Angry Metal Guy

Aborted // Global Flatline
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Actually, they haven’t flatlined.
Label: Century Media
Websites: goremageddon.be | facebook.com/abortedofficial
Release Dates: Out Now Worldwide!

I’d been holding off on writing this review because, well, to be frank I’m no grind expert. While I have a working knowledge of most genres and pretty deep knowledge in a several, grind is not one of them. In full disclosure, I’ve not listened to the classics (except Carcass and Napalm Death and Nasum), and I’m probably even fucking up genres when I have discussions about what I think the classics are. So, to pretend to be authoritative on the subject would be disingenuous—at best. Against my better judgement, when I got Aborted‘s Global Flatline I decided that I should review it anyway. But after listening to it about 10 times I realized I wasn’t quite sure how to put what I thought of it, which is kind of my.. job. So, that’s kind of awkward. I went back and listened to the band’s older material Continue reading

Eluveitie // Helvetios
Rating:  3.5/5.0 — Helvetian Metal Hearts
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Website:  eluveitie.ch
Release date: EU: 2012.02.10 | US: 02.28.2012

So this is a review of an album by a Swiss band being written by an Egyptian guy living in Egypt and published on a website run by a guy living in Sweden. Don’t you just love the Internet? Anyway, Eluveitie is indeed a very Swiss band that draws its influences from the roots of the land; medieval Helvetian and Celtic history. Since I did not study European history or Anthropology at any level, I can’t verify the accuracy, relevance or truthfulness of the stories being told on Helvetios. What I can verify, though, is that the music is quite interesting; especially if you haven’t heard Eluveitie before. They use the standard metal gear of distorted guitars, drums and bass and they’ve added a multitude of native folk instruments to complement and emphasize that snapshot of medieval Europe they’re creating with their music. Continue reading

Wolfen // Chapter IV
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Thrashes with wolves
Label: Pure Legend Records
Websites: wolfen-metal.de | myspace
Release Dates: Out now!

Wolfen. Never did I hear of them. As the album title suggests, they have three prior releases, yet the mighty Eye of Steel Druhm (like Sauron’s but more bloodshot) never spied them as they skulked through the Germanic underground. I don’t like that, since stealth wolfens are my least favorite kind of wolfen. Regardless, Chapter IV is their first album since 2006 (obstensibly because they were too busy hiding from The Eye to record anything). If this one is any indication of what the earlier platters had to offer, its perplexing they didn’t get more notoriety. They play a style that walks the line between traditional metal and thrash. It also has plenty of that ”Germanic” vibe we all love so much. Their sound comes closest to Angel Dust, especially during their Bleed era, but there are also references to Accept, Grave Digger and Brainstorm. Chapter IV offers some rockin but accessible songs, and unfortunately, a few pedestrian ditties as well. Thankfully, Wolfen hits more often than they miss and this is a solid, enjoyable dose of ballsy, no frills metal with several memorable moments. Continue reading

Iron Fire // Voyage of the Damned
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Space metal equipped with a death ray
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: ironfire.dk | myspace.com/officialironfire
Release Dates: EU: Out now! | US: 02.07.2012

Historically speaking, I think the main reason our esteemed AMG hired me, the ever humble Steel Druhm, as a reviewer/minion [I prefer the term "bitch," actually - AMG] was to make me the resident power and traditional metal nerd (my amazing prose and rugged good looks didn’t hurt none either). While I’m predisposed to drool over most old school stuff (cause I’m old), I’m actually quite the elitist snob when it comes to power metal. There’s some good in that genre, but there are way more generic, bad and monumentally awful things lurking in the ether. Case in point, I’ve had a love/hate/meh relationship with Iron Fire over the years. Their Thunderstorm debut was decent and moderately rabble rousing, but things have been inconsistent since then and their discography reads like the good, the bad and the WTF? After being unmoved by their past few releases, I hoped for more from their seventh release, Voyage of the Damned. Turns out, I heartily appreciate the new lyrical slant toward outer space themes, as it’s a nice diversion from the usual “dragon ate my wizard’s maiden” schtick. It’s also safe to say, this is much better than expected and it slowly won me over, despite initial doubts. Roping in elements of Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Grave Digger and Metalium, this features some highly enjoyable  Euro-power with some surprisingly heavy moments. It also delivers far less generic freight than past Iron Fire shipments. While not exactly a “must hear” album, Voyage ends up being a solid release from a band with a spotty track record.  Continue reading

Biohazard // Reborn in Defiance
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — A Defiant Rebirth *Cough*
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: facebook.com/biohazardDFL
Release Dates: Out Now!

Oh man. Biohazard were one of those bands that really broke me into heavy music when I was just a tyke. While the band’s debut—which oddly enough was largely edited verbally—never did much for me, Urban Discipline, State of the World Address (I still have the version with the orange gel case somewhere), and the much maligned Mata Leao were all albums that dug into my 10 to 14 year old soul and left permanent impressions. Those records were tough, heavy slabs of machismo that with Type O Negative, Life of Agony and Sepultura paved the way towards the heavier side of tracks. Unfortunately, I grew away from these guys and—I’m going to be frank—their records really started going downhill in quality (turns out I *wasn’t* down for life). So, when I saw that the original lineup had reunited for a new record (before Evan Seinfeld left the band), I gotta say: I was interested in spite of myself. Continue reading

Abigail Williams // Becoming
Rating:  3.5/5.0 — Taint your wagon
Label: Candlelight Records
Websites: myspace.com | facebook.com
Release Dates:  EU: 2012.01.27 | US: 01.24.2012

I’ve never been an Abigail Williams fan. Their debut was lackluster and derailed by metalcore underpinnings. In the Absence of Light had some actual potential but was far too generic. Needless to say, I had modest expectations as I sat down to examine their new album. Well, Steel Druhm was nearly knocked from his stately Chair of Metal Judgment [Metal Chair of Judgement? - AMG] by what he heard on Becoming. Gone are the tepid attempts to recycle left-over Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth riffs and horror movie symphonics. In their place is raw, shoegazey, post-rocky, contemplative blackness, loaded with doomy atmosphere, close in spirit to Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch, with elements of Aurvandil and Emperor mixed in. It’s a startlingly major change to be sure (even more so than their previous shift from black-core to Dimmu-worship), and proves there’s no wagon they won’t gleefully hop onto. Surprisingly though, their newest disingenuous switch works well and they may have found the style they can excel at. That is, if they can stop pursuing every new fad and trend (the technical term is “chasing their own fail”). Continue reading

Decaying // Encirclement
Rating: 3.5/5.0 —Bolt the halls!
Label: Hellthrasher Productions
Websites: facebook.com/Decayingofficial
Release Dates: EU: 02.01.2012 US: 01.02.2012

Are you ready for 2012? You better be, since it’s supposedly when the Mayans sell us down the river and everything goes BOOM! That means locusts, plagues, zombies, more Obama and a new Justin Bieber double album. Oh, the humanity! Anyway, as Steel Druhm sits in his Fortress of Reckoning, stockpiling ammo and firearms with varying degrees of legality, it seems a good time to do the first review of a 2012 release! What could be more fitting than a nasty slice of war-themed death metal from frigid Finland? Decaying got some big Steel love earlier this year for their Devastate album and here they are all set to launch their second campaign in 2012 with Encirclement. Taking the same basic approach as on Devastate, they rock a type of primitive, old school death of the European variety. After several spins, Encirclement reminds me of a forced merger between Bolt Thrower and Hail of Bullets with some Consuming Impulse-era Pestilence sprinkled on the wound. In all honestly, most of the album sounds like vintage Bolt Thrower with Martin van Drunen ( Hail of Bullets/Asphyx/ex-Pestilence/ex-Bolt Thrower) on the mic. As you might then expect, its dependably chunky, clunky, ugly and reeks of a battlefield. What makes this notable amid the legions of death is the sheer length of the tracks. As with Devastate, there are some LONG ass death metal songs here (several between eight and ten minutes)! That can be a tricky feat to pull off and while Decaying largely succeeds in maintaining the interest factor, it can be wearing on the attention span at times. If the impending apocalypse make you hunger for epic-length death metal all about war, this is your huckleberry. Continue reading

Fragments of Death was my first encounter with Graveworm. Even though I shouldn’t have, I was surprised before listening to the album that they were from Italy and I wasn’t really expecting an album that would impress me. Call me a metal bigot but metal isn’t really something that the Italians would proudly add to their plethora of cultural influences for the rest of the world to enjoy [Bigot! There are some great Italian death metal bands, not to mention Rhapsody! - AMG]. Having confessed my prejudice, Italy has already stunned me this year with the new Fleshgod Apocalypse album which definitely improved the scene’s name and now Graveworm release Fragments of Death to add to what their fellow countrymen did a few months earlier. Continue reading

Raventale // Bringer of Heartsore
Rating: 3.5/5.0 —Moonsore–o
Label: BadMoodMan Records
Websites: myspace.com/raventale
Release Dates: Out now!

Ukrainian black metal? With doom and viking elements? By a one man band? Sounds good to me! While Steel Druhm must sheepishly admit to being late to the Raventale party, now that I’m here, I’m a happy fucking camper indeed. That’s because one Astaroth Merc has single-handedly spewed out a very entertaining and enjoyable platter of contemplative, brooding, atmospheric and doomy black metal on his fifth album, Bringer of Heartsore. So good is the material here, I’m willing to overlook that awful, AWFUL album title (plus, I’m assuming English is like his fifth language so mistakes will be made). So what will a listener be treated to on a Raventale album? A composite of Moonsorrow, Helrunar and SIG:AR:TYR (minus the folk acoustics). That means big, sweeping musical pieces, alternatively epic, melancholy and brutal. Sometimes hollow like a dark, empty void, other times ice-cold like Nordic winters, Astaroth weaves many a mood over this relatively short but sweet blackened sojourn. I find myself impressed enough to begin immediate excavation of their back catalog for more rich doomy, blackened goodness. To decide if you might feel the same, read all the fine words below, in order. Continue reading

Marduk // Iron Dawn EP
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Laying down the gauntlet for mass-obliteration.
Label: Regain Records | Blooddawn
Websites: marduk.nu | myspace.com/truemarduk | marduklegion.com
Release Dates:  Out now
By: Nemesis

Marduk stand as one of the most revered and influential black metal acts on the planet. They were hugely significant to me personally when I was fresh to all things diabolical in metal. Albums such as Heaven Shall Burn as We Are Gathered, Nightwing and especially the faultless Panzer Division Marduk are masterpieces straight from the abyss. I’ve always maintained this band as the uglier brother of fellow countrymen Dark Funeral, never quite as ambitious, but much rawer in their approach. Continue reading