The 2018 Arsies: February 6, 2018

February 6, 2018

Emotion	●○○	●●●
Memorability	●●●	●●●
Replayability	●●●	●●●
Innovation	●●●	●●●
Pace	●●●	●●○
Shredding	●●●	●●○
Vocals	●●●	●●○
Production	●●●	●●○
	✓

Brütal upset! War Moans is a truly fun album, tucking me into this cozy sweet spot between Converge and QOTSA that I never knew existed. But to be frank, it's a little too on-the-nose rock-and-roll, and a bit more Hot Topic than I'm comfortable wearing anymore. Also, after all this time, it does feel a track or two too long (but the album closer, Bandages, is worth the slog). At least there's no such metal ambiguity with Awaken. It's in a class by itself: fascinating, ballsy, and compelling from start to finish. It also has the benefit of boasting some sweet proggy technicality. I really wanted Mutoid Man to go all the way to the end, but today they've been knocked down by Fleshkiller, who claim the third Quarterfinals slot.
Tomorrow, we close out the Quarterfinals with The Haunted versus Bison!