“One-man bands make me both impressed and apprehensive. I’m impressed because having a musical vision is special to begin with and being able to execute it solo takes real talent. I’m apprehensive because there’s no give-and-take or real collaboration for the visionary, and most creators of any stripe lack the will to kill their darlings.” One man with a bully pulpit.
“Whatever happened to melodic death metal? No, I don’t mean power metal with harsh vocals, as the term’s modern connotation entails. I’m talking about classic, knuckle-dragging death metal riffage, paired with somber, melodic atmosphere; the sort explored by Edge of Sanity, Tales from the Thousand Lakes-era Amorphis, and others during the 90’s. It’s a specific concoction that fell out of popularity as the genre pushed ever onward down increasingly brutal and complex avenues. And yet, Rogga remembers.”Rogga! Rogga!
“Back in 2015, Ukranian act Mettadone emerged from wherever they’d been previously to unleash their debut, Invisible Disease, upon the world. The album was an intriguing offering of gothic-tinged doom/death and had good potential behind it. In 2017, while touring, the band’s singer apparently left the band right before a show. What’s a band to do? I should think that would be obvious: the drummer sang the show, discovered he enjoyed the role, and so the band subsequently went full death metal.” Should you ever go full death metal?
“Dear readers, what are your favorite ’90s progressive or technical death metal albums? Perhaps it’s Cynic’s legendary Focus, Death’s Human, Edge of Sanity’s Crimson, or is it Pestilence and their classic Consuming Impulse opus? Or maybe Atheist’s brilliant Unquestionable Presence album floats your boat. Or digging deeper, a more left-field choice: Martyr’s underrated Hopeless Hopes. New York’s Contrarian pay omage to the classic ’90s progressive and technical death scene through their retro and impressively authentic throwback style of spazzed out prog death on their third LP, Their Worm Never Dies.” Undying worms and olde death.
“Think of an album as a multi-course meal; many of them give bite-sized but satisfying nutrient-packed portions that not only leave you satisfied, but definitely give you a craving for more. However, a scant few offer just meager tastes of what’s to come, oftentimes leaving the listener malnourished and starving, begging for just another bite. Finally, some bands give you monstrous servings, packed with calories, nutrients, and sometimes things you don’t want to ingest under any circumstances whatsoever, stuffing you full as you’re screaming, “No, please stop… I can’t eat anymore… I’m gonna explode…” and then they keep feeding you well past the point of explosion.” It’s waffer thin!
![Exit…Hall Left: The Weenie Metal Round-Up [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Dr-Wvrm.gif)
“Not everyone can be BRUTAL ENOUGH!!! Some of us are hobbits; diminutive, folksy, averse to Camo™ and Camo™-derived accouterments. Maybe you just want to smell the flowers, despite your allergies. That’s ok. We’re here for you.” Hello, weenies.
“While I dislike music competitions as much as anyone, there’s something to be said for the worldwide Metal Battle program, involving 27 countries and hundreds of fledgling bands. Organized by Wacken, you can at least trust there will be no significant genre bias, unlike general music competitions. And while winners may be to your taste or not, they can always be deemed competent at the very least. Sunless Dawn won the 2016 Denmark Metal Battle, but it took them until now to release their debut, the hour-long progressive behemoth that is Timeweaver.” Greater Danes.
“The music playback software I use on my phone has a useful function where it will recommence tracks of over 10 minutes from the point at which the song was paused and the software closed. This is great if I reach the 20-minute mark on Crimson or over halfway through Close to the Edge. It’s less great if the track is only narrowly longer than 10 minutes and immediately crashes into the climax while otherwise relistening to the album as a whole. Denver’s Dreadnought is particularly affected by this problem as their third record, A Wake in Sacred Seas, comprises three tracks between 10 and 12 minutes with a 17-minute fourth.” Long in the tooth is a lifestyle choice.
“Dan Swanö. The name won’t mean much to the public at large. “Sounds Swedish,” some might say. “Is he an IKEA designer?” You facepalm, shake your head and move on. But sometimes, every now and then, you find yourself opposite another discerning metal listener. You drop the name, and a knowing smile spreads on their face. Because they know. They know that Dan is The Man.” When The Man comes around.
![Far Beyond – A Frozen Flame of Ice [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Far-Beyond-A-Frozen-Flame-of-Ice-768x768.jpg)
“Many have complained about 2016’s selection of great music, and not without reason; it can seem a bit lacking. Germany’s Far Beyond, the one-man project of Eugen Dodenhoeft, decided to roll with the simplest solution of all to 2016’s musical woes: stop releasing music that isn’t great. With this, A Frozen Flame of Ice was born. That was simple enough to fix.
