Grymm and Kronos have been a this metal review thing a long, long time. Therefore, their Top Ten lists should be considered essential reading. Read and learn.
Riverside
Mark Z.’s and L. Saunders’ Top Ten of 2018
More lists for the list machine! The men who unwisely go by their real names, Mark Z. and L. Saunders boldly proclaim their best albums of 2018.
Huck N’ Roll’s and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten of 2018
The top tens are marching, and Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch are ready to spread the gospel of good metal across the land. You wanted lists, you got lists!
Riverside – Wasteland Review
“I did not know what to expect when I started listening to Riverside’s new album Wasteland. In a way, I was surprised that it was written and released. After Piotr Grudziński’s sudden and untimely death in 2016 the band was effusive in their love for him and open about what a deeply personal loss they had suffered. The three remaining members elected to release a compilation of instrumental material featuring Piotr’s work and songwriting in 2016 entitled Eye of the Soundscape. This was followed by a live album called Lost ‘n’ Found on Bandcamp independently which featured Piotr in a show on the 18th of October, 2015 in the Netherlands. And then, apparently, Riverside began writing new music.” From loss, creation.
Obsidian Kingdom – A Year with No Summer Review
“Catalonian prog-rock quintet Obsidian Kingdom caught my ear with Mantiis, an ambitious and cinematic debut that I’ve come back to often since its 2012 release. The album bordered many genres, but its kaleidoscopic diversity was more than a gimmick; Mantiis felt like a truly complete experience, complete with groovy death riffs, Floydian ambience, acidic snarls, and heartfelt synth-piano ballads. As the band like to say, it’s “hard-to-classify,” and just when I got my hopes up for more of the same, A Year with No Summer comes along to cleverly sidestep them.” The summer wind came blowing in from across Catalonia.
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2015
Twenty-fifteen has been a hell of a ride. It’s been one of my favorite years for music in quite a long time, and I’ve been struggling to prune this list down to 10(ish) records that I really love. But in some ways, the top 5 has never been easier for me to choose. What I find most fascinating about this list is how completely out of step I feel with what I see as being touted as the coolest parts of the underground. I seem to be pretty far afield while everyone else seems to be fawning over the latest ’70s retro doom phenomenon, hope drones, or the latest example of black metal kids missing that intensity not 15 minute songs was the cool part of black metal. This is what it feels like to have been left behind by a scene; to have lived long enough to be that old guy shaking his fist at new trends in metal.
Dr. Fisting’s Top 10(ish) of 2015
“2015 seems to have yielded a larger-than-usual crop of good music. For the first time since I’ve joined this fine website, I’ve found a lot more than 10 albums that could have easily made this list, and I’ve had to make some tough calls. Obviously, this is a good problem to have, and I’m not complaining.”
As always, if your favorite album isn’t on my list, it’s because your opinion is wrong, you have terrible taste in music and I don’t like you. Onward!
Riverside – Love, Fear and the Time Machine Review
Poland’s Riverside should be no stranger to the dedicated reader of these Angry pages. After discovering the band’s Anno Domini High Definition in 2009, Riverside has sneakily become one of the staples of my playlist. I wasn’t completely enamored with Shrine of New Generation Slaves; but its chill, more reflective moments are the ones that I keep coming back to: “The Depth of Self Delusion,” yes, but especially, “We Got Used to Us,” which has a slow groove and a transcendent chorus. Still, SoNGS lacked the punch and progressive drive that ADHD—and the band’s earlier material—had, and landed far more in the territory of post-Marillion prog, without the brooding darkness into which late Gazpacho has wandered recently. SoNGS was, arguably, nothing more or less than a road sign, though, pointing towards 2015’s latest record: Love, Fear and the Time Machine.
Soen – Tellurian Review
“Soen’s Cognitive, which was released in 2012, was the band’s debut and it bore a striking resemblance to the work of Tool and, to be fair, A Perfect Circle. Despite this undeniable likeness, the record was chock full of fat grooves, great writing, beautiful vocal performances from vocalist Eklöf and amazing performances from all the musicians—but especially metal’s best bassist (Steve Digiorgio if there’s any doubt) and one of metal’s best drummers (Martin Lopez). I’ve often felt a bit guilty for labeling Cognitive as too derivative, because despite the sound it has been a regular on my playlist since then—and I would hate to be responsible for pigeonholing a band before they had time to develop; great debuts are few and far between.” But the operative question is: can Soen step through Tool’s shadow and come out the other side?
Angry Metal Guy’s Five Year Anniversary Post
In 2009 Angry Metal Guy started. Since then we’ve produced hundreds of reviews, and Angry Metal Guy has cranked at the world for free. Check out what he takes away from the whole experience.
