Holdeneye

When you wield the 4hammer, every album looks like a nail.

Alchemy of Flesh – Ageless Abominations Review

By Holdeneye on August 10, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 68 comments

“I love video games. I may be a firefighter, powerlifter, former college football player, and two-time high school shot put state champion, but none of that has prevented me from also being a (literally and figuratively) huge nerd. I’ve spent countless hours questing through Hyrule, Cyrodil, Skyrim, and other Forgotten Realms, and I’ve conquered the world dozens of times thanks to the Civilization franchise. Heavy metal and video games are a match made in heaven and hell, so I was immediately intrigued by the promo for Alchemy of Flesh. The brainchild of one Tim Rowland, Alchemy of Flesh is a one-man death metal project devoted to gaming, movies, and nerdy literature.” Hammer smashed Fortnite.

Diabolizer – Khalkedonian Death Review

By Holdeneye on July 2, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 50 comments

“Khalkedonian Death may be Diabolizer’s official full-length debut, but the Turkish band brings a strong death metal pedigree to the starting gate. Featuring members of Hyperdontia, Burial Invocation, and Engulfed, Diabolizer play a brutal, technical, yet groove-filled style of death metal formed from the blasphemous union of diabolical influences like Deicide, Nile, and Cannibal Corpse.” Death devil in the details.

Siderean – Lost on Void’s Horizon Review

By Holdeneye on June 25, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 51 comments

“For the second time this year, I grabbed what appeared to be a brand new band’s debut record, only to find that the band has already existed for many years in another form and under another name. This may, in fact, be the member’s first full-length release together, but before they changed their name to Siderean in 2020, the band had worked under the name Teleport for ten years, releasing demo after EP after demo as their sound evolved from the Voivod / Vektor-influenced progressive thrash of their beginnings into another beast altogether. On their final release as Teleport, the 2018 demo The Expansion, the band abandoned nearly every trace of their original thrash sound, embracing a proggy death metal that was infused with copious amounts of dissonance. Somewhere along the way, the members decided that their evolution warranted a fresh start and a fresh moniker, and Siderean was born.” Bring me the event horizon.

Demon Incarnate – Leaves of Zaqqum Review

By Holdeneye on June 17, 2021 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Hard Rock, 18 comments

“For two weeks in a row, I found promos that claim Candlemass as a major influence, and I simply had to have them. Last week saw me positively handling former Candlemass vocalist Rob Lowe’s new project Grief Collector, so I was hoping to ride that slow, bludgeoning wave into this week as I tackle the groovy doom of Germany’s Demon Incarnate.” Break out the grief blower.

Grief Collector – En Delirium Review

By Holdeneye on June 10, 2021 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 29 comments

“I don’t consider myself to be a serious fan of doom metal because my love of the genre is fairly limited. So you may be surprised to see that I picked up En Delirium, the debut full-length from Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Grief Collector. Well, I’m a sucker for doom metal of the epic variety, so when I saw that former Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus, vocalist Rob Lowe was fronting this relatively new project, I snatched it up without hesitation, marveling that the release had passed through the Steel filter on its way into the promo bin as I did so. Add to that the satisfaction of knowing that I’d stolen some Minneapolis doom right out from under Cherd of Doom‘s nose, and I simply couldn’t wipe the dumb smile off my dumb face.” Where’s the grief?!

Hannes Grossmann – To Where the Light Retreats Review

By Holdeneye on June 3, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 52 comments

“I have a confession to make. I have a pathological aversion to bands named after people. Unless your name is Ozzy or Dio, I’m probably not going to listen to your album. Ok, I guess I love the solo stuff from Warrel Dane and Michael Romeo, but that’s it! I honestly can’t explain why, but I’ve just always thought that metal is a band’s genre. Anyways, I’ve said all that to immediately contradict myself.” What’s in a name?

Bloodbound – Creatures of the Dark Realm Review

By Holdeneye on May 26, 2021 in Reviews, Power Metal, 60 comments

“As Lord Protector of the Dark Angry Metal Realm, Steel Druhm is entitled to the right of primo promo. He can often be seen pushing his massive haul of pre-picked albums around the AMG office in a giant flaming wheelbarrow, its spiked wheel crushing the skulls of failed n00bs littered about the floor as it rolls. His dragon’s hoard of promos is so large that some inevitably fall to the ground, where sniveling peons like myself snatch them up for our own reviewing pleasure. So it goes with Bloodbound’s newest release. In his 2019 review of the band’s eighth studio album, Rise of the Dragon Empire, Lord Steel recounted the transition that the band has made over the years, moving from a more traditional heavy metal sound to a syrupy-sweet Euro-infused iteration of power metal.” Fanbound glory.

Leach – Lovely Light of Life Review

By Holdeneye on May 19, 2021 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 21 comments

“In one of my very first reviews after being officially added to the Angry Metal Guy staff, my plan to preemptively punish myself with metalcore was foiled by my inability to not like metalcore. Well, “metalcore” may be a bit of a misleading label when it comes to Leach, because 2019’s Hymns for the Hollow found them employing a sound that reminded me a lot of the groovy melodic death/thrash style currently employed by their fellow Swedes in The Crown and The Haunted. That “core” label probably gets leveled at these guys because their songs tend to have more of a commercial tinge and because vocalist Markus Wikander uses hardcore shouts that can veer into “screamy” territory at times. Long story short: Hymns of the Hollow won me over with its simple-but-effective formula. But follow-up Lovely Light of Life is finding me two years older and two years wiser, and there’s no way I’ll fall for Leach’s charms again. Right?” Love, hate, and metalcore.

Crawling Manifest – Radical Absolution Review

By Holdeneye on May 14, 2021 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, 15 comments

“I hate to admit it, but I laughed when I first saw the name Crawling Manifest. I immediately had images of babies presenting documentation of the dangerous cargo held within their diapers as they crawl from one location to another pop into my head, and once I saw those images, they were impossible to unsee. My apologies to the band for this, but the strange mind does what the strange mind will do. Radical Absolution is the sophomore record from these Maryland thrashers, coming by way of self-release.” The Manifest is destiny.

Seth – La Morsure du Christ Review

By Holdeneye on May 11, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 76 comments

“For the second year in a row, a return-to-form album from a well-established black metal entity has somehow found its way into my greasy clutches. 2020 saw me covering …and Oceans and their phenomenal Cosmic World Mother, a record that presented itself after a long hiatus as an amalgamation of the band’s experimentation and growth through the years, while simultaneously capturing the spirit and style of the band’s origins. Well, change the year to 2021 and the band name to Seth, and that last sentence still works for the most part.” Seth and taxes.