Two members of the esteemed AMG staff attended the ArcTanGent Festival in Somerset, England. How many returned? Read the journal entries we recovered and pray for those we lost.
Oranssi Pazuzu
Blasted Heath – Vela Review
“All is not well at the edge of the cosmos. Some of us look to the heavens and see a frontier, a blank page for all mankind to fill with the best of ourselves. Others, like the black thrash cosmonauts of Blasted Heath, can only widen their eyes in horror at the vast and indifferent expanse. This foursome may hail from Indianapolis, but their first transmission Vela sounds like a broadcast from a far corner of the galaxy. The message? No one is living long or prospering out here, the ship’s AI is starting to get cheeky, and we’ve lost contact with the colonists on LV-426.” Space madness.
Haunter – Discarnate Ails Review
“I first heard of San Antonio’s Haunter during my brief stint in the Discord server. The discordant blackened death of 2019’s Sacramental Death Qualia caught my ears immediately. It struck the difficult balance of exploring tortuous harmonies and building an unsettling atmosphere while keeping me rapt. Dissonance tends to alienate me more often than it attracts me, but Haunter occupies a thin middle ground of bands like Ulcerate and Sunless that inject a digestible dose of dissonance while still supplying compelling melodies to latch onto.” Haunting the Alamo.
Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review
“Good brutal death albums ruin your day. You swing your fists and frown, letting the caveman slams and moist leads saturate your eardrums in a coat of red mist as the mosh-pit hysteria results in a few too many lost brain cells. Astral Tomb does just that, featuring all the hallmarks of a good slam/goregrind/brutal death album: opener “Transcendental Visions” fitting this to a tee, the thirteen-minute opener reeks of Carcass-meets-Devourment-meets-Blood Incantation gore in its brutal emphasis on excess.” Star tombs, raw wounds.
Plasmodium – Towers of Silence Review
“Plasmodium is described by Metal Archives as “psychedelic black/death metal,” and that is definitely appropriate. Formed in 2016, the Melbourne, Australia, sextet features veteran blood, particularly drummer Matt “Skitz” Sanders of Damaged fame, and Aretstikapha of Mazikeen. Releasing Entheognosis in 2016 to underground interest, it introduced this highly atmospheric breed that doesn’t quite land in death metal or black metal, but somehow fills the dead air between. Featuring blackened vocals and drumming, sophomore effort Towers of Silence features some of the strangest soundscapes of 2021 thanks to its deranged string attack and cosmic ambiance.” Enjoy for silence.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi Review
“It has come to my attention that this will be the third time Oranssi Pazuzu have been reviewed on Angry Metal Guy, and that I will be the third unique reviewer to do so; I’ve been informed that Happy Metal Guy is “‘definitely’ alive and well,” and that Jean-Luc Ricard is “perfectly fine, now stop asking difficult questions,” but you still have to wonder if that’s a coincidence. I was surprised to see that Mestarin kynsi, the band’s fifth full-length, still needed reviewing…” Third time’s the harm.
PH – Osiris Hayden Review
“This time around, PH are aiming for something “beyond the limits of modern psychedelia,” something that pulls influence from Gary Numan and Nine Inch Nails. And one of my psychedelic favorites from the past, Julian Cope, fully endorses these guys. This all makes me at least willing to dig in.” Needs more alkaline.
Waste of Space Orchestra – Syntheosis Review
“A certain thespian poise dominates throughout Syntheosis, the piece originally commissioned for Roadburn Festival 2018 and then turned into a proper studio recording. Highly conceptual, Waste of Space Orchestra narrate a quite demented story somewhere between magical realism and occult horror. The album develops intently and purposefully, tracing the lines of an imagined ritual and its performers, three mysterious creatures that aim ‘to open a portal that will suck them into a different reality of brain-mutilating color storms and ego-diminishing audio violence.’” Waste not, want more.
Venenum – Trance of Death Review
“A lone cello sings a mournful melody in a minor key. Fluttering piano touches accentuate the subtle tremolando strings. The folksy piece develops patiently, oscillating between an ambient sort of vagueness and a nervous incisiveness. While the surprising first two and a half minutes of Bavaria’s Venenum’s full-length début Trance of Death stand in contrast with the carnage that will follow, they are also perfect archetypes of the eclecticism and compositional strength of the release as a whole.” Carnage before cello, never mellow. Cello before carnage, happy carcass.
Kairon; IRSE! – Ruination Review
“True originality can be an elusive commodity to come by in the modern music environment. With the number of untapped creative avenues steadily decreasing with every new album release, many musicians merely end up putting their own spins on pre-established formulas. When a band comes along that laughs defiantly in the face of such convention—opting instead to carve out their own path—it’s only right they’re accorded the recognition they deserve. Finnish progsters Kairon; IRSE! are a band who embrace this mentality emphatically.” Band out on a limb.
