“Moon Unit traffic in a tongue-in-cheek brand of progressive metal that’s heavily influenced by groups like Faith No More, with a dose of Spock’s Beard and an undercurrent of Saturday Morning Apocalypse’s wackiness. On paper, at least to this humble reviewer, that sounds like quite the conglomeration; one with the potential to produce a fun, over-the-top but ultimately rewarding prog metal album.” Lifestyle choices.
“Dancing Maze follows Don’t Pick Your Noise, and promises more of the same Primus-meets-The Mars Volta that I both expect and hope for. In fact, I’m praying these guys don’t evolve.” Meet the Moosen.
“Beneath each review posted on this hallowed website, a little comment swamp forms. They vary in size and depravity but in nearly everyone, a debate of some kind ensues. The other day, in just such a swamp, I expressed the — perhaps controversial — view that I like it when black metal bands infuse their music with different influences, sometimes straying into different genres. There I gave examples of post-metal and prog. Well, step forward and take a bow Bednja, who bill themselves as black metal hardcore.” Tales from the hard (dark)side.
“Why do people listen to folk metal? For that matter, why do I listen to folk metal? There are many plausible answers to this strangest of questions, beginning with “power metal and Vikings are a great combination,” and spanning all the way to “flutes are cool, man.” Truthfully, I think “folk metal” is too broad a term. When I first stumbled across Okya!, the fourth full-length from Croatian folk metal band Manntra, I was intrigued by the “folk metal” tag the band carried, but also brought with me the usual trepidation of not really knowing what to expect. Ensiferum folk metal and Eluveitie folk metal are, after all, very different metals, but both fall under the same basic tag.” A jig in a folk.
“I enjoy Hellripper to a fairly significant extent. Last year’s full-length release tore up its thrash competition and took home fifth place in my top ten records of 2017, leading to my deeper exploration of his repertoire of splits and EPs. It’s fair to say that the little Scottish bundle of energy is one of my favorite discoveries from the past few years of metal. Where before I would have avoided promos tagged with speed metal, I now take note with the intention of unveiling the next underground speed gem.” Speed is a lifestyle choice.
“When our resident Mistress of Evil, Madam X, assigns you a review, two things occur. First, you’re going to say yes, because if you don’t, Bad Things Happen. And second, it’s going to be some weird music that, through the impenetrable crevices of her warped mind, only she knows how she decided you were the perfect person to review it. And so here I am, taking it upon myself to review something from a Croatian progressive metal band called Them Moose Rush, who decided that Don’t Pick Your Noise was the best name for their album.” Sounds like prog, but it’s snot.
“I don’t often get a chance to write about Croatian metal bands or, to be exact, I don’t often feel like writing about Croatian metal bands. There’s barely anything to call a “metal scene” in my homeland, with most acts birthed alone and lonely into a generic and photocopied existence, only to disappear in a flash of insignificance. Suffice to say that during the last 25 odd years since the country’s declaration of independence, there were only a few bands worth mentioning in the same breath with their international stylistic brethren (Ashes You Leave, Umor, Death of Folk, Infernal Tenebra). Imagine my elation, then, when something as good as Pogavranjen’s third LP, Jedva čekam da nikad ne umrem,[1. Looking Forward to Never Dying] came along. Curiously composed and competently played avant-garde black metal that is not merely the fruit of derivative rehashing? Yes, please!” We’ll take a double of that, with fries.
“Another year, another beginning of a string of releases in metal’s most resilient sub-genre; that’s right folks, it’s Swe-death time! Croatian upstarts Hereza are releasing their debut album Misanthrope, and they’re gunning to Dismember us with their Demonical HM-2-driven Carnage…” We haven’t reviewed any Swedish death in like a week! Phew, here’s some now.
