“I am likely the least qualified individual here when it comes to the ways of Olde and yet, here I stand, holding in trembling hands my second YMIO article for the year. Rest easy, weary traveler, for this isn’t another block of top-shelf sympho-cheese. You see, I do listen to other genres, unlike some people (ahem, Twelve).” Well, he’s not wrong.
“1994 was an amazing year for all forms of metal music. It was also a transitional year for one Johan Edlund, most famous as the guitarist/vocalist/founder of a little Swedish metal group called Tiamat. 1992’s Clouds was a breakthrough album for Edlund and his crew of death metal merry-men, but even with the album’s success, Edlund was not satisfied with the sound or results of that album. So, in an interesting turn of events, he fired the entire band (save for bassist Johnny Hagel), hired session musicians, brought his love of Pink Floyd to the forefront, and created one of the most engaging, amorphous, and creative albums ever released with the Century Media label: the still bewitching and beautifully crafted Wildhoney.” It’s about damn time we drool all over this classic!
“I am not ashamed to admit this, but it takes something incredibly special for me to be excited about a simple signpost. A benign, innocent sign nestled in the desert roads of California that, when looked at, conjures up memories of guitars blaring through bass amps, thundering drums, heartier-than-chunky-soup bass, and weed-and-beer soaked vocals about high temperatures, brushing your teeth, and calling the desert home. A sign that resonates within the souls of those who have experienced the musical memories it brings forth. A sign that, whenever viewed, causes people to proclaim, “DUDE!!! FUCKING KYUSS!!!””
“We at AMG have a sense of history and like to think we’re in touch with metal’s ancient lore (kindly refrain from jokes about Steel Druhm’s age). With that in mind, we thought it might be fun to highlight notable albums released between twenty and thirty years ago in a new feature we call…YER METAL IS OLDE!” Kronos travels back before his time to give thanks to Cryptopsy for being awesome…and OLDE!
“We at AMG have a sense of history and like to think we’re in touch with metal’s ancient lore (kindly refrain from jokes about Steel Druhm’s age). With that in mind, we thought it might be fun to highlight notable albums released between twenty and thirty years ago in a new feature we call…YER METAL IS OLDE!” Next on the age discrimination hit list is this beast from NOLA swamplords Acid Bath.
We at AMG have a sense of history and like to think we’re in touch with metal’s ancient lore (kindly refrain from jokes about Steel Druhm’s age). With that in mind, we thought it might be fun to highlight notable albums released between twenty and thirty years ago in a new feature we call…YER METAL IS OLDE! First on the geriatric block is Samael’s evil classic Ceremony of Opposites, released way back in the halcyon days of 1994.
“Has it really been 20 years? Goddamn, I feel old. In 1994 PG (Pre-Grymm), I was a high-school sophomore with an in-between mullet/long-hair, burnt out on mainstream metal (“90s Metal Weirdness,” anyone?), and I was looking for darker, heavier, faster affairs. With some recommendations from friends as well as some trusty advice from the long-dormant-and-majorly-missed Metal Maniacs magazine, I would be introduced to a slew of new (to me) bands, including one by a bunch of teenagers from Norway who would be creating, and later changing, the blackest of all musical landscapes to come…” Grymm gets in the Wayback Machine for a wistful look at one of the defining moments in Black Metal History. He’s a wistful guy, that Grymm.
An unfortunate side-effect of not being omniscient is that I have not listened to the back catalogues of every band that I receive promos for. Sometimes this results in a large amount of unnecessary griping from fanboys on forums, and sometimes this means that I’m taken completely by surprise by an album that might not be as good as a band’s earlier work, but as it’s the first thing I’ve heard I can laud it as an amazing album. Of course, this leaves a listener in an odd place, as one has nothing to compare the music with or a style-reference. I feel like I’m wandering in pretty blind with the band Dark Fortress who has a new album called Ylem on the way (or out, depending on when you’re reading this), as the band has been around in the German scene since 1994, that’s 16 years of releases that I’ve never heard.
