Angry Metal Guy

Well, here it is folks. The final 10 [Here's the first 40: 50-41, 40-31, 31-20, 20-11 and Steel Druhm's: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1]. And this is going to ruffle a bunch of feathers, I guarantee it. These are, for the most part, not widely considered “favorites” and would never make fan-voted lists, but these tracks all got onto this list pretty easily. I’m not as angry about the whole Gibson list anymore, and I’ve lost a bit of steam because of that, but these tracks are all fucking fantastic, top-o’-the-line kind of shit. I hope you enjoy the list and I look forward trolling you soon. U MAD BRO!? Continue reading

Symphony X // Iconoclast
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: symphonyx.com | myspace.com/symphonyx | facebook.com/symphonyx
Release Dates: EU: 17.06.2011 | US: 06.21.2011 | JP: 06.22.2011

If you hadn’t figured this out yet, all of us over here at Angry Metal Guy, myself maybe most of all, are horrible Symphony X fanboys (and girls). It’s hard not to be fans of what are easily the best progressive power metal band of the modern era. So the coming of Iconoclast has been a so-called Big Fucking Deal™ since it was first announced all those months ago. The record, which is another stab at a concept album, basically sounds like it borrows heavily from The Matrix and any other “The robots are coming!” kind of stories, you know the type. So, it was with genuine curiosity and fanboy-tinged apprehension that I first put on Iconoclast when I got it all those weeks ago. Continue reading

Rhapsody of Fire // From Chaos to Eternity
Rating: 5.0/5.0 — From awesome to better!?
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: rhapsodyoffire.com | myspace.com/rhapsodyoffire | facebook.com/rhapsodyoffire
Release Dates: EU: 17.06.2011 | US: 07.12.2011

Rhapsody of Fire is like the kyrptonite of Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™. While they did have diminished recordings when they signed with Magic Circle Records (PRO-TIP: the “magic circle” in question is your anus… which will get fucked by Joey DeMaio), the last two years have been tremendously productive for these Italians. First, they came back with 2010′s The Frozen Tears of Angels which was an amazing success by all accounts and received a raving 5/5 review from me. Then they released The Cold Embrace of Fear which wasn’t exactly the greatest thing they ever did, but it was good and had some solid songs even if it contained far more voice acting than I’d've liked (“IT’S AN AVALANCHE!!”). And they managed to drop a guitarist and pick up another one (by the name of Tom Hess) on the way. But now this. From Chaos to Eternity. Continue reading

Strident // Oath (From Chaos to Glory)
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Cheeses H. Christ!!
Label: Unsigned
Websites: Facebook
Release Dates: Out Now

So apparently there’s this burgeoning metal scene in South Africa. How fucking cool is that? We already ran a review from scenesters Crow Black Sky, A Walk with the Wicked and Heathens and now we get the first proper self release from unsigned Cape Town heroes Strident. Playing what they describe as “epic South African power metal,” these gentlemen are out to show the rest of the world that true metal runs deep in the African earth. This is indeed power metal in its purest form and clearly influenced by the likes of Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire (together again, ain’t that sweet AMG?). Needless to say, with those guys as primary influences, you can expect things to get mighty cheesy real quick and that’s exactly how things go down here. Sporting an album cover suitable for the next Brütal Legend video game, their debut Oath (From Chaos to Glory) throws every power metal and true metal staple, stereotype and standard at you in a manic fury. It’s fun, funny and cringe worthy in equal measures and sets a new standard for the phrase “hugely over-the-top.” Whether you like it or not has a lot to do with your overall lactose tolerance and sense of humor. Continue reading

2010. Wow, man. 2010. We’re counting months now until we all die in 2012. So how do you think it’s going to happen? Do you think that terrorists will get a nuke and fuck up the world? Or do you think that a meteor will hit? Or should I wait until the end of 2011 to ask that question?

Well, either way, now that I’ve given your children nightmares that they will never get over, I’d like to say THANKS. Thanks to everyone for reading this blog of mine (and Steel Druhm’s—who gets a special thanks for writing for this blog of mine). Thanks for responding to posts, for donating to the website to help keep it afloat and thanks for your patience when I can be a little bit inconsistent due to having a life and not doing this for a living (and thanks to Mr. Steel Druhm especially, but also Lord Doom and the others who have helped pick up the slack). It’s really cool that you do that. That you get an RSS feed of reviews that we write. That you debate and that you feel as passionately about metal as we do even if we don’t all agree. That’s awesome.

Also, a big WTF to Southern Lord and Profound Lore for not sending me promos despite repeated requests. What’s an Angry Metal Guy gotta do to get some love from y’all? I’m not going to download your shit illegally to review it, but I’d like to review it! So send me promo already for fuck’s sake!

Lastly, I want to say a word first about the fact that 2010 saw the loss of two of my personal heroes: Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele. Let’s not forget both of these metal icons who gave in their own very unique ways to the fabric of the thing that we all love. Metal will definitely not be the same with them gone.

In honor of 2010 being a pretty good year (aside from the untimely deaths), I’ve got to present my top 10. And more importantly I have to declare the Record o’ the Year! Continue reading

Rhapsody of Fire // The Cold Embrace of Fear
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — “IT’S AN AVALANCHE!”
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: RhapsodyofFire.com | myspace.com/rhapsodyoffire
Release Dates: EU: 15.10.2010 | US: TBA (But surely coming!)

Wow, 2010 is a strange year. But one of maybe the weirdest things is the fact that long on-ice Rhapsody of Fire are back and they are putting out a second record! Well, let’s be clear, this is an EP in 7 acts, but in addition to the very mighty The Frozen Tears of Angels, the mighty Rhapsody of Fire is releasing an EP in Europe on the 15th of October called The Cold Embrace of Fear. Clocking in at 35 minutes, this EP is probably closer to Rain of a Thousand Flames than anything else the band has done in their career. But can the mighty Rhapsody of Fire actually maintain the awesome consistency of their earlier release? Continue reading

Equilibrium // Rekreatur
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Happy but boring
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: equilibrium-metal.net | myspace.com/equilibrium
Release Dates: EU: 18.06.2010 | US: TBA

Equilibrium hit the world right in the face when Sagas was released a couple years ago and they really became a folk metal (pagan metal, viking metal, whatever the fuck you want to call it) sensation. And sensational is really how many people experienced that record. It was like a cross between Finntroll, Ensiferum, Turisas and Rhapsody of Fire: unceasingly melodic, over-the-top, ridiculously happy and engaging as hell. In 2010, now, this elite German act is returning with a follow-up to what is already considered to be a classic in the genre, with their third record entitled Rekreatur. How could it possibly live up to all the expectations? Continue reading

Rhapsody of Fire // The Frozen Tears of Angels
Rating: 5.0/5.0 — The Rhapsody record you’ve been waiting for…
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: rhapsodyoffire.com | myspace.com/rhapsodyoffire
Release Dates: EU: 30.04.2010 | US: 06.29.2010

It seems forever since Italian power metallers, and just generally over-the-top crafters of Symphonic Hollywood Metal (or as I called it in one of my very earliest reviews “Sword Swinging Elf Metal”) produced an album. And really, in terms of the modern music industry it has been a very long time. Rhapsody of Fire‘s last album, Triumph or Agony, was released in 2006 to almost no fanfare. I didn’t see a single advertisement for the album, I never knew that it was being released and I had no idea that they had even been working on a new album at all. One day I just walked into my local record store and saw it on the shelf there. The total lack of build-up foreshadowed how I felt about the album, and frankly the record that had gone before it: it lacked what I was looking for in a Rhapsody of Fire album. The guitar orientation was gone, the songs were not as huge, the guitar not as bombastic and the feel was generally one that I just could never really get into. Both Symphony of Enchanted Lands pt. II and Triumph or Agony, while technically filling the standards set by the band, certainly didn’t live up to what I see as the band’s crowning jewel Power of the Dragonflame.

So, that should give the reader the standard by which I judge The Frozen Tears of Angels. How does it compare to Power of the Dragonflame? Well, I can proudly say that this is the record that I expected Symphony of Enchanted Lands pt. II to be. The music is huge, fustian and exaggerated, just like you expect, but it is also the most guitar oriented record that the band has ever produced. It is this element in front of all things, that will make the average Rhapsody of Fire fan jump for joy. Gone are the slower passages, gone are the questions of where the guitar solo is because Luca Turilli, as he stated in his interview with me, “rediscovered his first love,” and this record is littered with some amazing guitar solos. My personal favorite comes from the fairly simple, but fragile and beautiful passages in “Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio” a song similar to “The Village of the Dwarves”. But every song has amazing solos, the amazing harmonies and intertwining neo-baroque melodies on “Crystal Moonlight”, the great Iron Maiden double lead from “On the Way to Ainor” and so on and so forth. This record is a triumph for every neo-classical guitar loving nerd out there. Not just because of the standard solos, but because Turilli’s creativity lies in how well he blends his virtuosity in with his overall compositions.

And the overall composition of this record is also a major triumph. The use of Christopher Lee and more photorealistic artwork and so forth was all in an attempt to be taken more seriously, and while I’m not sure that this is actually happening, the band has continued to impress with their understanding of the album as a series of symphonic movements. One of the things that makes The Frozen Tears of Angels great is that while the songs stand alone, the album is not an album that you want to break out for one track. Instead, the dynamics make you want to listen to the whole album straight through and just sit in awe of the breadth and depth of the music. And while the band has often lost me in the past on their more epic tracks, even the 11 minute title track was a gripping piece. The album follows an audio story arc, just like the previous albums, but being able to combine these feelings together and turn them into both convincing neo-classical music and awesome heavy metal has never been done better by the band (or any other band, for that matter).

This is getting long, but one more final point: I have focused heavily on the guitar-oriented nature of this album, but there are a few things that stand out. The band elected (probably for  budget reasons) to not go with a full orchestra this time. While Luca Turilli denies it, part of me wonders if that didn’t actually help the sound of this record because it was something that was completely manipulatable by the musicians in the studio. I would bet that there are things that you can write for a symphony that cannot be played convincingly by a symphony and sometimes I wonder if Rhapsody of Fire‘s style doesn’t overpower the musicians they’ve hired to play it. All of the orchestrations are perfect, and the band itself is tight as hell. This is one of the tightest rhythm sections out there, not to mention the vocals of Fabio Lione are accented perfection.

The Frozen Tears of Angels is the perfect Rhapsody of Fire comeback record. After four years of chaos, and the band’s still ongoing legal fight with Joey DeMaio (who signed the band and tried to steal their sound), Rhapsody of Fire is back with a power metal vengeance. They could not have chosen a better time or written better music for this imminent return. I hope this record helps push them back into the spotlight and that the next (at least) year of touring is good for the band, for all the individuals involved and is a kick in the teeth to everyone trying to hold down the most powerful force in power metal.

So, much to my happiness, excitement and general satisfaction, Rhapsody [of Fire] has finally released more information about their new album! The record had previously been announced to be coming out on the 5th of March, but this obviously didn’t happen. Now let me say, first: the artwork is great! Sure, it’s not as colorful as the previous stuff, but I really like it. Secondly, I can’t wait to hear what these guys sound like now that they’re not shackled by the Manowar dudes. I don’t know what went down there, but I would love to get an interview about that stuff, because honestly, that shit is fascinating. They were forced to stop touring? They got like no support. Manowar basically stole their sound on the following album. That shit is crazy.

Anyway, you can now download the new song for free from their website! I’ve downloaded it and listened to it a bunch of times. It’s great. Nice to hear a good guitar solo in there, too. I cannot wait. So the new album, entitled The Frozen Tears of Angels will be released on the 30th of April in Europe! Who’s excited!? Angry Metal Guy is excited. Now if only I could actually get promo of these things….

Sigh // Scenes from Hell
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Best black metal I’ve heard in a long time
Label: The End Records
Websites: myspace.com/sighjapan | sighjapan.com
Release Dates: US: 01.19.2010 | EU: 29.01.2010

Let me start with the a territory that isn’t very comfortable for many in heavy metal: orchestrations. Heavy metal has seen many variations on the classical orchestration in many different subgenres. Neo-classical metal, like the wanky stuff with Yngwe or Symphony X, has long bragged about the influence of baroque and classical music. Bands like Rhapsody of Fire and Epica do things that sound like they should be straight out of a movie score and black metal even has a symphonic sub-genre, most notably filled by Dimmu Borgir, whose symphonics have gone over the top in the last few years with the addition of Mustis (though we’ll see what happens now that he’s gone). Never before in my tenure of heavy metal listening have I heard orchestrations used in a black metal record to such effect as they have been used on Sigh‘s new record Scenes from Hell.

There are not very many bands that have the kind of respect for progressiveness, yet extremity, that Japan’s very own Sigh has in the underground. Not only has Sigh managed to reinvent themselves pretty consistently, they still consistently produce records that are both extreme and yet somehow oddly catchy and palatable. There are not many bands that can say that they can do both of those things with any consistency. While Scenes from Hell doesn’t technically take on new territory, it does so with an approach that I think is highly novel and very interesting: not only do they use a real orchestra, but instead of using the orchestrations as a background to standard black metal they are instead used, often times, as the leading piece in the track. Where good riffs exist, there is very little orchestration or not at all. In these sections, the rawness and riffyness of this record stands out on its own. But, when the blazing riffs or death marches are added together with orchestrations that is where this record shines.

Scenes from Hell is a triumph of excellent orchestration, musicianship and performance. Simultaneously raw and beautiful, Sigh walks the line between beautiful classical music and raw black metal and never falters or falls too far into one or the other. I am reminded, actually, of Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s 2009 release Oracles by comparison, which is the only album that I feel comes close to the same kind superior approach to classical music—however, they did that completely without orchestrations, carrying the melodies on the guitars instead. However, it is the same qualities, the heavy melody and smart arrangements, and thereby unique approach to metal, that make these two albums similar in my book. If you’re looking to sample this record, something you shouldn’t do (seriously, just go buy it), you should check out the tracks “L’art de Mourir,” a perfect example of the contrasts this album offers between rawness and trumpet orchestrations, and “The Summer Funeral” a funeral dirge that will be stuck in your head for hours after you listen to it.

Honestly, the only complaint that I can even come up with at all is that the production could be better. However, I’m actually torn on this as well, as I think the production actually helps keep this raw. Some of the modern orchestrated black metal stuff, in my opinion, has lost a lot of its rawness and atmosphere. While the production on this record is totally claustrophobic, it gives the orchestra the room it needs and it keeps the metal nice and raw. In some ways, the production, which some have complained about, is probably the best way they could have produced this record. Not too clean, but not too muddy as to lose the good contrasts.

In any case, I think that this is the best follow-up to Hangman’s Hymn that’s even possible. I think a lot of people will claim, unfortunately, that these two records are far too similar to each other and that Hangman’s Hymn is superior. I think neither of these claims are true. The writing on Scenes from Hell is not thematic and because of the production, and where the orchestrations sit, it also draws itself away from the pack when it comes to symphonic black metal. Scenes from Hell will go down as a masterwork of black metal, in my book, and shows that black metal can still be creative and interesting. Buy it.