“That is the power of Spock’s Beard, a band known for musical prowess, superb vocal harmonies, counterpoints, and friendliness. It’s been fifteen years since founder Neal Morse left the band (on the friendliest of terms of course), and although the band hasn’t reached the heights of yore, they’ve soldiered on with the best of intentions. Will Noise Floor, their thirteenth album, return them to past glories? Beards and noddles special.
“Anything that comes out on Neurosis’ home label, Neurot Recordings, is sure to be drenched in minimalist atmosphere and performed with impeccable skill. After seeing critical success with 2015’s debut Unanswered Hymns, as well as this year’s split with Fister, Sacramento’s CHRCH are set to lay claim to the mantle of heaviest all-caps doom band with the release of sophomore effort Light Will Consume Us All. Being one of the few AMGers who is into long, drawn-out doom extravaganzas, I laid claim to the album immediately, and have cranked it for a month now — because when songs are ten to twenty minutes long, you need a lot of time to dig into them.” Missing vowels and busting bowels.
“Mastered by the infallible Dan Swanö. A PR email that rants about the loudness wars. A heartfelt, passionate declaration that they will NOT bow to the pressures of the industry, and dad-gummit they’re going to give us a sparkling recording with Full Dynamic Range. All this and more are promised from Monsterworks on their sixteenth (!) album, Scale and Probability.” Sound and fury signifying…monsters.
“At AMG Headquarters last week, as a number of us were gathered around the bench press station during our allocated one hour of yard time, discussions turned from who could bench the most, to personal tastes when it comes to genres to review. When I was finally allowed to talk, I said I like my dad metal, sure, but I also enjoy deeply of prog, doom, some stoner — and I like it all to be just a little off-kilter. Well, members of Boss Keloid must have been standing nearby, because Melted on the Inch, their third album, ticks all my non-dad-metal boxes.” Boss dad prison metal.
“First of all, that’s a pretty cool name. The Dali Thundering Concept. Cool enough that it made me spend a couple of hours on the InterGoogle in an effort to discern its origins, but to no avail. Oh well. Here’s what I like about this French band: their music is a mish-mash of styles, including prog, deathcore, djent, and jazz. Aside from the –coreness, I’m up for it.” Loud Dali or no Dali at all!
“Way back in 2016, Kronos reviewed Chicago-area band Scientist’s second album, the frustratingly-titled 10100II00101. Believe it or not, we had differing opinions on it. While our resident Lord of Brvtality wrote that the band featured “an effects-swamped bouquet of sludgy riffing, hoarse roars, and buzzing electronics,” I equated the album to an hour of average music with people shouting at me. Fast-forward to present-day, and here I am taking a shot at reviewing their third album, Barbelith, and for a number of reasons I find this effort much more palatable than their last.” SCIENCE!
For those who have only listened to metal since 1995, or for those who never thought Queensrÿche worthy of checking out, Operation: mindcrime is a concept album which tells the story of a drug addict who becomes an assassin for a political extremist group, but has a change of heart when he falls in love with a former prostitute who has become a nun.” That’s fookin metal, and olde.
“Switzerland is not exactly a world force when it comes to heavy metal. The small, non-opinionated country has a few folk metal bands, a few death metal bands, and a few traditional metal bands — Krokus and Shakra come to mind in the last category, and we can add Headless Crown, as well.” Swiss steel.
“Prog rock pedigree? Check. Reputable prog rock label? Check. An obligatory thirteen-year gap in albums? Check. The latest album from English progressive rock trio Kino, Radio Voltaire, checks a lot of boxes.” Box radio?
“First of all, look at that cover. If that isn’t one of the most glorious pieces of album art, I don’t know what is. It reminds me ever so slightly of Dio’s old mascot, but JIRM don’t worship at that altar. No, the band formerly known as Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus. play a groove-filled psych/stoner blend with plenty of progressive tendencies, and Surge Ex Monumentis is their first album under the shortened moniker. After three albums with their cumbersome old name. Why the name change? To distance themselves from a washed-up, mean old actor, or to just give us less to try and remember? And what else besides the name has changed?” Up the Jeremy Irons!
