“You wouldn’t know it by my amazing metal cred, but I’m actually a huge nerd. And, as such, it seems to be my moral obligation to watch British sci-fi staple Doctor Who religiously. It’s a campy affair with loads of creatures and concepts that seem to have been invented by someone going “what if…“ and constructing entire episodes around that.” Destroy! Destroy!
“Reviewing is not a complicated process. We listen to a promo album the same way an average listener would, with our heart and gut, gauging our emotional state during each separate song and the album as a whole. Aside from that, we analyze from a more clinical point of view, weighing factors like originality, history, and experience of the band, the skill of individual members, and production quality. We weigh all the good against all the bad like Anubis and his feather, but every now and then an album comes along that doesn’t seem to have any flaws.” The reviewing game is not for the squeamish.
“Album length is an ongoing discussion here at Angry Metal Guy, with one side arguing for more material and the option to listen in parts or mix tracks into playlists, and the correct side arguing for self-editing, trimming the fat and creating a cohesive listening experience.” Revise, revisit, remove.
“The mainstream view of metal is that it’s either scary or ridiculous. Which, I suppose, makes us all a bunch of clowns, both in how society views us and in our low-key terrorization of the collective subconscious. But you have to admit that a lot of metal really is a bit idiotic, with grown men playing Viking metal, stringing together the foulest descriptions of gore, or, in the case of power metal, screaming about flaming dragons in the skies.” Those dragons are en fuego!
“Commercialized metal is one of the strangest and most unnatural phenomena our beloved genre has gone through. I’m not talking about metal that happened to get mainstream recognition, by the way. Even Metallica, with the most lucrative metal act in history, started off as a thrash metal band like any other and only gained widespread fame after 5 albums. I’m talking about bands that seem to have been created or molded precisely to sell metal to the masses, like Amaranthe or Sonic Syndicate.” The vogue of metal.
“Listening to Enslaved, Deathspell Omega, or Immortal now makes it obvious that an evil tone and master is something you can achieve without sacrificing sound quality. A dynamic production suited for black metal can actually increase and enhance the inherent unease of the genre. Yet, there are still persevering atavists like Uburen, whose primary goal seems to be emulating the aural mutilation of Norway ca 1993.” Behold the Tree of Strife.
“Retro is the most marketable term for old junk we’ve ever come up with. The nostalgia driven desire to reproduce the splendor of 20 years ago, regardless of what year it is, pretty much started as soon as ’20 years ago’ no longer meant World War II, and it has only increased in magnitude and ubiquity since then.” We never step on a great line.
“Captain Crimson are a different beast than the two debuts I praised before, however. With two records already under their belt, these boys have a confident swagger and straightforward gait, focusing on catchy riffs, a solid yet playful bass, and the voice of a 22-year-old kid cruising through Palm Desert in an open-top junker.” Sofa King stoner.
“Ah, the seventies. An excellent decade for wanton sex, drug abuse and consequently, psychedelic music. In the common mindset, the foremost psychedelic band is of course Pink Floyd, and with good reason. But another influential band that tends to get overlooked, is Hawkwind, who had a bit more oomph than the aforementioned space rock colossus, using experimental timbres and textures to accentuate their otherwise fairly straightforward proto-metal. The influence of Hawkwind (who, amazingly, are still around) is clear on the debut of the trippy Swedish quartet Katla.” A might (Hawk)wind blows.
“One of the best ways to catch my attention with a promo blurb is to compare yourself to Clutch. Not only are the Marylanders among my all-time favorites, their instantly recognizable sound – courtesy of a host of imaginative rock ‘n roll riffs and the amazing throat and lyrics of Neil Fallon – hasn’t inspired a horde of imitators. Finland-based Kremlin had only this magical name listed as an influence on the promo, so it was with ample anticipation that I first fired up their self-titled debut.” Those who invoke Clutch had best be clutch.
