2008

Into the Obscure: Captain Cleanoff – Symphonies of Slackness

By Saunders on July 27, 2019 in 2019, Australian Metal, Blog Posts, Grind, Into the Obscure, Obscene Productions, 7 comments

“Grindcore is very much a niche genre in the realms of extreme metal. I was exposed to the classics to develop my appreciation and fondness for grind, and despite being jaded at times in the modern era, there’s certainly been no shortage of killer bands and great albums in the post-Nasum landscape. But there’s a particular album that tends not to gain the traction or appreciation it sorely deserves. Australia’s Captain Cleanoff boast a long history in the grind scene, yet there recorded works are relatively scant.” Fine grind.

Indefensible Positions: El Cuervo Defends Chinese Democracy

By El Cuervo on June 7, 2015 in Indefensible Positions, Hard Rock, 30 comments

“Every once in a while the metal scene collectively pisses on a band or record and someone needs to step up and defend why they like it. We normally don’t spend a lot of time defending shitty records, but sometimes genuinely interesting or good records get lampooned by an overly conservative heavy metal scene and that calls for a professional contrarian to defend it! If ever there were professional contrarians, it would be the staff of AMG.” Cold Lake would be easier to defend!

Corpse Molester Cult – Corpse Molester Cult Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 16, 2011 in 2011, 4.0, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 0 comments

It’s important to remember that despite being known for their folk metal, doom metal, melodic death metal and well, just for being the official metal mecca of the modern world, Finland also has been home to some pretty sick and impressive old school death metal acts like Hooded Menace and Claws, and going back to the early 90s bands like Demilich and Amorphis were pushing into new territory; and I think it’s safe to say that we should maybe think about adding Corpse Molester Cult to that list. Apparently, in 2005 Tomi Joutsen (you know the new vocalist from Amorphis) started Corpse Molester Cult with a couple buddies and filled out the band in 2006. In 2008 they released this 4 track EP which is now seeing an official release (though it appears to be available for download still here). And really, can you go wrong with any disc that starts with a Night of the Living Dead quote? I think not.

Angry Metal Guy’s Top 15(ish) of the 2000s

By Angry Metal Guy on December 22, 2010 in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Blog Posts, 55 comments

It’s hard to make this kind of broad list, I just want to say that from the get-go. How do you do this? Do you choose your favorites, or do you choose the genre defining records? Because saying, for example, that some of the following records are really genre defining wouldn’t be true. On the […]

Iron Thrones – Record o’ the Month Out Yesterday!

By Angry Metal Guy on July 28, 2010 in 2010, American Metal, Blog Posts, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Death, Unsigned Bands, 3 comments

So, Iron Thrones’ new EP The Wretched Sun which I made the Record o’ the Month and raved about in my review came out yesterday (the 27th of July, 2010). You can order the record from the band via their website (actually, through their store, but go to their site, too) and over at their […]

Grand Magus – Hammer of the North Review

By Steel Druhm on June 22, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Doom Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Roadrunner, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 7 comments

It seems a sad fact that when one anticipates something and really looks forward to it, the chance of being disappointed increases exponentially. After Grand Magus unleashed their wildly impressive Iron Will album in 2008 (which was one of my favorite albums that year), I was extremely stoked for a follow up by this cadre of Swedish metal mongers but wondered if they could match or top the quality of that massive platter. Now that I have the anxiously awaited follow up in the form of their fifth album, Hammer of the North, my fears of being let down seem silly, because once again Grand Magus shows that they know how to craft top quality traditional heavy metal songs with a slight doom tinged edge.

Cynic – Re-Traced Review

By Angry Metal Guy on May 4, 2010 in 2010, 4.5, American Metal, Avante Garde, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Progressive Metal, 4 comments

I make no bones about it, I have a total love affair with Cynic. Long have I been a sucker for good progressive metal and Cynic is about as good as progressive metal gets. While I was a bit young to really have appreciated Focus when it came out, I re-discovered it later and fell in love with it. When Traced in Air came out in 2008 I pretty much fell over myself with joy. That record has maintained a constant place on my playlists since it was released and ranks among my top 10 albums of the last decade. So when I heard that they were going to re-do some of the tracks in different styles as an EP I was justifiably excited, but skeptical at the same time. I grew up in the age of the Nine Inch Nails re-mix album: I know what happens when jackasses mess around with an already winning formula. Nothing good.

Ihsahn – After Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 12, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Black Metal, Candlelight, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, 8 comments

Easily one of the most anticipated records of 2010 for me has been Ihsahn’s new offering. While I was a passing Emperor fan, really just a fan of In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk-era, I was taken by Ihsahn’s solo stuff. The Adversary felt fresh, progressive enough, a step away from the later Emperor material of which I wasn’t a fan, and it captured the sonic styles and textures that he was never quite allowed to explore while in Emperor. The record didn’t stick with me as I had hoped, while I listened to it occasionally it didn’t hold a steadfast position in my discography. On the other hand, angL blew me away. Probably the finest record of 2008, angL has maintained a steady place in the rotation and is a record that I’ve showed to dozens of people. Perfectly produced, perfectly composed and smartly written, angL contained everything that I wanted out of a new progressive metal record. So, of course, when I heard that Ihsahn would be releasing a new record in 2010, I became justifiably excited.

Is revelling in the awesome..

By Angry Metal Guy on June 30, 2009 in 2008, Blog Posts, Folk Metal, 2 comments

In case you had forgotten–here’s how awesome Turisas is: That is all.

Iron Thrones – Visions of Light

By Angry Metal Guy on May 27, 2009 in 2008, American Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Death, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 1 comment

It’s maybe just me that falls for this kind of stuff, but sometimes bands just jump out of nowhere and bite you in the ass and present to you their own version of exactly what it is you appreciate in the music that surrounds you. In this case, what it is in the underground scene that still appeals to you even though you’re getting old, bitter and disconnected from a lot of the modern bands that people are pissing themselves over. Iron Thrones are just that band, that band that makes you jealous as a musician, that makes you excited about the future of metal and makes you totally, ridiculously confused as to why on earth they’re unsigned!