Aural Music

Void of Sleep – Metaphora Review

Void of Sleep – Metaphora Review

“Italy’s Void of Sleep caught me by surprise with their excellent 2013 debut Tales Between Reality and Madness. Boasting a suave mix of sludge, stoner, doom and prog influences, Tales was a mighty first statement and addictive, refreshing album that firmly landed Void of Sleep in my sights as an exciting band on the rise. Sophomore album New World Order dropped in 2015 and found the band beefing up the prog and refining their sound. Though a solid album in its own right, it lacked some of the raw energy and penetrating hooks of the debut. Some five years later, Void of Sleep awaken from their slumber with third album, Metaphora, a highly anticipated release from my viewpoint.” Cuddling the void.

Little Albert – Swamp King Review

Little Albert – Swamp King Review

“A long time, on a blog far, far away, when I was not yet even a learner n00b, an Angry Metal Ape reviewed haunting Italian doomsters, Messa’s debut Belfry and its follow up Feast for Water. The debut, in particular, blew away our Steely Primate. And while I am not sure to what degree his prediction has come true that Messa’s “name will be on people’s tongues soon enough,” it bloody well should have. Both albums were stunning (although it was the sophomore effort that captivated me, more than their debut). It was with some surprise, therefore, that I found Little Albert, the side project from Messa’s lead guitarist Alberto Piccolo, sitting, all alone and unmolested in the promo swamp.” Swamp kings can do anything.

Slow – VI – Dantalion Review

Slow – VI – Dantalion Review

“An indifferent moon silently presides over an ocean bejeweled with the shimmering ghosts of stars, witness to all and concerned with none. The air is alive with salt and sea breeze, the water as clear and cold as the uncompromising truth that is mortality. You, of course, are aware of precisely none of these things, nor of anything else aside from your own clear, cold reality: You’re fucking drowning, yo. Waxen, hypoxic skin and waterlogged lungs are all that you are here, a stifled testimony of abject self defeat and an inconsequential offering to no one; defeated, drowning… dead. This is what the darkest shades of depression feel like, a perpetually cold and helpless state of being on the wrong side of a near death moment as the world around you spins on, unaffected and insouciant. VI – Dantalion is the soundtrack to such a self-sustained drowning.” Deep waters.

Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches – Covenant Review

Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches – Covenant Review

“Over four years ago, Karyn Crisis released Salem’s Wounds, the debut album of her new project, Gospel of the Witches. While I found it to be an overly long, lopsided album, it was still awesome to see Crisis return to making heavy music again, and I was eager to hear more from this project. Fast-forward to 2019, and the Gospel are down to a tight three-person line-up, with Crisis once again teaming up with husband Davide Tiso, who handles the guitar, bass, and songwriting this go-’round, rounded out by Skinlab drummer Fabian Vestod. With four years between albums, are we looking at a stronger, more concise Gospel?” Out of the crisis, into the coven.

Tel – Lowlife Review

Tel – Lowlife Review

“I’ll be the first to admit that I know precious little about the technical process of recording an album. The musician side of things is easy enough to grasp, but the technicians who collect, mix, and master the sounds thrown out into the ether may as well be a sect of wizards engaged in super secret wiz biz. Although I don’t understand how they do their jobs—I imagine it involves summoning Akathla, demon of the Low End—I do know that the decisions they make are ultimately aesthetic ones. This means when it comes to production, it’s not so much about if it’s good or bad, but whether or not it works with the music to create an aesthetic you enjoy.” Noise to the grindstone.

King Goat – Debt of Aeons Review

King Goat – Debt of Aeons Review

King Goat’s got a problem. Their debut made Record o’ the Year here at Angry Metal Guy dot Com, which means that they are gonna have a hell of a time besting their previous performance. In fact, for the most part, I’d argue that expectations are probably the bigger part of the so-called ‘sophomore slump’ than we give them credit for. And Conduit was a doozy of a full-length debut. So when King Goat got picked up by Aural Music, I was both excited for them and worried.” Heavy is the head that wears the goat.

Messa – Feast for Water Review

Messa – Feast for Water Review

“In my lengthy tenure as an AMG contributor, I can count on half a hand the number of albums that blindsided me as hard as Messa’s debut Belfry did. I plucked it from the promo sump knowing zero about the upstart Italian doomsters and was soon hopelessly in the thrall of their eerie doom drone hybrid style. Naturally, Belfry was going to be a tough act to follow regardless what direction the young act decided to travel, and after a fairly short wait, we get their second album, Feast for Water.” Into the deep end.

Slow – V – Oceans [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

Slow – V – Oceans [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

“I’m no stranger to emptiness, I have used music as an outlet for my own struggles with depression for almost thirty years and my music library is positively littered with negativity. The sounds of being depressed have haunted my ears in varying shades of grey for as long as I can remember, but never before have I heard an album embody depression itself with the same level of unnerving perfection as Slow’s V – Oceans does.” I see a slow darkness.

The Thirteenth Sun – Stardust Review

The Thirteenth Sun – Stardust Review

“What do you get when you take equal parts O(ld)peth, Rush and Devin Townsend, chuck it all in a cosmic blender and turn it on? The correct reply is ‘a throbbing erection,’ but second place goes to upstarts The Thirteenth Sun, set to release their debut full-length 5 years in the making.” Take a cold shower, you perv.

Istvan – Istvan Review

Istvan – Istvan Review

“Not once have I ever blasted the roach or taken a toke. I have never smoked the bowl, nor have I mowed the grass. I puffed a magic dragon once, but I’m pretty sure that was in kindergarten and isn’t relevant to the discussion at hand. Yet, for some reason, I’ve always been drawn to stoner rock and metal. Is being stoned a prerequisite to proper enjoyment of the genre?” No grass, no pass.