“When John Haughm dissolved Agalloch earlier this year it left a giant gaping hole.. Their natural, organic take on black metal was a vibrant breath of fresh air in the often stagnant realm of black metal. In the wake of the band’s demise, bands from across the world are tossing their home-grown influences in hopes of achieving the same level of influence.” Umm… Hryre… you have a lot to live up to.” Nature is back and it wants to touch you.
“When it comes to selecting albums to review, I rely on a tried-and-mostly-tr00 method of meticulous selection that’s been proven to garner conversations around water bubblers and soda machines the world over: I sometimes randomly just pick shit from a list and think, “Okay, that’s cool. Let’s give that a shot.” Behold, today’s selection is Iceland’s Dynfari.” In the game of chance, you win some and you lose some. Are the odds in Grymm’s favor this time around?
“New York City is the new home of French black metal. No, I’m not entirely fucking with you. Hear me out… back in 2013, Madam X reviewed Goliath, Imperial Triumphant’s two-song EP, and it impressed quite a number of us here at the offices of Angry Metal Guy. All of that is a moot point, for as promising as Goliath was, nobody was prepared for the ingenuity, the murkiness, and the sheer WTF Factor that their sophomore full-length, Abyssal Gods, would bestow onto our jaded ears.” New York City always had a significant WTF Factor.
“Here at Angry Metal Guy US headquarters, subtle signs point to 2014 drawing to a blustery close. My very metal cats watch the crackling fireplace, mesmerized as the world burns at their paws. Top 10 lists hastily scrawled on the backs of store receipts and the margins of the daily paper are pulled from coat pockets and tossed carelessly about, littering every surface. And as the holiday silly season approaches, I’m winding down, bourbon in hand, returning to the contemplative atmosphere of post-metal and avant guard favourites like Agalloch, A Forest of Stars, Anathema, Horseback and New Keepers of the Watertowers. Now a year and some change after the release of Dustwalker, British progressive black metallers – Fen recapture my attention with their fourth full-length release.” Post black metal just in time for the long winter months? Now you’re screaming Madam X’s song.
“Man, I do love me some Blut Aus Nord. Ever since their landmark 2003 album, The Work Which Transforms God, the rebellious French “trio” (are they actually a band?) set a new standard for uncomfortably cold, ridiculously unpredictable black metal, inspiring future robe-wearers of the world to put down their torches and pick up a copy of Streetcleaner on vinyl. One such band to follow in their grimy footsteps is Belgium’s Cult of Erinyes, who have returned with their second album (and fourth overall release since their inception in 2009), Blessed Extinction. Have these upstarts taken the tools given to them by Vindsval and company to usurp the throne from the French masters of the frozen arts?” Is any French throne really guarded all that well? I think not!
“Yup, I’ve been picking promo’s based on album art again, some say it’s no way to pick an album, that the two don’t correlate, I disagree. Don’t knock the system till you’ve tried it! What it boils down to is that I have no history with Ecnephias, I’ve not come across their dark melodies before and as mentioned it was graphic artist Pierre-Alain D. (3mmi Design) and his attractive album art that prompted me towards this review.” Madam X reviews some blackened death which may or may not sound like Septicflesh. You people love when we do that!
I can’t help thinking that parts of Dustwalker would make a half-way decent soundtrack to Dante’s journey through the underworld.
