Spinefarm

Toothgrinder – Phantom Amour Review

Toothgrinder – Phantom Amour Review

“Full disclosure: I took this review on fully expecting to hate this album. Readers may remember I already felt lukewarm about Toothgrinder’s 2016 debut Nocturnal Masquerade, whose poppier and less technical take on The Dillinger Escape Plan was bogged down by repetitive ideas and too many generic radio rock choruses. As the New Jersey quintet’s sharp hardcore riffing seemed to be the best thing about Masquerade, I ultimately concluded the band needed to get heavier, slapped it with a 3.0, and went back to eating Chinese food and jerking off.” Too much disclosure.

Electric Wizard – Wizard Bloody Wizard Review

Electric Wizard – Wizard Bloody Wizard Review

“The downside to an early magnum opus in your career is that everything you do afterwards will be compared to it. Pearl Jam never lived up to Ten, Guns ‘n Roses have always cowered under the shadow of Appetite for Destruction, Annihilator spent 14 albums getting compared to the first 2, and Electric Wizard could play nothing but Dopethrone for the rest of their lives. When your career consists of fruitlessly building towers of Babel, trying to reach the God you created, it can be disheartening for an artist struggling to move forward. In this case, your best friend is a reviewer who, against all odds, left listening to that unattainable pillar of perfection near the bottom of their bucketlist.” Hello, friend to wizards.

Shade Empire – Poetry of the Ill-minded Review

Shade Empire – Poetry of the Ill-minded Review

“From Judas’ selling out the Son of God for a mere 30 pieces of silver, to Julius Caesar meeting his sticky end at the hands of several disgruntled Roman senators, and his own nephew, Brutus. History is rife with tales of betrayal. The Finns are back in town and Poetry of the Ill-minded is set for release just next week. What connection can the esteemed Shade Empire possibly have with these horrific accounts of betrayal?” Music gets very personal.

Shores of Null – Black Drapes for Tomorrow Review

Shores of Null – Black Drapes for Tomorrow Review

“One of my favorite things about writing for Angry Metal Guy Unlimited, LLC is when I’m blindsided by a new band. Quiescence, the 2014 debut album by Italian doomsters Shores of Null, impressed the hell out of me with their wonderful combination of Daylight Dies riding with Alice in Chains en route to an Amorphis gig, and landed themselves on my Top Ten(ish) list of that year. Here we are three years later, and they return with their eagerly-awaited follow-up, the dreary Black Drapes for Tomorrow.” Comfortably null.

Royal Thunder – Wick Review

Royal Thunder – Wick Review

“Impressive Atlanta rockers Royal Thunder have proven their credentials in the modern rock scene on the back of a couple of solid EP’s and great albums. Debut LP CVI blindsided me with its explosive rock hooks, dynamic songwriting, and bluesy southern swagger, flooring me in such a way that I admit to being apprehensive when they returned with sophomore album Crooked Doors in 2015.” Kingly hard rock for the unwashed masses.

Brother Firetribe – Sunbound Review

Brother Firetribe – Sunbound Review

“Were you one of those kids raised on Rocky movies? If you were, you soaked up those bombastic training montage scenes that were so essential to the Stallone flicks. You cheered as he ran along the beach, screamed as he climbed snowy mountains, shouted when he lifted 2 ton heavy things and whistled as he chased poultry around sketchy back alleys. Part of the thrill of those scenes was the relentlessly upbeat, hilarious cheesy soundtrack populated by the likes of 80s radio icons, Survivor.” The 80s called; they want their 80s music fans back.

Wolfheart – Tyhjyys Review

Wolfheart – Tyhjyys Review

“Whenever Tuomas Saukkonen releases something there’s a certain amount of buzz in the filthy underbelly of metal. When he had Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon running simultaneously, he released a staggering amount of high-quality melo-death steeped in Finland’s biggest export – melancholy. After folding both well-regarded acts and creating Wolfheart, things seemed to take a few steps backward quality-wise.” Have you found the secret that I have lost?

Ember Falls – Welcome to Ember Falls Review

Ember Falls – Welcome to Ember Falls Review

“Treacly melodies, sub-dermal hooks and pop-infused synths, Ember Falls are gunning for stardom by way of your mental taste buds with their debut, Welcome to Ember Falls. Fame is an elusive, fickle beast and Ember Falls is but another band hoping to stand out amongst a deluge of delicacies jostling to whet our collective appetite. It remains to be seen whether Welcome to Ember Falls sluices down an eager gullet, hitting the bliss point like an Olympic sharpshooter or is instead a bitter pill to swallow.” Take your black medicine!

Ranger – Speed and Violence Review

Ranger – Speed and Violence Review

“From the brutally vintage cover, you’d be entirely justified expecting Speed and Violence to be a homage to the glory days of Exciter, being as they shamelessly appropriated the cover dynamic of their first album and riffed on the title of their second and best known platter (Violence and Force). While you’d be 110% right about the 80s throwback style Ranger wallows in, you’d be wrong about the chief influence.” It ain’t easy, being speedy.

The Wounded Kings – Visions in Bone Review

The Wounded Kings – Visions in Bone Review

“Rest in hazy, gloomy peace, The Wounded Kings. A picture of a tombstone, a few words on Facebook, and we we’re left robbed of an illustrious specimen of progressive, psychedelic doom metal, condemned to finding solace in the five praiseworthy full-lengths and several smaller releases they recorded.” It’s with heavy hearts and a pocket full of doom that we wish The Wounded Kings farewell…