Mumakil

Death Toll 80k – Step Down Review

Death Toll 80k – Step Down Review

“Along with Wormrot’s Abuse, Death Toll 80k’s 2011 debut Harsh Realities was one of the few works I found that actually matched Insect Warfare’s Extermination. Sure it had the insanity, but more than that it had the RIFFS — riffs that thrashed, riffs that grooved, riffs that crawled up my ass and exploded and then sent my remains to Mom in a shittily taped box along with a picture of goatse and a copy of the latest straight-to-DVD John Cena movie. Point being, Realities was a great album, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this Finnish quartet was finally returning after six years with sophomore full-length Step Down.” Social justice for metal warriors.

F.A.M. – Human Cargo Review

F.A.M. – Human Cargo Review

“I recently heard from a coworker that lobster meat only has to contain about 2% actual lobster to be labeled as such. Often when you’re biting into a cheap lobster roll, you’re actually eating monkfish – a bottom dwelling creature that looks like a cross between a dog turd and a deep sea anglerfish that got run over by a dump truck. Why bring this up? Well, if Polish grindcore quartet F.A.M. are any indication, mediocre deathgrind albums work the same way.” Contents guaranteed to be fresh.

Mumakil – Flies Will Starve Review

Mumakil – Flies Will Starve Review

“Swiss grindcore legion Mumakil take their name from the gigantic, elephant-like creatures that appear in the Lord of the Rings novels. Also known as Oliphaunts (as the Hobbits of middle-earth refer to them) these 6-tusked monstrosities come from the jungles of Far Harad and are often ridden into battle, covered in armour and even more spikes, by the Haradrim. They are just as magical, and just as terrible, as dragons. It is from these beasts that Mumakil draw their name, and from their lineage hope to extract a sense of heaviness, ferocity, and steer trampling power. Their third full-length, Flies Will Starve, certainly plays like a stampede. At just over thirty-five minutes, this record is composed of twenty-four tracks that do their absolutely best to crush and grind the listener underfoot.” AMG has never been accussed of reviewing too much grindcore, so here’s Natalie with some grindcore, from Switzerland no less!

Ram – Death Review

Ram – Death Review

You need a certain amount of courage to name your album Death in 2012, don’t you? I mean this is one of, if not the, most used words in the metal world altogether and it usually reminds lots of fans with Chuck Schuldiner’s seminal band with the same name. On the personal level, I still find myself a little baffled by Ram’s title of choice for their third studio album in thirteen years of making heavy metal. Then again, some may ask me “but what’s in a name?” and I find myself remembering some awesome and meaningful titles like Oblivion Beckons by Byzantine, The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A by Exodus or Mumakil’s Behold the Failure and realizing that there’s a lot in a name.