Nuclear Blast

Thy Art Is Murder – Godlike Review

Thy Art Is Murder – Godlike Review

“Hate them or love them, you know them. Australia’s Thy Art Is Murder catapulted into the deathcore stratosphere in the early 2010s, through the technical The Adversary (2010) and the powerful Hate (2012). Despite its inconsistency, Thy Art Is Murder’s output earned sizable crossover appeal from death metal fans; think All Shall Perish, not Bring Me the Horizon. Godlike, whose release was delayed a week by line-up drama, follows four years after the middling deathcore-fest Human Target.” Thy Art is Drama.

Kataklysm – Goliath Review

Kataklysm – Goliath Review

Goliath isn’t going to sneak up on anybody. Kataklysm’s formula, tweaked on 2020’s Unconquered to include a seven-string guitar, remains in place: burly but accessible melodies that often evoke Amon Amarth, lyrics that use cliched martial imagery to spur the listener toward a kind of tough-love self-improvement, and effective production from guitarist Jean-François Dagenais that splits the difference between “gnarly” and “sleek.” Size matters.

Twilight Force – At the Heart of Wintervale Review

Twilight Force – At the Heart of Wintervale Review

Twilight Force’s Dawn of the Dragonstar should have been on my 2019 year-end list. Hell, I should have at least written a Things You Might Have Missed piece on it. Yet in retrospect, at the time, the prospect of fully embracing Twilight Force was borderline embarrassing, even for me.” Return of the GammaStrataWeenie.

Septicflesh – Modern Primitive [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

Septicflesh – Modern Primitive [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

“This article fits its category perfectly and not at all. On the one hand, Septicflesh is a household name in symphonic death metal and most of you won’t have missed that they released a new album this year. On the other hand, there has been little to no fanfare surrounding its release. No promo in our inbox, no chatter on the lines. It wasn’t until the following weekend had passed that I chanced upon it, did a double take, and took to the Hall to announce my discord about completely missing Modern Primitive, one of the biggest symphodeath releases of the year.” Septicflesh is back on the menu, boys!

Fallujah – Empyrean Review

Fallujah – Empyrean Review

Fallujah has a contentious history here at the house of AMG. From the first flirtations Angry Metal Guy himself had with The Harvest Wombs, to the loudness wars that consumed The Flesh Prevails to the unenthused success of Dreamless—all ending in the nonconsensual torture of our very own TheKenWord with his harrowed recount of 2019’s Undying Light, which left the poor poriferan in a state most unfit for attacking this newest, Empyrean.” Fuss and bother.

Obscura – A Valediction Review

Obscura – A Valediction Review

“In my review of Diluvium, I argued that the core of the band’s sound had become a super-tech melodeath band. And, as it turns out, my analysis was right on the money. Despite a (second) mass exodus that led to guitarist Christian Münzner and bassist JP Thesseling rejoining the band, A Valediction doesn’t present a more abstract and progressive Obscura. In fact, it’s the opposite.” So, is that a good thing?

Carcass – Torn Arteries Review

Carcass – Torn Arteries Review

“When English extreme metal legends and multi-genre pioneers Carcass dropped monumental comeback album Surgical Steel in 2013, it hit like a ton of bricks. Perhaps it partly boiled down to the sheer surprise factor of an unlikely return, combined with the unexpected level of quality after a 17-year gap since signing off with the often maligned Swansong in 1996. Recently in the AMG backrooms, a number of staff weighed in on their stance regarding Surgical Steel some eight or so years after the fact. I was a little surprised by the indifference shared by some.” Hardening of the legacy.