Nicholas Kobe

Reviews

ACRN •

Album Review: Castle Rat - The Bestiary

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[King Volume; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: “WOLF I,” “SIREN,” “SUN SONG”

Arguably one of the biggest rising names in doom metal, Castle Rat is bringing back the Sabbath-inspired grooves of the past, while taking pages from the theatrics of today to create a metal band perfectly poised to take off in the modern age. Their new record TheBestiary is a perfect sign of that, as old meets new on a record that isn’t reinventing the wheel, but is nonetheless very str...
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Album Review: Faetooth - Labyrinthine 

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[The Flenser; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: “Iron Gate,” “Eviscerate,” “October”

Self-described “fairy doom” trio Faetooth have carved out a sizable niche within the span of their burgeoning careers by leaning into doom metal's mystic side in a unique way. Following up their 2022 debut album, Labyrinthine is a showcase of a band leaning further into their defined sound, while pushing themselves artistically to go bigger and, in this case, better.

Read more: S...
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Single Review: Testament - “Infanticide A.I.”

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Nuclear Blast; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

“Infanticide A.I.” is the first single from Testament’s upcoming fourteenth studio album, Para Bellum, and delivers a promising, politically-conscious taste of the band’s first LP in five years.

Read more:Single Review: Sleep Token – “Emergence”

The lyrics on “Infanticide A.I.” use the classic thrash metal formula of ‘describing the horror of some apocalyptic threat,’ except they apply that concept to A.I. This primarily take...
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Album Review: Killswitch Engage - This Consequence

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Metal Blade Records; 2025]

Rating: 5/10

Key Tracks:“Abandon Us,” “Aftermath,” “I Believe”

Killswitch Engage stands at an interesting spot in modern metal. As one of the most influential acts in metalcore, many of the genre’s biggest bands owe a large debt to some of Killswitch’s best work. However, once you hit “legend” status, there’s always the question of if you can still roll with the punches. Can Killswitch stand alongside the best of the bands they influ...
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Album Review: Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Century Media; 2025]

Rating: 5/10

Key Tracks:“The Siege,” “Gravity,” “Hosting the Shadow”

Italian metal band Lacuna Coil returns with their first album in five years, Sleepless Empire — a record that isn’t messing with what has made Lacuna Coil successful in the past. However, most of these new songs still fail to reach the bar set by the band’s influences and contemporaries

Lacuna Coil is a quintessentially “European” sounding band. They’re stradling directl...
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Album Review: Jinjer - Duél

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Napalm Records; 2025]

Rating: 6/10

Key Tracks:“Tantrum,”“Someone’s Daughter,”“Fast Draw”

Ukrainian metal act Jinjer is facing a pretty daunting challenge as one of metal’s first major releases of 2025. As one of the year’s first albums, the band is releasing into a pretty wide playing field, although it’s difficult to stand out from the news cycle in favor of the new hotness. However, Jinjer is as good a candidate as any. With their new studio album Duél, the...
Just N Life •

GloRilla's 'Glorious' is a Huge Step Forward for the Rising Star

Memphis-based rapper GloRilla’s new album Glorious may be her first full album, but with a number of mixtapes and hit singles under her belt, expectations for the record were high. After listening to the album, it seems like fans really didn’t have much to be worried about. 


GloRilla’s most striking characteristic has always been her vocal delivery. GloRilla is confident, a must for rappers, but in a very direct, aggressive way. It’s reminiscent of someone like DMX, with her tight, barking de...
Just N Life •

Normani's New Album DOPAMINE Releases to Mixed Results

Normani’s debut solo album DOPAMINE has finally been released, more than five years after the disbanding of Fifth Harmony. The record features collabs with Gunna, Cardi B and James Blake. As of now, Normani hasn’t announced a tour in support of the album, and the record only has one music video for the song “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B.


While the record has received mixed to positive reviews and was voted #1 in Billboard’s Favorite New Music Poll, most of the comments on Normani’s posts impl...
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Album Review: Týr - Battle Ballads

By: Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Metal Blade Records; 2024]

Rating: 6/10

Key Tracks: "Hammered”, "Hangman”, “Torkils Døtur”

Hailing from the Nordic Farhoe Islands, Týr has become one of the mainstays of Viking Metal over the last 20 years. The band’s newest record, 2024’s Battle Ballads is Týr’s first record since 2019’s Hel. According to a biography by Metal Blade Records, the band intentionally tried to streamline their usual complex and progressive writing style. While this may come at th...
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Single Review: Nas & DJ Premier - Define My Name

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Mass Appeal; 2024]

Rating: 7/10

New York hip-hop legend Nas teamed up with DJ Premier for the new single “Define My Name”, released on the 30th anniversary of Nas’ groundbreaking debut album, 1994’s Illmatic. Both Premier and Nas have come a long way since they teamed up for some of Illmatic’s most earth-shattering tracks,such as “Represent” and “N.Y. State of Mind”. Premier has continued to work with just about every major name in hip-hop, specifically from th...
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Album Review: Carpool - My Life In Subtitles

Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[SideOneDummy Records; 2024]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks:  “Can We Just Get High?”, “CAR”, “Me vs The Windmill”

Rochester alt-rock band Carpool’s third studio album My Life In Subtitles was released March 22, following 2020’s Erotic Nightmare Summer. Despite this only being the band’s third record, My Life In Subtitles showcases Carpool working through all of the best tropes of alt-rock, while putting their spin on it, to create a very cohesive and dynamic record.

Wh...
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Album Review: villagerrr - Tear Your Heart Out

By: Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Darling Records; 2024]

Rating: 5/10

Key Tracks: “River Ain’t Safe”, “Neverrr Everrr”, “Cry On”

With the release of Tear Your Heart Out, villagerrr has quickly followed up their 2023 record, Like Leaves, making this the third year in a row the group has dropped a project. The indie rock band’s distinct midwestern flair makes them, in my opinion, an appropriate pick for Lobsterfest 2024 and Athens as a whole. Unfortunately, I have a confession to make: I’m not...
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Album Review: Justin Timberlake - Everything I Thought It Was

Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[RCA; 2024]

Rating: 6/10

Pop superstar Justin Timberlake has returned to the musical spotlight for his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was. Despite not releasing a full LP since the critical disaster that was 2018’s Man of the Woods, Timberlake has continued to release news and pop up in headlines, for both better and worse. Oddly enough, 2023 was a year dominated by Timberlake’s past. Namely, the new, alarming details about his relationship with ex-gir...
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Single Review: mgk - dont let me go

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Interscope Records; 2024]

Rating: 3/10

Cleveland artist mgk, formerly Machine Gun Kelly, has been one of the more popular mainstream rock artists for the past few years. He initially gained fame as a rapper before switching to pop-punk and growing his following.

Despite this, his two rock albums, 2020’s Tickets To My Downfall and 2022’sMainstream Sellout, are absolutely garbage. mgk is all of the cringiest, corniest, and worst aspects of pop punk all rolled in...
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Album Review: Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[BMG; 2024]

Rating: 5/10

Key Tracks: “Afterglow of Ragnarok”, “Fingers in the Wounds”“Mistress of Mercy”

Bruce Dickinson, one of metal’s greatest storytellers, goes all out for his new solo album The Mandrake Project. Following up on 2005’s Tyranny of Souls, this is Dickinson’s first solo album in almost 20 years. Of course, in those 20 years, Bruce has been very busy. He was best known as the lead singer of Iron Maiden, leading the band through classic album afte...
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Album Review: Ihsahn - Ihsahn

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Candlelight Records; 2024]

Rating: 5/10

Key Tracks: “PILGRIMAGE TO OBLIVION”, “A TASTE OF THE AMBROSIA”, “HUBRIS AND BLUE DEVILS”

Best known as the vocalist, and guitarist of the legendary black metal band, Emperor, Ihsahn has crafted a career defined by pushing the boundaries. As Emperor stopped making albums, Ishan’s outlet for continuing to grow creatively has been through solo work. Ishan’s newest, self-titled release follows up 2018’s Ámr, as his eighth s...
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Album Review: Brittany Howard - What Now

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Island Records; 2024]

Rating: 8/10

Key Tracks: “Earth Sign”, “What Now”, “Samson”

Former Alabama Shakes vocalist Brittany Howard returns for her second solo outing What Now. Following up on 2019’s Jamie, Howard’s newest LP is a triumphant showcase of her wide range of musical talents, all firing on all cylinders.

The most instantly noticeable feature of Howard is, of course, her voice. Like all of the best vocalists, Howard has a distinct style she can adapt...
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EP Review: Little Simz - Drop 7

Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Forever Living Originals: 2024]

Rating: 4/10

Key tracks: “Fever”, “I Ain’t Feelin It”, “SOS”

British rapper Little Simz brags “No more hummin’ or hawin’ us the bar is raised, if you know me I can bar for days” on the song “Torch” off her new EP Drop 7. Considering her last two studio albums 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert and 2022’s NO THANK YOU could be argued as the best hip-hop releases of their respective years, I think Simz has the talent to back that...
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Single Review: Kerry King - Idle Hands

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Reigning Pheonix Music; 2024]

Rating: 7/10

On November 30th, 2019, as Slayer played their final show at The Kia Forum, it signaled the end of one of the most legendary careers in metal history. Since that time, it’s been mostly quiet in the Slayer camp, with the exception of Kerry King, who wasn’t ready to slip away into a cozy retirement. Those plans finally came to fruition in 2024. With a new solo band, tour dates with Lamb of God and Mastodon, and a new alb...
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Single Review: Megan Thee Stallion - HISS

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Hot Girl Production; 2024]

Rating: 8/10

Megan Thee Stallion continues to up her game on “HISS”. This song follows “Cobra” as Megan's second single in her new snake-themed era. While “Cobra” lyrically deals with Megan’s personal struggles, on “HISS” Megan returns to a place of confidence to put the rest of the rap world around her on blast in one of music’s first big moments of 2024.

The track begins with a 10-second spoken intro, where Megan makes the mission...
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Movie Review: Poor Things

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Film 4; 2023]

Rating: 6/10

What did I just watch? That’s the main question I asked myself at the end of Poor Things. Even knowing it was a “dark comedy” hardly prepared me for the absolute trip this movie was from start to finish. Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is an adaptation of a novel by Alasdair Gray. It stars Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life by Willem Dafoe's Dr. Godwin Baxter. Along with Ramy Yuseff’s Max McCandles, we...
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Movie Review: The Beekeeper

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Mirrimax; 2024]

Rating: 1/10

January has a reputation for being the dumping ground of Hollywood, and I don’t think there’s a more apt way 2024 could prove that than with The Beekeeper. David Ayer, best known as the director of Suicide Squad(2016), pulls together a heavy hitter cast for one of the most generic and mind-numbing action movies I’ve ever seen.

Jason Statham stars as Adam Clay, aka “The Beekeeper,” who embarks on a revenge quest after a group of int...
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Album Review: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - The Silver Cord

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[KGLW; 2023]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: "Theia", “Gilgamesh”, "Set"

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is a band that is well known to have been walking the thin line between quality and quantity with remarkable grace. Releasing five albums in 2022 made Gizzard lean towards the “quantity” aspect. While I don’t think Gizzard has ever made a bad record, the progressiveness for the sake of progressiveness that Gizzard gave us last year felt exhausting. Luckily in 20...
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Movie Review: Five Nights at Freddy’s

By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Bloomhouse Productions; 2023]

Rating: 6/10

Five Nights at Freddy’shas managed to divide fans and critics in a more dramatic way that I have seen in a long time. I sit on the line between fan and critic, and my opinion reflects that. Five Nights at Freddy’s ranges from extremely fun to deeply flawed in the span of 90 minutes, all depending on the lens you choose to view it from.

The biggest strength of Five Nights at Freddys is Freddy and the other animatronics...
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