Deafheaven

Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed Review

By Dear Hollow on September 20, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Doom Metal, Shoegaze, 22 comments

“Death Spells was something special. Introducing us to the beautiful and devastating world of Holy Fawn, it showcased stunning restraint for an act with everything to prove. While undeniably built upon the foundation of My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive with saturated shoegaze drenching every movement, don’t be surprised if you’re surprised with swaths of electronica, climactic metal crunch, and a knack for heart-wrenching melody. Holy Fawn is undeniably metal, and like good metal, labyrinthine.” What is metal?

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Asu no Jokei – Island

By Dolphin Whisperer on August 18, 2022 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Hardcore, 36 comments

“Back in the primordial days of this here blog, we attempted something called “AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö.” The basic idea was to select a bunch of unsigned bands and give them the collective review treatment to find the most worthy buried gems. It was our humble effort to remind folks that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal.” Unsigned in the East.

Bekor Qilish – Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism Review

By Dear Hollow on June 17, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, 18 comments

“Consisting of Italian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bruzzone and company, Bekor Qilish offers its debut Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism. While it toes the line between full-length and EP at twenty-eight minutes, it manages to embody really fun “Voidhanger-core” to a tee.” Avant-guardians.

Pillaging Villagers – Pillaging Villagers Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 11, 2022 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Thrash Metal, 76 comments

“The metal scene has, for the last decade or so, been relatively stagnant in its progression. Though the genre thrives, large scale innovation has stalled. Deafheaven’s Sunbather and the rise of djent and argent metal have made a sizable impact, but otherwise the genre looks much the same now as it did a decade ago. But evolution doesn’t need to result in revolution; it can be a small scale experiment that thrives on novelty, executed with a bold, focused vision. Something like, I dunno, the death-y and melodic thrash metal of Necropanther mashed up with the drunken joy of Dropkick Murphys. And that’s exactly what Pillaging Villagers is.” It takes a pillage…

Wolfbastard – Hammer the Bastards Review

By Dear Hollow on January 13, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Crust Punk, Punk, 27 comments

“Are you a bastard? Have you ever wandered outside your house and, I don’t know, be grabbing a Monster Pipeline Punch and a corn dog or some shit and all the sudden it dawns on you: “I’m a bastard”? We get abused regularly over here at AMG HQ, with phrases such as “overrating bastards,” “everyone shut up,” and “no, Doom_et_Al, Deafheaven still sucks” being hurled this way and that like swarms of angry bees armed with mini-javelins: doesn’t kill or seriously injure, just hurts a little more each day. As such, Wolfbastard is the soundtrack of our workplace, because us overrating bastards are getting hammered regularly – both in the good and in the bad.” Hammer time.

Doom_et_Al’s and Dear Hollow’s Top Ten(ish) of 2021

By Doom_et_Al on December 27, 2021 in Blog Posts, 126 comments

Lists are a gift and Doom_et_Al and Dear Hollow have presents to distribute. Prepare for tidings of anger and joy.

Violet Cold – Empire of Love [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By Doom_et_Al on December 22, 2021 in Things You Might Have Missed 2021, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 44 comments

“In a genre of music that is often deliberately controversial, the cover of Empire of Love by Violet Cold may be one of the most provocative of the year. But unlike other artists where this seems, at times, needless (ahem, Bloody Cumshot, ahem), Empire of Love’s provocation serves a serious and noble purpose. Mastermind Emin Guliyev’s native Azerbaijan has the worst human rights record for LGBTQI people in all of Europe. There is no protection for this community, and atrocities and hate-crimes against them are a depressingly regular occurrence. So to superimpose the Azerbaijan flag onto the pride flag is both a middle finger to his nation’s bigotry and hate, and a challenge to black metal fans who believe the subgenre must conform to their narrow interpretation of it.” Pride and justice.

She Said Destroy – Succession Review

By Emya on October 25, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 24 comments

“Sifting through the depths of the Angry Metal Guy promo trough recently, I realized I was still riding the high of listening to and processing the new Seven Spires album. I came to the conclusion that I needed a change of musical scenery for my next review. When I came across She Said Destroy’s promo describing genre-bending melodic death metal, I determined the Norwegian band’s latest release might be the album I need to cleanse my musical palate.” Morbid arrangers.

Deafheaven – Infinite Granite Review

By Doom_et_Al on August 23, 2021 in Reviews, 133 comments

“Every Deafheaven album prior to this has been a reaction to the last. If the cold, heavy New Bermuda was an attempt to establish the band’s bona fides to a skeptical metal world after Sunbather, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love was the group embracing the warm blackgaze sound they pioneered and drifting away from the black metal scene about which they have always been so ambivalent. In that respect, Infinite Granite breaks the mold: it is a continuation of the aesthetic of OCHL, not a reaction to it.” Bad reactor.

Nothing Noble – Modern Dismay Review

By Dear Hollow on August 5, 2021 in Reviews, Djent, Metalcore, 8 comments

“I’m not sure how everyone got their start with metal, but there had to be a bit of a transition to the more extreme stuff, unless you eat nails for breakfast while listening to Cryptopsy’s None So Vile. Unlike you sausage or oatmeal or vegemite shippers who are descended from the yesteryears of heavy, thrash, or doom, I enjoy my eggs with my bacon: my origins of Christian metalcore a la Demon Hunter, Haste the Day, and Oh Sleeper stick with me. While metalcore has not been the kindest to me thus far in 2021, I’m always rooting for any that may wander across my lap like a feral kitten. Is Nothing Noble available for adoption?” Dismay Day.