Not much to talk about this month either. It's a trend, huh?

AOTM: Halestorm - Is it their best? No. Are there a couple of questionable songs? Yes. Do I still love it? Yes. The majority of the album was what I needed right now, so I'm happy with the results.

Rise Against - Disappointing. Loved the last two, but this one feels like it's using dirty production to cover up that they don't have the energy anymore.

Lord Of The Lost - Not bad, but also not compelling.

Helloween - Boring songs and Kiske's shitty voice means I am so over Helloween. I was never much of a fan, but I could at least stomach most of the purely Deris stuff. If Kiske is staying, I'm done.

Will September finally break this ennui? I doubt it. There's a Year Of The Goat album (that I've heard already), a Glenn Hughes that I'm not too excited about, Beth Blade has a new one, and I really don't care much at all about new Primal Fear or Amorphis. Unless things pick up massively for the autumn, I'm really going to be struggling to find a full top ten at the end of the year I'm really happy with.