Avantgarde Music

Dzö-nga – Thunder in the Mountains Review

Dzö-nga – Thunder in the Mountains Review

“We all have those times where we look back and say to ourselves ‘what was I thinking?’ That’s kind of how I feel about reviewing Dzö-nga’s second album, The Sachem’s Tales, back in 2017. Today, a folky atmospheric black metal album with classical influences seems so far out of my wheelhouse that it’s not even in the same hemisphere. Yet, I did enjoy my share of Agalloch and Cascadian black metal back in the day, and as such, I was able to appreciate Tales as an inspired and engrossing piece of woodsy black metal with intriguing Native American themes. Led by vocalist and guitarist Cryvas, this Boston project has now returned with another opus, this time based on H.W. Longfellow’s epic poem ‘The Song of Hiawatha.'” Spirits of nature.

Profetus – The Sadness of Time Passing Review

Profetus – The Sadness of Time Passing Review

“From the first minutes, it will be obvious to followers of the style that Profetus model their slow trudging misery after funeral forefathers Thergothon and Skepticism. This makes sense, as all three bands hail from Finland, home of the world’s most metal bands per capita at two bands per person.” Remembrance of heavy things past.

Suicide Forest – Suicide Forest Review

Suicide Forest – Suicide Forest Review

“Summer: blah. Rampant blinding sunlight, not a dead tree to be found, and everywhere I go is plagued by incessant seasonal euphoria… I hate it, yo. Without autumn’s dying beauty or the melancholic jubilation of winter nights, I find little to sustain the part of me that feeds on natural darkness and am forced to hunt down anything that’ll let me at least hear that which I cannot presently see or feel. Enter Suicide Forest.” Put some winter in your summer.

Saor – Forgotten Paths Review

Saor – Forgotten Paths Review

“Cometh the new year, cometh the folksy, atmospheric black metal proclaiming itself as the trvest example of native culture in heavy metal. Unlike most of the talentless hacks wielding an electric guitar, penny whistle, and swastika flag who operate out of their mothers’ houses, Saor can legitimately boast some of the greatest music in this genre and represent one of the best new metal bands from the 2010s.” Saor feelings.

Sojourner – The Shadowed Road Review

Sojourner – The Shadowed Road Review

“For just a moment I’m going to break Angry Metal Guy‘s most sacred of journalistic vows to explain how Sojourner’s The Shadowed Road ended up in my undeserving hands. Occasionally, one of our editors will send out an office-wide memo requesting a quick turnaround on a high profile review. Such was the case with Sojourner’s sophomore effort, and while this Swede-Kiwi joint venture yielded a decent debut in 2016’s Empires of Ash, what I perceived as a safe, derivative take on the atmospheric black/folk formula failed to hoist me up on the bandwagon. Volunteering to cover its follow-up, then, was an action born as much from curiosity as it was from a desire to stem undeserved hype. Well, fuck me running, because this time the hype is more than deserved.” All aboard the H-train.

Battle Dagorath – II – Frozen Light of Eternal Darkness Review

Battle Dagorath – II – Frozen Light of Eternal Darkness Review

“Space is fucking big, and there’s an appropriately sizeable array of space-themed metal bands to match. Some artists approach the infinite blackness with a sense of child-like wonder, with bands like Star One and Keldian playing up sci-fi tropes in admiration of the majesty of the star ocean. Others, like Darkspace, channel the cosmos as an unparalleled force of nature; empty, suffocating, and impossibly cold. Battle Dagaroth, a band I had expected to be pure Summoning worship based on their name and ‘atmospheric black metal’ tag, is yet another act intent on aurally replicating the incomprehensible vastness of space.” In space no one can hear you frown.

Botanist – Collective: The Shape of He to Come Review

Botanist – Collective: The Shape of He to Come Review

“While some avant-garde bands attempt to breach genre boundaries by removing as many traditional melodies and discernible rhythm patterns as possible while still qualifying as music, these Californians take an experimental approach by simply modifying the tools of the trade. By swapping six-string guitars for the obscure yet beautiful hammered dulcimer, they practice modern black metal on a structural level with a completely unique sound capable of moments more beautiful and more terrifying than one is likely to find anywhere else in the genre. Collective: The Shape of He to Come, their seventh LP in as many years, is an attempt to further not only the boundaries of the scene but also their own aesthetic.” Bring down the hammer!