Max Corbacho - The Ocean Inside (2012)

If ambient music has one defining characteristic, I think it is to evoke a sense of wonder and mystery. This album achieves that core task both in name and in deed. The Ocean Inside takes you on a journey into the deepest depths of your being and simultaneously reveals to you the grandeur of the universe. The music is vast, beautiful, and limitless. As on Breathstream (I did a review for this earlier) The Ocean Inside perfectly harmonizes darkness with light and, indeed, shows their inseparability. Warm, caressing tones mingle freely with dark, hypnotizing undercurrents until both become almost indistinguishable. Another reviewer referred to this album as a "soundworld" and I couldn't agree more with that description. Each track flows seamlessly into one another to create an immersive, awe-inspiring experience that's sure to please pretty much any ambient fan. With this album (and I'm sure with his other ones too), Mr. Corbacho demonstrates that he can stand head to head with the giants of the genre such as Steve Roach and Robert Rich, and that he too can create some of the most beautiful music in the world.
10/10
(Many thanks to Mr. Corbacho for graciously sending me a promo copy of this album.)

Helloween - Straight Out of Hell (2013)

The latest Helloween album doesn't break any new ground, but then again why does it have to? They have a winning formula that appeals to fans of both traditional and power metal, and it wouldn't really make sense to change it at this point. On the other hand, this does reduce the variety of the album to a rather disappointing level. That's not to say that this a bad album at all. In fact, it's plenty catchy and packed with very strong riffs. Overall, it's yet another slab of enjoyable poppy metal from a legendary band. But, if you're looking something that'll really catch your attention and set itself apart from the pack then there's other albums you should be checking out.

8.5/10

Bad Religion - True North (2013)

The punk legends have returned with yet another excellent release. If there's anything this band is known for, it's consistency and this album continues the band's trademark melodic, fast-paced style. Per usual, the songs are all very catchy and the lyrics are quite thought-provoking. It's exactly how good punk music should sound, and it's a testament to the longevity and seemingly endless creativity of this great band.
9.5/10

 

Mystery - The World is a Game (2012)

This is a fantastic neo-prog album with soaring vocals that sound like a cross between Jon Anderson (the singer actually used to be in Yes) and Geddy Lee, beautiful guitar melodies/solos, and plenty of well-written technical parts. The music switches with incredible grace between heavy and atmospheric parts. This is one of the most refreshing prog albums I've listened to in a while and I'd highly recommend it to any prog fan.
9.5/10

Psilocybe Larvae - The Labyrinth of Penumbra (2012)

This album has great melodies, great songwriting and all-around greatness. It's quite in the vein of Opeth actually which one wouldn't expect given the tech-death sounding name of the band. Russia seems to be churning out a lot of talented metal bands recently and this band is no exception.
9/10

Dean Watson - Imposing Elements (2012)

This album offers a unique mixture of fusion with prog rock including the use of the mellotron. On paper it's a great idea, and the album as a whole is very solid. However, I felt that some of the tracks were not quite as lively and fresh as I'd hoped they'd be. But you shouldn't let that stop you from enjoying this because as far as fusion albums go this is still ace.

8.5/10

 

Colour Haze - She Said (2012)

This is an awesome psychedelic rock record with great solos and riffs, and a very spacey atmosphere/production. These psych veterans know by now exactly when to keep it heavy and when to tone it down. The album is incredibly dynamic and doesn't feel like it's meandering off track at all. Everything feels like it has a purpose and belong where it does. This is certainly one of the finest psych rock albums I've ever heard.

9.5/10

This Town Needs Guns - 13.0.0.0.0. (2013)

 

This is a very solid math-rock album from the band that released the critically acclaimed "Animals" in 2009. This album doesn't quite measure up to it, especially with the rather stale vocals, but it's very solid nonetheless.

8.5/10 

Naam - Naam (2009)

 

This is a pretty cool psychedelic prog-rock album I came across. It's nice, but it doesn't have the flow and ambition of, say, Astra. However, they are obviously a talented band who have the ability to make something even more dynamic and attention-grabbing.

8/10 

Sky Architect - Excavation of the Mind (2010)

 

Here's a pretty enjoyable prog album featuring the standard influences: Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd etc. It doesn't really set itself apart from the pack, but given my fanboyism for prog-rock that's a pretty forgiveable thing.

8.5/10 

Max Corbacho - Breathstream (2008)

 

I never thought I'd find an ambient artist who matched the genius of Steve Roach both in terms of musical style and musical quality, but here he is. Like Roach, Corbacho's music is not really dark. In fact, it's a perfect balance between light and dark elements, and the music is incredibly deep and beautiful. I am looking forward to hearing more of Corbacho's brilliant work.

9.5/10 

Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman: Descension (2013)

 

Having just listened to this for the first time, I can say it's just as good as Ascension if not slightly better. The epic tracks "Sentry the Defiant" and "Gravity's Union" are some of the most powerful songs the band have written, while "The Hard Sell" and "Dark Side of Me" are some of their catchiest tunes. The only criticism I have of the album is that the studio version of "Iron Fist" doesn't measure up to the live version. Of course, it's still a very good song, but I think the album could have been perfect if they didn't tinker with it. All in all, this is the calmer, yet darker companion to Ascension and the two albums together might just be my favorite Coheed release so far.

9.5/10

Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman: Ascension (2012)
 

This is just a killer album full of great hooks and all-around great musicianship. It's not as proggy and epic as some of their past albums, but for what it lacks in that department it more than makes up for it in terms of accessibility and variety. It's basically a condensed version of C&C's past work, but at the same time it continues the band's musical development. That development is most apparent on "Hollywood the Cracked" which might be the band's darkest song to date. Ascension is an extremely worthy addition to the band's catalog, and is perhaps the one that could best help a newcomer appreciate their music due to its conciseness.

9.5/10

Raison D'Etre - The Empty Hollow Unfolds (2000)

 

Here's a pretty decent dark industrial ambient album that should be enjoyable to most fans of the genre. I don't particularly enjoy some of the parts on it, especially the screeching chairs (yeah, it's scary but it detracts from the atmosphere) but overall it's a pretty spine-tingling affair.

8/10 

BTBAM - The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)
 

Last year, BTBAM returned with a vengeance and released their best album to date. There's not much in the way of experimentation, but this album represents the perfection of the style the band had been working at in their past albums. The songwriting is rock-solid and all five band members are firing on all cylinders. It's a rather hard album to digest given the incredible technicality of it, but the band leave in enough catchy parts to give you a comfortable foothold. Needless to say, I'm very excited to see what this band does next.

9.5/10