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The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #3

The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #3

So here’s a special fucking treat if ever there was one. Ed motherfucking Warby (as he’s known to friends) is writing for this blog to give updates on his HIGHLY anticipated (by this Angry Metal Guy) follow up to Burden of Grief which is one of my favorite doom records ever. He’ll be periodically checking in with the written word as watching him in his studio would be about as exciting as watching Ihsahn was in his (i.e., not fucking entertaining at all; watching flies fuck; paint dry; corpses decay without time-lapse). Enjoy! – AMG

Help Wanted: Overseer of the Needy Bands

Help Wanted: Overseer of the Needy Bands

Alright, in our quest to produce the best heavy metal website/blog/thing on the Interwebs, one thing has been happening that I am not pleased about. We get hundreds of promos every month over here, and most of them are from signed bands’ labels. But on the other hand, we also get demos galore and we […]

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On AngryMetalGuy.com

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On AngryMetalGuy.com

So, you’ve all noticed it. I’ve not wanted to say anything about it because it’s been a series of discussions back and forth between myself and the honorable Steel Druhm about the future of this here blog thingy. While I’m not going to get into the details of what’s going on, I just need to say a few words about the site and the future.

Steel Druhm Reflects On What’s Wrong With Black Metal

Steel Druhm Reflects On What’s Wrong With Black Metal

Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Black metal as a genre has stagnated and become very boring. While that inevitably happens to every musical genre (power metal has had it bad for about six years), with this particular style it seems far more pronounced and chronic. Although I’ve appreciated the scene and sound from its earliest origins (as a Bathory fan in the 80’s) and essentially grown up alongside the genre, the past year has seen things run into the creative wall and slowly slide into a morass of tedium and lethargy. Be it the symphonic or the raw and primitive, very few bands are doing anything new, interesting or compelling (even the new Agalloch felt samey and safe). While some solid albums surfaced in 2011,they feel increasingly rare and even those offered little in the way of innovation or originality. Obviously, of all the subgenres of metal, black metal is the most rigid, inflexible and laden with rules and expectations of scene orthodoxy. Throw a saxophone solo on a power metal album, it may be daring and ballsy. Try that on a black metal album and you’ll be burned in effigy across Norway (and parts of New York).

Steel Druhm Reflects on Age and Outgrowing Heavy Metal

Steel Druhm Reflects on Age and Outgrowing Heavy Metal

As an older gent, I am frequently told I should get my recommended daily serving of iron. However, nobody ever stresses getting my daily dose of metal. Largely because heavy metal is considered music for the young, angry and restless. Being older and listening to metal is considered odd by many and in subtle ways, discriminated against. It seems the common expectation is to outgrow our love for all things loud, ugly and aggressive at a certain point in our maturation. Many of my friends did in fact outgrow it by the time they were finishing college, some sooner. Only a few of my life long friends still partake of things metal, although growing up we were all rabid fans. Even my parents expected me outgrow metal and assumed it was a phase. Hell, my mom even thought metal was a fad that would die out like disco. Nope.

An Angry Metal Summer Break

An Angry Metal Summer Break

You guys have probably noticed that things have been very, very, very slow around here lately. This is entirely my fault. Well, it’s also the music industry’s fault since they tend to take a break in July and August due to sales of new records being lost in the shuffle because of festival season, but it’s also because after over two years of doing this pretty much every day I’m kinda burned out. And by kinda burned out, I mean pretty damn burned out. This actually isn’t the blog’s fault for real, it’s my outside life, but it affects the blog. I am going to go on a vacation here for pretty much the rest of the summer. I will post and the excellent, reliable and awesome Steel Druhm will continue to post things and we’re going to be pulling in some new reviewers to help keep the blog afloat. Hopefully, after that’s done, I will feel nice and refreshed and I will come back anew.

Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1

Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1

Well, here it is folks. The final 10 [Here’s the first 40: 50-41, 40-31, 31-20, 20-11 and Steel Druhm’s: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1]. And this is going to ruffle a bunch of feathers, I guarantee it. These are, for the most part, not widely considered “favorites” and would never make fan-voted lists, but these tracks all got onto this list pretty easily. I’m not as angry about the whole Gibson list anymore, and I’ve lost a bit of steam because of that, but these tracks are all fucking fantastic, top-o’-the-line kind of shit. I hope you enjoy the list and I look forward trolling you soon. U MAD BRO!?

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On His Own Obsolescence

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On His Own Obsolescence

Today over on Twitter I got pointed in the direction of Invisible Oranges’ (great name, btw) new post called “Are album reviews obsolete?” Here at Angry Metal Guy our “bread and butter” so-to-speak, is the album review. We do a lot of them. We average about 6 a week, and aim for 7 or more. We also enjoy doing them, but as I have previously touched on, the review is a strange thing in a strange place and, let’s face it, the music industry is screwy in kind of big ways. I thought I’d maybe add some fuel to the author’s fire by adding some more reasons as to why the review is becoming obsolete, in some ways.

Steel Druhm’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1

Steel Druhm’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1

Wow, what a long, strange journey through time and sub-genres it’s been. Here we finally are at the center of the metalverse. After all the lead ups (50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11 | And here’s Angry Metal Guy’s first 40: 50-41, 40-31, 31-20, 20-11), these my friends are the big enchiladas of metal. The best of the beasts, the cream of the corpse paint. You were all so very patient and now you can finally rest peacefully, having attained full metal enlightenment from the Steel Druhm. If you disagree with any of these final selections, kindly think it over until you agree. Take notes Gibson.

The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #2

The 11th Hour Studio Diary – #2

So here’s a special fucking treat if ever there was one. Ed motherfucking Warby (as he’s known to friends) is writing for this blog to give updates on his HIGHLY anticipated (by this Angry Metal Guy) follow up to Burden of Grief which is one of my favorite doom records ever. He’ll be periodically checking in with the written word as watching him in his studio would be about as exciting as watching Ihsahn was in his (i.e., not fucking entertaining at all; watching flies fuck; paint dry; corpses decay without time-lapse). Enjoy! – AMG