“Anybody familiar with Sólstafir’s discography, knows that they’re agents of change. Where Í blóði og anda was steeped in abrasive black metal, Svartir sandar signalled a turning point for the band, showing signs of the post-rock/metal that Sólstafir would ultimately refine on their later releases. Do I have high expectations for Berdreyminn? Hell yes!” Great expectations is a depressing story.
“Two years ago, the Grymm Grab Bag unearthed Vegferð tímans, the third album by Icelandic duo Dynfari. While it started off slowly, the album opened itself up to some beautiful post-rock influenced black metal that was both inspiring and beautiful, like the musical equivalent of watching the moon shimmer off of a glacier in the middle of winter. Fast-forward to now, and Dynfari, now a fully fleshed-out quartet, return with a concept album.” Blackened beauty.
“Known for its short summers and long, drawn out winters, New England is not the worst starting point for a winter-themed album. Fueled by isolation and frigid temperatures, 1476 hail from the infamous Salem, Massachusetts and their specialty is a mixture of art and stripped-down dark, atmospheric rock.” We didn’t land on 1476’s rock, it landed on us!
“Last week I reviewed an album called Eternal Rituals for the Accretion of Light. This week, my album of choice is called Eternal Hayden. Both albums are post-metal. Both bands — Junius and PH — have done trilogies of albums, and these Eternal albums are their fourth.” What did we say about triple albums?
“Judging by the hype I’m picking up over this, Fen’s newest release, that’s probably as much as I need to tell you about the London-based band. Punxsutawney Phil caught a glimpse of his shadow and foresaw more winter on its way, looks like he wasn’t wrong after all!” Winter is long.
“As touched upon by many publications, 2016 was a great year for female-fronted music. Bands like Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas, Darkher, Esben and the Witch, and Oceans of Slumber combined excellent instrumentation with dark and powerful clean vocals that weren’t gimmicky or soulless. The brooding and stark gloominess of these bands have drawn much attention in the metal-verse.” And now it’s becoming a regular thing.
“If there was a saying that Papa Grymm would instill on us kids (besides to clean our rooms), it would be to make ourselves as uncomfortable as humanly possible. I don’t mean wearing sweater vests in the summer, folks, but rather stepping outside those little boxes we build for ourselves. Discomfort begets growth, after all. And what can be more uncomfortable than atonal, ambient black metal?” More edgy than a wedgie.
“Given how great 2016 was for me personally, my resolution for the New Year, if I was forced to make one, would be to keep doing what I was doing but do even more of it. The more things stay the same, the more things keep coming up Milhouse Diabolus. With that in mind, 2017 is off to a great start! Case in point: just like 2016, my first review of the year’s subject is Raleigh’s Suppressive Fire.” Thrashy deja vu.
“Attempting to categorize Laster is like trying to catch air with a net, but in a hypothetical “pick a genre or die” kind of scenario, one would probably end up lumping them in with the blackened shoegaze crowd. To do so would be a crass oversimplification, however, as their music incorporates an absurdly diverse range of elements and influences.” AMG policy requires air nets be worn at all times.
![Schammasch – Triangle [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Schammasch-Triangle-768x768.jpg)
“Based on vocalist and guitarist Chris S.R.’s amalgamation of a number of religions and philosophies, Triangle is a sprawling, grandiose effort that bridges progressive black metal, progressive rock, post-rock, and ambient music, while hinting towards a deeply personal struggle.” A triple album again? Why do we do this to AMG?
