45 2019 Album Reviews in One Sentence or Less

Hey Everybody!

For those not in the know, on February 11th, I was hospitalized for a multitude of reasons and was there for 13 days and I am still on the mend for the next several weeks, so that means the radio show and podcast had to be put on hold till I heal up and get back into fighting shape. I will be discussing all of this on my comeback episode of Something Gives in the near future.

But in the meantime, I hope this tides you over. I missed out on a ton of albums and promos since being hospitalized and I have been able to catch up on a lot of them. How many? Well, how's 45 albums to tide you over?

Again, as I'm on the mend, I haven't been able to capture every album promo I've heard and there are ten albums I had set aside for my Best of February List, but that was before I got sidelined and I still may add them to a different list involving February and March albums, we'll see.

But as the title suggests, this is 45 album reviews in one sentence or less to get you interested in some new music. Let's see what you can discover!


Afterhand- Escaping Misfortune
Cool Prog rock in the vein of Coheed & A Perfect Circle.


Arrival of Autumn- Harbinger
A more Metal version of Hatebreed with some melodic vocals.


Attila- Villian
Deathcore, not really my bag, but it seems like it is executed well.


August Burns Red- Phantom Sessions EP
They cover The Legend Of Zelda theme; that automatically makes it good.


Backyard Babies- Silver & Gold
Good ol’ Heavy Rock and Roll.


Bastard Noise- Human Extinction Engine
If you dig harsh noise, I’m sure you’ll dig this. (actually got a headache listening to just one song)


Bellrope- You Must Relax
Heavy Sludgy Doom Metal for fans of Pallbearer/Baroness/Inter Arma


Bergraven- Det framlidna minnet
Dark Experimental Progressive Death Metal, heavily impressed!


Bog- S/T
Austrian Blackened Post Metal; an awesome combination


Candlemass- The Door To Doom
While my favorite era will always be with Messiah, I can’t deny the debut album and it is amazing to hear Lars back in the fold.


Cellar Darling- The Spell
Much darker and less folky than the first album and easily for the better with the sound they are going for.


Children of Bodom- Hexed
Easily continuing the trend of making fantastic music again for their 3rd straight album and it might be their best of this era.


Chrome Waves- A Grief Observed
Blackgaze done right, one of my favorite albums of the year so far.


Contrarian- Their Worm Never Dies
For fans of Pestilence, Atheist, Death and Cynic (fantastic technical, progressive death metal)


Demon Hunter- War/Peace
War covers the band’s early heavy side while Peace covers the more current mainstream sound; something for everyone that’s a fan of the band.


Devil Master- Satan Spits on Children of Light
Raw Blackened Crust Punk, very cool stuff


Dream Theater- Distance Over Time
Possibly the most concise and accessible Dream Theater album ever made; whether that’s good or bad to you depends on what you listen to Dream Theater for.


D'un Autre Temps- Nos Memoires
Heavily inspired by Alcest in all the best ways but with added orchestration; a sheer breakout album


Dun Ringill- Welcome
Very fun, horror inspired, Doom Rock/Metal


Eluveitie- Ategnatos
The sound that made me fall in love with Eluveitie and Folk Metal in general, is back and I couldn’t be happier.


Endorphins Lost- Seclusions
If you wish Blood For Blood had more Powerviolence to their sound; this is the band for you.


Forever Still- Breathe in Colours
A band for those that want their heavy, yet mainstream sounds ala Lacuna Coil, Halestorm and In This Moment without having to feel guilty about enjoying it.


Gypsy Chief Goliath- Masters of Space and Time
Stoner Progressive Metal for fans of The Sword, Mastodon, Clutch, and even newer Opeth


Hath- Of Rot and Ruin
Extremely aggressive, thrashy Death Metal


Hiss From The Moat- The Harrier
Brutal Blackened Death Metal; great technical ability shown throughout


In Flames- I The Mask
Simply put, the band’s best album since Come Clarity


Indestructible Noise Command- Terrible Things
Incredibly fun Thrash Metal with a Punk attitude


Inferi- The End of an Era: Rebirth
Technical Death Metal that has that melodic sense, ala Arsis, that I love so much.


La Dispute- Panorama
Not in my normal wheelhouse of music I listen to but really enjoyable, laid back Post Hardcore; I could come back to this.


The Machinist- Confidimus in Morte
Quite brutal Deathcore, Nu Metal and Alternative Metal rolled into one with a really good, positive message in today’s society; something to get behind.


Maestus- Deliquesce
Absolutely gorgeous and forelorn Blackened Doom Metal; Anathema meets My Dying Bride meets Ahab


Mark Morton- Anesthetic
A really cool album seeing Morton explore his non Lamb of God sound, while still being heavy, plus it’s great to hear the late Chester Bennington on the opening track.


Misery Index- Rituals of Power
This could end up being the best Deathgrind album of 2019, but it’s still March, so we will see.


Murmur- The Boundless Black
A dark and beautiful alternative & folk album from two guys not known for this style.


The Mute Gods- Atheists and Believers
The 3rd album from this prog supergroup is at their catchiest and most cynical, I wouldn’t want it any other way.


Omicida- Defrauded Reign
Fast, heavy, catchy Thrash Metal, a fun listen all around.


Queensryche- The Verdict
The verdict is in: this album is simply fantastic and what I was hoping for from the band at this stage.


The Royal- Deathwatch
Super catchy Metalcore, a great throwback to the early to mid 00s


RPWL- Tales From Outer Space
The Pink Floyd inspired prog rock band returns with their 8th album with short science fiction stories and the most perfect cinematic soundtrack to back it up.


SeeYouSpaceCowboy- Songs For The Firing Squad
If Dillinger Escape Plan played sassy hardcore aimed for the myspace generation and opened for the Taste of Chaos tours; still comprehending what I’m hearing.


Sermon- Birth of the Marvellous
A band beautifully mixing Porcupine Tree, Katatonia, and Anathema with such a metal tinge; this is going to be one of the biggest break though Prog albums in 2019.


Sylvaine- Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone
Another band with an influence of the blackgaze created by Alcest, but done in a different way; check out if you want heartbreakingly beautiful music.


Twin Temple- Bring Their Signature Sound...Satanic Doo-Wop
If the title doesn’t give away what this sounds like...I don’t know what to tell you; oddly the most soothing satanic album I’ve ever heard.


Tyr- Hel
Pretty much all the folk elements (besides some hints at it) of this band has been stripped away for more straight ahead Metal and leaving the folklore more towards the lyrical concepts; a perfect gateway album to try to get into Folk Metal, especially if you have been afraid to try it in the past.


Whitechapel- The Valley
The band stripped away so much of their Deathcore sound and is expanding their horizons in what’s possible in heavy music; and to me, that makes them far more enjoyable.

And there you go folks, 45 album reviews in one sentence or less. If something captures your interest, go out and check those albums out and support the bands.

Till I'm back at 100%, this is That Drummer Guy signing off! Have a Good Day!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)