Album Reviews8.6/10
Russian Circles’ Empros Earns Its Ambition 15 Years On
A record of extremes, swinging from gentle calm to full force in seconds, tested against each other without pause.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Album Reviews
Records we have scored.
Russian Circles Push Their Minimalist Trick Past Its Peak on ‘Blood Year’
Russian Circles' Blood Year trades slow minimalism for aggression, delivering their densest, most rewarding album yet.
Album Reviews8/10
Metallica Review: 1991 Self-Titled Album Still Sounds Bigger Than Anything They’d Done Before
A review of Metallica's self-titled 1991 album, weighing its highs ('Sad But True,' 'Nothing Else Matters') against its lesser moments.
Album Reviews6.3/10
Metallica’s Load: A Heavy Record That Drags in Places
A heavy record of metal, family, and loss, wherein the band presses past its own bounds, succeeding and failing in equal measure.
Album Reviews9.5/10
40 Years On, Metallica’s Master of Puppets Still Sets the Standard for Thrash
A heavy record of speed and weight, wherein Metallica define thrash metal with a title track that remains a warning.
Album Reviews8/10
JPEGMAFIA’s ‘Black Ben Carson’: Ten Years On, Still the Baltimore Rap Landmark It Deserves to Be
A Baltimore rap record of fury, humor, and self-examination, told in twenty-two tracks across eighty-six minutes.
Album Reviews8/10
Clipse’s Debut Still Rides on One Hit From 2002
A review of Clipse's 2002 debut Lord Willin', tracking its highs—Grindin' and Ma, I Don't Love Her—and its weaker middle stretch.
JPEGMAFIA’s Veteran Earns Its Reputation as One of Hip-Hop’s Most Ambitious Albums
A veteran's loud, fast, and impossible-to-ignore record of glitched intros and straight rap aggression.
Album Reviews8/10
Setbacks Review: ScHoolboy Q Announces Himself 15 Years On With Confidence And Controlled Chaos
A review of ScHoolboy Q's debut album Setbacks, weighing its confident street tales against its occasional filler.
Album Reviews5.1/10
Jack Harlow’s ‘Come Home the Kids Miss You’ Plays Fatherhood as Performance
A rapper's tale of fatherhood and fame, told through fifteen songs of boast and hook, wherein performance reigns supreme.