You can hear a ton of the Misfits influence, but there’s also a poppy style that breaks in that can be easily traced back to the Ramones. And I can hear a ton of Minor Threat in here too.

Like the best punk, Blood Visions feels like it’s stuck in a time machine from the 80s. Which makes it so easy to love for fans of the genre.

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Opeth is also unique for their take on jazz and blues, and when you merge that with folk and the sort of instrumentation and songwriting that metalheads are used to (the songs are long and filled with great instrumental breaks), you arrive at an incredibly unique record.

Opeth is also known for its frontman/lead singer’s voice. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s impeccable voice is in fine form here, taking the band to incredible new heights.

Most people now suggest that Damnation was the first sign of Opeth’s future exploration of 1970s progressive rock, but that doesn’t give the record enough credit as a folk album. Damnation is an impressive record, perhaps a masterpiece, and my favourite from Opeth’s entire oeuvre.

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While it might only be four songs, Taylor runs into an issue where the songs almost bleed together. I can’t tell if this is because of any limitations as a songwriter or if this is just the nature of a focused EP. While the album doesn’t feel thematically connected, it all carries a similar mood.

Lawrence Taylor also reminds me of Sam Smith, but he’s singing in a different register and writes songs that aren’t as depressing. He also sounds more aggressive and raw, as if the record labels and producers haven’t had a chance yet to smooth the little bits of black blues influence out of him.

And I think that’s the biggest compliment I can pay Taylor: while I wouldn’t mistake him for one of the blues greats, all of whom were black (due to the history of the genre itself), I can easily trace his influences back. And that’s really cool. It’s easy to put his EP on repeat and just let it do its magic for a day.

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That being said, when they take their feet off the gas and slow down a little bit, they don’t have the same Tom Petty influence that the Foo do. Whether or not that’s a good thing will depend on how much you like the quieter Foo songs. I like The Men more when they’re rocking out, but their quiet songs aren’t bad — they’re just not as memorable or high quality.

Ultimately, what makes the record so interesting is that’s a band trying something new. It’s rare to capture the moments of musical birth on tape, and thanks to their background in fuzzy rock music production, something about their experimentation sounds incredibly organic.

But that all being said, their music is incredibly good when they turn up the distortion. And I absolutely love the simple album art, which is somehow riveting. I can’t figure out why I like it so much. Maybe it’s the colours.

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You likely have already heard some of Arca’s work: he’s known for his production, which I’ve been told Kanye uses to great effect all over Yeezus. (By that description alone, you’ll probably already know if Arca is for you.) Alt-J also made a side comment on Tumblr this week where they said they believed he was the best electronic producer working today.

All of that is pretty high industry praise, which means Arca is no doubt going to get more popular with the average Joe any time now. Mutant is his sophomore solo work, and while I can’t exactly figure out what would be a single, I can understand why it’s going to get popular. This is a work that is truly original: it defies convention, often doesn’t even sound like music, and yet somehow continues to throb along to some sort of terrifying beat.

It’s the musical equivalent of a slasher movie.

That all being said, I’ll go out on a limb and say this album isn’t for me. But I know a game-changer when I see one. I didn’t particularly enjoy Mutant on my first listen (or Arca’s first record, for that matter), but it started to make more sense on its second and third play throughs. And I understand some of the hype, which means it might work for you. If wildly unpredictable, dark, and slightly unsettling electronic music is your thing, you should give it a shot.

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