Lamb of God

Angry Metal Primer – Lamb of God

Angry Metal Primer – Lamb of God

“Over 40 years of metal’s biological urge (and a hefty lack of restraint) has resulted in some incomprehensibly large catalogs. No one should have to listen to anywhere from 13 to 15 [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] albums just to get caught up for a new release. So each week (as required and/or able), we’re offering a selection of prime(r)(er) cuts to get you up to speed. Lamb of La Mancha.

Sodomisery – The Great Demise Review

Sodomisery – The Great Demise Review

“Sweden’s Sodomisery began as a project that included live members from the monstrous Diabolical, as well as Katatonia’s Niklas Sandin on bass and Netherbird’s Johan Fridell on vox. At the completion of their 2017 self-titled EP, Fridell and Sandin left and a new lineup formed. Borrowing from their experiences with Diabolical, Sodomisery unleashes a crushing mix of black, death, Swedeath, thrash, and melodeath for their debut, The Great Demise. I know what you’re thinking: that’s a lot to digest. Well, at least the record title sounds uplifting?” Big death, big prizes!

Messora – The Door Review

Messora – The Door Review

“I don’t know what makes something “avant-garde.” I remember going to an avant-garde art museum in Santa Fe, NM, where there was a movie exhibit of a haircut. Literally, two men and one woman get an identical buzzed haircut in the shade of a gazebo in the mountains of China. There’s new age music plucking around back there, walls are lined with identical shots of their new haircuts, and shadow boxes of locks of hair covered the floor. It was weird and challenging and difficult to understand, but I think about it a lot. So, if that’s what’s avant-garde, Messora ain’t it.” Hammer, don’t hurt ’em.

Voice of Ruin – Acheron Review

Voice of Ruin – Acheron Review

Voice of Ruin know what they like to do and are continuing to do it. And “that” is melodic death-tinged thrash. Where Purge and Purify felt like out and out Lamb of God worship⁠—and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that⁠—Acheron sees Voice of Ruin expanding their sound a bit more.” Define “a bit.”

Thy Art Is Murder – Human Target Review

Thy Art Is Murder – Human Target Review

“Australian deathcore stalwarts Thy Art Is Murder have joined the Big Deathcore Moment Club as of 2012, with the “I am the purest strain of hate” smackdown on “The Purest Strain of Hate.” It seems they’ve joined the big leagues—and, to top it all off, they’ve even been reviewed here on Angry Metal Guy. These dudes are truly a big deal in deathcore, so the release of Human Target is surely exciting for at least some of our readership.” Die for art.

Bloodred Hourglass – Godsend Review

Bloodred Hourglass – Godsend Review

“Last year, no fewer than eight AMG staff members placed Queen of Time by Amorphis somewhere on their year end list. If you’re reading this and happen to be one of the eight people whose names are written in bolded burnt orange in support of that album on this page — especially if your name starts with Angry and ends in Guy please stop reading now and go about your business elsewhere. I’ll be honest with you, I never once made it all the way through that album in one sitting despite trying in earnest six times. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love on Queen of Time, but that’s just it — there’s a lot of it. The sugary melodies are great, but the album and most of its songs are far too long and there is not enough heaviness to balance out the pop. I was content to remain silent in my dissent until I began spinning Godsend, the fourth record from a different Finnish band, Bloodred Hourglass.” Hourglass houses and stones.

The Machinist – Confidimus in Morte Review

The Machinist – Confidimus in Morte Review

“Those who liked deathcore in its mid-2000s heyday tend to go through three phases in the following order: 1) earnestly liking deathcore, 2) loudly decrying deathcore to demonstrate one’s extreme metal fides, and 3) earnestly liking deathcore again with the added fun of nostalgia. This nostalgia doesn’t make bad music good, but rather recalls times, places, experiences, and memories where deathcore served as the soundtrack. Those times made us happy, and the soundtrack is what it is because that’s the soundtrack we chose. It follows that deathcore made us happy at one point. The vicarious thrill of great memories scored by it bolsters the appeal of the sounds which drew us in to begin with. You may not be able to go home again, but sometimes spinning the old records left in the dusty crates is wonderful.” The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Eluveitie – Ategnatos Review

Eluveitie – Ategnatos Review

“Taking in Eluveitie’s closing performance on 70K Tons with sentynel, I recognized something: Eluveitie is popular. Not like entry-level popular, not poser popular (well, maybe), but actually popular. The boat’s Mosh Pit Residentia showed up in spades for that set, but with the floor so choked with the trve and weeb alike, group activities like conga lines and dance parties sprung up instead. Everyone knew the songs—hell, I knew the songs. The nonet put on too great a show to discount, far better than other bias-confirming trainwrecks I witnessed that weekend. Maybe, just maybe, I’ve written Eluveitie and Ategnatos off too soon.” Then again…

Methedras – The Ventriloquist Review

Methedras – The Ventriloquist Review

“In my younger years, extreme metal baffled me. My untrained ears were often unable to follow the complex riffs and fast tempos, making it impossible to assess music quality. To me, it was all simply fast, scary, and incomprehensible. I remember scouring metal forums for hours to learn which albums were the “classics,” only to listen to them and question why they were considered as such. If this is a “good” extreme metal album, I would wonder, what does a “bad” one sound like? In this regard, I almost wish The Ventriloquist had existed back then. Because it would have provided the perfect answer to that question.” Bad lip reading.