Greg Kennelty's Picks (So Far)
Arch Enemy – War Eternal
If you would have told me this time last year I'd be so in love with an Arch Enemy record, I'd probably just been a sarcastic dick to you and waived your opinion off completely. It's not that I dislike the group, their music just never overwhelmed with joyous, happy tingly feelings. That being said, here I am eating my hat… War Eternal is everything I ever wanted this group to do and so much more. Memorable riffs and melodies, crushing solos, variety and the addition of vocalist Alissa White-Gluz only makes it that much better- she is a demon.
Cynic – Kindly Bent to Free Us
Kindly Bent to Free Us is the logical progression for Cynic given their 2012 release Carbon-Based Anatomy. The band has gone from Focus-level technical death metal to to proggier sound via Traced In Air, decided to mess around with their influences on Re-Traced, went full prog on Carbon-Based Anatomy and now they're sitting somewhere in the middle of it all. Growls? Who needs growls or any form of death metal vocals? Cynic has gotten past that phase of their career and brewed up a whole new, interesting chapter in it that simply blew me the hell away.
Junius – Days of the Fallen Sun
I reviewed this back when it came out and I still feel the exact same way. Hell, I'm going to quote myself here because why not? I said it best.
"Days of the Fallen Sun is a 25-minute journey through a planet's final days, through the fearful eyes of man. To be able to convey dread and destruction through music like this is an accomplishment alone, but to make it singable, catchy, worth so many adjectives to properly explain what I've heard… that's talent. Don't miss out on Days of the Fallen Sun."
Lorelei – Lore of Lies
Much like a demon slowly trying to escape the torments of hell and succeeding little by little, day by day, Lorelei have been gaining popularity in the metal community and rightfully so. They're not quite orchestral death metal, they're not quite (popular adverb)-core… they're just heavy, terrifying metal that does it right. If there's an album that is genuinely going to make you head bang one second and then scare the ever-loving shit out of you the next, it's going to be Lore of Lies.
Serdce – Timelessness
Who? Yeah I know, that's what I said when I saw the name Serdce floating around. Yet like a good music, I decided to see what was up between buzz of newly gained fans and the fact that they had sweet artwork. The band have a very Cynic-esque brand of middle-eastern-tinged and quick paced progressive metal that is extremely well-written and apparently well-thought out. Serdce's Timelessness seems like it was named after the music it holds- music that ten years down the line will still be very original and forward thinking.
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Greg also podcasts about non-metal things alongside people who talk about metal things.
