Angry Metal Guy

The 11th Hour // Lacrima Mortis
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Made you nervous there, didn’t I, Ed?
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: Facebook | MySpace
Release Dates: EU: 2012.01.27 | US: 02.07.2012

Well, after months of pimping this record (a lot) for everyone and bugging promotional people for copies of it and so forth, I finally have The 11th Hour‘s follow up to the masterful Burden of Grief which hit home with this Angry Metal Guy in 2009. As a guy who has never really been a huge doom fan, I can say that Burden of Grief  was an eye opener on several levels. First, it’s safe to say that the songwriting was fantastic. Slow, dirgey and depressing, but never wandering into the areas of mind numbing dullness that other doom bands reach (it must be my Angry Metal Attention Deficit Disorder™). But also, the record contained deeply personal lyrics, haunting clean vocals and a concept that made the whole record sit together in a way that few other albums do. Indeed, Burden of Grief is easily one of the best albums I own and so, I guess, that and all the anticipation made the danger that I would be disappointed high. But this isn’t just about psychology, either. There is also a thing called “sophomore slump” for a reason. Burden of Grief probably had a lot longer to percolate than Lacrima Mortis did and was coming from a different place both psychologically and in the time line of Ed Warby’s career. With partner in crime Rogga Johansson unable to record vocals, it’s safe to say that this record could have really lost a step. Continue reading

And here it finally comes. I want to take a little time to gaze at my navel before heading off to the races here. 2011 has been a hard year for me and for AngryMetalGuy.com. Without the help of Steel Druhm, this website probably would have gone under due to serious burnout. It stands that there are other options for both of us as reviewers, but we both love this site and the little community it has become and don’t have any desire to see it go anywhere. And, frankly, due to blood, sweat and more blood, we just don’t feel like we can really stop working on this website. So when I say to you all, that we don’t want to stop doing this largely because you guys keep coming by and reading this I seriously mean it. It’s a great feeling–even when sometimes the music industry gets goddamned lame.

2011, really, was a gigantic disappointment. The records I was really looking forward to this year definitely let me down. The new Opeth was nothing to write home about, the new Amon Amarth was the same ol’ same ol’, the new Symphony X left me underwhelmed, while the records that the scene kids got boners over were stuff that isn’t really my thing. There were some really good albums this year, but they came from very unexpected places. In other words, I could never have predicted that this list would have looked like this at the beginning of the year.

So here’s to the disappointing year that was and hopefully to a much more interesting (musically) 2012. May we all see out the end of the year!

Continue reading

Absu // Abzu
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Awesome (but not Tara)
Label: Candlelight Records
Release Dates: EU: 2011.10.10 | US: 10.11.2011

Recently here on Angry Metal Guy, Steel Druhm took black metal as a genre to task for, frankly, sucking. The whole shit has long been, in my opinion, a conservative and copycat genre which has generated little new or of note since at least the early 2000s, with its glory years being firmly rooted in the mid-to-late ‘90s. Of course, one shouldn’t draw such broad generalizations, because then you’ll end up posting a review that disproves the whole thesis of said generalization (this is not to say that he’s wrong, by the way, he was oh-so-right. But Absu defies gravity.). Case in point? The heavily thrash-influenced Absu just put out another new record, and not only do they defy the black metal genre as a whole, they’re actively working to redefine it in a way that is much more palatable to my Angry Metal Taste Buds™. Continue reading

Leprous // Bilateral
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Triumphantly Groovy
Label: InsideOut
Websites: myspace.com/leprousband | facebook.com/leprousband
Release Dates: EU: 22.08.2011 | US: 08.23.2011

Progressive music is a vast category filled with all sorts of various constellations of bands from Dream Theater to Symphony X to Rush to Opeth to Death to Pink Floyd to Pain of Salvation to Coheed & Cambria (arguably) and so forth. It can be very difficult to keep all that shit in order and, frankly, to find good progressive bands because it’s such a huge category. Despite the fact that progressive music should be the biggest, best and most original music in the world it suffers from some serious problems. The first is a tendency towards living in the past (för svenskar: bakåtsträvande) and the second is unoriginality, oddly enough. So finding a progressive band that is excellent, modern and original is still a hard thing to do. But you’ll never guess who has some angry (but good) news! Continue reading

Battle Beast // Steel
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — The power of steel, the scent of cheese
Label: Hype Records
Websites: hypeproductions.fi/battlebeast | myspace.com/battlebeastband
Release Dates:  Out Worldwide!

So there Steel Druhm was, sitting with a promo entitled Steel by the unknown Finns called Battle Beast. A quick perusal of the song titles made it clear they graduated Summa Cum LOUDLY from the Manowar School of Song Namery, as the numerous mentions of “metal,” “steel” and “iron” attest. The cover features a lion man fighting a robot as drawn by a ten year old at metal summer camp. Despite my renowned power metal geekdom, I felt a sense of dread and apprehension as I pressed play. Well damn it all if this thing isn’t full of surprises. Steel is a raging slab of frenetic, over-the-top 80′s metal worship that ladles out heaping helpings of thick cheese sauce and demands that you take seconds. Raging twin guitars, heroic solos, uber dramatic song structures and the vocals, Dear God the vocals!! The singer has a huge set of lungs and an even bigger set of balls which are frequently stuck in a vice! From gravelly, rasping shouts, air raid siren screams and superior singing, he can do it all and its so damn metal it kills my neighbor’s lawn. Imagine my shock to find out there are no balls to put in the vice because the HE is actually a SHE! That’s right, Nitte Valo is a true metal queen and she’s flat out brilliant on this album. However, unless you love the classic sounds of 80′s metal (think Grim Reaper, old Grave Digger, Accept) mixed with a smattering of power metal, this will leave you running for the door but quick. It revels in all the cliches and idiocy of that era and these folks certainly aren’t trying to be the next Opeth. You still with me? OK, stay with me. Continue reading

Falconer // Armod
Rating: 5.0/5.0 — Falconer strikes it rich
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: falconermusic.com | myspace.com/falconermusic
Release Dates: EU: 2011.06.06 | USA: 06.07.2011

I hate Falconer. Okay, that’s not really true, but I have never liked Falconer, let’s put it that way. I first got wind of these guys with the publication of their second album Chapters of a Vale Forlorn and I was very unimpressed. Since then I’ve heard a things here and there, and nothing convinced me away from my previous conviction. I didn’t think what I heard was particularly good, nor did I think it was particularly interesting. In spite of the fact that I’m a huge fan of guitarist Stefan Weinerhall and drummer Karsten Larsson’s previous project Mithotyn (an absolutely underrated band), the power metal tinged Falconer never did anything for me at all.

That is, until I heard Armod. Continue reading

Týr // The Lay of Thrym
Label: Napalm Records
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Rejoice, Sheeple! A number!
Websites: myspace.com/tyr1
Release Dates: EU: 2011.05.27 | USA: 06.07.2011
A Review by Natalie Zed

As soon as this album was announced, the literary nerd in me did a little dance of glee. The title is taken from a section of the Poetic Edda, a collection of old Norse poetry. An alternate title for The Lay of Thrym is “The Fetching of Thor’s Hammer” — that’s about as epic as it gets.

Týr are a band that do so much more than dabble in the cultural milieu they’re engaging with. They have fully committed to their aesthetic; they do bloody research; and they want depth, knowledge and authenticity. I have a profound respect for their dedication to Viking metal and culture. Continue reading

Vomitory // Opus Mortis VIII
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Exactly what I needed
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: vomitory.net | myspace.com/vomitoryswe
Release Dates: EU: 2011.04.23/26 | US: 04.26.2011

I’ve actually been having a bit of a problem this year. While this is supposed to be the big year for all the big-named metal bands that I love, I can’t help but get the feeling that no one is putting out records that are even nearly as good as they should be. OK, I really got into the new Vintersorg, but I thought Septic Flesh was a letdown, as was the new Amon Amarth. There are others that I can’t mention yet, but let me just say, I’m disappointed with pretty much all of my favorite bands this year. So when I got Vomitory‘s Opus Mortis VIII and popped it in, I can’t say that I was expecting much more than that same ol’ same ol’ feeling of apathy. I was beginning to think, frankly, that this was my problem. But Vomitory helped me realize something—this is their problem, not mine. Continue reading

Vintersorg // Jordpuls
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — The Perfect Record for Spring
Label: Napalm Records
Website: myspace.com/vintersorganic
Release Dates: EU: 2011.25-28.03 | US: 04.05.2011

After a wintry silence of 4 years about a new solo record, Vintersorg is finally releasing the long awaited follow-up to Solens Rötter. If you consider the early solo career of Mr. V, this is actually pretty surprising. His fecundity has been next to almost none, producing a record a year, as well as having a myriad of other excellent projects (like Otyg, Waterclime, Havayoth, Gravisphere, being in the mighty Borknagar and I’m sure someone will correct me on something I’ve missed). But for this Angry Metal Guy the new record coming has been a worrisome thing, as the taste that was left in my mouth by Solens Rötter was a bit bitter. To date, the record is my least favorite of everything that has been released under Mr. V’s solo moniker and the decision to ditch the amazing Steve Digiorgio and Asgeir Mickelson and bass and drums, respectively, was definitely felt. So I guess the question for Jordpuls was… what next? Continue reading

Turisas // Stand Up and Fight
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Excellent (but take your time with it!)
Label: Century Media
Website: turisas.fi
Release Dates: EU: 2011.02.28 | US: 03.08.2011

Few bands have ever generated the kind of excitement that Turisas generated among my friends in 2004 when we first got wind of Battle Metal—the debut record from this Finnish viking metal group. Stylistically it really was like nothing we had ever heard. Over the top orchestrations ruled the disc with nary a guitar solo in sight. Instead, the music was largely good for beer swilling and chanting at our drunken parties (which were usually followed up by everyone putting their hair in a certain type of ponytail and running around screaming “Riders of Rohan!”). Hard hitting tracks like “Battle Metal” and “The Land of Hope and Glory” excited us to no end. This band was something unique and special.

For me, however, Battle Metal has always paled in comparison with the follow up record The Varangian Way which was released in 2007. While the first record was a collection of fantastic tracks, The Varangian Way was a flow-blown concept record of the best kind. Orchestrated to perfection and written with the kind of flow that few records I own have (see: The Wall by Pink Floyd, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden and V: The New Mythology Suite by Symphony X to understand what I mean), The Varangian Way blew my mind. It was more progressive than the earlier record and while criticized as ‘trying too hard’ by some people with poor taste and small minds, those changes sat well with me.

So in some ways, then, it should be no surprise that Stand Up and Fight, the third record from Turisas, is again a progression away from the fairly straight forward (if bombastic) roots that the band came from. However, how does a band ever follow up a record that is easily in my top 20 records of the 2000s (and almost made my Top 15)? Is it even possible to get anywhere near the kind of narrative flow and balance between Battle Metal style aggression and The Varangian Way style progressiveness and orchestrations? Continue reading