“I know you probably already went and looked at the score, and you’ve asked yourself “but wait, isn’t slam just one big joke?” An exaggerated and uncouth sense of humor, which often borders plain dumb, slathers an overwhelming majority of slam releases, so it’s a fair assumption.” Grand slam.
“Punk and metal have a complicated relationship, or at least we treat them like they do. As fans, we like to be something—a metalhead, a punk, a dissobro. As music seekers, we like to have genre guides—punk-born tags like crust, mathcore, grindcore, metal-born tags like doom, death, black, kissing cousins like sludge, thrash, deathcore. And the bands we value tend to play to or play with these expectations. Others eschew the norms of where they’re placed or even fight the idea of being the guitar music we’ve all come to love—but not Systemik Viølence. These Portuguese knuckleheads just wanna play screeching chords, overdriven bass, and venomous vocal lashings loud, fast, and loud.” Feel the wiølence.
“Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, but as a creative tool, it can offer us the ability to look at the past to dig through elements that shine rose-tint or otherwise—or at least cover them with a modern spit polish. Not far removed from the idea of Brents’ chiptune grind explorations with Gonemage, Memorrhage explores the br-deng grumblings of Mudvayne, the hazy aggro-interventions of Deftones, and the stop-start core-isms of Zao.” Nu hage music.
“Grant the Sun at surface appears as Norway’s newest metal jam band export, crossing ears with sounds that conjure the one-off twangy dream of Graviton or the chug-n-swell maestros Russian Circles. Reaching equally to a shoegaze fizzle (“Mariana,” “Vertigo”) and modern prog syncopation (“Machina,” “Hits like a Wave”), Grant the Sun brings many flavors to the table.” Panda Express.
“Smashing together the legacy talents of performers from Therapy? (Andy Cairns), Sex Swing (Jason Stoll), Petbrick (Wayne Adams), and Three Trapped Tigers (Adam Betts), one would expect Supercluster to live up to its namesake in wild, noise-drenched grandeur.” UTINI!!
“Now nine albums along a slow and steady career, Anubis Gate returns after six years of radio silence with Interference, teasing a new level of sonic diversity. With great prog, comes great power—or at least that’s what I want! So take your pills and put your helmet on cause Anubis Gate’s cosmic aspirations hope to launch you pleasantly into the great unknown.” Prog in a gated place.
“Four years Ok Goodnight has pondered on their whimsical blend of art rock, math rock, and prog. Each member fresh off a stint at Berklee, and with frontwoman Casey Lee Williams additional years of experience as the voice of the RWBY soundtracks, Ok Goodnight felt it best to take a low and slow approach for this full-length follow-up to their debut.” The fox and the prog,
“2021 is one of those years that should have an asterisk attached for one reason or another, not the least of which is that our dear Kronos went and reviewed power metal favorably. Yes, it was Red Cain’s 2021 effort Kindred: Act II that solidified his inner weenie]—power metal of the most synth-entangled and anthemic variety.” Power to the people!
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Poland invades YOU!
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Feel the Paraphilia.
