“It appears we have another victim of the dreaded ‘December Release.’ A period of the year that shows black in a reviewer’s vision. But lists need making and TYMHM articles need writing. No one has time to squat down and pinch out another review before the year comes to an end. But, this isn’t any ordinary release. It isn’t run-of-the-mill or disappointing, it isn’t pathetic or a waste of time. Hell, it isn’t even good. It’s fucking great.” Last minute stocking buster.
“I don’t often get a chance to write about Croatian metal bands or, to be exact, I don’t often feel like writing about Croatian metal bands. There’s barely anything to call a “metal scene” in my homeland, with most acts birthed alone and lonely into a generic and photocopied existence, only to disappear in a flash of insignificance. Suffice to say that during the last 25 odd years since the country’s declaration of independence, there were only a few bands worth mentioning in the same breath with their international stylistic brethren (Ashes You Leave, Umor, Death of Folk, Infernal Tenebra). Imagine my elation, then, when something as good as Pogavranjen’s third LP, Jedva čekam da nikad ne umrem,[1. Looking Forward to Never Dying] came along. Curiously composed and competently played avant-garde black metal that is not merely the fruit of derivative rehashing? Yes, please!” We’ll take a double of that, with fries.
“I’ll be honest with you; the only reason I’m even passingly familiar with Entropia’s existence comes from their commendable decision to sample a few lines of dialogue from the excellent (and yes, very brutal) Christopher Nolan film, The Prestige. The late David Bowie’s tempered portrayal of an eccentric and misunderstood Nikola Tesla living out his days in a quasi-exile in Colorado Springs brings a wistful sort of conscience to the film’s dueling protagonists, and a story of such single-minded self-destruction couldn’t be more suited for a metal adaptation. That’s just low hanging fruit, metal bands, I’m doing your work for you here.” And we don’t get paid to do PR!
