Album Round-Up (March 2020)

March was another stacked few weeks for heavier album releases, as it seemed that every band releasing a record this month was from the world of metal. As such, we just didn't have the time to review albums from Body Count, Myrkur, Hyborian and Igorr. They are all very much worth checking out if you want some more heavy tunes to see you through times of isolation, however. 

In saying that, we still have plenty of music that we have managed to cover with our eight reviews this month. So let's just get stuck in, shall we?  

___________________

My Dying Bride

The Ghost of Orion (6th March)

Nuclear Blast

FFO: Swallow The Sun, Paradise Lost, Katatonia

WORDS: Ross Donald

The Ghost of Orion is the 13th studio album released by British doom heavyweights My Dying Bride and is the follow-up to 2015’s Feel the Misery. I was looking forward to seeing the band this year as they were headlining the annual Lords of the Land festival. But that was unfortunately moved back to September (thanks Hamilton Hunter), so they may not be playing anymore... 

For a bit of a backstory to this album then, it appears to have been inspired by the tragic life events of vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe whose five year daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. Thankfully it was later announced that she was in remission, but it’s clear his emotions from what must have been a traumatic experience are present in quite a few of these tracks. In regards to the music, if you’ve listened to My Dying Bride before, you pretty much know what to expect with their long, doomy tracks. This one seems more accessible and melodic than the previous albums I’ve listened to though, but I do think that it's by design due to the subject matter they’re dealing with. 

The opener ‘Your Broken Shore’ was the first single released back in January and is one of the album’s highlights featuring the band’s signature doomy riffs with some violins thrown in for good measure. Aaron’s vocals are especially great as he drifts from clean to growling vocals pretty seamlessly. The best track on the album for me though is ‘Tired of Tears’, which is quite easily the most emotional track on here as the lyrics are essentially all about Aaron’s daughter. The title of the track speaks for itself. Again though, there’s just so many gorgeous riffs here and the mix of the orchestral instruments really add to the atmosphere.

At 56 minutes long, the band uses their time well and it doesn’t feel like a drag, but with the last proper track ‘The Old Earth’, I did start to feel like I was becoming tired of the longer tracks. It may just be because ‘The Old Earth’ wasn’t anywhere near as memorable as the previous songs though. In between a couple of the longer tracks, there are some different musical additions that break things up a bit, such as‘The Solace’ which features beautiful guest vocals from Linda Fay Hella from Wardruna. As it only showcases one other guitar throughout the song with some gorgeous riffs, it makes for one hell of a track. 

Overall, this is a damn good album. It could use a bit of cutting here and there especially with the ten minute tracks but there’s a lot of great stuff here worth checking out especially if you enjoy your doom metal with a bit of melody added in. I always feel like metal music is better with real emotion and personality put in and that’s definitely reflected here with the tragic circumstances behind the music. Check it out. 

Tracks to check out: 'Your Broken Shore', 'Tired of Tears', 'The Solace'

___________________

Code Orange
Underneath (13th March)

Roadrunner Records

FFO: Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Converge

WORDS: Joanne Gray

Since Forever was released in 2017, Code Orange have become one of the most talked about bands in heavy music and it has often seemed like every other metallic leaning hardcore band has tried to follow in the band’s footsteps. As such, all eyes have been on Pittsburgh’s scene leaders to see what they could do on their next album.

And it would be incredibly difficult to claim that they’ve not progressed with Underneath. From the opening eerie hum of the intro track ‘(deeperthanbefore)’ to the closing track 45 minutes later, industrial elements underpin every single song here. Where Forever was a clear example of a hardcore band dabbling in Nine Inch Nails-esque mechanical electronics, Underneath is an album where the two primary genres are more cohesively intertwined.

Clearly the band have spent a lot of time learning about production and programming here, as the entire album really does sound fantastic. Kudos to keyboardist Eric Balderose here, as he firmly makes his mark throughout this album (particularly in songs like ‘Cold.Metal.Place’, ‘The Easy Way’, ‘Back Inside The Glass’ and ‘Underneath’). For the most part, he manages to navigate the intimidating combination of sounds the band bring to the table with ease.

And the increased fluidity of these different sounds really does make the previous album seem rudimentary in comparison. The bludgeoning slabs of low-end riffage that guitarists Reba Meyers, Dominic Landolina and bassist Joe Goldman bring to the table take that violent hardcore hulking tone and throw in elements of thrash and groove metal on songs like ‘You And You Alone’, ‘Erasure Scan’ and ‘Back Inside The Glass’. These songs more than any others remind me of Slipknot in their crazy early days. Of course, one of the main areas of interest within this band has been the interplay between the two main vocalists Jami and Reba though, and there is a further sense of balance here than ever before.

Moving away from the drumkit, Jami’s garbled barking vocals are given an extra level of clarity, and Reba’s more melodic voice is a more prominent and welcome contrast throughout. Where ‘Bleeding in the Blur’ was the standout melodic moment for Reba on Forever, you’d be hard pushed to pick just one song like that here. ‘Who I Am’, ‘Sulfer Surrounding’, ‘The Easy Way’, ‘Autumn and Carbine’, ‘A Sliver’ and ‘Underneath’ all contain killer earworms that showcase the band’s ever-increasing knack for melody, all without sacrificing the album’s dystopian, futuristic themes. For me, it is incredibly impressive how well these tracks fit within the heavier material around them.

The only real criticism then that I have with Underneath is the same one that I had with Forever. Although it is less noticeable and prominent here, the band’s notoriously divisive glitching pauses and stop-start sections are still evident in songs like ‘Swallowing the Rabbit Whole’ and ‘Cold.Metal.Place’. As before, the suffocating electronic parts and broken sounding digital pauses will continue to thrill those who liked this element before. But for me, I think the band are interesting enough without having to rely on (what I find to be) a distracting trope twice in a row...

With all that said however, Underneath has grown on me massively with each listen. By taking a look back to bands like Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot and Ministry while situating themselves firmly in the present with their contemporary production and futuristic synthetic sound, Code Orange’s fourth album will age better than many of their nu-metalcore contemporaries. The quality of songwriting is infinitely better and more interesting, to boot. This is the metal album to beat in 2020 (so far).

Tracks to check out: ‘You And You Alone’, ‘Who I Am’, ‘Sulfur Surrounding’, ‘The Easy Way’, ‘Underneath’

___________________

Video Nasties
Dominion (13th March)

APF Records

FFO: Darkthrone, Kvelertak, John Carpenter

WORDS: Ross Donald

Dominion is the first full length release from the English black ‘n’ rollers Video Nasties. And they’re not named that by accident, as they really sound like a classic video nasty from the 80s. The extra touch of having this album come out on Friday the 13th really has me loving these guys more... 

I’m sure I’ve mentioned in other reviews that I’m a big horror fan, so any metal band geared towards this genre always has a place in my heart. At this point I can pretty much compare the horror bands I have heard to a subgenre of horror. For example, Ice Nine Kills are like an 80s slasher: pretty safe and not too threatening but can pack a punch when needed. Exhumed are like an 80s B-movie that was banned for being overly violent and not meant for normal people. Video Nasties are pretty much like their namesake: an old video nasty like Evil Dead where, to the untrained eye, it could seem like just a bit too much and scary beyond belief. But once you know what you’re getting into, you can just sit back, relax and enjoy.

In regards to the actual album, it’s pretty damn good. It starts off strong with the bangers ‘Stay Gold’ and ‘Hanging Tree’. When we then hit ‘Helvetica’ and ‘Transvoltum’, I did start losing a bit of interest as the tracks were starting to sound the same. But by the time I got to ‘Red of Night’ with its gothic party in a graveyard-sounding intro, I was way back into it again. Speaking of which, I do enjoy the little snippets that sound like they’re taken from 50s horror movies before the track launches into an absolute screamfest in the best way. 

'Stabbing Nightmare’ was another highlight for me, as it came across more like an Exhumed track with its short run time. It almost does give you the feeling that someone stabby is chasing you through a house. The title track is a short instrumental which builds into a big finish that I adored so much, as it sounds like it was written by horror legend John Carpenter early in his career. I really wish the album had more of this. Of course, the album does end with the longest track on the album, 'They Rise', which is possible my favourite song on the album. It has a damn catchy chorus and the last two haunting minutes sound like something that was dragged kicking and screaming out of Silent Hill.

Overall, I had a fun time with this album. While it might not be my favourite horror themed album ever, it was still a good time on my part every time I gave it a listen. Keeping in mind that this is only the band’s first album, I can definitely see things getting even bigger for them as time rolls on. Just remember to check under the bed when it’s all over. I swear there’s something there…..

Tracks to check out: 'Hanging Tree', 'Viva Death', 'Stabbing Nightmare', 'They Rise'

___________________

Heaven Shall Burn

Of Truth and Sacrifice (20th March)

Century Media

FFO: In Flames, Darkest Hour, Caliban

WORDS: Ross Donald

Of Truth and Sacrifice is the 9th studio album from German metallists Heaven Shall Burn. This is my first experience of the band, but from what I heard, their older stuff should be worth checking out.

First up though, I do need to mention the fact that this album is almost 100 minutes long, which is completely mental. I know I might sound like a slight hypocrite after showing a ton of love to Iron Maiden’s 92 minute Book of Souls (as seen here), but I feel like that’s a completely different case. Souls features 11 tracks with a lot of variety in between, whereas this is a metalcore/deathcore band. To have an album this long with 19 total tracks is a pretty bold decision, and an almost daunting task to take on...

From what I’ve researched, this album is split into two parts:‘Of Truth’, which includes the first ten tracks; then 'And Sacrifice’, which contains the second half of the album. I don’t really know why they didn't just release 2 albums a few months apart to make for an easier listening experience though. There’s just simply too much here, and you end up forgetting a lot of the tracks due to their similarities. Without the excess, there’s a great album in here, but you need to cut at least 40 minutes to get it. While I won’t talk about every track as I’ll end up repeating myself, there are a few highlights to talk about, however. 'Thoughts and Prayers’ makes for a damn fine opener as it melds the best parts of deathcore and metalcore. The fury of deathcore mixes well with the more melodic nature of metalcore in this opening track that sets the tone well. Heaven Shall Burn appear to be the most comfortable with this sort of sound as these particular tracks end up leaving more of an impression. This is carried over into the surprisingly catchy ‘Protector’ and the epic ‘My Heart and the Ocean’, but there are also a couple of tracks that go for a more industrial sound too. It's hard not to make Rammstein comparisons with songs such as ‘Ubermacht’ and ‘La Resistance’, as they fuse mechanical elements with a metalcore slant, which is pretty neat.

Of course, the album features a few more epic, long tracks as well. A favourite of mine is ‘Expatriate’ which sets itself apart due to the soft piano which plays at the beginning before some orchestral backing kicks in. Those growling vocals alongside this almost make it sound like a battle cry. The composition of those orchestral sections could be enough to pierce through anyone's soul, and can only be described as beautiful. It just builds and builds until the metal kicks back in for a rousing conclusion.

The other longer track is ‘The Sorrows of Victory’, which was slightly disappointing after ‘Expatriate’, unfortunately. I found it to be a bit boring as it didn’t do enough to warrant its length and didn’t change much of the sound throughout. This song could have been trimmed down a good bit to retain my interest. And that's a common theme throughout the rest of the album. Even though a few of these tracks are very good (such as‘Stateless’ and ‘Eagles Among Vultures’), the overall length of the album just kills it for me. To further prove this point, they even have a cover of Nuclear Assault’s ‘Critical Mass’ that wasn’t really needed. Thankfully, the final track, 'Weakness Leaving My Heart' saves things a bit, and ends up being a highlight of the album. This epic finale reintroduces those orchestral sections from earlier, while mixing together those metalcore sections nicely for an emotional finish.

Overall, I’d say this is a good album that would be a really great album if it was cut down in the right places. I would definitely still recommend it as there are quite a few tracks worth your time and are some of the best I’ve heard this year so far. Check it out if you have a spare couple of hours, or check out the recommended songs below instead. Tracks to check out: 'Thoughts and Prayers', 'Protector', 'Expatriate', 'My Heart and the Ocean', 'Children of a Lesser God', 'Weakness Leaving My Heart'

___________________

Irist

Order of the Mind (27th March)

Nuclear Blast

FFO: Gojira, Mastodon, Conjurer

WORDS: Joanne Gray

Atlanta’s Irist may only just have a few hundred followers on Twitter; but it’s safe to say that their upcoming rising trajectory is already set in motion. Formed in 2015 by Argentinian and Chilean natives Pablo Davila and Bruno Segovia, the band was later completed with Brazilian vocalist Rodrigo Carvalho and Atlantans Adam Mitchell and Jason Belisha, giving things a rather unique set-up from the start. Things would only get more interesting as their debut album approached though.

Striking up a partnership with the legendary ex-Roadrunner A&R Monte Connor, the band signed to Nuclear Blast and got rock journalists really paying attention. In addition to this, the band have seemingly not played any live shows before and are thus a bit of a mystery, so it’s easy to see why there’s been a lot of excitement about this band. That sense of anticipation becomes even clearer when you press play on the album.

The hefty progressive riffing on the opening track ‘Eons’ sounds as huge as you would expect from bands like Gojira and Mastodon. As the album continues, you get the sense that Irist’s sound very much borrows elements from each of these bands, but with a clear focus on the former. The faster, technical death metal offerings of ‘Creation’, ‘Dead Prayers’ and ‘The Well’ are very much out of the heavier Gojira playbook, while the clean, layered vocals on songs like ‘Severed’, ‘Harvester’ and ‘The Well’ echo that band’s more reflective material. Marking another parallel to the French band, the vocals carry a similar quality (if not entirely the same guttural deep tone) to Joe Dupluntier’s powerful, yet articulate growls.

I’ve already seen some criticism be levelled at Irist for sounding too similar to Gojira. Although it is hard to argue with the band’s influence here, there are certainly other interesting moments for me which push them beyond being a copycat band. The jagged, almost metallic hardcore stabs of ‘Burning Sage’, ‘Insurrection’ and ‘Order of the Mind’ actually remind me of bands like Employed To Serve and Ithaca, and there are plenty of moments throughout this album where I think back to Conjurer’s genre-defying Mire and Rivers of Nihil’s excellent last album. Although Irist move about with their sound less, the moves from faster riffy sections to slower, dirging passages before settling on more gentler melodic moments do bring those interesting bands to mind.

Sure, this is not a ground-breaking album by any stretch of the imagination. The individual elements mentioned above showcase a band who clearly wear their influences on their sleeve. But Irist are an impressive band, nonetheless. Especially for this being the first recorded output the band have ever released. I’ll be really keen to check these guys out live, and I look forward to seeing how they can build on these strong foundations and expand into even more admirable territories in the future.

Tracks to check out: ‘Eons’, ‘Severed’, ‘Insurrection’, ‘Harvester’

___________________

Milk Teeth

Milk Teeth (27th March)

Music For Nations

FFO: Ash, Feeder, PUP

WORDS: Joanne Gray

It’s safe to say that Milk Teeth have had a tumultuous few years. Since they released Vile Child, one of my favourite albums of 2016, Milk Teeth are almost an entirely different band. After more than a few lineup changes in previous years, the current roster consists of founding member and Becky Blomfield with Em Foster and Jack Kenny on guitar and drums. With two thirds of the band now being from fellow British indie-punk band Nervus, it isn’t particularly surprising that Vile Child’s follow-up doesn’t sound like previous versions of Milk Teeth. What is surprising is that is doesn’t really sound much like Nervus either…

In fact, the first band that comes to mind when the opening effect-laden guitar lick of ‘Given Up’ kicks in is Feeder (circa ‘Just A Day’). Although this song is not as upbeat as that band get here, the catchy hook in the chorus and the energetic delivery are quite comparable and help to get the album off to a strong start. ‘Flowers’ then keeps the pace up, and offers an almost-nursery rhyme like chord progression that ensures that the song fits in quite nicely with their previous material. Two songs down the line, ‘Better’ is another album highlight which showcases some of the underlying sense of frustration, sadness and turbulence that clearly played a bit role in creating this album.

To my disappointment though, these underlying negative emotions never really explode in a way which is comparable to the awesome 2018 single ‘Stain’. Although the noisier songs ‘Dilute’ and ‘Destroyer’ add a bit more distortion to the mix (and the second song sees some great screams from Em as well), there is a sense that there’s quite a bit of restraint shown in much of this album. Instead of digging into the previous grimy influences of Sonic Youth, L7 and early Smashing Pumpkins, the cleaner tones here remind me more of the likes of Ash with a bit of PUP’s trebly jauntiness sprinkled on top. Although there is an increased focus on Becky’s bass playing, and the increasingly chunky bass tones are very much welcome, it doesn’t quite seem enough to give the whole sound the kick it deserves.

For me, songs like ‘Dilute’, ‘Transparent’ and ‘Sharks’ would sound better if there was a bit more punch to the instruments and it’s in these songs that I really miss the band having a second guitarist. I would also have liked for Becky and Em’s vocals to be higher in the mix. ‘Destroyer’ is a good example of the solid interplay which can take place between the two distinctive voices when they’re given the chance to cut loose. I just wish there was more of this. In all honesty, the last three songs ‘Smoke’, ‘Circle’ and ‘Wanna Be’ don’t do all that much for me as the lack of real hooks makes the songs feel a bit flat when compared to the better songs here.

As a whole then, this is not a bad album by any means and there are definitely a few good songs here. But even after this album has grown on me quite a bit, the highest points here don’t reach the heights that their previous albums did at their best. Hell, I actually think ‘Stain’ would be the best song on this album if it was on here and I feel like it they missed an opportunity to go down this more aggressive pathway. I do hope that this is the end of the long and troubled path Milk Teeth have found themselves in recently as I can’t help feel that it has taken its toll on a band who are one of the best when they’re at the top of their game…

Tracks to check out: ‘Given Up’, ‘Flowers’, ‘Better’, ‘Destroyer’

___________________

Omega Infinity

Solar Spectre (27th March)

Season of Mist

FFO: Bathory, Darkspace, Paysage D'Hiver

WORDS: Ross Donald

Solar Spectre is the debut album from sci-fi black metallers Omega Infinity. The band is comprised of Tentakel Parkinson from Todtgelichter, who deals with pretty much all the instrumentals; and Xenoyr from Ne Obiviscaris who is the vocalist. These guys have come together to come up with something new within black metal (a genre which could use something new to rise up the ranks once again, I might add), and I think they may have gone and done it. The idea of ‘sci-fi black metal’ is one I had reservations about, as it was a potentially strange mix...

But in fact it works surprisingly damn well, especially with the way the band has presented it here. The album kicks off with ‘Uranus’ (I’m trying my hardest not to make a childish joke about that), which is an instrumental opener that feels like the calm before the storm. It's a softer track with an intergalactic tone that makes you feel like you've wandered into the middle of a vast galaxy, all alone. It slowly builds as chaos begins to erupt all around, and we plunge right into the next track ‘Mars’. It is here where I should mention that every track is named after a part of our solar system, to establish the galactic concept.

'Mars' is then where the black metal side of things really begin. It has an absolutely furious intro to set the real tone in motion and they keep some galactic sounds in the background for an even more unique experience. The 7 minute track is a longer offering but it slows down around the 4 minute mark with some chanting to keep things interesting. This is a beautiful, yet horrific track which- like the other tracks on the album- has an ending designed to bleed into the intro of the next track. A full listen of the album is pretty much essential to get these extra little nice touches throughout. 

One of my favourite tracks on offer is ‘Jupiter’, as there’s just something inherently creepy about the industrial sounding intro of the track. It's as if machinery that shouldn’t exist in this world intends to kill you. I can’t help but bask in the cosmic horror on offer. The added chanting vocals give even more of a cultish feeling and it gives me flashbacks to playing 2008’s Dead Space for the first time. This one also has a slower, doomier tone to differentiate from all other tracks on offer, but it does speed up midway through so it never feels like it's starting to drag.

Another highlight for me was the beautiful ‘Neptune’. It isn’t metal at all and doesn’t sound like anything else on the album, yet it still feels like it fits in due to its synthetic tone and chanting. The haunting, cosmic atmosphere remains; yet the extra layer of softness feels like a symbol of hope compared to the rest of the chaotic songs throughout. The track also features the only clean female vocals on here to add to its beauty. I’m glad the band tries different things here as the experimentation really works to their advantage.

Most of the other tracks are more traditionally black metal, but they still keep their spacey tone so that they don't compromise any part of the album. Tracks like ‘Sol’, ‘Saturn’ and ‘Terra’ bring the fire when they need to, and they are far enough away from each other on track-list to keep things varied. The final track, ‘Mercury’, makes for a good instrumental closer. Chaos continues to ravage space before a sense of calm is retained in the last few seconds of the album. A nice nod to the intro track here, and to the fact that the emptiness of space is utterly terrifying.

Overall, I found this to be a fantastic album worthy of all praise it receives. It shows that you can achieve a level of sheer horror without going over the top sonically, all the while making you feel like you’re in some void, all alone. For a black metal album, the variety on offer is pretty staggering. There’s quite a bit to take in for 43 minutes, but it’s worth the ride and many revisits, as you’ll always find something to come back to.

These guys have created something special and unlike anything else I’ve heard this year, but it will appeal to a lot of different metal fans. Anyone with a craving for sci-fi horror should get a kick out of this as well, due to the fear of the unknown being represented with full effect. Whether Omega Infinity follow this album up with a similar theme or something completely new, I’ll be there to check it out. This album does for black metal what Blood Incantation did for death metal last year and give the genre a new lease of life. Highly recommended.

Tracks to check out: 'Mars', 'Jupiter', 'Saturn', 'Neptune'

___________________

Pearl Jam
Gigaton (27th March)

Monkeywrench/Republic Records

FFO: Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots

WORDS: Ray Mondo

These are dark and uncertain times where a standstill on art and culture all around the world seems more imposing as ever. It's a relief therefore that creativity still flows vividly in what few ways it still can. With Pearl Jam's first new studio album in 7 years being released only a few days ago, it makes for an enjoyable hour-long escape from the constant bad news and doom-and-gloom of the current global situation. This is a release which isn't loaded with any overbearing themes of current trends and topics- which always ensures the quick dated-ness and poor aging of some current music. But I digress...

As the follow-up to 2013's Lightning Bolt, Gigaton sees this much-loved quintet of veteran Seattle grunge-rockers take a more experimental and thoughtful approach than their previous alt-rock effort. Gigaton features the band's usual vast array of sonic experimentation by utilising some unconventional instruments in subtle ways throughout the album. This is definitely something which will be appreciated by long-time fans, but also by casual listeners and those just starting to dig into the band's impressive back catalogue as well. As always, the members of the band (still impressively comprised of the classic 1998-and-onwards line-up) receive many a credit for their contributions to the album, from their impressive guitar, bass and percussion parts, but also for the production itself. 

The album's experimental themes extend beyond the choice and use of instruments to the arrangement of the songs themselves. We start right off the bat with the slightly lengthy yet still very much straight-forward and confident crunchy rock of opening track 'Who Ever Said', which features frontman Eddie Vedder's still instantly recognisable vocals and the trademark guitar shredding of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard. It goes without saying that fans both new and old will end up lost in the whirlwind that is the next three tracks though. 

You have the feverish Mudhoney-esque rock-shuffle of 'Superblood Moonwolf', then the groovy and borderline-synth-pop disco-tinge of 'Dance of the Clairvoyants'. Up next, 'Quick Escape' is a catchy rocker featuring some avant-garde sounding guitar work which ascends to bellowing-vocal earworm choruses and some more wailing solos. After listening to these, it may go as no surprise that these three tracks were released as singles from the album prior to its release (a well-informed choice from the band I'm sure most will agree with). While we’re at it, 'Take the Long Way' also merits a mention in this section as well, for its wonderfully 90s-tinged guitar-oriented vibes and some more frantically fuzzy riffs. It wouldn't be the worst thing ever to mistake this one for a track the band have had hidden away in a stash somewhere since their early days.

Of course, there's some more mellower moments on this album as well which by no means are out of place. The slower, reflective thinker ‘Seven O’Clock’ and tracks such as ‘Alright’ and 'Buckle Up' in particular bring a gentler change of pace and sees abstract tones threaded subtly throughout, with Vedder's down-to-earth and honest lyrics creating interesting soundscapes to get lost in. 'Comes Then Goes' features minimal instrumentation and Vedder's smooth and soothing singing with some sweet-sounding six string strums acting as a welcome addition to the album. Further bringing more depth to the table, this song will surely go on to be known as a stand-out deep-cut from this tracklist.

'River Cross’, another solo Vedder arrangement, brings the album to a close. Featuring his pump-organ playing from the initial 2015 demo of this track and, of course, some more heartfelt lyrics, the song takes a slightly cynical yet appropriate look at the current state of world affairs and handling of other people's lives without any of the usual ham-fistedness other artists would normally insist upon. 

In the usual Pearl Jam way, no huge anthemic crowd-chanting self-indulgences are required to round this album off. The rich musicianship, laid-back atmosphere and sonic depth all throughout the album do enough of the talking. It goes without saying that this is a real and proper return to the spotlight for Pearl Jam, and one that will no doubt be up there in future alongside their best-known releases.

Tracks to check out: 'Dance of the Clairvoyants', 'Quick Escape', 'Seven O'Clock'

___________________

Thanks to Ross and Ray for their contributions to this round-up of March's albums and thanks to you for reading! Feel free to check out our playlist of our favourite songs this month below or leave a comment below to tell us which albums you have liked over the month. Be sure to give us a like/follow on the socials if you like our content. As always, we're open to contributions/submissions so you can always get in touch as well. 

Cheers!