Moonsorrow

Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2016

By Angry Metal Guy on April 30, 2016 in 2016, Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 106 comments

It’s not often that the Record(s) o’ the Month are decided before a month has already begun, but April got pretty close to being just that. In fact, I feel a little guilty about it, because the month that has been is surprisingly packed with music that I—and the other writers here—love. There wasn’t much of a fight about it, what with all the ruling with an Iron Fist of Steel™ and all, but I would like to apologize to all the contributors who reviewed awesome stuff this month which is getting ignored on this list. I’m sure your complaints will be aired aggressively in the comment section. I’m glad I’ve given you something to get your blood pumping. I’ve heard that sitting around reading metal blogs all day is bad for your health.

Haken – Affinity Review

By El Cuervo on April 28, 2016 in 2016, English Metal, InsideOut, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 108 comments

“Haken have rapidly become one of my favorite bands in the world. Since my introduction with 2013’s The Mountain I’ve retraced their steps back through Visions and Aquarius – both slightly uneven stylistically and in terms of quality but with truly exemplary moments – and eagerly devoured their revised versions of older tracks on their 2014 EP, Restoration. I’ve seen them live twice and would be seeing them again in a month but for some pesky exams which will impact my future. It was therefore with great enthusiasm that I sat down with their fourth album Affinity.” Warning: fanboys may drool uncontrollably.

Moonsorrow – Jumalten aika Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 28, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Century Media, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 133 comments

Moonsorrow is an enigmatic band whose fame and status in metal defy expectations. A band whose songs tend toward the 15-minute mark, who sings in Finnish, and who obeys no label’s release schedule is not a band that I would expect to be releasing one of the most anticipated albums of 2016. The first album in 5 years—follow-up to Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maasa (henceforth Vkkm because lol), which was my Record o’ the Year in 2011—Jumalten aika is a 5 track, 67 minute journey down the path cut by Moonsorrow in the years since their first releases. And it’s a simultaneously difficult and comfortable release from one of Finland’s premiere acts.

Draugnim – Vulturine Review

By El Cuervo on March 10, 2016 in Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Black Metal, 25 comments

“I’m not going to lie. I chose to review this promo on the basis that Draugnim sounds like Draugr – an entity which should be familiar to fellow Elder Scrolls nerds. On this basis, I predicted vaguely folkloric Scandinavian black metal. Indeed, Vulturine boasts Finnish Pagan metal similar to a popular band whose new album is also soon to drop.” Super nerds unite!

Wildernessking – Mystical Future [Vinyl Review]

By Angry Metal Guy on January 25, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Reviews, South African Metal, Vinyl Review, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 41 comments

South Africa’s Wildernessking is an atmospheric black metal band that has undergone a maturation before our very eyes. Starting as Heathens the band played an immediate (and still excellent) form of black n’ roll. The early material was reminiscent of Enslaved, but lacked the Norwegians’ progressive punch. The writing was concise and to the point, and the word “atmospheric” would never have crossed my keyboard in those days—until the release of the track “Morning” in 2011. In 2012, under the new moniker Wildernessking, these South African ex-heathens released The Writing of Gods in the Sand, which unfurled their sound into expansive, atmospheric territory. The record had a production that helped the band’s music to balance between a raw, heavy black metal feel and their growing interest for more airy writing. Mystical Future progresses Wildernessking’s journey, taking steps further away from the intensity and riff-driven black metal, toward a more expansive, atmospheric sound.

Sacrificium Carmen – Ikuisen Tulen Kammiossa Review

By Roquentin on November 18, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 11 comments

““Love at first sight” is an interesting concept: a basic mammalian response formed by some pesky, involuntary biological and cognitive mechanisms. And I wonder, can music elicit something similar? Can you, perhaps, start loving a record during the first minute of a sample track? Can this kind of appreciation evolve into a long-lasting bond with a piece of music? The début by Finnish black metallers Sacrificium Carmen, Ikuisen Tulen Kammiossa, had that sort of a struck-by-lightning influence on me.” But will an early frost kill this blooming love?

Syn Ze Şase Tri – Stăpîn Peste Stăpîni Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 27, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Code666 Records, Folk Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 6 comments

“Syn Ze Şase Tri is a Romanian band hailing from from—no joke—Transylvania, and whose material I had the pure luck to discover by my naïve dedication to trying to review everything that ever landed in my mailbox back in the early days. The band’s first record, Între două lumi, was the victim of brutal mastering job which rendered the mp3s I received in the promotional material unlistenable. ” Will these Carpathian creepers have the aural bite to win AMG’s love this time around?

Finsterforst – Mach Dich Frei Review

By El Cuervo on January 21, 2015 in 2015, Folk Metal, German Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Folk Metal, 18 comments

“Nestled in the Southwest corner of Germany, Schwarzwald (Black Forest) provides writing inspiration to its native musical counterpart, Finsterforst (Dark Forest). Playing exactly the style of metal one would expect from their name, Finsterforst have been plugging their epic, folksy wares to the masses with four full-lengths now, and Mach Dich Frei does not stray far from their established formula. There are problems, but it’s very solid and enjoyable, drawing on Moonsorrow and Wintersun in crafting epic and heavy soundscapes.” Moonsorrow influenced epi-folk sounds good, right? But is it more moon or sorrow?

Skálmöld – Með vættum Review

By El Cuervo on November 16, 2014 in 2014, 3.0, Icelandic Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Viking Metal, Viking Metal, 3 comments

“I dislike ‘Viking metal’ as a descriptor. It’s a vague term which alludes to lyrical content above the music itself. It can entail black or folk metal-derived darkness (Bathory), epic doom (Atlantean Kodex), raucous melodeath (Amon Amarth), and even power metal (Týr). Iceland’s Skálmöld falls somewhere between Amon Amarth’s melodeath and the galloping triple-axe attack of Iron Maiden, stopping off at black metal for its raw tone and dabbling in doom for its long songs. See, wasn’t that easier than just ‘Viking metal’?” It is easier, but then Wotan will smite us.

Angry Metal Guy’s Five Year Anniversary Post

By Angry Metal Guy on January 8, 2014 in Blog Posts, 85 comments

In 2009 Angry Metal Guy started. Since then we’ve produced hundreds of reviews, and Angry Metal Guy has cranked at the world for free. Check out what he takes away from the whole experience.