“Scene: German dancy folk metal band In Extremo play on a stage built on the deck of a giant ship. In the hot tub in the audience, a woman wearing a unicorn mask headbangs. A conga line lead by Jesus winds its way through the crowd.” Join the Metal Navy!
“Here at the elucidation-station that is Angry Metal Guy, EPs usually slip beneath the review radar in favor of a meatier morsel. But it’s cutting season, dammit, and no tyrannical filthy ape tells me what to review. Virginia’s Affasia are preparing to release their debut EP, Adrift in Remorse, an offering full of doom-death and a beckoning melodic charm — and when the sad-boy signals, you best believe I answer the call.” Late winter feelz.
“Life is fleeting, sometimes cruel and always impossible to predict. Case in point – the circumstances surrounding the Hour of the Nightingale debut by Trees of Eternity – a project formed by Juha Raivio (Swallow the Sun) and his partner Aleah Liane Stanbridge. Prior to Trees, Aleah was best known for her vocal work on Swallow the Sun’s Songs of the North and Amorphis’ Under the Red Cloud. Trees’ and its melodic quasi-doom style was designed to showcase Aleah’s vocal talents and take her career to the next level.” What might have been.
“One of the things I love about death metal is that I always find it appropriate. Walking to work? Absolutely. Working out? Yes please. Spring cleaning? Why not? Volturyon, Swedish purveyors of all things death, are a band clear in their understanding of this and eager to churn out an absolute riff-fest to facilitate any and all spur of the moment gym sessions… or vacuuming.” Make that carpet BLEED!
“Coming across In Mourning’s The Weight of Oceans was a great surprise. I knew nothing of the band, but the album art stole my breath away and for that reason alone, no matter what it sounded like, I needed to posses The Weight of Oceans. I grabbed the album and hit play, within seconds captivating waves washed over me, I was sold. Four years on, The Weight of Oceans still ranks as one of my most loved albums. Along comes Afterglow and I’m brimming with hope that it’ll be a solid continuation of its predecessor.” High expectations can be a frigid bitch.
“It’s been a while since a doom/death album graced my overloaded promo bin, and as a tried and true sad-boy, I was quite stoked to see October Tide’s fifth album, Winged Waltz arrive. Formed by Katatonia ex-pats Fredrik Norrman and and Jonas Renkse, the band has long made it their practice to take elements of early Katatonia material like Brave Murder Day and mix it with the classic doom/death of Rapture and early Paradise Lost. This led to some stunning moments and others that were inexplicably less inspiring.” Turn those frowns even further down.
“Hailing from the Kópavogur area of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, Zhrine rose from the deathly remains of Gone Postal. Somewhere between taking top spot in the 2012 Wacken Metal Battle and and today, the voices behind Gone Postal noticed their sound growing darker, becoming more atmospheric and permeated with despair.” Iceland keeps the fires burning still.
“Winter is coming, and when the cold reaches my home and hearth, it’s time to break out the top-shelf sad boy melodic doom-death and spin it until Odin renews the world and grants primacy to the sun once more. As the low winter sun encroaches, one of the first bands into the depressive breach is the long defunct but truly excellent Rapture. A close second is the even longer defunct Slumber. The latter released but one brilliant album (Fallout) before imploding, and said album went on to be tragically overlooked.” The Sleeper of Slumber has awakened!
“As 2015 makes her grand and stately entrance, bear with and support me as I try to hunt down even more new blackened death metal albums that sound exactly like Septicflesh.” Madam X has her foibles, but she also has plenty of quirks. Join her as she unveils a Top Ten(ish) list sure to bumfuzzle and befuddle.
“Without fail, I always seem to come back to my mass of Swedish death metal albums in a given calendar year. During that time, I pass from album to album, band after band of angry-at-the-world vocals, heavy-as-hell riffs, and the bludgeoning anti-Christian, death, and war themes. Much like the thrash movement in the States, there are arguments over the “Big Four” of the genre.” And guess who isn’t getting included in anyone’s list?
