“By the time the coronavirus pandemic finally leaves us the fuck alone and we can all purchase toilet paper again without ending up in a triple-threat match, we will all have been affected in one way or another. A lot of lives will be hit hard, not least of which are those of your favorite bands. Any act with a tour right now finds itself in a dire situation.” Only you can prevent band atrophy.
“December brings extended downtime to the overworked, never paid AMG staff as the pace of review slowly drops off. It’s the time of year when we’re left alone to perfect our year-end lists before fleeing the hustle and bustle of the Skull Pit and promo spa for a much needed mental vacation. January however means a dutiful return to the writing cells with clear minds, full hearts and musical palates ready for new abuses. The shackles are then reapplied and the whipping resumes in earnest.” We’re back and still hacks.
“How it all began, no one knows. It seemed like any other day when the storm clouds began to move in formation over San Francisco. The storm used the evils and unfortunates that amassed in its billowing blackness to flood the city in anger. Anyone that was there, that cared to look beyond what appeared to be nothing more than a typical squall, described the events with this single word: anger. Metallica‘s peeps were angry. They were angry at Lars and James. They were angry at Jason. They were angry that Lars and James let Jason leave. They were mad that Kirk’s solos were gone. They felt sad for Mustaine’s crybaby bullshit. And they hated Bob Rock.” Click here for bait.
“In the tradition of the past Angry Metal-Fi end of year articles, some of the AMG team came together with a list of what we consider the best and worst sounding albums of 2019. Encouragingly, there were far more best-sounding albums on the shortlist than worst-sounding. Is this perhaps indicative of a subtle shift from extreme brickwalling in the broader metal market? We can only hope…” Bricks are for throwing.
“Metal-Fi? One has got to wonder if the serious lack of updates on the site is because of these issues or are they in fact the root cause? I honestly don’t know. Certainly, neither Dave nor I could have possibly foreseen that our unannounced hiatus last year would kick off Ragnarök. But unfortunately, that’s what all of the facts seem to indicate. Our bad.” Deaf and taxes.
“Hello everyone! As I cannot pay the rent in the skulls of newbies, I work during the daytime for a traveling company. As such, I know that right after Christmas, people booking holidays surges. Now before you spend money on some dumbass idyllic location like the Canary Islands or Iceland, why not sweat it up with a bunch of strangers in black for a week on a field of grass in Slovenia? That’s right, bitches, it’s time for the first Angry Metal Days update!” Metal Avengers Assemble!
238 unique releases. 27 overlong lists. 10 collective favorites. And 1 frustrated compiler at the center of it all. That’s right, the meta-list has arrived and #Listurnalia2019 has finally drawn to a close.
I’m a big fan of the D&D-themed webcomic Order of the Stick. As the comic became a true phenomenon a decade ago and its author Rich Burlew became increasingly in demand, he began drawing himself looking more disheveled with every self-portrait. In the introduction to the most recently released book, his self-portrait is wearing sweatpants, has unkempt hair and looks about ready to fall over. That is a feeling I viscerally share. Or, as the kids say in 2019: IT ME!
Steel Druhm‘s word is law, as is his Top Ten(ish) of 2019. This is the Way.
“Name another site out there with writers hiding behind silly monikers whom you know better than your best friends. Name a site you dared to lean on, pouring your heart out in the comments, getting positive and uplifting responses when you needed them most. Name a site you’ve spent as much time debating, loving, and sharing music as you have on AMG. You can’t.” Truth telling.
