Another year, another 12 chances to get the Record(s) o’ the Month in on time. Sure, it’s January, the time for fresh starts. And sure, this is on time. But don’t lose hope, not only will I continue to troll you by having excellent taste as compared to your banal, trendy, and/or pretentious opinions, but I will continue to be arbitrarily late and inconsiderate of groupthink when I choose my Record(s) o’ the Month.
“Orphaned Land has gone through a lot more change than I think I even realized as they have made the journey from an obscure but promising melodeath band to a major label metal act. Back in 2013, I ended my review of All Is One by urging the band and the label not to “fuck with the formula.” The new record, which I was not impressed by, was being released only three years after the incredible The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR. All Is One lacked the depth and force of any of the band’s previous material, a fact which I attributed to the album not having been given the time it needed to germinate. But I didn’t fully realize that since the release of 2011’s The Road to OR-Shalem, the formula had already been pretty well fucked. The first drop was Matti Svatizky in 2012, he was followed by Yossi Sassi in 2014. Both the guitarists had been in the band since 1992 and Yossi is the one I have always associated with Orphaned Land’s characteristic “oriental”+prog rock sound. With Yossi’s departure, it was hard to not imagine that decline was inevitable. So I admit that I approached Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs with mixed feelings and a healthy dose of dread.” Fear and the Orphan.
“Remember that first time you listened to Moonspell’s Wolfheart or Irreligious? If you’re like me—or half of the other writers here at AMG—that was a hella long time ago. And, after over twenty years, those fucking albums still beckon me. Sure, tag me as a seeker of nostalgia, mark me as a purveyor of the past, label me as a connoisseur of memories. But, like it is with many classic records that have taken hold of me, it’s not just the quality of the music that planted the seed. No, it’s also the when, the where, and the what-happened that occurred the first time I listened to these albums.” History, memory, Moonspell.
“Once, I believed myself able to see past the veils and charades of societal labels, to be able to transcend the likes of religious affiliation in order to experience art for art’s sake. Once, I believed that I could overcome any element of musical unpleasantness if the rest of the material was strong enough. I have loved the likes of Mos Def, Flyleaf, and Ghost Bath, and felt no shame. Once, I believed all this to be enough to allow me to find redemption in any kind of music… until I heard Enzo and the Glory Ensemble’s In the Name of the Son.” Jazz hands for the Lord.
“Us no-wage slaves ceaselessly cranking the almighty Angry Metal Guy Patented Review Mill (patent pending) usually have the choice between handing a review in at least 12 days before release or receiving 50 lashes and a metalcore promo. But now and then, the brutal roar of Steel Druhm’s voice comes through the trap door above, barking orders to review a promo that has already been released but is so good it still requires a write-up, lest the unwashed masses find themselves missing out. Such was the case with Aeternam’s latest opus, Ruins of Empires.” Sand, Steel and slave labor.
“I must admit, prior to reviewing Rudra’s eighth full-length, Enemy of Duality, my only exposure to the band was bassist/vocalist Kathir’s vocal contribution for the song “देवदेवं (Devadevam)” on the new Rotting Christ album. Granted, while the song failed to win me over, it succeeded in making me aware of the Singaporean black metal band. Curious to check out the band’s self-proclaimed “Vedic metal,” and noticing that the band just dropped Enemy of Duality, I grabbed the promo and my trusty cans to see what the fuss was about.” Don’t be rudra.
![Siaskel – Haruwen Airen [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SIASKELCOVER-768x696.jpg)
“Very few things impress me more than a band that knows how to incorporate ideas from their native lands or languages into their music. Take Orphaned Land’s beautiful incorporation of Middle-Eastern motifs in their message of unity, for example. I’m a sucker for this kind of sound.” Roots, bloody roots!
“It’s not often that AMG Himself and I get into an online kerfluffle about a review. See, I do my best to grab promos from bands I’ve never heard of, hoping that my curiosity turns me on to some great music. For the most part, it succeeds. But there comes a time when Señor AMG gets a taste of a band you’re reviewing and goes completely ga-ga over it.” When AMG attacks.
“Riti Occulti are a strange band. They play doom, they hail from Italy, they prefer a bass guitar to a six-stringed axe, and their vocal department consists of a goth-like, beauty-and-the-beast duo. To be more specific, the band uses only bass guitar and the two female vocalists alternate between black-metal rasps and operatic clean vox. Topping it off, the band coats everything in a thick layer of synthesizers and moody effects (many times performed using a dreaded keytar). But, it isn’t as bad as it seems.” Unleash the Keytar.
Winterhorde is why labels want bands to release every two years. Back in September of 2010, I reviewed the band’s album Underwatermoon and really enjoyed their well-composed, interesting melodic black metal. My only complaint was that the lyrical tropes felt a little paint-by-numbers coming from an Israeli band; but the music was incisive and gripping. That was, however, six years ago. In that time Winterhorde got signed by Sweden’s ViciSolum Productions—moving on from being the only good band on their previous label’s roster—turned over four members of their band, have continued to develop their sound. I also managed to forget that they exist in the rush of my everyday life, which is why putting out a new album every six years is probably a bad strategy.
