This version of Both Kinds of Heavy launched on July 31, 2026. Today, just over a month later, this site received its 5,000th unique visitor. I'm sure that's a tiny fraction of what other music sites see, even other indie sites. I'm also sure that some of those are bots or otherwise not real people. But I am sure that my wildest expectations have been exceeded. There was never a long-term plan for this site - it's just a place for me to share my thoughts about things that are important to me. The fact that so many of you (relatively) think that my ramblings are worth your precious time is gratifying and humbling. So thank you for reading, all of you. I am sincerely thankful and I plan to keep this weird little experiment going as long as people are still willing to read it. 

I'll admit that in a pretty short time, I've found myself in a fortunate place with Both Kinds of Heavy - I'm getting more advance albums for review than I will probably be able to cover. At the same time, since this is strictly a hobby site and I don't have to to worry about silly little things like making money, I can prioritize covering the albums that excite me. You won't see me covering, say, a Ghost album in order to drive more eyeballs to my embedded ad banners. I'd much rather cover a new band like Shrineburner because, to put it simply, I'd much rather listen to a new band like Shrineburner. 

No one can listen to every single band in the world. There's only so much time in the day, and some of those hours need to be spent without headphones on (go away, meetings. No one likes you). That's my way of saying that I had never listened to Devil Master before the release of their new album, Bloody Dreams. Which, it turns out, was a pretty big oversight on my part. 

I've reposted blog entries a few times before, but seldom so soon after originally publishing them. This version is publishing on September 1, 2026, and the original version published on August 27, 2026. I could have just added my thoughts on Who Loves the Sun on the original version, but I've added a few additional thoughts throughout based on how the release of the new album added additional content to what came before. With that in mind, I decided I wanted to preserve both the "before and after" versions. 

Who Loves the Sun, the new album by Chat Pile may have been my most anticipated album of 2026. The band's three previous albums, including last year's collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, all earned the number one slots on my personal best of the year lists. So obviously, my expectations were high, and I am thrilled that I've had the opportunity to listen to an early review copy. Does it live up to expectations? Read on to find out. 

After a couple weeks without any truly huge album releases, we've got a couple of big ones this week: Mastodon and Russian Circles. There are also a few big-name albums out this week that I'm entirely disinterested in, so we're skipping those! As always, I've got a selection of stuff I'm pretty excited about waiting for you after the break.

Today, I was excited to see a review copy of the new Chat Pile album Who Loves the Sun land in my inbox. I'll be posting a review of it next week after the embargo lifts, but to prepare for that review, I decided to revisit all of Chat Pile's releases so far. And hey, while I'm at it, why not write about it?

So far, all of the entries in my (newly retitled) The Catalog feature have focused on bands that I wanted to learn more about. This entry is a little different, as Chat Pile is a band that I know quite well. All three of their studio albums so far (including their collaborative release with Hayden Pedigo) landed at the top of my personal best of the year lists. They also have various odds and ends in their discography which I've spent less time with, so it seemed like a good opportunity to review their work in total, prepare for the new album, and try a slightly different spin on this column's format. 

One final note: After my Who Loves the Sun review runs, I'll update this post to incorporate some thoughts on that album. Onwards!

With my Listening to the Catalog column, I hope to fix some gaps in my musical knowledge. It took me until this week there was a pretty big gap I needed to address, especially considering that my favorite band is Neurosis. That gap is Isis, the beloved post-metal band fronted by Neurosis' newest member, Aaron Turner. 

After many years without plastic instrument gaming, the spiritual successor to video game hits Rock Band and Guitar Hero arrives this December. Stage Tour is being released by RedOctane Games, the company that published the original Guitar Hero game (the brand was later purchased by Activision) and developed by veterans of that series. The launch trailer for the new game is above, and promises gameplay that looks very similar to both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What seems to set Stage Tour apart is that it looks to feature licensed instruments and venues, and perhaps some real-life rock stars will make appearances as well. But, as with all games of this style, the real draw is the song lineup. Stage Tour will launch with over 90 tracks, including songs from Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Mastodon, Castle Rat, Ghost, Babymetal & Electric Callboy, Rage Against the Machine, and many more. There's also plenty of stuff for the young'uns, like Olivia Rodrigo. I was just thinking the other day about how much fun Faith No More's "Epic" was to play in Rock Band...

Welcome to the first official album review on Both Kind of Heavy! I'm pleased to kick things off with an album from a band I've been following for many years, Russian Circles. There aren't many bands that have claimed a singular position in the way that Russian Circles have - they're the biggest name in instrumental metal, hands down. I've written before about what I call the "Russian Circles test," which is the question I ask whenever I listen to a new heavy instrumental album: Why would I listen to this, when Russian Circles exists? Of course, there are plenty of bands in the subgenre that have found their own unique paths and create their own worthy music, but Russian Circles remain the undisputed heavyweights.

Russian Circles' official bio states "This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality." I find this understated approach to the band's career somewhat overly modest, but it's nevertheless accurate. Russian Circles is an extraordinarily consistent band, and that consistency definitely continues on their new album, Nine.