Spinefarm

Chthonic – Bú-Tik Review

Chthonic – Bú-Tik Review

By Madam X on July 18, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Black Metal, Releases, Reviews, Spinefarm, Taiwanese Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 21 comments

“While first wetting my feet with black metal I came across Chthonic’s 9th Empyrean, Relentless Recurrence and Seediq Bale albums. I felt a distinct pull towards their use of traditional instruments, their dramatic, aggressive, melodic sound and their bleak, nihilistic undercurrent and for a fair while their screams gripped my attention. Eventually though I felt the inevitable allure for darker and uglier and sank deeper and into the blackness discovering Nattefrost, Carpathian Forest, Shining (Swedish), 1349, Marduk and so on and to be honest I got distracted and I guess I just forgot about Chthonic….” Will Madam X have a happy reunion with the once beloved Chthonic or has absence made the heart grow bitter? So much drama!

Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony Review

Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony Review

By Steel Druhm on June 7, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Black Metal, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Spinefarm, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 10 comments

“As the only blackened thrash band willing to sing about fishing and fish generally, Kalmah always had a special place in my outdoorsy heart. I mean, who else can make simple tales of man vs. fish seem so epic and life threatening? I was impressed by their first four outings (with Swampsong being my favorite), but I felt really let down by their For the Revolution opus, which felt quite tedious. While things kicked back up for the enjoyable and energetic 12 Gauge, it still felt like a band entering the “spinning the wheels” period of their career. Thankfully, Seventh Swamphony sees these psychotic fishermen make a triumphant return to the off-the-rails, blackened thrash of old which straddles the line between the melodic tomfoolery of Children of Bodom and more extreme, cvlt black/death acts.” Do you like blackended catfish metal like Steel Druhm does? If so, you best don the hip waders and read all about the return of the swamp lords.

Amaranthe – The Nexus Review

Amaranthe – The Nexus Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 24, 2013 in 1.5, 2013, Metalcore, Power Metal, Reviews, Spinefarm, Swedish Metal, 59 comments

As a young boy I learned a really important lesson at the hands of one of my favorite bands, Europe. Sure, you laugh, but I was 5 and it was the ’80s, so I was well within my rights to listen to Europe. In 1984, Sweden’s very own, very popular foray into glam rock released a record called Wings of Tomorrow. The album cover was simple. An armored bird of prey, in profile against a red planet cradled in a vast blanket of stars, ready to attack an unseen foe. Five-year-old me was in awe. My unconstrained imagination transported me into space with this mighty, ironclad hawk, to fight futuristic wars. This set the stage for a magical listening experience and the record is still one of my favorites. When I finally got around to The Final Countdown something important had changed: the cover was five poofy haired dudes in space. No suspension of disbelief, no imagination, just Swedish glam rockers in space. And the record? Well, it had one great song… and in retrospect a lot of stinkers. At that moment, an important seed of distrust of bands with their own pictures on the cover of a record was instilled in me. If a band isn’t creative enough to come up with a cool record cover, that band probably isn’t creative enough to write really good music.

Retro Reviews: Lumsk – Åsmund frægdegjevar

Retro Reviews: Lumsk – Åsmund frægdegjevar

By Angry Metal Guy on February 19, 2013 in Blog Posts, Norwegian Metal, Retro Reviews, Spinefarm, 16 comments

Metal these days is in an undeniable downswing. Right now very few bands are doing something new, fresh or innovative. Instead, we’re riding a wave of retro metal: retro Swedish death; retro power; retro ’80s; re-thrash. In all the bustle about the latest cult ’70s style doom record that making everyone hot in the britches, I’ve been getting the itch for something new. Unfortunately, with the exception of the occasional glimmer of hope, right now is also a time for those of us who can to turn our eyes backwards. With a backward glance we talk about records that really should not be forgotten, things that were and, given the retro craze, probably will be again. In this case, I am thinking of Lumsk’s debut record Åsmund frægdegjevar.

Shining – Redefining Darkness Review

Shining – Redefining Darkness Review

By Angry Metal Guy on October 30, 2012 in 2.5, 2012, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Spinefarm, Swedish Metal, 11 comments

Shining has been a consistent favorite of mine since I discovered the band. Since V:/Halmstad: Niklas angående Niklas I have reviewed every one of their records and have witnessed a change in the band that I think is hard to ignore. Starting with V, the band has continued an Opethian evolution away from the raw, gut-wrenching emotional black metal into something less raw, more catchy and proggy (Marillion prog not Dream Theater prog). Having now dropped the numbers and donned instead an English title, (what would have been VIII) Redefining Darkness continues the band’s evolution away from its gut-wrenching roots. Were we looking for a redefinition? After the mighty VII: Född förlorare I sure wasn’t

Kobra and the Lotus – Kobra and the Lotus Review

Kobra and the Lotus – Kobra and the Lotus Review

By Angry Metal Guy on August 5, 2012 in 2012, 3.5, American Metal, Canadian Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Spinefarm, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 8 comments

Metal has been doing some collective soul searching for a while. The retro-thrash and retro-death movements – along with the ever-growing vest metal movement – have been built on a longing back to the simple, the original, the true. In this push, a lot of bands have been making the claim to the true metal legacy and Kobra and the Lotus are no exception.