Angry Metal Guy

Iron Fire // Voyage of the Damned
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Space metal equipped with a death ray
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: ironfire.dk | myspace.com/officialironfire
Release Dates: EU: Out now! | US: 02.07.2012

Historically speaking, I think the main reason our esteemed AMG hired me, the ever humble Steel Druhm, as a reviewer/minion [I prefer the term "bitch," actually - AMG] was to make me the resident power and traditional metal nerd (my amazing prose and rugged good looks didn’t hurt none either). While I’m predisposed to drool over most old school stuff (cause I’m old), I’m actually quite the elitist snob when it comes to power metal. There’s some good in that genre, but there are way more generic, bad and monumentally awful things lurking in the ether. Case in point, I’ve had a love/hate/meh relationship with Iron Fire over the years. Their Thunderstorm debut was decent and moderately rabble rousing, but things have been inconsistent since then and their discography reads like the good, the bad and the WTF? After being unmoved by their past few releases, I hoped for more from their seventh release, Voyage of the Damned. Turns out, I heartily appreciate the new lyrical slant toward outer space themes, as it’s a nice diversion from the usual “dragon ate my wizard’s maiden” schtick. It’s also safe to say, this is much better than expected and it slowly won me over, despite initial doubts. Roping in elements of Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Grave Digger and Metalium, this features some highly enjoyable  Euro-power with some surprisingly heavy moments. It also delivers far less generic freight than past Iron Fire shipments. While not exactly a “must hear” album, Voyage ends up being a solid release from a band with a spotty track record.  Continue reading

So here’s a special fucking treat if ever there was one. Ed “Hogwarts” Warby (as he’s known to friends) is writing for this blog to give updates on his HIGHLY anticipated (by this Angry Metal Guy) follow up to Burden of Grief which is one of my favorite doom records ever. He’ll be periodically checking in with the written word as watching him in his studio would be about as exciting as watching Ihsahn was in his (i.e., not fucking entertaining at all; watching flies fuck; paint dry; corpses decay without time-lapse). Enjoy! - AMG

October 3rd – 23rd

As Murphy would have it I got sick right after the Way Of Darkness weekend (which was a blast by the way, it’s always fun to hit the road with the Bullets). We drove together with Stephan and Paul’s other band Thanatos who were also performing and during the trip everyone around me was coughing and sneezing, so I was doomed from the start: bye bye singing voice, hello sore throat, running nose and general misery. In the meantime Ronnie kept working on the mix, and gradually we’ve arrived at a truly massive sound that’s both clear and huge. The guitar tone is even heavier than last time, something I didn’t think possible. Of course me being the perfectionist I am I’ve been driving Ronnie crazy with notes saying “add some delay here”, “do a slow fade there”, “some less reverb here”, and countless other details. I keep telling him it’s not as bad as last time when we had to literally work around the clock for several days to finish everything in time, but I’m sure I’m one of his more demanding clients. The end result is what counts though, and once this is done we’ll both have an album to be very, very proud of.

Continue reading

So here’s a special fucking treat if ever there was one. Ed motherfucking Warby (as he’s known to friends) is writing for this blog to give updates on his HIGHLY anticipated (by this Angry Metal Guy) follow up to Burden of Grief which is one of my favorite doom records ever. He’ll be periodically checking in with the written word as watching him in his studio would be about as exciting as watching Ihsahn was in his (i.e., not fucking entertaining at all; watching flies fuck; paint dry; corpses decay without time-lapse). Enjoy! - AMG

Saturday, September 24th

Wow, 3 months have passed since my last update and I’m still not done with the album… in my defense Hail Of Bullets had a very busy summer schedule including Wacken, Party.san, Summer Breeze and many more megafests, but somehow I did manage to miss the end of July deadline rather spectacularly.

Let’s start with the biggest news, Rogga will not be featured on the album. When I was still convinced I could and had to meet the initial deadline Rogga was incapacitated by a flu from hell, rendering him unable to deliver the guttural growls needed for the album. He made a more than valiant effort, but we both knew it wasn’t good enough. So I asked Pim Blankenstein, already a member of the live incarnation of The 11th Hour for 2 years, to step in and he did a tremendous job at filling Rogga’s shoes. That was 2 months ago. I got lost somehow. It happens. Officium Triste, Pim and Bram’s band, have managed to record an entire album in the meantime, which makes me feel more than a little bad…

But I’m back in the saddle, we’ve set a new deadline and release date and I’m confident it’ll work out this time. For the past few days I’ve been going over the songs, checking every little bit, making minor adjustments where necessary, checking hundreds of crossfades, and taking that dreaded final step, the point of no return: consolidating the files (well, I could always undo the changes after consolidating but I’ve decided enough is enough, I could work on this album for another 2 years and still find stuff to improve, but I’m well into the realm of “nobody hears the difference but me” so it’s time to move on). Yesterday I finalized all the drum tracks and sent them over to Sweden (ah, the wonder of the interwebs), today I did the same with Pim’s vocal files. Continue reading

Thulcandra // Under a Frozen Sun
Rating: 3.0/5.0 —-More Dissection than the county morgue
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/thulcandrametal
Release Dates: Out now!

The Germanic horde Thulcandra is back for another fast and furious bout of Dissection worship. For those who missed my review of their 2010 opus Fallen Angel’s Dominion, these chaps, lead by Stefan Kummerer (Obscura) are huge fans of the late, great Dissection and their debut was a loving tribute to their classic sound. Since I’m also a fan, their authentic and spot-on Dissection-isms (and occasional Immortal-isms) won me over enough to overlook the complete lack of originality. That release stands up well and I still spin it fairly often. Now comes their second album, Under a Frozen Sun and its a whole lot more of the same. Once again, they deliver expertly performed, melodic black metal with all the hallmarks of The Somberlain and Storm of the Light’s Bane albums. This time however, it feels slighty less fresh and engaging. Perhaps their homage schtick is growing old or maybe its the black metal weariness I’m feeling of late. Either way, while less successful than the debut, Thulcandra (or Dissection, I’m not sure which) retains just enough charm and appeal to make for some worthwhile moments of old school Scandinavian blackness, suitable for scowling and frowning in the snow.  It also has several barnburners that rise above the continued pattern of staunch unoriginality. Continue reading

Svartsot // Maledictus Eris
Rating: 3.5/5.0—Lute and pillage 
Label: Napalm Records
Website: svartsot.dk/ myspace.com/svartsot
Release Dates: Out now!

There’s nothing quite like Danish melodic death/folk, right kids? What’s that you say? You don’t know what Steel Druhm speaks of? For shame! By now you probably should know of Svartsot and their heavier than thou approach to folk metal since they’ve been churning it out since 2007. I was a big fan of their quirky debut Ravnenes Saga and was equally amused by the follow up Mulmets Viser  (as was AMG himself). Both featured heavy but very catchy and anthemic folk metal with very deathy vocals. Their sound can almost be summed up as Korpiklaani meets Cannibal Corpse after too many ales. Its a weirdly festive and danceable style (yes, you may want to dance around like a spazz to some of their tunes) that somehow remains bruisingly heavy at the same time.  Because their approach is so offbeat and unique, it struck a nerve with me and I had high hopes that nerve would continue getting struck with Maledictus Eris, their third release. I’m happy to report this is more entertaining, beer stein swinging, gnome jigging, renaissance faire approved folk metal. All the elements that made the previous albums work are present and if anything, this may be more catchy and fun than before. Now, their admittedly quirky style might not be everyone’s cup of grog. It requires a little tolerance for folk-infused camp and silliness but if you can handle the oddness, its more fun than a barrel full of forest gremlins. Continue reading

Draconian // A Rose for the Apocalypse
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Apocalypse WOW!
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: www.draconian.se | myspace.com/draconianmusic
Release Dates:  EU: 2011.06.21 | US: 06.22.2011

It’s Angry Metal Confession time kiddies. Steel Druhm has many things he should confess but for now, lets focus on aspects of the metal scene I’ve grown weary of. First up has to be symphonic black metal. Its been done, overdone, redone and ultimately, undone. Another very overused gimmick is beauty and the beast vocals (death metal vox paired with soaring, usually operatic, female vocals). Since Theatre of Tragedy came out with Velvet Darkness They Fear, every gothic metal band under the moon tried their hand at the style and while it can be amazing, it’s been overblown in a major way. Because of the staleness in this approach, only the very best practitioners leave any impression on me. Draconian is one such expert unit and while I liked their early material, I LOVED their 2008 release Turning Seasons Within. That opus managed to balance heavy doom with ethereal gothic sensibilties and they made the beauty and beast approach work magnificently. Now with A Rose for the Apocalypse, these Swedish glumsters have done it yet again and offer a top quality gothic-doom/death album brimming with emotion, intensity and dark atmosphere. Its good enough to make me rethink my position on the entire paradigm and its a real slobberknocker of a metal album. Continue reading

Arkona // Stenka Na Stenku
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — An EP
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: arkona-russia.com | myspace.com/arkonarussia
Release Dates: EU: 2011.05.24 | US: 06.14.2011

Arkona (Russian: Аркона) are a Russian folk metal band that has been a real revelation in the scene, as one commenter over at the Angry Metal Guy facebook page put it. Their music deftly blends Russian folk themes with black metally influence and ends up being a bit of a Finntroll plus Russia result. As far as this Angry Metal Guy is concerned, this cannot be more welcome. So while we aren’t being graced with a follow up to 2009′s excellent Goi, Rode, Goi! you can at least get a taste of an acoustic version of it on this EP.  Continue reading

Týr // The Lay of Thrym
Label: Napalm Records
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Rejoice, Sheeple! A number!
Websites: myspace.com/tyr1
Release Dates: EU: 2011.05.27 | USA: 06.07.2011
A Review by Natalie Zed

As soon as this album was announced, the literary nerd in me did a little dance of glee. The title is taken from a section of the Poetic Edda, a collection of old Norse poetry. An alternate title for The Lay of Thrym is “The Fetching of Thor’s Hammer” — that’s about as epic as it gets.

Týr are a band that do so much more than dabble in the cultural milieu they’re engaging with. They have fully committed to their aesthetic; they do bloody research; and they want depth, knowledge and authenticity. I have a profound respect for their dedication to Viking metal and culture. Continue reading

A new Vintersorg track has just been added over at the MySpace in its entirety! This may be the best thing that we’ve heard from Mr. V in my opinion since Visions or even Cosmic Genesis! The record comes out on the 25th in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Then on the 28th it hits the rest of Europe. April 5th it sails over the sea to the USA.

The record can (and should) be pre-ordered over at Napalm Records’ webshop!

Artas // Riotology
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — I’ll be dropping this class
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/artasmetal
Release Dates: EU: 28.01.2011 | US: 02.08.2011

Well, I’m not sure what I did to end up on the Angry Metal Guy’s Official Shit List™.  However, his  assigning me both the new Lazarus A.D. and Artas albums proves I’m on it bigtime. I can just picture AMG up there on his throne all high and mighty, laughing as he contemptuously sneers, “let him eat metalcore.” Steel Druhm does not like being on the Shit List and Steel Druhm will have his wengeance! Anyway, Riotology is the second album by Austrian metalcore/quasi-thrash bandwagon jumpers Artas. Up until now their claim to fame was a wildly ill-conceived cover of Coolio‘s “Gangsta’s Paradise” which ended up being funnier than Weird Al Yankovic‘s “Amish Paradise.” Now with Riotology they can truthfully claim recording two average metalcore albums. Hey, congrats guys! As soon as I saw the album cover which looks like a screen shot from the Assassin’s Creed video games I should have known where this was heading. The second clue I was in trouble was the band’s prominently displayed claim that they play “modern metal.” Apparently that’s record industry speak for tired metalcore by bands that yearn to be At the Gates and In Flames with poppier, radio-friendly choruses.  Because I am merciful, I will now implore you all to leave this review and save yourselves. I can’t go with you however, for I must write on. Continue reading