“No More Torture may be the debut album from Seattle’s Vanishment, but the music contained within is not the product of genre n00bs. The band’s members are grizzled metal and rock veterans, and they’ve chosen a pretty straightforward thrash style for this project. Promo materials cite Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica as Vanishment’s source material, and after spending time with the album, it’s hard to refute that list.” Speed merchants.
“Anyone else ever find themselves forgetting that they like a genre of music? Doom metal is probably the most-often-forgotten stepchild of my psyche, and I rarely give the style a moment’s notice. But whenever I find myself exposed to those big, lumbering riffs, and haunted vocals, I’m always reminded just how awesome classic doom metal can be—emphasis on the classic.” Mountains full of doom.
“Hailing from the Netherlands, Defy the Curse do indeed play a mashup of death metal and hardcore, but they are in no way a stereotypical metalcore or deathcore outfit. This metal/core hybrid sounds like the rumbling Entombed-meets-Discharge style of a band like Black Breath.” Defy the d-beat.
Holdeneye throws his weight around with a hefty Top Ten(ish) list. Can you move it? Likely not.
“Not much has changed for Detherous on the style front. Last time I referenced the early thrash of Kreator and the early death of…Death, but the most fitting returning comparison belongs to Demolition Hammer. As if the increased groove profile of Unrelenting Malevolence wasn’t enough to convince you that Detherous worships Demoliton Hammer’s Epidemic of Violence, the band has even included a cover of that album’s incredible opener.” Unrelenting hammer smashed facing.
“For me, 2022 has been chock-full of highly anticipated albums from returning favorites, so it’s only fitting that my last review of the year should be more of the same. Three years ago, I told you not to miss Beyond the Wall of Desolation, the debut full-length from Massachusetts band High Command and late addition to my year-end list. When I first heard that record, I immediately fell in love with the band’s epic, fantasy-themed crossover thrash and was impressed by the way they were able to take a bunch of old-school, typically aggro styles and mash them together into something oozing with grandeur.” Command to highly overrate.
“When we last saw Judicator grace these hallowed pages, ‘consistent’ was a word that could have been aptly used to describe the band’s situation. For the second time in as many years, they were releasing a historically themed opus of quality power metal tunes with the exact same lineup, and Let There Be Nothing nearly matched The Last Emperor’s brilliance. It seemed as if Judicator had found a winning formula that placed them at the front of the modern US power metal pack, but little did we know that change was coming.” Revisionist history.
“The band has been prolific since forming in 2016, and are already releasing their fourth album. I really enjoyed Fragment: Erhabenheit and its snarling black metal attack, so when its follow-up suddenly fell into my lap, it was a pleasant surprise indeed. Let’s see if Theotoxin’s new work can match up to the old.” Toxic blackulinity.
“Three years ago, I covered Home, the debut full-length from Boston-based multi-genre masters The Offering. I loved Home at the time, but the intervening period has seen the record’s shadow grow even larger over me; it’s simply one of the most unique and mind-blowing albums I’ve ever heard. The album made my Top 5 of 2019 (and probably would move up at least one spot were I making that list today), so its follow-up comes with the highest of expectations.” You can’t go Home again.
“Accept is another Teutonic band that knows how to throw a killer hard rock/metal tune together, and while I love a lot of their older material, I fell head over heels for their 2010 comeback album Blood of the Nations. I loved follow-up Stalingrad too. In fact, Steel’s review of said album is the first review I remember reading on Angry Metal Guy. When I saw Iron Allies drop into the promo bin, I nearly disregarded it due to the generic name, but when I opened the promo material, it revealed that the band is a project of former Accept guitarist Herman Frank. Frank appeared on Balls to the Wall and was with the band through much of their modern comeback stampede, so I couldn’t resist giving Iron Allies a chance.” Accept the iron.
