Angry Metal Guy

Nothnegal // Decandence
Rating: 2.0/5.0 – Not good atoll!
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: nothnegal.net | myspace.com/nothnegal
Release Dates: EU: Out now! | US: 02.28.2012

Sweden this, U.S.A. that. Its always the same countries churning out the metal that lands on the cluttered desk of Steel Druhm. Sure, every now and then a Middle Eastern or Asian act tosses a spiked glove in the ring, but it’s predomiantly Europe and the Americas tasked with carrying the metal standard these days. That’s why its such a treat when we get a promo from someplace new and exotic. Nothnegal clearly qualifies, since they hail from the tiny Maldive Islands, way out in the Indian Ocean (their location is actually listed as an atoll, which counts as mega-exotic). Decadence is their first full length and its all about modern melodic death with loads of keys, bells and whistles. They take the basic melo-death concept and mix in semi-industrial Fear Factory-like riffing, loads of electronic effects, keys and even synthesized guitars. The big mystery is how this remote isle act wrangled drum services from Kevin Talley (Six Feet Under, ex-Hate Eternal, ex-The Black Dahlia Murder) and keys by Marco Sneck (Poisonblack, ex-Kalmah, ex-Charon). Sounds interesting so far, right? Well, it may be interesting, but sadly, it ain’t too good. Despite the endless array of interesting keyboard noodling and effects, things never really work out and Decadence quickly sinks below the waves of mediocrity. This is a real shame, since there are some interesting ideas on hand and some talented folks involved. But, as the saying goes, no band is an island (sorry, island jokes are rough going). Continue reading

Vise Massacre // Expendable Humans
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Expendable youth
Label: Gorilla the Horse Records
Websites: visemassacre.com | myspace.com/visemassacre
Release Dates: Out now!

Here’s something slightly different for us here at Angry Metal Guy Worldwide Industries. Vise Massacre is a Brooklyn-based hardcore/punk-thrash power trio and Expendable Humans is their debut full-length (a very short one at thirty-one minutes). Although it’s fairly thrashy and abrasive, there’s no mistaking that this is pure hardcore with similarities to vets of the past like Cryptic Slaughter, Cro-Mags and Sick of It All. It’s all short bursts of fast, chunky punk rage, with most songs (fourteen of em) clocking in at, or under, two minutes. There are some decent riffs scattered about and some really aggressive, herky-jerky, pissed-off material, but sadly, not much here really interests or grabs me in the slightest. Now, let’s be clear. I’m not anti-hardcore at all. In fact, I really like the bands mentioned above. This just feels entirely generic and flat to me, almost like paint-by-numbers angry punk. This somewhat surprised me, since these guys have a fair amount of underground buzz swirling around them. Continue reading

Devil // Time to Repent
Rating: 2.0/5.0 —A mere shadow of Ghost
Label: Soulseller Records
Websites: home.online.no/~joa-tr/
Release Dates:  EU: 09.09.2011  US: 09.10.2011

Ghost may have unintentionally triggered a little retro within retro trend with their well received Opus Eponymous debut. The similar acts are already starting to pop up like evil mushrooms and Norway’s Devil is one of the first. Their debut Time to Repent harkens back to all things 70′s and its melodic doom rock all day long. They wield a sound that falls somewhere between Black Sabbath‘s Vol. 4 and the NWOBHM vibe of Witchfinder General with a few traces of old Pentagram mixed in. I’m sure that sounds like a heady brew to many loyal readers (not AMG though, he hates blues-based doom like I hate light beer). Time to Repent offers up eight tales of sorcery, evil women, open graves and all such good family fun. It’s stripped down, simplistic, melodic and not the kind of doom that crushes you or brings on bouts of crippling despair. Instead, its very rock-based and groovy. While some of the material is worthwhile and shows real potential, more of it is pure amateur hour, cringe-worthy garage rock and unlikely to make anyone forget about Ghost anytime soon. Continue reading

Pestilence // Doctrine
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Like Jazzercise with more screaming
Label: Mascot Records
Websites: pestilence.nl | myspace.com/pestilenceofficial
Release Dates: Out now worldwide!

They say you can’t go home again. If the recent track record of Dutch deathsters Pestilence proves anything, it’s that you may get home again, but you can’t stay there long.  Pestilence had a few significant contributions to the death genre in the late 80′s and early 90′s, most notably  the excellent Consuming Impulse from ’89 (a nasty, vicious slab of ugliness and a top ten all time death album IMHO) and the very solid Testimony of the Ancient release in ’91. Then they radically shifted styles by incorporating copious progressive jazz fusion elements into the Spheres opus and alienated many fans in the process. That essentially closed the book on Pestilence until their 2009 reunion album Resurrection Macabre, which did indeed go home to their early death metal roots and kicked a fair amount of arse too. Now, we get their second post-reformation platter and much to my chagrin, back comes the progressive jazz-fusion elements to muddy the waters (though not to the extent they did on Spheres). This leaves Doctrine a squirming, writhing mutant offspring, half Consuming Impulse, half Spheres and it feels like an album tearing itself apart with inconsistent, incompatible ideas. Needless to say, I’m not very jazzed about this. Continue reading

Dibbukim // Az a Foygl un a Goylem Tantsn
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Next year, the Holy Land! (To find a new vocalist…)
Label: Grandmaster Music
Websites: dibbukim.com | facebook.com/dibbukim | Full Stream
Release Dates: EU: 2011.04.25 | US: 06.07.2011 [Digitally: 04.25.2011]

Dibbukim is the band that I have been waiting for. Ever since I first hear the Orphaned Land song “Norra El Norra,” I’ve been thinking to myself “Where the hell is the first Klezmer-metal band?” There are two reasons for this: the first is that I love Klezmer. It is a fantastic style of music, entertaining and beautiful, as well as being ripe for blending into heavy metal. The second reason that I’ve always wanted to call a band “Hebrewcore.” And now I can. That’s right, Dibbukim is the world’s first “Hebrewcore” band. Mind you, there’s no -core at all, and they sing in Yiddish, not Hebrew but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s SO much more fun to say “Hebrewcore” than “Klezmer Metal” or “Klezmer Influenced Folk Metal.” Give into the joy of it. Though, it’s not really accurate at all… So. I guess…. Klezmercore! That alliterates! OK, Dibbukim is the world’s first “Klezmercore” band. Continue reading

Syn Ze Şase Tri // Între Două Lumi
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — So loud that I couldn’t actually listen to the music
Label: Code 666
Websites: myspace.com/synzesasetri
Release Dates: EU: 2011.04.01 | US: 06.07.2011

The audiophile in the age of digital mastering has some serious things to contend with. I mean, the amount of equipment out there and the ease of acquisition means that more and more people can do things themselves, but the quality isn’t always the best and CDs have gotten so loud that it’s often impossible to even listen to old records next to new records. For the uninitiated, this is called “The Loudness Wars,” or well, the movement to fight against this obsessive loudness is called this. There are some excellently instructive videos on YouTube showing it with Iron Maiden, if you’re interested. That note aside, when I received this Syn Ze Şase Tri record, I was looking forward to it. Transylvanian black metal really strikes me as pretty much the most evil possible thing ever and I figured that these guys couldn’t be bad! Right? RIGHT!? Continue reading

Artillery // My Blood
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Something’s Rotten in Denmark
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Websites: www.artillery.dk | myspace.com/artillerythrashmetal
Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.25 | US: 04.15.2011

OK, before I get down to brass tacks regarding the new Artillery release, I need to get some stuff out there for public consumption. Yep, it’s an Angry Metal Lecture and you will sit there and listen Goddamnit! For those unaware, Denmark’s Artillery were one of the early entries into the ’80s thrash scene. Their 1985 album Fear of Tomorrow would rank in my top five thrash albums of all time. There 1987 follow up Terror Squad would reside in the top ten. Both albums featured outstanding songwriting, musicianship and most importantly, that certain something extra that makes music truly memorable and special. Though I love both classic Artillery albums, Fear of Tomorrow holds a truly special place in my metal heart. Every song is a thrash masterpiece and if you haven’t heard ”The Almighty,” “Out of the Sky,” “The Eternal War” and the epic “Deeds of Darkness” then you’re doing yourself a metal disservice. These were some special platters of metal so go get them and respect the past. Alright, lecture over. Sadly, so is the praise for Artillery. After reforming in 1999 with three/fifths of the original line-up, results have been uneven. While their 1999 release B.A.C.K. was shite, the 2009 release When Death Comes was much better. Now we get My Blood and this once proud crew of Danes has delivered some shockingly sub par material again. Continue reading

Mercenary // Metamorphosis
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Core is hell
Label: Prosthetic Records
Websites: mercenary.dk | myspace.com/mercenarydenmark
Release Dates: EU: 25.02.2011 | US: 03.29.2011

Well, we can’t be expected to love everything that comes out this year, although it seems at times like we have been. Although I really enjoyed the earlier releases by Denmark’s Mercenary (especially 11 Dreams and  The Hours That Remain) and was looking forward to this release, the massive upheaval that led half the band to flee after 2009′s Architect of Lies has clearly taken its toll. After losing their drummer, keyboardist and singer, they were forced to retool and regroup and I’m sad to report that the 2011 incarnation of Mercenary is only a shadow of what it once was. While their sound always had elements of the dreaded metalcore style, it was merged with many other influences and thereby rendered tolerable. On Metamorphosis, they’ve emerged from their cocoon as a full blown metalcore-melo-death butterfly, just like the eight million others out there (I know the cover shows a phoenix but this is way closer to butterfly, trust me). Gone is the intriguing blend of death, power, thrash and progressive metal that graced their earlier material. Gone is that special something that made their songs so impactful and addictive. Now it’s generic metalcore with poppy, radio friendly choruses all day, all night. While fleeting moments of the old sound can be heard here and there, overall this is a very different entity and to these ears, a much lesser one. In fact, this is inferior to their previous work in every possible way. Continue reading

Cavalera Conspiracy // Blunt Force Trauma
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Not the Sepultura record you’ve been waiting for…
Label: Roadrunner
Websites: myspace.com/cavaleraconspiracy
Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.28 | US: 03.29.2011

It is unfortunate, but reasonable, that I should start this off by saying the obvious: this is not the Sepultura record you’ve been waiting for. While the Cavalera brothers have been reunited in the band named after them, this is not Beneath the Remains II or hell, even Roots II, this is something different and if you hadn’t figured out that this was going to be the case by now, then you are a naïve and probably very easily disappointed person. While I respect your optimism, I think that optimism becomes stupidity if you hold out too long. And I think we’ve all held out too fucking long. Continue reading

Subrosa // No Help for the Mighty Ones
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — No Help for My Attention Span
Label: Profound Lore
Websites: subrosaonline.com | myspace.com/subrosatheatre
Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.04 | US: 03.01.2011

I consider myself a pretty open-minded guy. Sure, I’m angry and a tad dogmatic at times, but I’m certainly not unwilling to engage in new ideas or to follow along with people when they do innovative things. But one trend, or musical movement if I’m going to be polite about it, in the metal underground that I just have never been able to get on board with is sludge or funeral doom. As I’ve said before, I just get bored. My attention span isn’t up for this stuff. There is a mind-numbing simplicity that I think you can only appreciate if you’re really stoned and I, frankly, don’t touch the stuff. Continue reading