Melodic Death Metal

Babylonfall – Collapse Review

Babylonfall – Collapse Review

“I’ve always maintained you should not be able to eat food off death metal albums. The level of dirt and grime inherent in the recordings complements the themes of death and decay in the music. Even melodeath – the gentler second-cousin twice removed of death metal – shouldn’t sound too clean in my books. Babylonfall, a new group from Finland, arrive with a fair bit of buzz surrounding their debut effort, Collapse. Ostensibly playing a brand of music in the style of latter-Amorphis, these guys hew far more closely to the ‘melo’ rather than the ‘death’ side of things.” Death be not cleanly.

The Black Dahlia Murder – Verminous Review

The Black Dahlia Murder – Verminous Review

“Hot on the heels of the fantastic Nightbringers, my hopes for the latest from The Black Dahlia Murder could not have been more detached from reality. Of course, those expectations couldn’t and wouldn’t pan out… but not how you might expect. If Nightbringers saw a wizened The Black Dahlia Murder reflecting on Nocturnal and their launch into outer space, then Verminous ruminates on Deflorate, Ritual, and Everblack, the records that kept them aloft among the stars.” Great expectations, dangerous expectations.

Insomnium/Omnium Gatherum Livestream Concert Review

Insomnium/Omnium Gatherum Livestream Concert Review

Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum were two of many unfortunate bands caught up in the fallout from the global pandemic, having to cancel their North American tour before they were able to play for the likes of Madam X, Dr. Wvrm, Muppet, and myself on their swing through Massachusetts. When they announced they would be livestreaming a concert on Good Friday as a way of reaching out to fans, myself and several other AMG writers were eager to support the endeavor and pay witness. The idea of them performing to a largely empty hall adorned solely with cameras was certainly novel, and I wanted to see how it all played out.” Man plans, God laughs.

Angry Metal Primer – The Black Dahlia Murder

Angry Metal Primer – The Black Dahlia Murder

The Black Dahlia Murder is poised to drop a new album, which is a big deal around the metal scene. We thought it best to help those unfamiliar with the band’s material by providing this helpful primer fashioned by AMG Himself and Dr. Wvrm. No need to thank us, we’re just metal to the core.

Amnutseba – Emanatism Review

Amnutseba – Emanatism Review

Amnutseba is a “lacerating ‘n labyrinthine” black metal group from Paris. After releasing a couple demos, re-released in vinyl as compilation I-VI, they reemerge to release Emanatism, a devastating tour-de-force packed to the brim with noisy ideas. What separates it from any other Deathspell Omega– and Satan-worshiper? It is, in a word, unhinged.” Midnight in Paris.

Aeternam – Al Qassam Review

Aeternam – Al Qassam Review

“Our overlord’s prolonged stay in the dark dungeons of higher education has yielded mostly secondhand stress and delayed Record o’ the Month articles for Angry Metal Guy Himself. But in my case, it has now resulted in not one but two offers to review the great Aeternam, one of the very best when it comes to MENA-folk influenced metal.” Storm in the sands.

Soliloquium – Things We Leave Behind Review

Soliloquium – Things We Leave Behind Review

Soliloquium’s sophomore album Contemplations was one of those releases I stumbled over in the promo sump and was really surprised by. This Swedish doomy melodeath act hit all the right melancholic sadboi buttons, reminding strongly of early Katatonia and Rapture without ever sounding derivative. It ended up making my Top Ten(ish) for the year and I return to it regularly. I wasn’t aware we were getting a new album this month and we didn’t get the promo until a few days before it released, thus the tardy review.” Gourmet leftovers.

Neaera – Neaera Review

Neaera – Neaera Review

“No matter how hard you try, you can never really escape your past. By day I’m the kvltest of the kvlt, blasting the blakkened fukkin death while wearing a shirt that depicts Jesus getting flogged by a horde of goat demons. But when I curl up at night with my plesiosaurus plush, I know at heart I’m still the same mid-aughts core kid who got his start in the metal world with Killswitch Engage and their ilk. Even today, when the promo teat runs dry, sometimes I find myself returning to where it all began: core.” Damn core kids!

On Thorns I Lay – Threnos Review

On Thorns I Lay – Threnos Review

On Thorns I Lay have had an unusual career arc, evolving from doom death into goth rock and eventually alt-rock weirdness. After a 12 year period of inactivity, these Greeks reinvented themselves as a doomy melodeath act and 2018s Aegean Sorrow mixed elements of Insominium and the early Peaceville titans adroitly for an impressive platter of sadboi death. Threnos sees them sprinkling a wee bit more of their old doom style into their melodeath sound.” Thorn birds.

God Dethroned – Illuminati Review

God Dethroned – Illuminati Review

“The unimpeachable philosophy of famed slam poet Robert Conrad Flynn once posited that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” If we apply the paradigm to extreme metal, the veracity of the statement becomes rather apparent. All of our favorite genres of metal and, indeed, music are fundamentally stale. This isn’t a bitter take, it’s a fact. While we hungrily await the next morsel of genuine innovation, we sate ourselves with interpretations of reliable constants. Dutchmen God Dethroned have been plying our souls with searing melodic death metal for the best part of thirty years. Their oeuvre consists of scorching blackened passages and an adroit use of melody that never sacrifices suffering for seduction.” When consistency attacks.