“Mother Earth’s favorite metalcore squad, Earth Crisis, has once again descended upon the meat-eatin’, leather-clad masses with their latest aural assault, Salvation of Innocents.” Those defenders of animal rights are back with a new, PETA approved album and it even features a thematic comic book! Although Happy Metal Guy is better with coloring books, we gave him a chance at social promotion by reviewing this thing. Be supportive!
“Ihsahn records used to get a breathless introduction about how incredible the former Emperor frontman’s solo career was. While this might still be true for some breathless fans, it is not the case for me. While I am still a huge fan of The Adversary and angL, both Eremita and its predecessor After left me cold.” Das seelenbrechen is Ihsahn’s newest crack at a solo record. Will it leave this Angry Metal Guy as cold as the man’s last two records?
“Nothing burns with the same intensity as hate born of a once great love. While I worshipped early Pestilence albums like Consuming Impulse and Testimony of the Ancients, I hated their Doctrine release with the white-hot passion of a scorned fanboy. The dramatic back story to this epic tale of spurned love is a simple one. Pestilence began life as a primitive, old school death outfit and really had a lot going for them, but they rapidly evolved into a weird, proggy entity, freely dabbling in jazz-fusion. I didn’t care for the paradigm shift and neither did many of their original fans. When the band reformed after 16 years in the ground, I hoped they would return to their roots…” Who doesn’t dig a good story about love turned to hate? But can that hate turn back to love? How about love peppered with hate?
“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.
“I couldn’t help it, I had to rescue this review from Mr. Fisting Himself and his mad, imperious rule of giving every rethrash album a 2.0. Why did I have to spare Havok from the dubious rating thrash heap you ask? Because these feisty youngsters strike me as the true vanguard of the rethrash movement and where they go, so goes the retro wave. While Havok brings little in the way of musical innovation to a static, fairly stale style, they’ve staved off tedium on prior albums like Time is Up through sheer youthful exuberance, grit and fancy musicianship.” Steel Druhm may be able to save Havok from Mr. Fisting, but can he save them from themselves?
“Once upon a time, doom metal made up a fairly large portion of my musical playlist. Classic bands like Trouble, Saint Vitus, and The Obsessed were on heavy rotation in the Golota household. Sadly, my interest never progressed far beyond those founding bands. Doom metal predictably splintered into a billion subgenres, with each band competing to see who can play slower and/or smoke more pot (ooh, how rebellious!), which is how we ended up with boring, pretentious shit like Sunn O))) and Earth. To say I have not enjoyed any recent doom metal would be a massive understatement. Enter Demon Lung, and their new record The Hundredth Name”. Is Demon Lung the light at the end of a very dark and doomy, pot hazy tunnel for Fisting Andrew Golota? Read on and find out!
“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!
“When you hail from Finland, a country teaming with metal giants (cast your mind along the lines of Finntroll, Amorphis and Ghost Brigade to name but a few), you have two choices: Option 1, you up your game, you mature as a band and you write epic tracks. Option 2, you keep on keeping on, you join the unknown masses and you sink into obscurity. On this their fourth release and a solid five years in the making, Shade Empire went with option 1.” Madam X is big on lists, notations and options, so find out where she ranks the new Shade Empire in her arcane filing system. She’s like Conan the Librarian.
“Founded in New Jersey but based for most of their existence in Philadelphia, Pennsylania, black metal band Woe have been peddling their particular brand of utter bleakness since 2007. Originally a solo project created by current vocalist and guitarist Chris Grigg, by the time their second record Quietly, Undramatically was released in 2010 Woe had established a full lineup — which has still undergone many shifts in the past few years. The version of Woe that has come together to create Withdrawal is very different from the incarnation that produced either of their last two records, and it shows.” If you don’t think Philadelphia is a logical birthing ground for nihilistic black metal, you haven’t been to Philly. Natalie Zed will now take you on a tour of Woe’s soundscapes. Keep your arms in the bus at all times.
“Slow it a bit, tune it down, strip it of all its accents, hide the emphasis behind a wall of sonic venom and just let it go for an hour: Psychurgy will reveal its disturbing beauty in more than just one way. CROWN is a French duo and they don’t reinvent the wheel and likely never actually dared to think they could. If you’ve had the pleasure to get hold of their recent debut EP – The One, then you know these guys are serious when it comes to carefully handling their frequencies. Psychurgy is surely a step forward in terms of sound and composition: the repetitions are still there, the slowly violent love affair with drone continues to monopolise the dynamics and the sludgy aesthetics of a doom wandering away from metal is still a persisting presence.” Alex is on the job discussing French drone duo CROWN and their stubborn refusal to reinvent the musical wheel.
