Elijah’s Top 5:

Death Drive Anthology, Overtoun (Time to Kill). While new to me, this Chilean death metal quartet make clear their experienced nature on this, their third album. Quite possibly one of the best groups I’ve heard emulate the sound of 90’s progressive death metal in the current decade, they sure know how to get a catchy hook out of abrasive guitar tones, busy bass licks, and hyperactive drumming.

In Verses, Karnivool (Cymatic). The 13-year wait finally comes to an end! Australia’s maestri of melodic, supremely heavy progressive metal return at last with their fourth album (“In Verses“=IV, GET IT?!) and make it clear to the countless, and often quite talented, imitators and emulators who have emerged in the last 15-20 years that the original recipe cannot be outdone.

Manifeste, Tigran Hamasyan (Naïve). Hamasyan adds another tic to the count of virtually flawless releases under his belt. His ability to make complicated music so emotionally deep and relatable is second to none, his fusion of electronics, jazz instrumentation, and Armenian folk melody transcending each of those labels and their associations to accomplish a greater whole. A mandatory listen if ever there was one.

The New Flesh, Sylosis (Nuclear Blast). The consistently solid English group led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Josh Middleton has long been a consistent source of quality thrash/metalcore, and their latest offering maintains that standard. The band’s lineup has, over the last several years, morphed into something of an underground supergroup, and that is more than apparent in the performances here. Every song is a crowd pleaser that doesn’t pander musically, threading together modern and classic sounds expertly.

A Short History of Decay, Nothing (Run For Cover). Another group maintaining a standard of very high quality across their career, the Philly-based quintet are catchy here as a common cold in a preschool, weaving lovely vocal lines into dreamy pop and heavy riffage alike without a moment of boredom.

Adriane’s Top 5:

Finding Bakoena in a SoJo Cloud, Shanghai Restoration Project and Tebza Majaivane (Undercover Culture). The sunny field samples (in this case, from Chinese ethnic minority performances) and bright electronics of ever-productive production duo Shanghai Restoration Project join up perfectly with the amapiano- and gqom-based stylings of dancer and vocalist Tebza Majaivane. There’s an unparalleled sense of play that all parties involved bring to the table here that is irresistible.

Garip, Altın Gün (ATO). I had no idea what to expect from the first album by Amsterdam’s premier Turkish folk-influenced pop group Altın Gün since the departure of singer Merve Daşdemir, whose voice has been an integral part of the band’s sound since their start. Thankfully, Garip is a triumph, with some of the band’s fullest and funkiest takes on Turkish classics to date. If the retro orchestration on “Suçum Nedir” doesn’t make you sway, I don’t know what will.

Manifeste, Tigran Hamasyan (Naïve). The celestial spheres are well-aligned and Elijah and I have found common ground once again. Tigran Hamasyan is the only virtuoso I care about enough to talk about virtuosity. Manifeste made me feel, it made me yearn, it made me like music for ONCE. For ONCE! No one does musical catharsis better than this man.

Vila, Fabiano do Nascimento & Vittor Santos Orquestra (Far Out). Rio-born, LA-based classical guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento makes my list for the second month in a row (!) with Vila, his intricate collaboration with the 16-piece Vittor Santos Orquestra. Santos himself has worked with some of the biggest names in classic bossa nova, and that experience shows in the vintage shades at the base of Nascimento’s nimble fingerwork.

Vishap, Victoria Alexanyan (Musiques en Balade). Named for a dragon of Armenian myth, Vishap sees singer Victoria Alexanyan bring a folkloric touch to jazz singing or, perhaps, a jazzy touch to folk traditions. However you frame it, there’s no questioning the strength she brings to her entire work here, sometimes gentle and sometimes with an absolute roar.