“Though he continues to use the shredding—and, sometimes melodic—guitar work of Abigail, the groove of Motörhead, and the speed metal of Venom, Athenar’s in-your-face vocal style, and evolving songwriting, are his own. But, the pressure is on and the hype is up. Will 2017’s Sweet Death and Ecstasy prove to be that follow-up No Mercy for Mayhem needs?” Midnight in the garden of scissors.
“Exploding through the frigid waves and frothing foam, the leviathan’s ponderous girth smashes down upon the rocky shore with a thunderous wet slap. Slowly, laboriously, the tidal titan heaves himself ashore, massive muscles undulating under the dense layers of blubber enrobed in barnacle encrusted plate metal. The Iron Walrus has come this day, and nothing on the beach can move him, nor compel his to departure.” Coo coo ca choo.
![Phrenelith – Desolate Endscape [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Phrenelith-Desolate-Endscape-Cover-768x778.jpg)
“Three chimes. That’s how much warning Phenelith afford before Desolate Endscape steamrolls you into fucking oblivion. “Heavy” doesn’t begin to cover the Copenhagen quartet’s skull-obliterating debut, an album which elevates death metal from a mere musical style to a tectonic force.” You can’t outrun the Steamroller of Fate.
“Sad news hit the metal world today, as Warrel Dane, singer of Sanctuary and Nevermore, passed away at the age of 48, apparently from a heart attack.”
“On paper, Iperyt actually sound pretty fucking good. Industrial blackened death metal from Poland? Featuring the vocalist of possibly the angriest metal band of all time, Infernal War? Now there’s something that’ll get my engine purring. Sadly 2006 debut Totalitarian Love Pulse was sloppier and less than interesting than the industrialized version of War I was expecting, and 2011 follow-up No State of Grace didn’t seem to please many critics either.” Metal on paper is just sheet metal.
![Laser Flames on the Great Big News – Laser Flames on the Great Big News [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LaserFlamesontheGreatBigNews1-768x766.jpg)
“The term retro metal/rock gets bandied around a lot, due to the over-saturation of bands mining the freewheeling creativity of ’70s rock to varying degrees of success and very little originality. Lumping Laser Flames under the retro label would be a great disservice to the creativity and inventiveness the band conjures throughout the epic stoner odyssey of this self-titled release.” Retro rock with freakin laser beams!
“2017 is winding down. Let’s be honest: nobody really wants to read new reviews at this time of year. Just give us the damned lists and be done with it! But that’s not how we roll at Angry Metal Guy. We strive to provide until our last hollow breath. And so, I present Interstelar, a stoner rock band from Los Angeles that strives to take as much time recording as Sea Goat.” Lazy goats and space faring boats.
“I’m not quite sure how it happens but I always seem to find myself buried in black metal at the end of the year. It’s not like 2015, where Kampfar’s Profan squeezed its way into my top ten at the last second, but there are some last-minute gems from 2017. And two, in particular, involve the infamous Hoest. Last month, there was Taake’s Kong Vinter. This month, there’s the return of Norway’s sibling-driven Deathcult.” Goatloads of fun.
![Shadow of Intent – Reclaimer [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shadow-of-Intent-Reclaimer-Cover-768x768.jpg)
“Shadow of Intent have a lot in common with your typical power metal band. Florid guitar lines, cheesy orchestration, slick production, and ridiculous space fantasy lyrics (pulled straight from the Halo video games) are elements you’d expect for a band of central European hair-conditioner-connoisseurs.” Brvtal power!
“Just in time to ruin your holiday cheer, Belgian quintet Marginal come storming into the party like your drunk Uncle Randy after one too many glasses of rum and eggnog. Formed in 2013 by veterans of other Belgian acts Aguardente, Bark, and Aborted, this unkempt troupe seeks to combine grindcore and crust whilst paying homage to the early days of Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, and Discharge.” Crust in the wind.
