This album is the sound of Metalcore achieving maximum, crystalline resolution. Of Mice & Men has been operating at the heart of this genre for over a decade, and Another Miracle proves they are masters of the formula. This isn't raw, DIY chaos. it’s a self-produced, highly polished war machine built to deliver bone-crushing breakdowns while simultaneously conquering arenas with soaring, anthemic choruses.
Forget the messy identity crises of their past; this album defines their current strategy: brutality with maximum melodic yield. The tone is set by the opener, A Waltz. It's menacing and dramatic, built on machine-gun drum passages and a furious, whispering contrast before exploding into sustained screams and broad guitars. This deliberate three-beat rhythm makes it stand out as a threatening, yet engaging, beginning.
The core strength of the album lies in the vocal dexterity of Aaron Pauley. He commands both extremes flawlessly. Tracks like Hourglass rely on his capacity for visceral, raw screaming, while Wake Up showcases his flawless clean singing over acoustic guitar. But the highest peaks are achieved when these two extremes collide. The best moments feature the slicing false chords syncopating brutally with the clean melodic notes, creating a density of emotion that is genuinely fantastic.
However, for the committed fan, this album is a lesson in comfortable repetition. Tracks like Troubled Water and Safe And Sound lean heavily on the genre's established architecture. The structures become predictable. breakdown follows chorus, clean follows harsh. It's safe, easy-going, and utterly serviceable, but it lacks the unpredictable, raw hunger that defined their early work.
The album finds its true depth in its lyrics, which focus on personal battles, self-doubt, and the fight for consciousness. Flowers and the title track, Another Miracle, deliver crushing aggression coupled with lyrical sincerity. By the time you reach the expansive closer, Infinite, the band successfully combines atmospheric sounds with furious screams, completing the cycle started by A Waltz.
Forget the messy identity crises of their past; this album defines their current strategy: brutality with maximum melodic yield. The tone is set by the opener, A Waltz. It's menacing and dramatic, built on machine-gun drum passages and a furious, whispering contrast before exploding into sustained screams and broad guitars. This deliberate three-beat rhythm makes it stand out as a threatening, yet engaging, beginning.
The core strength of the album lies in the vocal dexterity of Aaron Pauley. He commands both extremes flawlessly. Tracks like Hourglass rely on his capacity for visceral, raw screaming, while Wake Up showcases his flawless clean singing over acoustic guitar. But the highest peaks are achieved when these two extremes collide. The best moments feature the slicing false chords syncopating brutally with the clean melodic notes, creating a density of emotion that is genuinely fantastic.
However, for the committed fan, this album is a lesson in comfortable repetition. Tracks like Troubled Water and Safe And Sound lean heavily on the genre's established architecture. The structures become predictable. breakdown follows chorus, clean follows harsh. It's safe, easy-going, and utterly serviceable, but it lacks the unpredictable, raw hunger that defined their early work.
The album finds its true depth in its lyrics, which focus on personal battles, self-doubt, and the fight for consciousness. Flowers and the title track, Another Miracle, deliver crushing aggression coupled with lyrical sincerity. By the time you reach the expansive closer, Infinite, the band successfully combines atmospheric sounds with furious screams, completing the cycle started by A Waltz.
Another Miracle is an intensely polished, heavy-hitting comfort album that ensures Of Mice & Men will continue to thrive, even if they aren't breaking the genre rules anymore. 7/10
Yawning Man - Pavement Ends (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
At this point it is hard to write a review for a new Yawning Man record without feeling like you are repeating yourself, but here we are with the new album from these instrumental psych desert legends, Pavement Ends. As usual, the songs on Pavement Ends are amazing, trippy soundscapes that are expertly played and convey a vibe completely with zero vocals necessary.
Yawning Man - Pavement Ends (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
At this point it is hard to write a review for a new Yawning Man record without feeling like you are repeating yourself, but here we are with the new album from these instrumental psych desert legends, Pavement Ends. As usual, the songs on Pavement Ends are amazing, trippy soundscapes that are expertly played and convey a vibe completely with zero vocals necessary.
The six tracks on Pavement Ends continues their trend of great, with founding members Gary Arce and Mario Lalli and long time YM drummer Bill Stinson keeping up both the quality and uniqueness of what the band brings.
Burrito Power’s opening riff is a bit darker than usual, but the sun breaks through by the end, leading to the rain on the way but still shimmering guitar work of Gary Arce on Gestapo Pop. Bomba Negra creates this slow-motion vibe, where the world seems to spin a tad bit slower, led by the rhythm section of Lalli and Stinson.
Burrito Power’s opening riff is a bit darker than usual, but the sun breaks through by the end, leading to the rain on the way but still shimmering guitar work of Gary Arce on Gestapo Pop. Bomba Negra creates this slow-motion vibe, where the world seems to spin a tad bit slower, led by the rhythm section of Lalli and Stinson.
Speaking of Lalli, his bass leads the way on the floating though the desert tones of Dust Suppression, while the title track, the nine-minute epic of the record, is what you come to expect from these giants of the genre. The closer, Bad Time To Be Alive is seven-minutes of quintessential YM goodness; the vibes, the desert psych goodness, and Arce’s amazing and trademarked guitar work.
A new Yawning Man record is always a great way to spend some of your down time, a perfect way to chill, or to escape to the far reaches of the desert at night. Pavement Ends is no different. Fans and newcomers alike will dig this for sure. 8/10
Sun Of The Dying– A Throne of Ashes (AOP Records) [Spike]
This is not a record that allows for neutrality. Sun Of The Dying, hailing from Madrid, specializes in a brand of Doom/Death Metal that feels like staring into an abyss that both destroys and offers strangely cold comfort. A Throne Of Ashes is a monument to contradiction. sorrow is not simply sorrow; it is coloured by rage. Depression is not simple numbness; it is a violent anger at existence itself.
The sound is immense, drawing direct lineage from the Peaceville masters (My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost) while adding modern orchestral heft. The album opens with Martyrs, which eases in slowly with a thunderous, chugging riff before revealing the full, rich symphonic sound. This track immediately showcases the band's essential duality: horrid harsh vocals from Eduardo Guilló weave through sweeping keyboard orchestrations and sombre, clean singing. The weight of the emotional burden just increases as the song moves along.
The true impact of this album lies in its dynamics and vast scope. Black Birds Beneath Your Sky comes at you with a darkness that could blot out the sun. Choppy riffs combine with harrowing, sharp vocals, and although there are clean harmonies, the song refuses to leave the confines of the darkness. It’s a beautifully violent piece of art. Similarly, The Greatest Of Winters is a colossal track that moves like a relentless blizzard. It’s a tortured remembrance of an event, building overwhelming tension before taking a dark turn with overly tense tones, where desperate sorrow wrestles with fierce rage.
The guitars are crucial here. Roberto Rayo and Casuso thread mournful, emotional melodies through the heaviest passages, arching out like a vulture's wingspan shrouding the whole album. On With Wings Aflame, the clean tones move into heavier ones, but the orchestral elements take centre stage, driving a crescendo of pure, palpable emotion.
The final statement, Of Absence, closes the record by addressing the inevitable void. As with any profound absence, you might expect withdrawal, pain, and anger, and you get all three here. The track is full-on with melody and symphony, a deep colour representing the painful remembrance of what is lost. A Throne Of Ashes is music that forces you to confront the immense weight of existence, delivered through an authentic, uncompromising blend of brutal death and elegant sorrow.
A new Yawning Man record is always a great way to spend some of your down time, a perfect way to chill, or to escape to the far reaches of the desert at night. Pavement Ends is no different. Fans and newcomers alike will dig this for sure. 8/10
Sun Of The Dying– A Throne of Ashes (AOP Records) [Spike]
This is not a record that allows for neutrality. Sun Of The Dying, hailing from Madrid, specializes in a brand of Doom/Death Metal that feels like staring into an abyss that both destroys and offers strangely cold comfort. A Throne Of Ashes is a monument to contradiction. sorrow is not simply sorrow; it is coloured by rage. Depression is not simple numbness; it is a violent anger at existence itself.
The sound is immense, drawing direct lineage from the Peaceville masters (My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost) while adding modern orchestral heft. The album opens with Martyrs, which eases in slowly with a thunderous, chugging riff before revealing the full, rich symphonic sound. This track immediately showcases the band's essential duality: horrid harsh vocals from Eduardo Guilló weave through sweeping keyboard orchestrations and sombre, clean singing. The weight of the emotional burden just increases as the song moves along.
The true impact of this album lies in its dynamics and vast scope. Black Birds Beneath Your Sky comes at you with a darkness that could blot out the sun. Choppy riffs combine with harrowing, sharp vocals, and although there are clean harmonies, the song refuses to leave the confines of the darkness. It’s a beautifully violent piece of art. Similarly, The Greatest Of Winters is a colossal track that moves like a relentless blizzard. It’s a tortured remembrance of an event, building overwhelming tension before taking a dark turn with overly tense tones, where desperate sorrow wrestles with fierce rage.
The guitars are crucial here. Roberto Rayo and Casuso thread mournful, emotional melodies through the heaviest passages, arching out like a vulture's wingspan shrouding the whole album. On With Wings Aflame, the clean tones move into heavier ones, but the orchestral elements take centre stage, driving a crescendo of pure, palpable emotion.
The final statement, Of Absence, closes the record by addressing the inevitable void. As with any profound absence, you might expect withdrawal, pain, and anger, and you get all three here. The track is full-on with melody and symphony, a deep colour representing the painful remembrance of what is lost. A Throne Of Ashes is music that forces you to confront the immense weight of existence, delivered through an authentic, uncompromising blend of brutal death and elegant sorrow.
Essential listening for the cold, bleak evenings ahead. This is music that pulls at the pain, despair and sorrow of things and because of that, it is utterly beautiful. 9/10
Love Your Witch - Radio Fantasia (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
Love Your Witch is back with another ripper of an album, titled Radio Fantasia, that seamlessly blends stoner grooves and thrash metal aggression that results in another killer outing from the Tel Aviv trio.
Kicking it off with The New World, the trio starts soft but boy does the aggression kick in when the riff starts pounding. There is this QOTSA but heavier thing going on and musically the trio sounds super tight. Speaking of aggression, the thrash is strong with Love Your Witch on the heavy as hell Galactic Order, with Amit Abrahamy’s drum work standing out. Love the tempo change too.
Love Your Witch - Radio Fantasia (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
Love Your Witch is back with another ripper of an album, titled Radio Fantasia, that seamlessly blends stoner grooves and thrash metal aggression that results in another killer outing from the Tel Aviv trio.
Kicking it off with The New World, the trio starts soft but boy does the aggression kick in when the riff starts pounding. There is this QOTSA but heavier thing going on and musically the trio sounds super tight. Speaking of aggression, the thrash is strong with Love Your Witch on the heavy as hell Galactic Order, with Amit Abrahamy’s drum work standing out. Love the tempo change too.
Strider has some groove to it and has an almost psych thrash thing going on, while Butterfly slows it down and brings a bunch 90s alt vibes to the gathering. We get a similar yet spooky vibe on Sleeping On The Spider's Web, until the guitar kicks in and the song rips the place up. Cool stuff. Speaking of ripping the place up, Mercy Kill is straight up old school thrash goodness.
Farewell is the epic track on Radio Fantasia, starting off with this haunting 70s proto/psych thing that eventually builds heavier and heavier, and is the most complex and subsequently my favourite song on the record. Given where these guys are from, the most poignant track on Radio Fantasia is Cancel WW3, a sprawling song with riffs and atmosphere and the best vocal performance that Mor Gal has done on any of his work with Love Your Witch.
A fun and diverse record that metalheads and stoner rockers will enjoy alike. Love Your Witch has a great formula on Radio Fantasia while also doing whatever the hell they want. 8/10
A fun and diverse record that metalheads and stoner rockers will enjoy alike. Love Your Witch has a great formula on Radio Fantasia while also doing whatever the hell they want. 8/10
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