The Flashcards: Joe Bailey - Splinters (2023)

70+/100

Genre: Progressive/hard rock

Without showcasing too much instrumental dynamics, Joe Bailey leans heavily on atmosphere and melody instead. With nine tracks spanning 65 minutes, I naturally grew a bit impatient because, similar to Brian Kovacs, it feels like it lacks density. I want real metal! Ha, but interestingly enough, there's a highly accurate track title here: "Time is Killing Me"! An hour that could truly kill me if I didn't accompany the listen with other activities.

Overall, I find the characteristics here to be quite modern, featuring rather colorful synth work. There's a shadow of power metal on "I, Myself and Me", followed by a Dream Theater vibe on "Matricide" and "Time is Killing Me". The electronically influenced "SLUG" somewhat disrupts the flow—or perhaps serves to heat up the atmosphere—while I bestow the title of best offering upon "The Long Haul".

Even though it lacks that heavy metal edge, it might be a good fit for fans of Leprous, Fates Warning, Devin Townsend, and the like. It's still a shame that I haven't really familiarized myself with the prog rock side of things yet.

Tracklist:

1. Full Frontal Eulogy

2. Matricide

3. I, Myself and Me

4. The Long Haul

5. I am the Enemy

6. Slug

7. Time is Killing Me

8. Salt in Our Wounds

9. No Man's Land

Comments

Breakcore: Subheroine - End. (2025)

77 / 100 End. is Subheroine ’s most immersive and emotionally textured work yet ... Is being a week late enough to make a new release feel cold and stale? Maybe it’s the effect of our fast-paced modern world and the FOMO trend. Who knows. Whatever. Alright then, let’s welcome a new breakcore/drum & bass album (though it runs under 30 minutes) from Subheroine : End. ! End. by SUBHEROINE Released just on November 7 via Japan’s veteran breakcore label, Lost Frog Productions , End . delivers a noticeably more atmospheric vibe this time. So, tagging it as atmospheric drum & bass makes perfect sense, while the “depressive” tag seems to apply only to the cover art. But is that really the case? As always, there are surprises when reviewing music—those unexpected moments that make certain tracks sound more intriguing than expected. The most prominent depressive elements appear in the sampled voice of an anime girl sounding shocked or weakened in...

Electronica/IDM: 4T Thieves - Humanoid (2018)

70 / 100 Humanoid is a compact and tastefully crafted slice of IDM-leaning electronica that blends futuristic elements without overwhelming the listener. I opened my December with an electronica release by 4T Thieves , an EP titled Humanoid , which came out back in February 2018. A brief profile and the project’s track record can be found on RYM or Last.fm , and it’s clear that this act has been active since the 90s, although only arriving on Bandcamp around 2018. Humanoid by 4T Thieves As the name suggests, Humanoid presents a modern environment tinged with a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere, supported by drum work leaning toward IDM and prominent synth/bass that paints the image of a future city gate on “ Elemental .” This is followed by “ Codex ,” which is given a special dose of classic IDM-style glitch effects , and the rest continues into “ The Looking Glass ,” which gives off a nighttime-shadow feel through its slightly dark synth melodies. “Band...

Listening Notes: Playlist Clearance Vol. 1

If a store has a term called clearance sale, then I have a new agenda called playlist clearance . This agenda is meant to clean up releases sitting on my playlist shelves—sometimes for months—without any written listening notes. This matters a lot to me personally, since I prefer listening to music offline rather than streaming, even though platforms like Spotify also offer offline features. I’m already too used to downloading music, even if it means I’ll probably never really get into mainstream artists, which automatically reduces public attention. Hahaha… As for that issue, I do have my own alternative—but for now, I don’t yet have a map to avoid being overwhelmed and confused when diving into streaming platforms just to consume popular releases. Alright, back to cleaning up the playlist. What’s in here this time? Let’s take a look! Abraham – Débris de mondes perdus (2022) 73% Sometimes music can feel like a stab—or a cause of headache—like this fourth album from Sw...

Search This Blog