“I realize that my covering this album will be a little controversial for some readers out there. Yes, the cover is a close-up of a dude’s heavily made-up eyeball, accentuated by black fingernail-polished hands. And yes, it’s metalcore.” We dont often highlight metalcore albums (for obvious reasons ), but Grymm has a soft spot for this golden oldie of the core scene.
“It’s the month of December, and there be some slim pickings here at the Angry Metal Guy Fortress. With the exception of a potential End of Year Candidate, it’s the month where bands that you haven’t checked out all year are scrutinized, lists are finalized, and if you are at all like me, you are avoiding all shopping centers as if they were quarantine zones.” Grymm may lack the proper holiday spirit and the requisite love for all Mankind, but the man knows his metal.
“There’s never a shortage of songs dedicated to the happiest of cities, where there is absolutely no corruption, everyone is peaceful and copacetic, and the smiles are as wide as the iconic rivers. Are we talkling about Disneyland? Hollywood? No, silly! We’re talking about the most pure of American cities: Washington, D.C.!” That nest of serpents gets an unappealing expose and honestly, it had it coming.
“England’s Eye of Solitude floored the unsuspecting masses last year with the epic Canto III, a funeral doom masterpiece that made them a band to watch out for. Hell, it even landed at #2 on my Top Ten(ish) Albums of 2013 list. Not ones to sit back and rest on their funeral wreaths, they return with Dear Insanity, an ambitious 50-minute, one song EP chronicling a man’s decent into utter chaos and insanity. Seeing as how they quite remarkably captured feelings of doom and despair with Canto III, they’re sure to replicate that magic again, right?” Insanity is calling 50 minutes of music an EP!
“I’m sure by now you all know about Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings. In short form, your favorite band is going to eventually suck because they’ll either run their ideas to the ground, or they’ll change and you’ll want to kill them for it.” This likely isn’t the intro you want attached to a review of a Primordial album, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Bhleg are a two-piece black metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. That’s pretty much all the information I can gleam from their Facebook page and their label’s website, and they don’t have a page at Encyclopedia Metallum. One thing I did find from my research is that “Bhleg” is Proto-Indo-European for “to shine,” which totally threw off our jokes within the Angry Metal Guy castle, as we were wondering if “Meh,” “Hmmph,” and “*Indifferent Shoulder Shrug*” were all utilized for band names already.” I like “Bleurgh” myself.
“In the year and some change that I’ve been writing for Angry Metal Guy, I’ve learned some very valuable lessons. Constant usage of the words “samey,” “juxtaposition,” and “swagger” will get you the Eternal Stinkeye. “Corsetcore” is not a real subgenre. We do not mention Jørn Lande He Who Shall Not Be Named around these parts for fear of his arrival, Dio cover songs in tow. But most importantly, you don’t finalize your Top Ten(ish) list in the month of November because a band can (and will) mess that shit up on you.” Grymm is learning while the black metal’s burning.
“”Emphatic Music.” This is how the PDF file describes the accompanying Cromagia, the third album by Italian septet In Tormentata Quiete, in which the band blends theatricality, black metal, and progressive folk elements into a heady mixture. According to the bio, Cromagia revolves around the concept that our existence is colored by emotions, and the music explains how these songs are an interpretation of said colors. So is this a melting pot of the prismatic rainbow colors of humanity, or is it just a puddle of crayons left out in the sun for too damn long?” Roy Gee Biv and all the chromatic death crew are here to paint you a memory.
“Sweden’s Anguish have a lot of hype going for them. Their debut, 2012’s Through the Archdemon’s Head, turned the heads of fans, critics, and foxes the world over, bludgeoning everyone with their massive mix of Candlemass, Trouble, and the *ahem* unique vocals of J. Dee. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to check that album out, but when news hit that their newest release, Mountain, would take their sound and streamline it, cutting out the fat and giving us just the meaty morsels of their maddening dinner spread, I took the opportunity to jump in…” There may or may not be some minor hype about this band, but we ignore the buzz and deal in facts. Just the facts.
“When you spend six years together, playing in each others’ bands and various side projects, it’s assumed that you get a strong feel of what each member is capable of bringing forth in a relatively new project. With each member also a part of the great UK doom/death outfit Eye of Solitude, Sidious has the distinct advantage of years of camaraderie and musical experiences together under their belt.” Lots of time in the tour fan can be a good thing, or lead to…complications. Which shall it be for this crew?
