GardensTale

Will be destroying crappy nu-metal and praising crappy prog until the sky dies.

Felskinn – Mind Over Matter Review

By GardensTale on March 14, 2018 in 2018, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Rock of Angels Records, Swiss Metal, Heavy Metal, 28 comments

“Let us put on the hat of the elitist for a moment. What separates us from the mainstream pleb? When it comes to extreme metal, the answer is obvious. No mainstream music is so dense, complex and abrasive. Hit lists rarely contain tracks that actively, overtly work to create discomfort and repulsion. When it comes to less obviously anti-commercialism, though, the differences become less pronounced, and a multitude of heavy metal bands have indeed been part of what was considered hit music, back in the glorious ’80s. Felskinn tries to appeal to the hit chart-sensitive among the population while recognizing that classic metal doesn’t embody widely accepted characteristics anymore.” Taste the Felskinn.

Vile Creature – Cast of Static and Smoke Review

By GardensTale on March 8, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge, 32 comments

“Why do we love music of such a harsh, ugly aesthetic? Once, during my college years, I was asked this question by a project coach. It wasn’t the first time I heard the question, but it was the most memorable, as for the first time it wasn’t asked as an attack but of genuine interest. I found I did not have a satisfying answer. “It has a furious energy, a certain power that gives me a rush for all its darkness,” was the best I could say. But at the time, I did not yet listen to doom metal, and if I had, it might have complicated my search for a genuine answer further. Because how would I describe the appeal to bands like Vile Creature, a duo who makes deliberate, hideous music that is slow and steady.”

Snakefeast – In Chaos, Solace Review

By GardensTale on March 6, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Experimental Metal, Grimoire Records, Reviews, 39 comments

“Experimental metal is a tricky genre. For one, it’s defined by indefinability. Where do you draw the line between progressive, simply odd, and truly experimental? What do you call it when a band emulates another’s experimental sound? And, the further off the beaten path a band walks, the smaller the prospective audience is likely to get. Nonetheless, I applaud bands who try to go beyond thinking out of the box and disregard the box altogether. If nothing else, it’ll always have a unique sound, something the majority of bands will never be able to lay claim to.” Saxy boys.

Huntsmen – American Scrap Review

By GardensTale on March 2, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Progressive Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge, 6 comments

“On their debut American Scrap, Chicago quartet Huntsmen blend Americana with a progressive take on searing sludge metal. But can they do justice to the self-proclaimed Greatest Country in the World?” Born in the U.S.A..

Usurpress – Interregnum Review

By GardensTale on February 26, 2018 in 2018, Agonia Records, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Gothic Metal, Progressive Metal, 0 comments

“Consistency is a virtue, most of the time. Oftentimes, it is vital for a band’s recognizability, allowing only for incremental growth and change, both within an album and across several. But it can be taken too far with a sound growing stale, or eschewed completely for avant-garde whiplash effects (see Igorrr). Usurpress love mixing different genres into their Swedish death metal, risking consistency issues but aiming for the reward of diversity and unpredictability.” Overthrow the expected.

Blackwülf – Sinister Sides Review

By GardensTale on February 20, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Reviews, Ripple Music, Stoner Metal, Stoner Metal, 0 comments

“Ah, the sun-scorched desert of California. The birthplace of stoner metal with the rise ofKyuss, the arid plains are infertile for all but rocking grooves and fat riffs. Though the movement spread worldwide, including the current stoner peak in Sweden, there’s still something about bands rising from the original dustpan. Blackwülf are attempting the same with their catchy brand of accessible stoner, judging by their sophomore full-length Sinister Sides.” Desert riffs and fuzzy gifts.

Genocide Pact – Order of Torment Review

By GardensTale on February 8, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 0 comments

“Though riffs are the backbone of many metal genres, there’s a few types where you can get away with their absence. Atmospheric metal, like drone and anything with the post- prefix barely graze the subject matter, and many progressive bands prefer ambling about with bridges and solos to memorable hooks. These genres are favorites among musicians lacking that innate ability to construct tasty nuggets of melody that can carry the songs. Death metal, especially the old school kind, doesn’t have this luxury (extreme atonal examples aside).” Death does not smile on the riffless.

The Dead Centuries – Race Against Time Review

By GardensTale on February 5, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Progressive Metal, 27 comments

“The much-maligned genre of djent seems to be undergoing a change as of late. It’s becoming more diffuse, more rarely a goal unto itself and more often part of the progressive metal vocabulary. This is a good thing because distilled djent commonly boils down to an exercise in making technical prowess sound as dull as possible. As an ingredient, rather than a meal, it can be used to contrast intense guitar sweeping, as a deliberately unsteady base or a breather passage.” Season sparingly.

Cities of Mars – Temporal Rifts [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

By GardensTale on February 3, 2018 in 2017, Argonauta Records, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Swedish Metal, Things You MIght Have Missed 2017, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 16 comments

“Social media has had a major impact on our lives. From reading racist diatribes on Facebook to constructing shelves from things that were never meant to be shelves on Pinterest, few are completely outside the bubble. One positive change is the short distance between artists and fans. Take Cities of Mars, for instance. Earlier this year, my girlfriend was randomly added by these unknowns from Sweden. Fast forward a few months and we were chatting them up after a show in Antwerp, two in a crowd of a dozen including the opening band, the earthshaking riffs that’d emanated from the cafe’s ten square foot stage still ringing in our ears. You may now be thinking: “GardensTale, you’re abusing your power as an AMG writer just to plug a band we’d never hear otherwise, just because you met them!” And you’d be right, but I wouldn’t do that if Temporal Rifts wasn’t a sweet, solid and succinct slab of spacey stoner doom.” Nepotism and Neurosis.

Death Keepers – Rock This World Review

By GardensTale on January 18, 2018 in 2018, Fighter Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Heavy Metal, 45 comments

“Of all metal subgenres, heavy metal is the one with the honor of regularly being used as a synonym for metal at large. Considering it’s arguably the oldest of the bunch, this should come as little surprise, but one could also argue the case for doom metal, which no one outside of the scene ever heard about. Is it then due to age, exposure, or just my own warped view that heavy metal seems to be the most stagnant of metal subgenres? I won’t say nothing fresh ever arises from its corner (Sumerlands is a fine example) but by and large, heavy metal bands today all seem like pale imitations of the golden boys from the 1980’s. Death Keepers don’t do much to change that impression with debut Rock This World.” Remember the old, those days were gold.