GardensTale

Will be destroying crappy nu-metal and praising crappy prog until the sky dies.
meth. – Shame Review

meth. – Shame Review

“A fundamental part of being human is our never-ending growth and education. When last I reviewed meth. I was bowled over by the barbed dissonance and big noisy riffs. Mother of Red Light was a filthy brick of misanthropic noisecore that got me on challenging textures and sheer violent rage moreso than on the particulars of their songwriting. Since then, I have grown and I have learned. I cut my disso-teeth on Teeth and survived a full spin of Pyrrhon somehow. I come back to meth. a stronger, wiser frog. But the five fellows from Chicago must have grown, too, and I imagine the last 4 years must have done little to dull the edge of their vitriol. Does it still show in the music?” Same drug, increased purity.

Secret Rule – Uninverse Review

Secret Rule – Uninverse Review

“Well folks, it’s been a good run. This is without a doubt the longest I have gone without landing myself an awful corset-core album. I cherry-picked from the promo bin a little more, I got lucky with a few random rolls. But the dice always turn against you sometime, as any D&D player will attest. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the genre and the worst band name since Significant Point. Then I saw the cover and my fears were confirmed because LOOK AT IT! Gaze upon this absolute debacle and weep for laughter.” Fear and secret rulers.

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart Review

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart Review

“Angry Metal Guy might be the only place on the internet where Madder Mortem won’t need an introduction for a significant amount of its readers. The Norwegian band first made waves here with Red in Tooth and Claw, and those waves got much bigger with Marrow earning a well-deserved 4.5 and topping several lists. It’s also the only band with a movie review on the site. When there is no news on the band I still can’t stop name-dropping them, even when it’s not relevant to the music I’m reviewing. So when I contacted the band to send them the movie review and they told me they were in the middle of recording a new album, my inner hype machine went into overdrive.” Heart of a fanboy.

Inver – On This Earth Review

Inver – On This Earth Review

Inver is another unknown and unsigned yet unusual gothic metal band. Inver has no releases, no demos, and barely an online presence to speak of. I can’t even confirm the country of origin with certainty, though British or Irish seem the most likely petri dishes.” Unidentified sadbois.

Genus Ordinis Dei – The Beginning Review

Genus Ordinis Dei – The Beginning Review

“One can’t credibly accuse Genus Ordinis Dei of a lack of ambition. Predecessor Glare of Deliverance used bombastic symphonic death metal to weave a tale of religious prosecution and witchcraft. The entire storyline was accompanied by a series of self-produced music videos. A big project, but the album itself was undercut by bloat and failed to impress me as much as 2017’s Great Olden Dynasty had done. Now, as the year draws to a close, the Biblical story-weavers bring us The Beginning, another religion-themed concept album accompanied by videos, but with only 4 videos and a pared-down running time, I felt hopeful the Italians would not be making the same mistake twice.” Big religion.

Foetal Juice – Grotesque Review

Foetal Juice – Grotesque Review

“Here at AMG we have a feature that runs every so often called Contrite Metal Guy. For those who’ve never seen one pass by, this is our take-backsies article, where we retroactively up or downgrade review scores with the benefit of hindsight. As they are infrequent and I’m rarely wrong, I haven’t participated in one yet, but I have been brooding over one entry I must someday make. I overrated Foetal Juice’s last album Gluttony, just a tad. It’s a very good album, but not a great one. It doesn’t have the memorability to give it sufficient longevity for a place among the hallowed 4.0s.” The Juice is looser.

Receiver – Whispers of Lore Review

Receiver – Whispers of Lore Review

“Despite Iron Maiden being my entry point into metal, NWoBHM has never really been a mainstay in my catalog. Maybe it’s because so few bands could live up to my first flame. Maybe it’s because after my Maiden voyage, I dropped right into the rapids of melodic death metal and it took a while before I rediscovered the appeal of not having harsh vocals. Whatever the case, traditional metal frequently languished on my personal side-line, and it doesn’t deserve that. Perhaps I can make some amends shining a little spotlight on Receiver, a new band with an old sound, hailing from the ever-contested island of Cyprus.” Defend the Isle of Olde!

Sigir – Rainmaker Review

Sigir – Rainmaker Review

“Us metalheads have an above-average reverence for classic bands, I feel, but the genre is doomed to die without ample young blood. Finland, officially the most metal country in the world, is fertile ground for such saplings to sprout, and Sigir is among its freshest crop. After a previous project named Ritual of Terror never made it off the runway, three of its members found a new guitar player and plowed on. Rainmaker is their debut, the first full-length any of the foursome ever released, promising a fresh take on black-infused melodic death metal. A bold claim from a troupe of greenhorns; can they live up to it?” Making it rain (blood).

Iskandr – Spiritus Sylvestris Review

Iskandr – Spiritus Sylvestris Review

“The Netherlands has a very healthy black metal scene, with many bands using peat-bogs and Germanic folklore as inspiration. Until recently, Iskandr was part of that tradition. Twelve gave the band a mixed review last time, and clearly, this caused a major identity crisis in drummer M. Koops (Fluisteraars et al) and everything-elser O. Iskandr (Dool, Turia et al). Because Spiritus Sylvestris marks a huge shift in the band’s sound, going from shrieking and blastbeats to pastoral atmospheric doom.” Horse of a different color.