4.5

The Book of Mormon – Cast Recording Review

By Angry Metal Guy on May 12, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Not Metal, Reviews, Not Metal, 3 comments

So, I know that this is off the beaten path a bit, but I have a thing about wasting time. See, being a reviewer means that you have a tight schedule. You might not believe it, but in order to keep up with the pace at which music is produced, I have a listening schedule and I rarely listen to music just for the sheer pleasure of it these days because, well, there’s just so much new coming out that I have to keep up with. So when I discover something new that I really, really, really love and can’t stop listening to it basically means I have to write a review. And The Book of Mormon by the South Park guys +1 is something that I fell pretty hard for.

Hate Eternal – Phoenix Amongst the Ashes Review

By Steel Druhm on May 10, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 17 comments

Holy sheeeit man! I know the world sucks, times are hard and most people are dicks but whatever is pissing Erik Rutan off must be way worse than anything I’ve ever put up with. The clearly enraged Mr. Rutan and crew are back with another Hate Eternal platter of overly brutal death metal and this one’s a real doozy folks. While Hate Eternal always used and abused the basic Florida death metal sound pioneered by the mighty Morbid Angel (Erik contributed on some of their prime albums) and Deicide, Phoenix Amongst the Ashes is in a whole different league of sonic blight. This is some profoundly heavy, blasting, pummeling death played at light speed with very bad intentions. Offering little in the way of melody, catchiness or human compassion, you get nine songs akin to an aural carpet bombing. To say this is merely brutal is to do it a great disservice. This is enormously brutal and bordering on unlistenable. Even some die-hard death fans may throw up their hands at this album and say enough! It’s that crazy.

Vomitory – Opus Mortis VIII Review

By Angry Metal Guy on April 20, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Record o' the Month, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 18 comments

I’ve actually been having a bit of a problem this year. While this is supposed to be the big year for all the big-named metal bands that I love, I can’t help but get the feeling that no one is putting out records that are even nearly as good as they should be. OK, I really got into the new Vintersorg, but I thought Septic Flesh was a letdown, as was the new Amon Amarth. There are others that I can’t mention yet, but let me just say, I’m disappointed with pretty much all of my favorite bands this year. So when I got Vomitory’s Opus Mortis VIII and popped it in, I can’t say that I was expecting much more than that same ol’ same ol’ feeling of apathy. I was beginning to think, frankly, that this was my problem. But Vomitory helped me realize something, this is their problem, not mine.

Pentagram – Last Rites Review

By Steel Druhm on April 12, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, American Metal, Doom Metal, Metal Blade, Doom Metal, 4 comments

Pentagram has been around almost as long as actual pentagrams have. They’re seriously grizzled, wiley vets of the doom scene and the fact they’re still churning out material is amazing to me. This band has been together in one form or another since 1971 and now they’re back again in 2011. In case you somehow missed the boat on these doom titans, Pentagram plays 70’s styled doom metal similar to early Black Sabbath or old Saint Vitus and they’ve created some of the best moments in the style over their long life. For those already familiar with the Penta-brand, what makes this album a Big Fucking Deal (thank you, Joe Biden) is the return of founding guitarist and doom demigod Victor Griffin (Place of Skulls) who hasn’t graced a Pentagram platter since their last great effort, Be Forewarned way back in 1994. With one of the true masters of doom guitar reunited with one of the founding fathers of doom vocals Bobby Liebling, can things end up as anything other than unnaturally bad ass? No, no they can’t and Last Rites is the strongest and most consistently killer album since Be Forewarned and may even be better. From start to finish, this sounds like a fully recharged and hungry Pentagram and what makes it even better, it sounds WAY heavier and more battle ready than the recent string of releases with Joe Hasselvander playing all the instruments. This is Grade A doom with some serious attitude and it delivers a major kick to the arse. Not what you would expect from a bunch of old codgers eh?

Obscura – Omnivium Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 22, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Death Metal, German Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, 11 comments

March has really been one hell of a month, hasn’t it? To think after Amon Amarth and Vintersorg we get to follow it all up with Obscura’s Omnivium. If any record counts as the most-anticipated of the year, Obscura is probably getting pretty close to that level. Having released in 2009, what was really a hell of a surprise for most listeners (including people who’d purchased their previous record) in Cosmogenesis, these technical death metallers built on their Necrophagist cred (and sound) and on the legacy of the mighty Death with their technical, progressive death metal, complete with awesome fretless bass attack. So, while this isn’t really a record that can fall victim of the sophomore slump (being the band’s third record), it certainly is an album that could fall victim to overly heightened expectations. And, I must admit, this Angry Metal Guy certainly had heightened expectations

Within Temptation – The Unforgiving Review

By Within Darkness on March 20, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Dutch Metal, Gothic Metal, Not Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Roadrunner, Gothic Metal, Not Metal, 16 comments

As one of the elevated culprits who took guilty pleasure in bringing the so-called “female fronted” symphonic metal genre to fame, Within Temptation has often been right next to the milestone names of Tristania, Theatre of Tragedy, Nightwish, After Forever and the like from this infamous subgenre [Also known as “Chick Metal” by this member of The Patriarchy – AMG]. This is often accompanied by blunt comparisons, senseless “expert” statements and, of course, rabid hate from people who just can’t appreciate chicks in metal [Example: my earlier comment. – AMG]. But hey, life goes on and so does the music industry. Whatever the case, unlike their colleagues who have gone through hard time line-up changes that have proven catastrophic at times, Within Temptation has continued to add new chapters to their own story. Through times of war between legions of Tarja and Anette die-hards, crazy Vibeke rumors in the air, Floor & Sander drama break-ups, the flame of Within Temptation continued to burn ever brighter, offering fascinating music with each release.

Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising Review

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 29 comments

AHHHH! The war drums are sounding the return of the dragon ships at last! One of the most anticipated releases of the new year is finally here. Since my Amon Amarth geekdom is second only to my slavish Amorphis fanboyism, to say I’m excited to get my hands and ears on Surtur Rising simply doesn’t cover it. Lately it’s seemed these war-like Swedes could do no wrong and their past two albums have been monstrous platters of crushing melodic death metal of the highest caliber. If you were expecting something different here, you’re obviously an idiot because it clearly ain’t broke so why fuck with it? Thankfully, Surtur Rising picks up where Twilight of the Thunder God left off and delivers another size fourteen viking boot to your Asgard with their trademark precise, powerful style. This is heavy as hell, metal as fuck and the perfect soundtrack to pillage, maraud and rampage to. Amon Amarth has done it once again and given their track record, no one should be surprised by how good this is.

Vintersorg – Jordpuls Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 14, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Napalm Records, Record o' the Month, Reviews, Swedish Metal, 9 comments

Vintersorg // Jordpuls Rating: 4.5/5.0 — The Perfect Record for Spring Label: Napalm Records Website: myspace.com/vintersorganic Release Dates: EU: 2011.25-28.03 | US: 04.05.2011 After a wintry silence of 4 years about a new solo record, Vintersorg is finally releasing the long awaited follow-up to Solens Rötter. If you consider the early solo career of Mr. […]

The Human Abstract – Digital Veil Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 8, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, American Metal, Deathcore, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Deathcore, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 13 comments

One of the things that I consistently tell people when they give me shit (which they inevitably do) about my taste in music is that you should call a spade a spade and like what you like without apologies. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have biases, however, and one of those biases that I have is against things that can be labelled as “metalcore” or “deathcore.” Since the early aughts we’ve been plagued by shitty record after shitty record from post-hardcore entities that have been passed off on us as the next big thing and that have ultimately felt sad and tired and not good. I recently ripped into Architects, for example, for being billed as ‘reinventing metalcore and themselves,’ only to produce an epic fail of a record.

Jag Panzer – The Scourge of the Light Review

By Steel Druhm on February 28, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, SPV, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 0 comments

Jag Panzer has been an American metal institution since the early 80’s and they’ve always been a band that you could rely on to clobber you with enormous, powerful, top-notch heavy metal of the traditional school. They’re also the original American power metal act. Their take on power metal being far different than the textbook European approach, Jag Panzer were always much heavier, tougher and had more balls than the Helloweens, Gamma Rays and such of the Euro-school. Built around the mammoth, masculine and powerhouse vocals of Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin, the Panzer sound was always hard-edged, large and much closer to the NWOBHM style of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. After a wait of nearly seven years since 2004’s Casting the Stones, The Panzer finally rolls again and we get album eight (nine if you count the long shelved Chain of Command opus), The Scourge of the Light. Was it worth the long wait? Does Moonsorrow piss in the snow? [Was the Pope a Nazi? – AMG] Of course it was worth it! Scourge is a welcome and mighty return to the metal throne by Jag Panzer and they brings us ten new slices of old school metal glory.