“Many music genres (metal, in particular) do love a good concept album. Be it a horror story, Star Trek and Lords of the Rings smut, or the tribulations of Spawn, metal bands (and their fans) can’t seem to get enough. You think you’ve heard and seen it all until you delve into the one-off absurdity of I Am the Intimidator. Never in my life did I expect to be reviewing a self-titled release whose concept has coined the term ‘NASCAR Metal’ in the festering halls of AMG.” Speed kills.
“Death Killer may not speak to you, though, if you don’t already dig throbbing industrial music in some way. And I don’t mean old-timey industrial thrashings like the out-played lamentations of 00s Ministry work—though tonally, Total Destruction bears some resemblance.” Total destruction as a viable option.
“Smashing together the legacy talents of performers from Therapy? (Andy Cairns), Sex Swing (Jason Stoll), Petbrick (Wayne Adams), and Three Trapped Tigers (Adam Betts), one would expect Supercluster to live up to its namesake in wild, noise-drenched grandeur.” UTINI!!
“You don’t know shit until you read this. It’s not opinion; it’s science.”
“We’re no stranger to bands who claim more sub-genres than they have members (or fans). You’ll routinely see tags for things like “symphonic doom” and “blackened death” and “hardcore Viking sludge.” It’s also not surprising when musicians change course from one album to the next. We’ve all perused reviews about a band with an established sound veering off into wildly new directions. Really, adding new sub-genres seems to come with the territory. But what happens when a non-metal band takes a running leap into the dark side? Such is the case with New York-based act American Anymen, a group that, up until very recently, played a vitriolic form of anti-folk on a slew of singles, EPs, splits and one full-length. Now, it appears they’ve leapt headlong into the metal game with Cities Changing Names.” Duct tape-core.
“I had an acquaintance once that said industrial metal is ‘sex music.’ That’s one of the reasons I don’t talk to this person anymore. That and it’s difficult to communicate when you’re bricked up in a wall. But, seriously, I must be doing something wrong if I don’t get an erection to Rammstein’s ‘Bück Dich.’ Babe, it’s not you. It’s me. The same goes for Ministry. There’s nothing about imagining Al Jourgensen gut and crucify the entire Bush family that pricks my pecker.” Good hygiene and bad manners.
“What do you get when two stalwarts of the British stoner and doom scenes come together to make a record they felt was too experimental for their existing projects? Self Hypnosis is the brainchild of Camel of Doom main man Kris Clayton, partnering with Esoteric’s vocalist, guitarist and occasional keyboardist Greg Chandler. The trio is rounded out by drummer Tom Valleley. Combining elements of Clayton and Chandler’s other projects, Self Hypnosis are now ready to drop their avant-garde debut, Contagion of Despair.” Doom trancers.
“The promo blurb had promised me that Sarpa, although rooted in the black metal aesthetic, incorporates a lot of other elements, including some Afro/Latin rhythms! Have I got a blackened Sepultura on my hands or a misguided attempt to make world-music black metal?” Kitchen sink-core.
“Drag the light from its perch and smother it in darkness. Crush it, beat it, push it down and hold it under until the thrashing stops and everything is still. Everything is cold. It’s done; the light is dead. All that’s left is to dig the grave, a deep trench for a silent slumber. The grave is yours. Of course, it is. Why linger in a world where the dawn will never spill over the horizon once more? A mouthful of soil is all that remains. Misery, misanthropy and unflinching nihilism, these are the pillars that hold The Atrocity Reports aloft, the latest album from French industrial metal act Wheelfall.” You just buried yourself.
“It’s been a strange couple months for grumpy ole Grier. I’ve reviewed everything from cowpunk to Swedish black metal to non-metal/metal avant-garde to captivating power/melodeath. But, for all the ups-and-downs that come with this crazy rollercoaster ride, never am I more brain-fucked as when a new Igorrr record arrives in my inbox.” Putting the fist in fistula.
