blindead: oh man i like this more than i initially was expecting to. it's basically just one long song or one suite or something. i guess more of a suite, each track does feel like a cohesive song but they all flow together well. anyways this basically just feels like a mashup of katatonia-style emotive doom with post-metal and that's a combination that works really well apparently. the closer is probably my favorite (the back half gives me chills tbh) but really the entire thing is good and the post-metal stuff itself is far from generic. like there's a sax in the background of the second track for one & there are several tracks that are a lot more laidback and atmospheric but just as many heavy and intense ones. it's. really good stuff
dredg: yeah this is okay. I think i could've done without the brushstroke tracks entirely... the piano one is the only one that feels like it has much merit to it. and the middle of the album feels a bit forgettable. everything between sorry but it's over and it only took a day feels a bit filler-y to me tbh. the last three tracks on the album though are all great & are probably the reason why i got this album in the first place. but yeah. i guess i'm just not a huge fan of the singer in general, his delivery feels really flat a lot of the time but he carries his weight on a few songs. and musically it's pretty diverse though not always compelling. i like this but don't love it.
enslaved: these songs all feel really basic tbh and that might be why i haven't really gotten too into this one yet? the opener is good and havenless is good and the rest are... solid. the crossing is probably the weakest track here though, it's kind of a mess & no part of it really stands out at all, it's just long in a dull way. the closer also ends really well & queen of night gives off some serious opeth vibes in a good way. i do like this but it's not on the level of riitiir for me, honestly. not really even close.