Demiurg

The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #2

The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #2

So here’s a special fucking treat if ever there was one. Ed motherfucking Warby (as he’s known to friends) is writing for this blog to give updates on his HIGHLY anticipated (by this Angry Metal Guy) follow up to Burden of Grief which is one of my favorite doom records ever. He’ll be periodically checking in with the written word as watching him in his studio would be about as exciting as watching Ihsahn was in his (i.e., not fucking entertaining at all; watching flies fuck; paint dry; corpses decay without time-lapse). Enjoy! – AMG

Vomitory – Opus Mortis VIII Review

Vomitory – Opus Mortis VIII Review

I’ve actually been having a bit of a problem this year. While this is supposed to be the big year for all the big-named metal bands that I love, I can’t help but get the feeling that no one is putting out records that are even nearly as good as they should be. OK, I really got into the new Vintersorg, but I thought Septic Flesh was a letdown, as was the new Amon Amarth. There are others that I can’t mention yet, but let me just say, I’m disappointed with pretty much all of my favorite bands this year. So when I got Vomitory’s Opus Mortis VIII and popped it in, I can’t say that I was expecting much more than that same ol’ same ol’ feeling of apathy. I was beginning to think, frankly, that this was my problem. But Vomitory helped me realize something, this is their problem, not mine.

Torture Division – Through the Eyes of a Dead Review

Torture Division – Through the Eyes of a Dead Review

For those of you not familiar with Torture Division, you obviously haven’t been reading this here blog for very long. Shame on you. For the rest of you, you’ll probably be happy to hear that Torture Division is back with another three track downloadable EP (that you should donate for downloading because diamond studded swimming pools don’t grow on trees). While the thing is called Through the Eyes of a Dead, some of us over here at Angry Metal Guy suspect that the title was “Through the Eyes of the Dead” largely because that’s what the song is called when you download it, but then there’s the deathcore band from the US and that would’ve been awkward. So, Through the Eyes of a Dead it is.

Steel Druhm’s Top 10(ish) of 2010

Steel Druhm’s Top 10(ish) of 2010

Well, it’s been a very interesting year for me, Steel Druhm since joining Angry Metal Guy Industries in April. Despite the no pay, brutal hours, an Angry Metal Boss based overseas and enough hate mail to choke a Belgian aardvark, it’s been tons of fun and I wouldn’t trade one minute of it for a million Amorphis CDs. This year, like every other year, saw it’s fair share of shining metal moments and plenty of steaming crap as well. All things considered though, it’s a great time to be a fan of metal and there’s so much out there to choose from, it can get overwhelming trying to stay current and hear all the worthwhile releases. As the year winds down and we get set for the start of 2011, I want to wish all our readers a happy holiday season and give a big metal salute to all of you (and an extra big salute to the Angry Metal Guy himself for giving me a forum for my metal rants). I hope we were able to turn folks on to some quality music and generally entertain with our opinionated and self-righteous musings, ramblings, tirades, manifestos and diatribes.

Hail of Bullets – On Divine Wings Review

Hail of Bullets – On Divine Wings Review

Ah, war. Apparently metal guys never get sick of writing about it. And since Hail of Bullets has apparently decided to become the History Channel of heavy metal bands, I guess it’s appropriate that the band write a concept record about the Second World War, specifically seeming to focus on the Japanese and the war in the Pacific; which, indeed, is the most largely ignored part of the war because it involved fewer Nazis and a lot more Japanese guys. But lots of war did happen there, casualties were indeed quite high and of course the whole shit ended with probably one of the most inhumane acts in the history of the world which is not without its controversies to this day (such as, did the US bomb Japan because of a translation error?).

Demiurg – Slakthus Gamleby Review

Demiurg – Slakthus Gamleby Review

When I was doing my interview with Ed Warby last November, I reached the end of the review and he mentioned that I hadn’t asked about Demiurg. Embarrassed, I admitted that I hadn’t heard Demiurg and was quickly informed as to its nature. To paraphrase Warby (who plays drums in this band, in case you didn’t know that) this is the “Rolls Royce” among vocalist Rogga Johansson’s bands and a real juggernaut of Swedish death metal. He hooked me up with a copy of The Hate Chamber, the band’s second record, and I was duly impressed. The band, made up of Rogga (Bone Gnawer, Paganizer, Ribspreader, The Grotesquery), Dan Swano (maybe you’ve heard of him), Johan Berglund (This Haven, The Grotesquery) and Ed Warby (The 11th Hour, Gorefest, Hail of Bullets, and more), has come back in 2010 with a new take on their already well-developed and unique sound.

The 11th Hour – Burden of Grief Review

The 11th Hour – Burden of Grief Review

When I started this review zine I had a friend who told me that I shouldn’t write in the first person on here. That as a reviewer I was to try to write objectively, like my opinion is fact and not simply a jaded metal guy on the Internet spewing his opinions about records. I think this is impossible for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that we all like certain things and dislike other things. I’ve been decried by readers for liking certain records that are apparently aren’t metal enough for them. Whereas others think I’m too hard on their favorite band. But this record proves my point that one needs to write from a place of opinion. See, I have never been the world’s biggest doom metal fan. To be totally frank, I associate a lot of doom with “funeral doom” or “drone doom,” which is a genre that I find to be incredibly boring. And honestly, I like bands that bring it with intensity and speed. I like staccato riffing and tight technicality and progressive approaches. I’ll make no bones about it, I normally associate slow and boring in my brain. That’s right, I probably have hated on your favorite doom metal band of all time at one point or another. So consider that when you’re reading this review and take it for what it is.