“As summer draws near, something has been lacking. Not the patio beers, or the large gatherings, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on until the kind lads from Zedi Forder sent me their latest work, Isolation, a few weeks ago. Then I remembered what an awesome summer band these guys are.” Wherein our hero writes a blog post about his summer drinking habits. Oh, and reviews a couple weirdo metal records from the band Zedi Forder.
![Nachtterror – Judgement [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Nachtterror-Judgement-01-768x768.jpg)
“Earlier this year, I channeled all the might that my status as an exalted AMG writer imbues me with and demanded the promo Maeskyyrn’s Interlude from Hypnotic Dirge (read: I sent a politely-worded email). They obliged and sent not only Maeskyyrn but also Nachtterror. Reviewing schedules being what they are, we couldn’t get to symphonic black metal six-piece Nachtterror’s record in time for its release. And that is a damn shame because Judgement is a seriously good and incredibly varied slab of metal.” Metal cup runeth over.
“Of thousands of metal bands, there are few that have changed as drastically as Anathema. First blazing trails as a death-doom band and party to the so-called ‘Peaceville Three,’ they underwent a softening into what can be described as doom or goth rock. Their deathy innards stripped away, this mid-era is what some regard as their strongest output given they retained their darkness and evocative atmosphere but with subtler music. Since the turn of the millennium they’ve mellowed yet further into an unusual but compelling amalgamation of alternative rock, airy prog and dreamy pop. I’m here today to discuss my favorite Anathema album, one from the mid-period: Eternity.” The evolution of sadness.
“The transformation of Anathema has always been enigmatic to many metalheads. The obligatory rewind to their early 90’s pioneering death/doom records almost seems redundant now that this is their tenth album without a hint of metal in it. Any hope of them making a return to their roots is about as worthwhile as waiting for the new Kovenant album (why anyone wants it I cannot fathom). But the key difference here is that their abandonment of metal did them nothing but good…” Is the scarcity of precious metal still working out for these sullen fellows?
Where the hell does one even start with Anathema. The band has been in a state of flux for quite a while. The last thing they put out was Hindsight which, quite obviously, was not technically considered a standard release (despite it being my top record of 2008, a very dry year for metal in this Angry Metal Guy’s opinion). That means it’s been five years since A Natural Disaster an album that I found to be remarkably underwhelming, as it followed up one of the finest albums of the entire 2000s: A Fine Day to Exit. But it has, indeed, been 9 years since Anathema released a new album that I was super excited about. Everyone keeps asking “was 7 years worth it?” Well, for me it’s more like “was 9 years worth it?”
