Month: July 2019

becoming the archetype - terminate damnation
CD

Becoming the Archetype: Terminate Damnation (2005)

2005 was the year I really dove back into what was happening in modern metal.  Over at Nine Circles I ran a series of articles about the many albums I had relegated to binders, and over the course of 3 entries and almost 30 albums I think there were over a dozen just from that year.  One of the bands I didn’t cover was Becoming the Archetype, and that’s that’s because their 2005 debut Terminate Damnation was never pushed to binder status.  This is epic thrashing modern metal that holds up ridiculously well, bridging progressive and technical death metal with elements of metalcore wrapped in a strong, unyielding Christian ethos.  God approves, and so do I. Continue reading “Becoming the Archetype: Terminate Damnation (2005)”

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becoming akh - absolute truth
CD

Becoming Akh: Absolute Truth (2017)

With Absolute Truth must come abolsute truth.  The sophomore LP and continuing conceptual narrative from Portland one man death machine Becoming Akh is more complex, more technical and, sadly more unlistenable.  Forsaking anything even remotely related to low-end frequencies, it’s painful to try and got to the admittedly technical prowess on display throughout the record. Continue reading “Becoming Akh: Absolute Truth (2017)”

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Becoming Akh - Abolisher
CD

Becoming Akh: Abolisher EP (2015)

What what I knew about Becoming Akh before coming into their 2015 EP Abolisher.  It was metal, and it was on Transcending Records.  I got the album and about a dozen others like it as part of a campaign to help Transcending Records with a flood that devastated their merchandise.  I even wrote about it on Nine Circles.  The first of a two-part concert album, Abolisher deals in a kind of mechanized progressive death/djent that sits high in a few sonic frequencies and eschews the rest. Continue reading “Becoming Akh: Abolisher EP (2015)”

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beck - modern guilt
CD

Beck: Modern Guilt (2008)

To start, this was not the Beck album I thought I was going to write about.  I went into the morning happy to revisit an old friend, a sunny, chill psychedelic folk album that reminded me of gots lazy days and warm introspection.  Well, that album was Morning Phase, an album I apprarently don’t own despite really enjoying.  Instead, I have Modern Guilt, Mr. Beck Hansen’s brief but listless 2008 effort that starts promising but ultimately leaves almost no impression once it’s over. Continue reading “Beck: Modern Guilt (2008)”

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beatles - anthology
CD

The Beatles: Anthology (1995)

You couldn’t escape the anticipation for the The Beatles Anthology documentary: everyone was waiting to hear the first “new” music from The Beatles since 1970.  Taking rough demos from John Lennon the rest of the band got together to finish them.  And while you can debate the merits of “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” the chance to go behind the scenes with the band as they evolved into legends is an undeniable delight. Continue reading “The Beatles: Anthology (1995)”

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beatles - past masters
CD

The Beatles: Past Masters (1988)

In my brief (very brief) survey of the current stream-everything, digital rules pop landscape its fascinating to see how the single, non-album track has become prominent.  Fascinating because though a lot of fingers point to streaming and digital as primary reason, you can  go back over 40 years and see the same reliance on singles.  Collected as a two-disc set, Past Masters not only shows how adept The Beatles were at the form, but also boggles the mind with just how many “hits” in the pop consciousness weren’t actually collected on the studio albums. Continue reading “The Beatles: Past Masters (1988)”

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