Audio Orbital's Ten Minute Reviews: 9/20 - Opeth - Sorceress

JayPettryMMA

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Hey everyone, I have a music blog where I review new music releases. I try to listen to every genre and give the music a fair shot. I write a review every other week or so, depending on my schedule and if there's any good music out there. I have several reviews posted so far, and I'll post them individually for you to check them out if you're interested. I welcome most discussion about the music, and feedback is generally appreciated.

The main link to the site!

The official Facebook page for Audio Orbital is live!

For each review, I'll post the date and maybe even a little snippet about each review in a post, with a link for you to read the rest of it. I will also keep this thread and its title updated to reflect new releases. Every review I write has at least two tracks from the album itself so you the reader can listen along while you're reading, and more if they are available.

I review albums on a scale from 1 to 15, although I usually stay above 10 because I usually have to have some interest in an album if I want to write a review about it. I generally listen to three to five new albums every week, and I welcome suggestions on new albums to try. By new, I mean either is being released soon or has come out within one week of your request for me to review it.


I do have one request for this thread. If you're not a fan of whatever particular music I'm writing about in a given review, there is no need for you to post something like "I hate this music" because it doesn't add anything to the conversation.


If you have a new album you would like me to review, let me know and I'll give it a listen!

Thanks for reading, everyone.



2016 reviews:

David Bowie - Blackstar

Dream Theater - The Astonishing

School of Seven Bells - SVIIB

Redemption - The Art of Loss

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness

Mogwai - Atomic

Deftones - Gore

Haken - Affinity

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Perihelion Ship - A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring

Eric Clapton - I Still Do

Frost* - Falling Satellites

The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos

Gojira - Magma

Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence

Opeth - Sorceress

2015 Top 15 Albums Rewind!

#15 - Motorhead - Bad Magic

#14 - The Dreaming - Rise Again

#13 - Ghost - Meliora

#12 - Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards

#11 - Faith No More - Sol Invictus

#10 - Leprous - The Congregation

#9 - The Gentle Storm - The Diary

#8 - Beardfish - +4626-Comfortzone

#7 - Symphony X - Underworld

#6 - Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle

#5 - Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine

#4 - Failure - The Heart is a Monster

#3 - Earthside - A Dream in Static

#2 - Baroness - Purple

#1 - Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

TLDR: I write music reviews, suggestions and feedback are welcome.
 
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1/12: David Bowie - Blackstar

Genre: Art Rock/Jazz/Experimental
Release Date: January 8, 2016

This review was mostly written prior to the tragic unexpected passing of David Bowie, and I updated the review after to add a few more things to it. It was the first review I posted this year after transitioning to Wordpress. This album was very emotional and even a little prophetic, especially with the song Lazarus.

Rating: 15/15


 
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1/26: Dream Theater - The Astonishing

Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Release Date: January 29, 2016

I've been a huge fan of Dream Theater since their 1999 release of Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory. I was raised to listen to progressive rock like Yes, Genesis and Rush, so this band has reinforced and expanded upon what I started my musical education with.

Rating: 14/15

 
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2/9: School of Seven Bells - SVIIB

Genre: Indie Rock/Dream Pop
Release Date: February 12, 2016

As the final album released by School of Seven Bells, it was understandably emotional as it was written by the lone surviving member Alejandra Deheza about and to her fallen comrade, Ben Curtis. Navigating the waters of dream pop, indie rock, and even a little shoegaze, this album wraps the band up and looks on to the future.

Rating: 13/15

 
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3/4: Redemption - The Art of Loss

Genre: Progressive Metal
Release Date: February 26, 2016

I had to take the month off to take care of some personal matters, and I came back to the progressive metal album of The Art of Loss, by the band Redemption. It's long and complicated and enjoyable for prog metal fans but could wear other listeners out depending on their tastes.

Rating: 12.5/15

 
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3/5: Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

Genre: Art Rock/Garage Rock
Release Date: March 18, 2016

There was a lot of great music released in my absence, so I picked up the next day with a review of the latest Iggy Pop album. In this album, Iggy was joined by QotSA members Josh Homme and Dean Fertita, as well as the Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders. It was a surprisingly strong release which was a very satisfying blend of Iggy Pop and Queens of the Stone Age. I know, right? Who would have thought?

Rating: 13/15

 
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3/21: Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness

Genre: Post-rock
Release Date: April 1, 2016

Reviewing post-rock albums can prove difficult, especially when looking at a consistently excellent band like Explosions in the Sky. It's difficult to listen to the music and point out how it improves on previous albums, for example. Albums like these are largely interpretive, and you may have heard something I completely missed.

Rating: 12/15

 
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4/1: Mogwai - Atomic

Genre: Post-rock
Release Date: April 1, 2016

This album is actually a soundtrack to the documentary Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise. However, it was recorded as a full album, with many of the tracks the band made for the documentary reworked and rebuilt for an official album release. The album has a very strong message, despite being instrumental, and I go track by track through the album in this review trying to interpret what the band was saying. It was powerful stuff.

Rating: 13/15

 
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4/13: Deftones - Gore

Genre: Deftones
Release Date: April 8, 2016

Deftones are back after a few years off, and they didn't miss a beat with this album. I believe it's their best work since White Pony, but some may disagree and that's perfectly fine. Koi No Yokan was an incredibly strong album, and while Gore is less intense than Koi, it still packed a punch.

Rating: 13.5/15

 
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4/18: Haken - Affinity

Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Release date: April 29, 2016

The prog rock/metal band Haken returns once again after their exceptional "Best Album of 2013" release, The Mountain. It had high expectations to live up to, and it met them all. While incorporating a lot of sounds from other fellow bands in the genre, Haken has further established itself as the future of prog rock/metal. This album, Affinity, is a serious contender for the best album of 2016 and we're still only in April.

Rating: 15/15

 
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@jeicex is now the @Dragonlordxxxxx of music.


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The original post has been updated to include links to each review.

Also, each post has the genre of music, release date, as well as the rating I gave the album in my review. Is there any other information in the post that would be helpful?
 
I've received a suggestion for a new album to review, by the British/Swedish/Australian band Slice the Cake, called Odyssey to the West.

 
I have been contacted by a Finnish band named Perihelion Ship to review their album. According to their bandcamp page, they are four piece progressive extreme metal band, with mixed vocals of clean and growls, and they utilize instruments from the 1970's including the Hammond B3 organ.



I will be giving this album a listen and writing something up on it next week.
 
Why the 15 point rating scale?
 
Why the 15 point rating scale?
Originally my rating scale was because of 2015, so I figured run with 15. Before that, I used random numbers and silly words for ratings, but I needed something real so people reading this could actually make heads or tails of it. I've only given a rating below 10 a few times, and the most recent one off the top of my head was the newest Disturbed album, which was a supreme disappointment.
 
I am considering reviewing the final Prince album in honor of his passing, even though it was released three months ago. I have not listened to it yet.
 
I am also taking suggestions for the next review, as my writeup on Perihelion Ship may be short and I'll need something else to listen to.
 
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