The 2019 Arsies: January 9, 2019

CHAMPIONSEMIFINALSQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16BTBAMBTBAMCannibal CorpseBeyond CreationNorma JeanBeyond CreationROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32The Human AbstractRevocationROUND OF 32SlugdgeThe ArmedQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32TesseracTDillinger Escape PlanROUND OF 32PariusTesseracTROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32AlkaloidGojiraROUND OF 32Judas PriestMastodonSEMIFINALSQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32IsisIhsahnROUND OF 32MeshuggahIntronautROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32GlassjawHarms WayROUND OF 32The FacelessRivers Of NihilQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32IhsahnBTBAMROUND OF 32Imperial TriumphantJob For A CowboyROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32Bleed From WithinDecapitatedROUND OF 32UnearthTexturesFebruary 18, 2019February 14, 2019February 8, 2019January 29, 2019Automata I+IIAutomata I+IIA Skeletal DomainAlgorythmMeridionalAlgorythmJanuary 30, 2019January 9, 2019Digital VeilRevocationJanuary 10, 2019Esoteric MalacologyUntitledFebruary 11, 2019January 31, 2019January 11, 2019SonderOne Of Us Is The KillerJanuary 14, 2019The Eldritch RealmAltered StateFebruary 1, 2019January 15, 2019Liquid AnatomyL'Enfant SauvageJanuary 16, 2019FirepowerCrack The SkyeFebruary 15, 2019February 12, 2019February 4, 2019January 17, 2019Wavering RadiantÃmrJanuary 18, 2019The Violent Sleep Of ReasonThe Direction Of Last ThingsFebruary 5, 2019January 21, 2019Material ControlPosthumanJanuary 22, 2019AutotheismWhere Owls Know My NameFebruary 13, 2019February 6, 2019January 23, 2019ArktisThe Parallax Part 2January 24, 2019Vile LuxurySun EaterFebruary 7, 2019January 25, 2019EraCarnival Is ForeverJanuary 28, 2019Extinction(s)DualismXXVIXIIXIIIVXVIIXVXVXIVXIIXVIIIVIIIXXIVXVIIIIVXVIXIIIXIII
Save This Bracket

January 9, 2019 arse

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On this, only the fourth day of Arsies competition, I experience real remorse. Back in their respective days, I fucking loved both of these albums. Yet here I am, forced to dismiss one of them during first-round play. A more cynical or conniving host would have rigged the bracket so that this match happened a month from now.
The scorecard tells the story. While Digital Veil’s production suffers inordinately from the loudness wars that especially ravaged the landscape in the early 2010s, it is by many other measures the better album. Revocation is a tour de force; the problem is that its core strengths (ridiculous shredding, neoclassical charm, catchiness, replayability) are matched by Digital Veil, while the latter gains an edge when it comes to innovation and pace.
The Revocation is a classic, still more than holds up, and should just be in your rotation every few months at least. It’s just not enough to triumph over The Human Abstract, who win a hard-fought first round and move on.
Tomorrow, intergalactic slugs fight a piece of performance art. Blech.

 
 
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