Irish Metal

ZOM – Flesh Assimilation Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 24, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Invictus Productions, Irish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 8 comments

“Up until now, there were three things that came to mind when I thought of Ireland; St. Patty’s Day, Guinness and Primordial. It turns out there is now a fourth: ZOM. Now, if you go to their Facebook page, this Irish threesome claims to exist in the “Anti-Matter Universe.” Goofy sounding? It is. But my Aunt has a summer home there and she just loves it. Regardless of where they reside, ZOM are definitely intent on wreaking havoc in this Anti-Anti-Matter Universe of ours.” That’s all well and good, but if they make me spill my Guinness, shit’s going down in all the universes.

Things You May Have Missed 2013: Patrons of the Rotting Gate – The Rose Coil

By Grymm on December 15, 2013 in 2013, Black Metal, Irish Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2013, 1 comment

“My summer vacations weren’t very… productive. Here’s a quick laundry list of my early Grymmness: blowing on Nintendo cartridges to get that damn pink screen to stop flashing, trying (and failing) to learn how to skateboard, playing guitar in a proto-metalcore band that would make early Converge shake their heads in embarrassment, swimming in a ice-cold pool in New Hampshire, etc. Needless to say, my summers were for lounging and goofing off. So when I ask how was your summer and you say, “Oh, it was okay, I just spent the entire summer writing, recording, screaming, playing, programming drums, producing, mastering, and even doing the artwork for the debut album of my one-band progressive black metal band. Nothing major!”, you are either: a) gleefully full of shit, or b) multi-talented Irish lad Andrew “Manshrew” Millar, sole proprietor of Patrons of the Rotting Gate, and mastermind behind their impressive self-released debut, The Rose Coil.” Grymm sets his review phaser on fanboyish glee and blasts way about something you might have missed.

Malthusian – MMXIII Review

By Kronos on November 26, 2013 in 2013, Black Metal, Death Metal, Invictus Productions, Irish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 5 comments

“The foremost sin of Angry Metal Guy as a website is that Noctus gave Altar of Plagues’ Teethed Glory and Injury a slightly less than perfect score. Since getting my hands on that album, I’ve been haunted by some part of it every day, whether it be the absolute devastation of “Burnt Year”, the dissonant wall of “Mills” or the wash of drum fills backed by gut-wrenching swathes of sound on “A Body Shrouded”. The album is one of few I have ever considered to be flawless, and one of the most memorable aspects of Teethed Glory and Injury is the drumming. So when I heard that after the group’s disbanding, Johnny King was drumming in Malthusian, I knew I had to check in on the budding black metallers before anyone had the chance to slightly disagree with me.” What’s this? Are Kronos and Noctus beefin?? And with the holidays just around the corner too. For shame!

Slave Zero – Disambiguated Visionary Review

By Kronos on November 12, 2013 in 2013, Death Metal, Double Standard Prouductions, Grind, Irish Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Grind, 2 comments

“Slave Zero is a band I’d never heard of before this review, and I’d wager you haven’t either, despite their thirteen years of brutality. These devious Dubliners are poised to release their second EP Disambiguated Visionary, and it’s about time we all took note, because they’re bringing a new force into deathgrind: Aliens. The dastardly extraterrestrials have spread into slam via Wormed, colonized technical death metal through Rings of Saturn and are now, thanks to Disambiguated Visionary, invading deathgrind. I, for one, welcome our new grayish overlords.” Join Kronos as he leads the pro-alien overlord cheer squad and examines some extraterrestrial themed death grind. Turn on your heart lights!!

Mael Mórdha – Damned When Dead Review

By Madam X on September 5, 2013 in 2013, Candlelight, Doom Metal, Folk Metal, Irish Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Folk Metal, 5 comments

“Not only do lesser known Dublin based Mael Mórdha have some serious Primordial-worship going on, but members of the Mael Mórdha horde also act as session musicians for their touring big brothers. At any rate, knowing their close affiliation to Primordial (whom I hold in pretty high regard) and that Mael Mórdha boast a recent signing to Candlelight Records offering them a wider distribution base, I was a tad keen to hear their fourth full-length release. Damned When Dead is an infusion of traditional Irish laments and dirges on a sturdy back-bone of folk metal with some doom and gloom for added good measure, much like that on offer by Primordial and in part by Waylander. ” Join Madam X as she takes you on a guided tour of Irish folklore, piles of bodies stacked high to the sky and her own barbaric bloodlust. Be afraid.

Stormzone – Three Kings Review

By Steel Druhm on July 10, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Heavy Metal, Irish Metal, Metal Nation Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 0 comments

“In the wake of the surprising comeback album by Satan and the enjoyable new White Wizzard outing, NWoBHM may be a bit more palatable to metal mavens young and old. Striking while the iron is hot, Ireland’s Stormzone roars back onto the scene with yet another ode to old-timey metal in the same vein as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Grim Reaper.” Steel Druhm has been a staunch Stormzone supporter since joining the AMG staff. Does their new opus continue to satisfy his metal needs or will it be hit by the curse of 2013? Hey, they can’t all be White Wizzard….

Slidhr – Deluge Review

By Noctus on May 18, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Irish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 1 comment

“I wouldn’t blame you for having the thought in the back of your mind for giving Slidhr’s album a miss based solely on the fact black metal has become rather over-saturated with copycats and generally uninteresting bands. I hear the pitchforks raising already so allow me to stress that I adore black metal, it being one of my favoured subgenres of extreme metal, but I really have fallen out of touch with recent acts over the last five years.” I for one, support the pitchforks coming out and the forming of angry blackened mobs…after you read what Noctus has to say about Slidhr.

Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory and Injury Review

By Noctus on April 25, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Black Metal, Candlelight, Irish Metal, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 29 comments

“I may as well skip describing anything and just post a video of me attempting to eat my own hat. Yes, I was 100% convinced this album would be awful. When the album cover was released and the music video with a black metal interpretive dance was revealed, all I could think about was that they were trying too hard to be “artsy.” Not that I was against the idea of a departure from old themes, mind you — because I was one of the few who couldn’t understand why everyone liked Mammal so much.” While we all wait anxiously for Noctus to record his hat eating videos, he’ll explain why the new Altar of Plagues is much better than their last outing. Did I mention Noctus usually sports a sombrero? Yeah, this is gonna be fun!

Stormzone – Zero to Rage Review

By Steel Druhm on November 16, 2011 in 2011, 4.0, Heavy Metal, Irish Metal, Reviews, SPV, 4 comments

Way back as a newbie first year reviewer for the world-renowned Angry Metal Guy, no release floored me quite like Stormzone’s Death Dealer. Although I’d never heard of these Belfast hooligans, their hardcore NWOBHM worship and excellent song writing really got my blood riled up. Accordingly, Death Dealer got Steel Druhm’s only perfect score for 2010 and ended up my album of the year as well. Fast forward to 2011 and it’s a grizzled, jaded, cynical Steel Druhm that greets their new release, Zero to Rage. So, do things look different now that my doe-eyed youth has been drained away by long hours, crappy releases, zero pay and spiteful hate mail? Not really! They still embody the very essence of the NWOBHM style that I love dearly and still traffic in the ways of Saxon, Grim Reaper, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. When they hit their stride, they’re as metal as metal gets and no school sounds older. They also prove once again they’re capable of writing metal anthems that rock my metalverse. While this is a little less immediate than Death Dealer, it’s yet another mammoth dose of old style metal with enough hooks for a month-long fishing trip and enough muscle for an amateur bodybuilding contest. These guys have an infectious swagger and charm all their own and it’s still coming through loud and proud. So, don your high tops, skin-tight jeans and bullet belts and climb aboard the Way Back Machine as I set the dial to 1983!

Altar of Plagues – Mammal Review

By Steel Druhm on May 5, 2011 in 2.5, 2011, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Candlelight, Irish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 1 comment

I respect when a band creates something unique, challenging and hard for the listener to initially absorb. However, I only respect it when there’s a real payoff once the listener DOES absorb it. I think most readers can recall some album in their past that proved difficult to grasp but all of a sudden, you got it and the album opened up and became great. That’s the root of the problem with Mammal, the new Altar of Plagues platter. An avant garde post-black metal band coming out of Ireland of all places, Altar of Plagues released a very impressive debut with White Tomb back in 2009. Follow up EP Tides was good but nowhere near as impactful. Now their second full length fails to live up to the enormous potential heard on their debut. Is that potential in danger of going up in post-smoke? Read on metal warriors, read on.