Integrity

Dusk – Spectrums Review

Dusk – Spectrums Review

By Cherd on February 17, 2023 in Reviews, Deathcore, Djent, Electronica Metal, Metalcore, 40 comments

“How I came to pen this review is kind of a funny story. Upon entering our promo pit and undergoing de-lousing, this record was tagged as death doom. Whether that was an honest mistake or something more nefarious is an ongoing discussion. The advance material does tout a guest spot by Jaani Peuhu, briefly a member of death doom luminaries Swallow the Sun (more on that later), but Steel has also openly admitted he sometimes lays promo traps for unsuspecting writers to unwittingly claim metalcore. Spectrums, the debut full-length by Saudi one-man band Dusk, has nary a hint of death doom. I’ll give you one guess what it is.” Traps in the glooming.

All Out War – Celestial Rot Review

All Out War – Celestial Rot Review

By Dear Hollow on February 10, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, 17 comments

“One thing I discover in the promo sump every now and then is the longevity of random bands I’ve never heard of. While many one-man black metal projects working out of their respective mom’s basements rear corpse-painted faces, I certainly did not expect a metalcore band to fall into this category. It is a bit of a coincidence to me that Newburgh, New York veterans All Out War comes on the heels of my last 2022 TYMHM, Geneva’s Nostromo, because all the hallmarks are there.” Eternal war (core).

Spill Your Guts – The Wrath It Takes Review

Spill Your Guts – The Wrath It Takes Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on April 28, 2022 in Reviews, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, 29 comments

“Moving sucks. Fleeing sucks more. That’s the story of Spill Your Guts though, who have, since their inception, churned through 11 members—all expats moving through China for opportunity. However, in their search for a better life they’ve also made the mistake of wanting to be part of the Shanghai hardcore scene, which exists under heavy government scrutiny—artists like Spill Your Guts must truly remain underground to continue. As a young band trying to break through, it can already be daunting hoping that your next gig has an audience—add to that the anxiety of wondering whether your venue will be crashed by local authorities, and it’s a wonder these hardcore hooligans could spit out even one full-length let alone this sophomore outing, The Wrath It Takes.” Crouching hardcore, hidden draGONE.

Ysgaroth – Storm Over a Black Sea Review

Ysgaroth – Storm Over a Black Sea Review

By Dear Hollow on November 11, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Hardcore, Sludge Metal, Technical Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 35 comments

“Ysgaroth is a “progressive extreme metal” band from Vancouver, their self-released Storm Over a Black Sea being their debut. While I’ve never entirely understood the phrase “extreme metal,” these Canucks throw everything and the kitchen sink into their poutine platter: black metal shrieks and tremolo, thrashy riffs, hardcore drumming, technical noodling, and avant-garde post-metal/sludge strangeness for a multi-car pileup with multiple fatalities.” Frequent wind.

The Third Kind – Man vs Earth Review

The Third Kind – Man vs Earth Review

By Mark Z. on June 24, 2020 in Reviews, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, 2 comments

“As a reviewer, it always feels good when you correctly identify a band’s influences. Hmm, I thought to myself upon first listening to The Third Kind’s Man vs Earth debut, this kind of sounds like All Out War. It turns out there’s a good reason for that. Formed in 2015, Kind count All Out War guitarist Taras Apuzzo amongst their ranks, along with other members from a slew of New York hardcore bands.” Earth had it coming.

Enforced – At the Walls Review

Enforced – At the Walls Review

By Holdeneye on July 17, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, War Records, Thrash Metal, 36 comments

“In 2017, a little Texas band named Power Trip released their sophomore album Nightmare Logic and subsequently blew the metal world’s collective mind. Their brand of crossover thrash made them darlings of the underground and mainstream metal media alike, and that record was a part of several year end lists here at AMG. Todays offering At the Walls finds relative newcomers Virginia’s Enforced laying siege to the throne with their debut set of crossover tunes, but do they even riff?” Riff the walls down.

Lifesick – Swept in Black Review

Lifesick – Swept in Black Review

By Mark Z. on January 6, 2019 in 2018, Danish Metal, Hardcore, Isolation Records, Reviews, Hardcore, 29 comments

“Sometimes, I hear a band and wonder if anybody actually listens to them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure plenty of people blast The Acacia Strain while working on their trucks or whatever, but are those people actually listening to the riffs and paying attention to the songwriting, or do they just want something br00tal blasting in the background? I suspect the answer is the latter, and such is my distaste for bands who build their songs solely from breakdowns. By its very nature, a breakdown is supposed to ‘break down’ the song.” Sack beatings and breakdowns.