Twelve

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The Dread Crew of Oddwood – Rust & Glory Review

The Dread Crew of Oddwood – Rust & Glory Review

“We’re no strangers to “pirate metal” ’round these parts, are we? There’s just something about the enduring and relatable ideals of pirate-themed music that we at Angry Metal Guy universally love, commenters, readers, and writers alike. I’ve opened my review with this entirely uncontroversial statement as a way to share with you my own excitement when I received the promo copy for Rust & Glory, the fifth full-length release for the U.S.-based pirate musicians that make up The Dread Crew of Oddwood.” YAAARR’s revenge.

Tvinna – Two – Wings of Ember Review

Tvinna – Two – Wings of Ember Review

“As I sit down to write this review, it’s occurring to me belatedly that I’m not fully sure how to describe the music I’m sitting down to describe. The four members of Tvinna, in their sophomore full-length album, demonstrate that they are many things. They are European, with members hailing from Germany and Switzerland. They are experienced musicians, with members in Eluveitie, Solarcycles, and Faun. They are well-read and well-researched, presenting in Two – Wings of Ember an album that is entrenched in folk tropes and rich in both history and mythology.” Two wings, one band.

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings may have claim to the most interesting premise in metal, at least in 2023. Based on recordings from hired session musicians, the project is a work of purely AI-generated power metal. The Orcish Eclipse is the project’s debut full-length release, and heralds itself as “the world’s first AI-generated heavy metal album.”” Orc in the machine.

Burden of Ymir – Heorot [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Burden of Ymir – Heorot [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

“Joe Caswell, of Ontario, Canada, is having quite the year; his newest band, Swamp Fiend, released their debut full-length this year, and both of his solo projects, Drowstorm and Burden of Ymir, put out new releases within two weeks of each other. It would be understandable if these solo releases were only fine; it would be impressive if they were decent. But instead, they’re actually good, and Burden of Ymir’s Heorot in particular stands as a shining example of folky black metal, playing with a level of quality that would make you think it’s the only thing Caswell had worked on all year.” Idle hands and such.

Grau – Abseits des Lichts Review

Grau – Abseits des Lichts Review

“I appreciate modern black metal. The original stuff is not for me at all, but there’s something about a well-polished flame of rage that just works for me. Stepping away from pure, often theatrical, hatred and into such things as emptiness, suffering, frustration—that stuff speaks to me. So when I read that Abseits des Lichts (“Outside of the Light”), the sophomore full-length from the German black metal Grau, lyrically focuses on “pain, emptiness, and the animalistic aspect of the human mind,” well, I was, to put it lightly, intrigued.” Suffering through the holidays.

Of the Muses – Senhal Review

Of the Muses – Senhal Review

“Good blackgaze feels way too hard to come by. There’s just something about the crossroad of metal and not metal that eludes so many artists and listeners. Done right, it’s one of my preferred styles of metal, allowing for intense beauty and vivid emotion at the same time, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review Senhal, the debut full-length album from Italy’s Of the Muses. According to its promotional material, the album mixes doom, black, and post-metal alongside dreampop elements in a mesh of blackgaze.” Gaze into the void.

Fleshvessel – Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed Review

Fleshvessel – Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed Review

“What is prog metal? At times, it’s too easy to slap the label onto anything different and call it a day—I myself am guilty of using the phrase “progressive melodic death metal” as if it’s a thing. But every once in a while comes a record that’s so very prog, there’s just no way around it. Fleshvessel, who hail from the US of A, releasing their debut record Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed is one such record. I’ve seen this called “experimental death metal,” but let’s be honest with ourselves here, when there are more than four times as many instruments as band members, we can call it progressive metal and then call it a day.” Prog the skin and flesh out the death.

Rise to the Sky – Two Years of Grief Review

Rise to the Sky – Two Years of Grief Review

“The last time Sergio Catalán released a full-length album—only four months ago, because of course—I opened my review with a rhetorical question: Sergio González Catalán—can anyone stop this man? Does anyone want to? Now, in June of 2023, the answer is clear: only Sergio can stop Sergio, and today, in a sense, he has chosen to act. Two Years of Grief, the sixth full-length release from his solo project Rise to the Sky marks an end to a “series” he began two years ago on the passing of his father, Sergio González Bombardiere.” Productive pain.

Angus McSix – Angus McSix and the Sword of Power Review

Angus McSix – Angus McSix and the Sword of Power Review

“Hello, reader—can I call you reader? Let’s be honest with each other. You know exactly what to expect here. You know what kind of music this is; you know what this review is going to say; you do not need to skip to the end to know what score is coming. Even if you don’t know that the former vocalist for Gloryhammer Thomas Winkler has, since his dramatic departure from the group, started up anew with a Europe-spanning band called Angus McSix, even if you didn’t know that Gloryhammer and Winkler are well-known for their cheesy, over-the-top tales of fantasy, even if you haven’t glanced down and noticed that the preview song on Bandcamp for Angus McSix and the Sword of Power is called “Laser-Shooting Dinosaur,” you know.” Six appeal.