““Forged by the love for metal and hatred for anything else, “states the band’s promo materials so, you know plenty of attitude accompanies the contents within. Sinnery is an Israeli four-piece that serves up a creamy hummus of influences with the prevailing flavor of a crispy blackened thrash. Olde skool vibes meet olde world angst in this sophomore release that finds the band looking at their inspiration’s inspirations.”. Sin after sinnery.
“I remember the excitement I felt when I discovered In Flames during the late 90s. Albums like Whoracle and Colony were heavy, but they had Maiden-like harmonies and they were drenched with cool melodies that kept me coming back for more. The contrast between the Mack truck riffs and the catchy hooks hit a nerve. Since then, hundreds of melodeath bands have tossed their spear in the ring, but not many have been able to hit the same mark. Praise the Sun recaptures a little bit of that old thrill.” The fire still burns.
“Bad Baron pay tribute to the B and C list artists who littered 80s movie soundtracks with vapid rock anthems and forgettable saccharine power ballads. It was a strange and wonderous time for those of us who lived through it. While artists like Peter Cetera, Phil Collins and Kenny Loggins found renewed popularity on the silver screen, countless unknown artists tested their metal on the soundtracks to the endless VHS atrocities that littered the local mini mart’s back corner. What attracted Finnish masochists Bad Baron to the bottom of the barrel in one of music’s most terrible eras? Who knows?” Baron of the 80s Wastelands.
“Let’s address the elephant in the dojo right away: Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement is a stupid name. It’s one of hundreds in a long and not very proud line of uninspired, overly wordy death metal band names. I’m all for cool ninja stuff – my tattered Octagon DVD is a prized possession – but how does a shuriken even entwine someone? It doesn’t make sense. Still, my track record proves I’m attracted to bands with questionable names. The album art is cool, and I really wanted the music to match. Name and art aside, the band plays your typical classic style of balls to the bloody walls death metal.” Samurwhy?
“While Dr. Grier recently lamented that there was little to find in the neck-deep tar pool that is the AMG promo pile, imagine what it’s like for a n00b who has to wait patiently until Steel loosens my chains and lets me out of my dark cell to pick at the leftovers. Still, on my most recent forced dive, eyes burnt out from the light, I managed to come up with an oddity that wasn’t a one-man black metal project. Instead, I came up gasping for air with a Swedish blues record clutched in my sticky mitts. I have no idea how this thing made it through the filter, or why Cirkus Prütz would want a bunch of disgruntled metal writers who argue all day about hobo wine and Deafheaven to review their album. Still, I’ll take it.” Rock in a dank place.
“If you’re going to name your band Nicolas Cage Fighter, it means one of two things: 1. You’re a comedy metal act that doesn’t take itself too seriously or 2. You’re so badass that you own this name completely. Surprisingly, these Aussies are the latter. They take their moniker as seriously as Dr. An. Grier takes his, and the band wastes no time getting down to the business of pummeling their listener’s ears.” National treasure or Gone in 60 seconds?
“Smear on your corpse paint and sharpen up your spiked wristband, we’re setting the Way-Black Machine to 1990’s Oslo. Pestilent Hex is a two-man Finnish passion project that pays serious homage to the second wave of Norwegian black metal. The band remarkably wraps their sound in a cloak of black lace and gothic misery. They clearly love the bands of this era and pay homage to their heroes with detailed fervor. Pestilent Hex spent nearly five years writing and recording The Ashen Abhorrence.” Black and olde.
“In the classic sci-fi movie The Fly, a scientist tests an experimental teleportation device. Unknown to him, a fly slips into the chamber and his body gets reconstructed with the fly’s head when he materializes on the other end. Similarly, it seems that as Our Dying World was recording their newest record, someone slipped a copy of Metallica’s S&M into the chamber and the results are as equally horrifying and fascinating.” Pomp and symphony.
“Full disclosure: I’m not a huge death metal connoisseur but I did grow up during the golden era of bands like Obituary, Morbid Angel, and Entombed. Occasionally, I like to see what’s new in the genre, but few things ever stick. While looking for something interesting to cut my teeth on for my first official AMG review, I came across Sijjeel and was intrigued by their Saudi Arabian origins. After listening to the opening seconds of Salvation Within Insanity, I was hooked.” Glad for the madness.
“Mirror plays a NWoBHM-inspired brand of retro metal. They also reflect a variety of influences from 70s prog to early 80s metal. Their third album, The Day Bastard Leaders Die, offers up a 44-minute tour back to the time when class was stained, and killers were running free. The band is a passion project for Greek bassist, Tasos Danazoglou – most famously known for his short stint in Electric Wizard. Here he’s under the influence again paying tribute to the music he clearly loves.” Faded reflections and bad luck.
