“The promo in question is Hold Back the Dawn, the fourth full-length — and third of a planned four dealing with Lovecraftian horror — from Barcelona death metallers Graveyard, and it has so many good riffs that it just might be worth getting fired for. As it rises from the depths, you will find yourself powerless to move or even make a sound as the band’s influences writhe and constrict around you.” Tentacle porn is reborn.
“Everyone loves a good comeback. Overcoming the odds to return triumphant is a theme that has resonated through the ages. Sinners Bleed know all about comebacks. Their first album From Womb to Tomb was released to a reasonable critical reception… 16 years ago. This gap almost rivals the legendary 17 years between Sabbath’s Forbidden and 13. Personal issues, changes to the line-up, and various setbacks along the way made it seem like a follow-up would never see the light of day. Which would have been sad because these Germans showed with their debut that they had some serious chops. But despite the travails and setbacks, here we are with Absolution.” Blood and time.
“Contrary to popular belief, many of us writers here at Angry Metal Guy Institute haven’t been exposed to every band a genre offers. Whether that’s due to time constraints, the ol’ chestnut of “I’ll get around to checking them out eventually” and then forgetting to check them out eventually, or just the simple fact that you haven’t heard of them, many bands honestly fly under our radar. That’s just a fact of life. In this instance, I hadn’t heard a note of Germany’s black metal quartet Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult until guitarist/frontwoman Onielar took over the coveted mic for fellow German legends Bethlehem in 2016 on their self-titled album.” Scary friends of creepy acquaintances.
“Today’s dousing of rousing black metal is brought to you by the connoisseurs of battlefield chaos: Evil Warriors. In between raids, assaults, missions, sieges and skirmishes, the members of this troublesome horde forge equally manic and violent music to accompany their meddlesome missions.” The raiding life.
“It’s been a minute or so since I’ve reviewed a Rogga Johansson project (of which there are approximately 30), so when I saw a brand new entity creep into the promo sump, I was curious enough to check it out. This new beast is Mintotaur Head, a doom/death supergroup led by Rogga and Bob Bagchus (ex-Asphyx).” October brings The Great Dooming.
“It was bound to happen. As I’m sitting here, writing a review of the appropriately titled An Ill Wind Blowing, the second album by Swedish sludgemeisters Age of Woe, I gaze out the rear door and see picturesque blue skies, mild temperate winds, and a garden teeming with life and vibrancy, complete with a Godzilla statue wolfing down some unfortunate garden gnomes. This is all important to note because, just a full day ago, Hurricane Matthew beat the ever-loving shit out everyone in its path through the Bahamas and parts of Florida, including my sleepy neighborhood.” From the storm comes…doom.
“First appearances can be and often are misleading. Take Death Mask Replica, for example, the fourth release by Swedish band Bombs of Hades. After noticing the Captain Beefheart-spoofing title and marveling at the tastefully grim and artsy cover, one might expect some kind of experimental blackened death metal in the vein of Chaos Echœs to be hidden within.” Of course, you’d be totally wrong and embarrass yourself.
“As a youthful cheeky-chappy, I missed death metal the first time round. The wonders of Google have permitted me to research that which I lacked, thus purging myself of the vim and vibrancy with which I was once characterized. I now regularly murder my family and desecrate their burial chambers in the name of such legends as Entombed and Dismember, a sentiment obviously shared by Stockholm’s latest recruit: Lik.” It’s Throwback Friday (again)!
“TV Tropes is a website that talks about tropes, idioms, and cliches in various forms of media. Whether it’s television, movies, or even video games, the website does an incredible job of educating would-be writers as to what pitfalls to avoid or what “crazy plot twists” have been done to beyond death. It makes one wonder if there’s such a thing for black metal and its various offshoots.” And there isnt, so we at AMG must act as the Anti-Trope Troopers.
“I got a bit sidetracked while writing this review trying to chart the rise of rethrash (thanks Encyclopaedia Metallum!). Since 2003, the proportion of thrash albums to all metal albums released per year has, perhaps surprisingly, stayed constant at around 16%. However, the proportion of new thrash bands to new metal bands forming per year (going back to 1995) peaked at 23% in 2006, and had shrunk to 14% last year. Entrench formed just prior to peak thrash in 2005, releasing a string of demos before unleashing their debut full length, Inevitable Decay, in 2011. What can my thrashnalysis tell us about their music? Fuck all really, but it’s some pretty good trivia, eh?” When the numbers geeks get into the metal review business, you get thrashnalysis. Just go with it and take copious notes.
