[noname219]

Having some time today, so I should post those already :

Only the Dead See the End of the War by Acrassicauda
An Iraqi thrash metal band with an unusual backstory. A Vice documentary was made (Heavy Metal in Baghdad- haven't seen it) following them around during the Iraq War, trying to schedule shows and promote their music under threat by the government. It's a decent modern thrash metal ep. If it was only for the music itself, it would totally go unnoticed. Melodies in the slower parts are middle-eastern influenced. Singer is a bit too raspy for me. First song is reminiscent of Megadeth's The System Has Failed.
Best song : Message From Baghdad
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

Bushcraft by Baptists
Hard hitting, relentless hardcore/crust punk with metalcore/sludge metal undertones. They're able to make us believe this is a Converge record, which is, no small feat. And then you look at the crew ... "Kurt Ballou", oh, it all makes sense. What else to say ? Production is sweet, the band sounds really tight, it's fast and intense.
Best song : In Droves
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues by Between the Buried and Me (recommended by trumaestro)
Technical, blast beats, screaming metalcore vocals, weird funky avant-garde moments, it somehow feels pretty samey with everything they've done since Colors. It's 30 minutes, but it feels too dense and with no clear direction. I feel kinda ambivalent about their recent releases; they are hard to listen as a whole but they're still entertaining.
Best song : Specular Reflection
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

She Said by Colour Haze
They never disappoint. And they should try new things more often, because those strings was a positive but unexpected surprise. A bit more repetitive than their other albums. But at this point, I'm pinpointing minor flaws.
Best song : Transformation
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

The Jester Race by In Flames
Their slightly rawer album (very apparent in the guitars tone and vocal delivery). Coupled with some acoustic guitar moments that are, to say-the-least, a nice fitting touch. It's basically the recipe for a ton of future melodeath bands, many of them would try to follow, very few would come close as something this consistent.
Best song : Moonshield
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Le dôme by Jean Leloup
Jean Leloup is a weird occurence in the Quebec cultural landscape. Along with Les Colocs, he brought colour to a scene that was being assimilated by the american music industry during the 80s and was trying to separate itself, partly influenced by the independentist idea that was growing and recovering in the early 90s. Le dôme is not as festive as his 1990 output L'amour est sans pitié. More fragile and introvert. Great songwriting, excellent guitars and melodies with many diverse influences : The Stone Roses?, neo-psych bands, french lyricists, folk, hip hop, etc. Solid.
Best song : Faire des enfants
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana
Probably the most famous live album there is (along with At Folsom Prison or Rust Never Sleeps). The quality of the band performance is undoubtly proportional to the feelings expressed by Kurt's voice : fragile, melancholic, blooming, intimate and introspective. Feelings that I could find on many Elliott Smith recordings, who, sadly met a similar fate. Interestingly, I find the covers better than their original songs.
Best song : The Man Who Sold the World
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8) (everything is like, 8/10 stars this week lol)

Meddle by Pink Floyd
It would be to no surprise that Pink Floyd may be one of my favourite artist of the 70s. I think their music has aged extremely well, maybe due to the quality of their compositions and the fact that there's still a strong interest towards progressive music in general. Meddle is tinted with the last remains of a declining psychedelic rock; Hendrix and Morrison are no more, Love (the band) and Jefferson Airplane are struggling, lots of bands are simply shifting genres and so was Pink Floyd. While not as cinematic as their upcoming releases, this one propose a myriad of interesting little songs that are loosely related to each other. And then, you turn the vinyl and there's Echoes.
Best song : Echoes
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Let England Shake by PJ Harvey
Some uncommon dynamics to find here. A little exploration but it's well dosed most of the time. Guitar play in The Glorious Land is one fine moment. Diverse. The most energetic songs are better. All in all, it's pretty decent.
Best song : The Glorious Land
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

Portishead by Portishead
Their most consistent release for me. I always found Third to be, at moments, slightly too much experimental for my tastes and Dummy, well, Dummy may be my favourite album from the 90s, but that's mainly because of Roads and Glory Box that are two of the most marvelous songs ever written. So, it's a tough thing when a band release a strong first album, the follow-up will always be compared to their past successes and a safe bet is to make it darker (see Arcade Fire). Reminiscent of those neo-noir movies. The musical equivalent of a praying mantis having sex before having his head cut off.
Best song : All Mine
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Souvlaki by Slowdive
It would be a fun exercise to associate an album to the seven deadly sins. This one would be sloth. Souvlaki is dangerously close to being boring as hell, but it does manage to reward you with some sweet basslines, ethereal vocals and beautiful melodies. A concotion of emotions (depression, melancholy, sweetness) that ultimately ends up being rather enjoyable.
Best song : Souvlaki Space Station
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

So yeah, the rng didn't throw me a lot of ffr recs this batch. I will try something else next time.