Epinions Recent Reviews for blindsider

Design Your Universe - "more than a postponed disappointment"

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:14:35 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - It's almost unheard of for a rock or metal band to gradually become heavier as time goes by. More commonly, a band will soften up and become more 'listener-friendly' with each album. But the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica has...

Fall into the splend(oom)or of The Silent Enigma

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 23:08:30 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - The dark, cloudy conundrum surrounding the title of this Anathema album is pretty fitting to the music that can be found within: The Silent Enigma, the UK rock band's 1995 release, was their last release that can really be...

Not in a big ol' pile of them bones: Alice in Chains is back

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:42:45 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Alice in Chains is in a really unique position right now. The legendary Seattle rock band has just released their first full-length studio album in fourteen years. Think about it. Last time this band released a new album,...

Leaves' Eyes unleashes a sprawling metal sea monster with Njord

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:35:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Finally, Leaves' Eyes has returned!The German/Norwegian melodic metal band has consistentl
y
proven over the years to be one of the most unique of the 'female-fronted' crowd. To be more precise, I believe...

Fievel is in good company -- The Gathering went west, too

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:10:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - I remember vividly the day it was announced that Anneke van Giersbergen and The Gathering planned to part ways. As a longtime fan, I was definitely disap
pointed, yet
I remained curious about how the band would...

Anathema's 'Judgement': "It'll bring you to your knees"

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 23:20:47 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Many times, I've found that I disagree with the majority when it comes to deciding on a band's "magnum opus." But when it comes to Anathema, that is anything but the truth. Judgement is unquestionably the most...

Hunt easter eggs with everyone's favorite Japanese monster

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:07:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Sometimes, patience is a worthy virtue. And you know, it truly can pay off and save consumers money. I'm a big collector of Domo-Kun memorabilia, and when I saw some Domo-Kun plush toys out in Target a few weeks prior to...

Entering Crowbar -- forecast looking muddy

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:16:05 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Sometimes I wonder how the term "heavy metal" originated. Take a moment to think about it. The 'heavy' part implies that there is a weight, a pressure, a force of some type exerted against listeners when they're exposed to this abrasive...

Chicken Noodle Soupicus for the doom metal soul

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:22:44 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - It's odd for me to think that Candlemass' debut album is older than I am...Really. The Swedish doom metal band released Epicus Doomicus Metallicus in 1986. They've went through a few vocalist changes since...

"Jumping ship" takes on new meaning with Týr's progressive, naturistic, folkloric metal odyssey

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:02:20 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Some bands make me headbang, others make me tap my hands uncontrollably while listening to them, there are even a few bands whose music moves me to tears, and the Faroese folk/progressive metal band Týr... well, they make me hum. Or sing...

"Visions of love and hate, a collage behind my eyes"

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:05:46 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Anathema hits me hard, ladies and gentlemen. In addition to this British rock band being one of the most emotive bands I have ever encountered, their versatility and dark, atmospheric sound always manages to draw me in,...

Of basement-dwelling ants and unhealing

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 13:56:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - To understand the true driving force that defines a band's sound, there are times when it is imperative to look further than the lead singer. Nightwish wouldn't be Nightwish without keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen...to see the essence...

Good Morning is suddenly an oxymoron -- spend your joyful hours elsewhere

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:30:28 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - I've had some pretty extreme experiences with buying albums by bands I know nothing at all about. Over the years, there have been times when doing this has led me to discover some of my favorite bands (Leaves' Eyes, Witchcraft and Candlemass...

Familiar Tori-tory: Abnormally Attracted to Sin

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:06:33 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Oh, the subdivisions of Tori Amos fans -- for every 3.7 Little Earthquakes aficionados, there's a die-hard From the Choirgirl Hotel fan. And it's well documented that multiplying the number of people who enjoyed American...

Bring the biscuits and the metal: CoC's southern doom is hellaciously good

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:45:35 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - There are times when southern, bluesy metal just feels right. When this happens, I love putting on some CoC -- Corrosion of Conformity is a band I actually got into after becoming a fan of Down, the New Orleans 'supergroup'...

"Feel so close to everything now, strange how life makes sense in time"

Sun, 31 May 2009 15:32:42 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Anathema is best listened to in complete solitude or through headphones. Their music takes me away. The UK-based atmospheric rock band is really special in the sense that I can listen to them and all I hold in my mind seems to dissolve. The...

Abra-ca-DOOM-bra

Tue, 26 May 2009 02:22:35 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Candlemass is clearly my band of 2009. I got into them late last year and am not exaggerating when I say I have barely stopped listening to them since then. The long-running 'epic doom metal' band hails from Sweden, with Dallas, Texas...

HDK: A melodic, thrashtastic sensory Overload

Wed, 20 May 2009 13:11:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - One of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson, once said, "Anger as soon as fed is dead. 'Tis starving makes it fat." It's true -- indulging in anger, frustration and stress and feeding it can be absolutely therapeutic, but it can also...

A most vitriolic blister: Superjoint Ritual's "Use Once and Destroy"

Thu, 14 May 2009 02:30:41 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - You know, there's some music that sounds perfect in any occasion, and other stuff you have to really be in a certain mood to enjoy. Superjoint Ritual, one of Philip Anselmo's numerous musical projects not named Pantera, has a reputation for...

Heaven has just arrived with Seventh Void's grunge-meets-doom debut

Mon, 11 May 2009 20:48:51 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - "Side project" is a tricky term. Musicians involved in "side projects" either quickly embrace the term as something noncommittal, as they don't want any indication that they're not 100% dedicated to their main band, OR they refuse to call...

I hereby declare myself Queen of the Grey Islands

Thu, 7 May 2009 20:07:16 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - It can be an unusual experience to first get into a band with their most recent release. Things get especially strange if said band has been around for twenty years. And, trust me -- the situation becomes even more bizarre when the first...

"Ignite the skies with your eyes and keep me away from your light"

Wed, 6 May 2009 22:40:54 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - It probably isn't too often that the vocalist of a dark, gothic metal band opens an album with a recitation from The Book of Revelation, but that's precisely what Fernando Ribeiro does at the beginning of Moonspell's ninth full-length album...

Lacuna Coil takes a dip in the plastic Kiddie Pool

Mon, 4 May 2009 22:20:45 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - What's in an album title?When it was announced that the fifth Lacuna Coil album was to be titled Shallow Life, it didn't take long for fans to start speculating. Had the Italian hard rock band gotten materalistic...

Witchcraft can blow your mind

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:26:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - Witchcraft, Witchcraft, Witchcraft...Maybe saying the band name three times will lessen the spell this Swedish rock band has on me. Then again, perhaps I don't want that. I love, love, love Witchcraft. Their third and most recent album...

Dusk, dimness, and shadows, I beckon ye!

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:39:28 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author blindsider - The beginning of a new college semester and new musical discoveries -- now that's a combination to rival brownies and lemonade. It seems like every time my stomach lurches due to the impending doom of textbooks and midterms, I learn about a new band...