“It’s been said that “when the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.” I first came upon Loss and their brand of unrelenting funeral death-doom back in 2011 when Steel matched wits against the almighty Despond. Prior to this, I’d never been exposed to anything that sounded so grudgingly drawn out or so full of crushing personal failure. It mesmerized me! Not the funeral doom genre itself, but rather the arresting approach specifically promulgated by Loss. It’s been six years since Despond, and lo and behold, Loss are gifting us with a new experience aptly titled Horizonless.” Feel the pain of Loss.
Eudaimony
Sarke – Bogefod Review
“I won’t lie, when I heard there was a new Sarke poised to drop on the unsuspecting masses, I scrambled to get my hands on it before Steel Druhm could review the unholy hell out of it.” And I would have too if it weren’t for you meddling kids!
Madam X’s Top 10(ish) of 2015
“This year saw many a change… Old friends were lost and new friends were found, likewise there were job and career changes, but through it all AMG and its growing feeling of community shone bright and strong.”
Dodsferd – Wastes of Life Review
“Wastes of Life hit me at my most unprepared. Billed as “unapologetically defiant and shockingly melodic” including a statement from Wrath to the effect of “My new album is one of my most soul-destroying albums. It was written under feelings of frustration and disgust.” my expectations were high.” You know, there just aren’t enough soul-destroying albums out there these days.
Vreid – Sólverv Review
“Those who remember my review of Vreid’s rambling Welcome Farewell will remember that they arose from the tragic end of Windir. Vreid’s sound bears some similarities to Windir’s warring black metal roots, but it also goes beyond that. They’ve honed a black ‘n roll sound that’s loaded with repetitively catchy riffs and melodies that bludgeon in their familiarity and overuse.” Who’s up for some overused bludgeoning?
Vesania – Deus Ex Machina Review
“American Horror Story: Freak Show puts faces to the monsters that walk among us, case in point Twisty the Clown! Lords of chaos and insanity, Orion (Behemoth), Daray (Dimmu Borgir, ex-Vader) and Heinrich (ex-Decapitated) of Vesania, give these monsters a soundtrack.” I hate clowns. All of them.
Goatwhore – Constricting Rage Of The Merciless Review
“Dripping savagery and gnashing bared teeth, that can only mean one thing… Goatwhore’s back! For those not familiar with the piss and vinegar thrashing of Blood for the Master or going back a little further the Satanic ritual of The Eclipse of Ages Into Black, Goatwhore are a stewey blackened death “project” with an all American, New Orleans twist that borrows not only members, but also the subtle influence of metal veterans Crowbar, Acid Bath, Soilent Green and Nachtmystium.” Blackened swamp thrash hath returned.
Record(s) o’ the Month – November 2013
“Since you’ve already been gifted with end of 2013 lists from the AMG staff and know exactly where we stand on the year in music, hopefully you’ll all be too pacified and complacent to notice how late this post is. Though the back end of 2013 was awash with quality releases, November saw that flow reduced to a trickle as the record industry began to wind things down for the year. That said, there were some bright spots that deserved attention and recognition, and in the interest of being complete and meeting the expectations of our ever demanding readers, we present the Records o’ the Month for November.”
Eudaimony – Futile Review
“Ever wondered what hell the unholy union of Germany’s Dark Fortress and Secrets of the Moon would spawn? Alright, now let’s make things a little more interesting and maybe just a little more sordid. Let’s bring in Sweden’s Naglfar and turn this into a lascivious little three-some. Taking it a step further, ever wondered what their bastard child would sound like? Well here you have it! Eudaimony is the spawn of just such an unholy, messy union, with former Dark Fortress front man Matthias Jell (Azathoth) on vocals, Naglfar’s Marcus E. Norman on guitars, bass and synthesizer and Secrets of the Moon’s Jörg Heemann (Thrawn Thelemnar) on drums.” Grim, unhappy blackness from a veritable super group of black metal luminaries? That’s got Madam X written all over it…in BLOOD!