Allegaeon – “The Ossuary Lens” review

Allegaeon is technical death metal band from Denver, Colorado consisting of lead guitarist Greg Burgess, rhythm guitarist Michael Stancel, bassist Brandon Michael, drummer Jeff Saltzman & frontman Ezra Haynes. These guys have been making themselves at home with Metal Blade Records for the past 15 years ago putting out 7 albums & the most notable being their last 4; Elements for the Infinite, Proponent for Sentience, Apoptosis & Damnum. Beginning the 2nd quarter of 2025 however, they’re coming back after 3 years to deliver their 8th studio LP.

After the “Refraction” instrumental intro, the first song “Chaos Theory” begins with a progressive technical death metal vibe explaining an abysmal dissolution causing chaos to be restored in life whereas “Driftwood” maintains the prog-tech-death approach talking about the shadows of your past taking you eventually. “Dies Irae” promises to spare no one while the technical death metal-tinged “The Swarm” asks to give ‘em falling skies to take their eyes.

“Carried by Delusion” maintains the tech death flare talking about his ghost carrying the sword & standing in a shallow grave immortalized just before “Dark Matter Dynamics” featuring Adrian Bellue devours all light where questions roam with answers being kept tight-lipped. “Imperial” asks to what degree is our fate sealed & to what end do we allow while “Wake Circling Above” morbidly explains being on his way out & never finding himself again. “Scythe” ends by talking about Hell opening alongside fear dying a long time ago.

Ezra’s return after a decade represents several different viewpoints of death further touching on some classic Allegaeon science-related topics such as chaos theory & dark matter while also strumming the chords of more introspective topics such as alcoholism, relationships & perseverance embracing a new subgenre called melotech bringing melodic death metal & technical death metal together to display the band at their most cohesive.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rick Hyde – “In Plain Sight” review

This is the 12th EP from Buffalo, New York emcee/producer Rick Hyde. Amongst the most notable artists on Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records, his debut album Plates that came out at the very beginning of 2019 was pretty solid on top of 11 EPs & a sequel to his full-length debut. The last time I covered Ricky was during the summer of 2023 when Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla produced Lupara homaging hip hop’s golden era, returning In Plain Sight starting the 2nd quarter of 2025.

The intro sets it off with a drumless opener with some background vocals produced by Haas Almahdi keeping the grass cut so we can keep an eye out for the serpents whereas “God’s Timing” produced by his son Myles takes a shot at trap showing self-awareness of him being unable to stop grindin’. “Wish You Would” goes for a boom bap direction flexing he’s been doing this way before everyone else found their voice while “Minimal Effort” featuring Benny the Butcher & Lo Pro finds the trio dropping a verse with no hook.

“Exodus” featuring GoToMar$ maintains a boom bap vibe so both of them can get to the bag properly instead of sittin’ around leading into “2Gether” stripping the drums once more talking about saying Amen as soon as he comes back home. “10,000 Hours” fuses chipmunk soul & trap boasting that the love B$F has for each other is ocular, but then “What More Can I Say?” finishes by telling everyone to listen closely wanting to fax rap & dissing everyone pumping out dull music.

Starting the deluxe run, we are treated to a sequel to “Come Up” off Plates II making it clear that he’s still hungry over a piano instrumental while “Work Wednesday” incorporates more keys to do some soul-searching off the top for a few minutes. The final bonus track “Shine’n” sends things off officially by talking about hard times never mattering to him all that much since he’s survived all of them.

Similarly to Lupara couple years ago, In Plain Sight once again sees Ricky taking a backseat behind the boards allowing a couple notable names & mostly lesser-known producers to take the wheel although I personally find myself going back to Lupara more. The production ranges from drumless to trap, boom bap & chipmunk soul with Benny having my favorite guest verse of the 3 as well as Rick coming harder than he did on R.I.C.K. (Realizing It Can Kill) last Halloween.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jane Remover – “Revengeseekerz” review

Jane Remover is a 21 year old musician from Newark, New Jersey known for pioneering the Dariacore microgenre. They made their breakout debut in the fall of 2021 with Frailty under deadAir Records & it wasn’t until exactly 24 months later when former BROCKHAMPTON leader Kevin Abstract called Jane Remover’s sophomore effort Census Designated his favorite album of that year where I personally got introduced to their music. Continuing the bi-yearly release cycle, their 3rd album has finally arrived after high anticipation.

“Twice Removed” begins with this digicore intro explaining that 2022 feels like a million years ago to them by now & shit getting old to them so quickly whereas the EDM-driven “Psychoboost” featuring Danny Brown finds the 2 talking about both of them feeling as if they’re a part of each other. “Star People” blends hyperpop & trap so they can ask if you’re either their bestie or their enemy prior to the chaotically noisy “Experimental Skin” talking about seeing no evil.

Moving on from there, “angels in camo” returns for more of a digicore vibe trading names with demons & refusing to let the creeps win just before “Dreamflasher” takes the sound of the previous cut & meshing it with EDM asking God to save them since they’re so turnt at the current moment. “Turn Up or Die” brings a glitchier flare to the table giving this bitch a proper sendoff by blowing his head off while “Dancing with Your Eyes Closed” perfectly showcases fusing hyperpop, electropop, digicore, bass house, future bass, electro hop, electroclash, Dariacore & rage influences.

“Fadeoutz” talks about feeling the same affection the standard popstar receives & likening fast love to fast drugs while “Professional Vengeance” balances digicore & pop punk returning from California with a bag 10x the price of what they were sold. “Dark Night Castle” admits to feeling like they don’t deserve the business prior to the outstanding digicore, rage, experimental hip hop, industrial hip hop, dark plugg & emo rap closer “JRJRJR”.

There are artists in the digicore scene I’ve given props to like Bear1boss or che & Polo Perks no question, except Jane Remover reclaims the sound that made them popular on the occasion of presenting the most flawless listening experience I’ve had in 2025 as of right now & a landmark in that style. The glitchcore aesthetics get uniquely branched out to the likes of experimental hip hop, electronic dance music, rage, hyperpop, hard dance, bass house, industrial hip hop, hardcore EDM, dark plugg, emo rap, electropop, future bass, electro hop, electroclash & of course Dariacore seamlessly.

Score: 5/5

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Ouija Macc & Ricky Hil – “Problem Children 2” review

This is the 2nd collaborative album between Las Vegas, Nevada emcee Ouija Macc as well as New York recording artist & Limosa Nostra Records founder Ricky Hil. The latter of whom came up in 2009 in the cloud/emo rap scenes & the other is the CEO of the Psychopathic Records subsidiary Chapter 17 Records who has been the only other current artist on the label that runs beneath the streets other than the Insane Clown Posse themselves for pretty much the current decade. Ricky recently got a shoutout on the highlight “Olympian” off Playboi Carti’s 3rd album MUSIC last month & is linking up with Ouija again for a sequel to Problem Children ahead of Ouija appearing on the upcoming 2nd leg of JCW Lunacy’s Hella Pain & Diamond Rain Tour.

The title track produced by Devereaux starts with both of them giving middle fingers to everyone & spraying the walls with blood over a guitar-trap instrumental whereas “Upside Down” takes a cloudier route thanks to former Good Charlotte guitarist Billy Martin with Ouija giving props to Psychopathic Don & the wicked clowns’ manager Billy Bill for giving him game. “‘Till I Die” finds the pair talking about staying until the day where they take their last breaths while “Fucc ‘Em Up” fuses hardcore hip hop & trap thanks to 808 Mafia co-founder Lex Luger.

SosMula formerly of the City Morgue joins both of the Problem Children on the “Tavernity Trinity” introducing a new underground supergroup over a trap metal beat leading into “Ginsu” talking about death knocking on their doors & them eventually answering it. “In Vein” brings a trap metal flare back in the fold so they can tackle themes of death just before the internal emo rap-tinged “To Feel” talks about having loneliness to fulfill in their lives.

“Crème Brûlée” boasts that the weed they’re smoking on is significantly sweeter than dessert itself prior to “Nightmare Boyz” talking about people sneak-dissin’ only for the simple reason because of them not being legitimate competition in either of their eyes whatsoever. “Pray 4 Me” finds both of them discussing having 0 sympathy for their enemies due to life itself being an entire tragedy, but then “Buffalo Sauce” showcases a fun back-&-forth chemistry.

As for “Gone in the Wind”, we have Ouija & Ricky talking about death calling ‘em again & it all being lights off in the end while “Low Battery Warning” suggests to enjoy your emptiness since it’ll be as good as it can get. “I’d Probably Rot” shows an emo rap influence again talking about having nothing while “Storm Come Rolling In” admits to pain swallowing them again. “Moon Through the Blinds of the Bando” finishes by stripping the drums with parts of them feeling like they’re in Hell’s Pit.

The eponymous introductory LP was a fun marriage between Ouija Macc’s horrorcore twist on the SoundCloud aesthetics & Ricky’s cloudy emo rap hybrids, returning after 3 years to take it up another level since Ouija has evolved so much artistically since the last time he teamed up with Ricky. Their respective styles all come back & mesh well together once again to take every redeemable quality of its predecessor to newer levels.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 9” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim returning after a week to drop his 56th EP. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. A Dumpathon began exactly 2 weeks ago Thursday & the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga lives on with its 9th entry.

“Fuckin’ Mics Up” breaks the doors down with this boom bap intro referring to his rapping abilities as a different form of telepathic communication whereas “Tha Bane of Unrighteousness” works in a video game sample to talk about everyone knowing he’s the nicest & having a piece of mind being priceless. “Tha Extortion of Gauntlet” promises to make tragic endings become the start of a new age while “True Champ” soulfully talks about making people catch bullets as if it’s the NFL.

The song “Gold Panning” hooks up these prominent piano chords making it clear to everybody what kind of timing he’s been on & comparing this rap shit to diamond mining just before the jazzy “Unlimited Dump” sees him carrying more glocks on him than RoboCop as well as being in the midst of a paper chase. “Hado” finishes up the EP with a horn flip holding weapons in his luggage so he can solve conflict with an iron fist.

Exactly a whole week since Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 8 came out, Fahim’s 6th EP in couple weeks & the 11th project he’s done with Nicholas Craven since October continues the monumental run they’ve been on for 5 months already. The latter’s production bounces between boom bap, chipmunk soul & jazz rap noticeably lacking the drumless undertones of the last 2 installments dumpin’ lyrical pressure for 16 & a half minutes.

Score: 4.5/5

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9 Vicious – “Tumblr Music” review

This is the sophomore effort & YSL Records debut from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer 9 Vicious. Breaking out last summer off his debut single “U Fancy”, he would go on to further introduce himself on B4SA & the debut album Studio Addict helped him gain more exposure to the point where Young Thug signed him to YSL after B4TM dropped. Couple months later, he’s joining 1300SAINT as 1 of the 2 newest signees for the label by putting out Tumblr Music ahead of the latter 1300’s upcoming project albeit his 2nd under the YSL banner Saint Season next month on the 25th.

The way “Why Can’t There Be Love?” by Dee Edwards gets sampled by 406ahmad on “Margiela Steppin’” talking about playing this shit like it’s a 2K game whereas “Makaveli” goes for more of an eerie trap direction instrumentally thanks to Patrick Garza further homaging 2Pac like he did with the album cover. “Clout Demons” easily sticks out as the worst track with the “I know I fucked up, I admit I was horny” line appallingly admitting that he slept with a minor prior to “SP5DER” representing his uncle’s clothing brand to the fullest.

“Twitter & Instagram” named after the social media apps owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk and Facebook founder & Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg respectively cloudily boasts with Jwade to get on some new shit daily just before “Anti You” talks about growing up without guidance. “Mad Rappers” finds him pissing off his competition leading into “Hit ‘Em Up” clearly giving more flowers to Pac.

Starting the final leg of Tumblr Music, the song “Beastmode” turns up the bass so he can break down the way he livin’ on Cleveland Avenue while “Again” promotes his set at Lyrical Lemonade’s upcoming 7th annual Summer Smash festival. The self-produced “Take Me Down” has possibly my favorite beat on the whole LP thinking about the craziness that he’s experienced in his life so far.

No denying from me that Studio Addict & B4TM both have their highlights like “The Truth” or “R.I.P Keed”, but I’d argue that Tumblr Music falls behind All Hail as a decent example of YSL bringing exciting new artists onto their roster now that Thug finally came home last Halloween. It’s the best he’s sounded production-wise & he holds it down by himself like he did 3 months ago other than some questionable lines occasionally coming up.

Score: 3/5

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Autumn! – “Back 2 My Roots!” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn!. Gaining traction off all 22 of his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 3 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Wick delivered a sequel to Solitary last spring, You Never Was Mine in the summer & ##B4B2MR in the winter. To end the 1st quarter of 2025, it’s time for him to go Back 2 My Roots.

“Replica!” sets the tone of what’s to come excellently with the self-produced plugg instrumental talking about the only thing he copies is Margiela whereas “Brainrot!” named after a term I feel like out-of-touch people use to call dank memes rocks Balmain showing respect to the late Lil Keed. “Passenger Princess!” keeps the plugg vibes going for a love song about his glock leading into “Sunburn!” sampling “Plastic 100°C” by Sampha & shouting out Summrs only having Burberry material on his end.

As for both “Something New!” & “Laws of Power!”, we have Autumn! taking a couple ##B4B2MR highlights & placing them on the final version of the album just before “Upper Echelon!” maintains the plugg sound talking about seeing the limelight. “Louie V Everything!” featuring Summrs on the remix expresses their love for Louis Vuitton referencing the Rockstar Games-owned Grand Theft Auto V protagonist Trevor Philips, but then “1 Way 2!” throws it back to the Antagonist! sequel aesthetically.

“Still the Same 3!” continues a trilogy that began with his breakout single stuck in a place he wants to forget while “Both Ways!” talks about his hoes being bisexual. “Did It Again!” a lot like “Something New!” & “Laws of Power!” reappears after being on ##B4B2MR while “Count It Faster!” talks about stacking his racks up. “Free Promo!” flexes his brother moving in slow-mo because of the lean while “Stuck in a Loop!” admits to the way he feels at times. “When I Pray” finishes Back 2 My Roots waking up with money on his mind.

##B4B2MR promisingly had many including myself thinking that Back 2 My Roots would be a return to form for him considering the mixed reception of You Never Was Mine almost 9 months ago & I personally would tell you that it’s the most I’ve enjoyed his music since Golden Child 3! exactly 3 years to the day it dropped. It’s primarily self-produced other than a couple tracks delving back into the plugg sound that made him blow up & he’s more focused than some of his recent output.

Score: 4/5

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Lil Durk – “Deep Thoughts” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & Only the Family Entertainment founder Lil Durk finally dropping his 5th studio LP ahead of his murder-for-hire case. Rising to prominence a little over a decade ago off his debut mixtape I’m a Hitta, he would go on to follow this up with Life Ain’t No Joke & the first 2 installments of the Signed to the Streets trilogy until signing to Def Jam Recordings for his full-length debut Remember My Name & the sophomore effort Lil Durk 2X. Since then, Durk has made himself home at Alamo Records by dropping 9 more mixtapes & bounced back from the mixed reception of 7220 in the form of Almost Healed to let off a collection of Deep Thoughts.

“Shaking When I Pray” is this decent cloudy trap intro that Isaiah Valmont of Internet Money Records whipped up talking about people doing anything to go viral these days whereas “Keep on Sippin’” addresses an individual he gave everything to & yet, they still continue to trip out. “They Wanna Be You” featuring Future finds the 2 talking about kids wanting to be exactly like the both of them prior to “Soul Bleed” admits to putting others ahead of his own team as of late.

Lil Baby joins Durk on “1,000 Times” talking about people they used to hang with in the hood leaving them drowning just before “Turn Up a Notch” has one of my favorite instrumentals from Southside & Smatt Sertified clapping back at everyone who counted him out a decade ago. “Vanish Mode” produced by Chopsquad DJ addresses a bitch lying to him about loving him leading into “Monitoring Me” getting in his Chicago drill bag.

“Untouchable” ends the 1st leg by hustling whenever he gets a chance & barely holding his stance as it already is while “Notebook” gives off a laidback trap direction talking about the industry putting him in beefs. “Can’t Hide It” was a decent pop rap single that benny blanco & Cashmere Cat laced together delving into relationships, but then “Wondering Again” ponders if an ex will ever love him once more.

Hunxho appears for the mediocre “Late Checkout” still in disbelief they found love while “Think You Glowed” shuts down a hoe lying to herself that he’s glowing up. The song “Opportunist” remembers his late brother & describes the way he copes with depression while “Alhamdulillah” talks about finally being healed. “Deep Depression” with Metro Boomin’, BoogzDaBeast & FNZ all behind the boards closes the album figuring out why he’s in love with the streets since shit gets ugly.

7220 & Almost Healed were both admirably personal with the latter kinda stepping it up in the production department, which led me hoping Deep Thoughts would expand on. Unfortunately for the most part, it turned out to become the same old melodic trap/pop rap that we’ve been getting from him in recent memory. Even with the introspection he brings to the table, the production is a step down from Almost Healed & it kinda feels repetitive.

Score: 2/5

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Maya Delilah – “The Long Way Round” review

Maya Delilah is a 24 year old R&B singer/songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom who introduced herself in the summer of 2020 with her debut EP Oh Boy & later It’s Not Me, It’s You the next fall. Both of which were welcomed to mixed reception, signing a joint deal with Blue Note Records & Capitol Records roughly 12 months later. 2 & a half years have passed since & she’s ready to take herself to new heights on her debut album.

“Begin Again” minimally begins her Blue Note debut hoping nothing changes whenever she rewinds to a certain point in her life whereas “Look At the State of Me Now” hooks up some mellow ass guitar work singing about everyone taking a look at how she’s doing currently. “Man of the House” experiments with country-pop reveling in the domestic potential of new love prior to “Maya, Maya, Maya” delving further down the introspection topically.

Meanwhile on “Jeffrey”, we have Maya taking a backseat vocally making way for an acoustic guitar & some organs to prominently take over the spotlight just before “Squeeze” brings a funkier vibe to the table telling her lover to never let her go. “Actress” samples the late Curtis Mayfield singing that she’s on the verge of losing control & getting lost, but then “Did I Dream It At All?” hops over these pianos to address the theme of despair.

“I’ll Be There in the Morning” starts the final leg of The Long Way Round by taking inspiration from an unpleasant experience she once had while the acoustic “My Balloon” apologizes to this individual for keep pulling them back to her. The western-tinged “Necklace” sings about feeling as if 2 worlds are intersecting & being a realist while “Never with You” ends by admitting her fear of growing old.

The Long Way Round compared to her early EPs feels like combination of so many parts of her since she’s so influenced by different genres, people, places & experiences that it’s always felt hard for me to fit my music into a consistent sound or mood. It took her a long time to realize that it’s a beautiful thing to have a body of work that explores so many different influences. It brings her intimacy, ability, inspiration depth & lightness into 1 striking debut.

Score: 4/5

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Bria Salmena – “Big Dog” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada singer/songwriter Bria Salmena signing to Sub Pop Records for her official solo debut. Coming up as the guitarist/percussionist & co-vocalist for Dear Sister, they would put out 2 full-lengths until their disbandment & she would go on to become the frontwoman of FRIGS as well as forming the country duo Bria with FRIGS guitarist Duncan Jennings putting out a couple mediocre EPs full of covers. Looking to differentiate herself from her side projects, Sub Pop’s bringing her onto the label roster to cement her Big Dog status.

Drastic” begins with this pop rock intro finding herself at an impasse staring at the runway instead of getting on the plane whereas “Backs of Birds” focuses more on embracing the people in her life who lift her up. “Closer to You” takes a shot at post-punk telling her to either love her gently or leave prior to “Hammer” singing about leaving all her fears to be afraid & resilience in general.

As for “Radisson”, we have Bria exploring the raw energy of anger & the ability it has to transform just before “Twilight” goes for more of a stripped-back vibe kin to traditional country music tackling naivety & surrender. “On the Line” details her living her life taking risks for this specific person she has in mind, but then “Stretch the Struggle” assures you’ll never see her crying.

“Rags” tackles transgressive rage & the catharsis that is possible when it’s given permission to move freely through the body while “See’er” featuring former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo brings the acoustics back expressing a yearning for being seen. “Peanut” nears the end of her solo debut asking what kind of fool she is & the closer “Water Memory” recalls what it was like for her spending Christmas alone during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in mandatory travel quarantine.

Chronicling a story of transformation, Big Dog becomes this deeply personal exploration of resilience & a declaration of artistic independence forged through collaboration. It takes elements of hypnotic krautrock & shimmery shoegaze, opulent goth, & pulsing darkwave with a smearing of electronic textures for a sophisticated & often uncanny sound placing her potent lyrical imagery in the dead center of it all.

Score: 4/5

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