“It shouldn’t be a surprise that following up the best thing you’ve ever done is a tough task; no wonder some bands go in a different direction entirely. Aephanemer, freshly signed to Napalm Records, are not running from that legacy.” Boars before swine.
“Few musicians have as long and varied a career as Tamás Kátai of Thy Catafalque. The one-man outfit may have attracted an entourage of impactful guests over the years, but the end product was always, is always him. The throughlines of his writing and personal touch continue to persist even now, a decade since he struck out on his own. However, his most recent outings, Geometria and Naiv, lacked that certain je ne sais qoui essential to his kaleidoscopic sound. Vadak marks Thy Catafalque’s fifth entry in seven years, a common cause of too much lack and not enough luster. Of course, just as I was ready to pass on Vadak with the same half-shrug as 2020’s Naiv, Kátai starts dropping bombs.” Thy bomber.
“‘Don’t judge a book by its cover,’ so the saying goes. But in our modern metal landscape, where a single look at an album cover or a song name can hook us or repel us forever, it’s damn hard to do otherwise. Mister Misery (strike one) are dying for your attention, as illustrated by that album cover (strike two). Their so-called brand of “horror metal” should be strike three, good morning, good afternoon, good night. And yet… maybe read the first page.” Twisted Mister.
“Supergroups have always stuck me as a weird concept in metal, and a dated one in rock. That sort of fits Tomahawk, the famous(ish) oddball alt-metal/heavy rock outfit founded by Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More) and Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard). Over the last 20 years, the gritty quartet haven’t aged a day, forever rocking like it’s 1998 and they just walked out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for the tenth time.” Toxic creativity.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a poser by any other word would be unhalled. What’s Tragedian? It is nor fun nor epic nor soaring nor uplifting nor any other part belonging to a power metal band. But a name it is, and a foreboding one still.” Tragicomedy.
“As reviewers, we’ve been indoctrinated to inhale this sound and ask for seconds. This is born partially from two decades of Scandi feet-kissing, but also from a formula that, begrudging as I am to admit, often works quite well. It falls to Apotheosis to prove Aethyrick on their merits and not merely by their company. As you might expect, separating the two is trickier than it sounds.” Standing on the shoulders of monsters.
Dr. Wvrm delivers his Top Ten(ish) of 2020 to all his patients. It sure as hell ain’t no trve vaccine.
L. Saunders and Mark Z. unveil the kvlt, savage, and unusual. They also give us their Top Ten(ish) of 2020.
![Houkago Grind Time – Bakyunsified (Moe to the Gore) [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/041466.jpg)
“Far be it from me to let my shit-tier time management fall on Andrew Lee, the one man behind one-man-band Houkago Grind Time (and 2020 death metal standout Ripped to Shreds). Bakyunsified (Moe to the Gore) may house a whole lot of meta anime piss-takes, but don’t let that fool you: this spin is more grind to the core than it has any right to be.” Anime grind had to happen.
Ayreon has a new ginormous rock/metal opera ready to debut, and we have a useful primer to catch you up on all the yacht metal you already missed.
