Hell

(The album is, however, a welcome return to the roots; occasionally it loses its way, some tracks lack a punch and flow without jolts, while others hit hard - especially in the second half of the album. Overall, it redeems that half-baked Nina and is still a step above the always cute Always. 7/10)

DeBaser: brainstorming written by those who want to.

Inevitably a notch below Satantango, but this still sends chills down my spine. 5 flat.

...Anyway, the review is well done. I really liked the film, but Von Trier is someone I find it hard to take seriously.

Now I'm going to be lynched by everyone, but here’s my take... I've seen this, Solaris, and The Mirror by Tarkovsky. Among all three, The Mirror is the one that intrigued me the most, a visionary flow of images and memories (personal and otherwise), a truly fascinating film. Stalker and Solaris, on the other hand, despite the direction and the endings, really made me lose my patience like very few other films. And those who know me understand that I could only live for that Tarr-ian slowness. Amen.

Yes, if that's the case, it’s not unpleasant at all (damn, they are still The Gathering!), but to me, it just seemed like an album inflated with air and not much else... The intro is good, a sketch of the more celestial and abstract TG, and the last track isn’t bad; in between there are some nice ideas (the cameo by Bart Smits, the band’s voice in the earliest years, is curious) but it all sounds a bit disconnected, cold, or self-indulgent (the remixes from Disclosure are definitely unnecessary). I give it a barely passing grade just because it’s them – and they remain untouchable.

Hi Psycho, to put it very briefly, this is (along with Dethroned & Uncrowned by my beloved Katatonia, another example of a rather misguided "remake") a pointless release. Listened to it once and a half and then tossed aside... Amen, it happens.

This is the future of metal. For me (who notoriously doesn't understand a damn thing), it's not just the album of the year, but one of the most devastating and exciting metal records of all time – and therefore, one of my all-time favorites, even if it's early to say that. Deviant, twisted, sinister, explosive/implosive, cold yet bubbling, and damn I could keep going on and on. I hear a ton of influences; at times, they even reminded me of Neurosis, but luckily the black metal roots remain intact. I think I felt this way since the very first listens only with that terrifying Paracletus from three years ago, another perfect example of evolution/innovation done as Cthulhu commands. It’s perfect; there’s not a moment of drop in quality, even the seemingly insignificant Found Oval And Final is a fucking tank; but the best moment is still the ambient outro of Twelve Was Ruin (I think you got mixed up with the titles), a thing that seriously almost gave me a heart attack. Anyway, thank goodness you reviewed it, meme, because since nobody else was doing it, I was thinking of covering it myself, but this record destroyed me so much that it would have turned into a nonsensical pile of crap...

One of the (few) masterpieces I've heard this year.