Reviews

Record reviews

The Levitation Hex – Cohesion Review

By Grymm on May 3, 2016 in 2016, Australian Metal, High Roller Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, 16 comments

“Man, I really miss Alchemist. Much like Anacrusis, Alchemist were so far ahead of the curve with their heady blend of progressive melodies, Killing Joke-inspired riffs, and the raspy growls and otherworldly banshee shrieks of guitarist Adam Agius. The amount of times I spun Organasm and Spritech can’t even be measured, and when word got out in 2010 that the band dissolved after the sheer heft of 2007’s underrated Tripsis, yours truly was crushed. Wasting no time, Agius formed spiritual successor The Levitation Hex.” Cool name but weighty legacy to live up to.

Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust Review

By Kronos on May 3, 2016 in 2016, Avante Garde, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 41 comments

“With two and a half decades under their belt and a generation of bands aping their sound, one wouldn’t be surprised to see Gorguts rest on their laurels for a while. But Gorguts’ time of rest is over, and Luc Lemay has made it abundantly clear that his pioneering death metal vision didn’t stop with From Wisdom to Hate.” No rest for the gutted.

Grave Miasma – Endless Pilgrimage

By El Cuervo on May 1, 2016 in 2016, Death Metal, English Metal, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Sepulchral Voice Records, Death Metal, 44 comments

“Bestiality is bad kids. Most legal jurisdictions agree on this. Perhaps this is why the English Goat Molestör re-branded to Grave Miasma a number of years prior to the release of their first full-length in 2013.” But goats never say no….

Cadaveric Fumes – Dimensions Obscure Review

By Grymm on April 29, 2016 in 2016, Blood Harvest Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, French Metal, Occult Rock, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Occult Rock, 15 comments

“I have to get something off my chest here, folks. I’m getting sick and tired of bands hopping on the Retro Wagon of Regurgitated Ideas. There is more to doom metal than following the dragged robes of Ghost everywhere. Likewise, death metal has a beautifully disgusting range outside of the classic Sunlight Studios sound. And there’s more to France than fucked-up angular weirdness. So what’s a new band like France’s Cadaveric Fumes to do when trying to capture a unique sound? Take all three overplayed, over-saturated ideas, and combine them on their first three-song EP, Dimensions Obscure, that’s what! Surely, this is a recipe for disaster?” Let my people retro!

Haken – Affinity Review

By El Cuervo on April 28, 2016 in 2016, English Metal, InsideOut, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 108 comments

“Haken have rapidly become one of my favorite bands in the world. Since my introduction with 2013’s The Mountain I’ve retraced their steps back through Visions and Aquarius – both slightly uneven stylistically and in terms of quality but with truly exemplary moments – and eagerly devoured their revised versions of older tracks on their 2014 EP, Restoration. I’ve seen them live twice and would be seeing them again in a month but for some pesky exams which will impact my future. It was therefore with great enthusiasm that I sat down with their fourth album Affinity.” Warning: fanboys may drool uncontrollably.

Abnormality – Mechanisms of Omniscience Review

By Kronos on April 27, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 16 comments

“When it came time to hand out songwriting chops, Satan smiled on Abnormality. The Massachusetts quintet’s debut, Contaminating the Hive Mind, was a throat-crushing extravaganza of pure death metal that capitalized on the group’s seven years together previous to its release. Contaminating is an exemplar death metal record, fusing tight and energetic performance with succinct writing and an ear for brutality that few bands can match. It’s the undead embodiment of kickassery, and expectations are high for Mechanisms of Omniscience, especially after a four-year wait.” Fours years of anticipation makes Kronos an edgy guy.

Germ – Escape Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on April 27, 2016 in 2016, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 24 comments

“So far this year, I’ve been tasked with reviewing—or simply listening to—a handful of shoegazing, post-black promos from a variety of little-known bands. Some of them are worth their weight in gold, while others are worth their weight in horseshit. For many, this genre petered out in the last decade or so when many o’ band jumped on the WitTR bandwagon, over-weighing the vehicle and driving its wheels axle-deep in the mud.” That navel isn’t going to contemplate itself, you know.

Fallujah – Dreamless Review

By Kronos on April 26, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Progressive Death, Reviews, Death Metal, 101 comments

“Let’s get this out of the way; Fallujah and Angry Metal Guy have a complicated relationship. Angry Metal Guy’s reaction to The Harvest Wombs signaled the beginning of a beautiful friendship; a friendship which, upon the release of The Flesh Prevails in 2014, some asshat proceeded to destroy.” Here we go again.

The Dread Crew of Oddwood – Lawful Evil Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 26, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Folk Metal, Not Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Folk Metal, Not Metal, 32 comments

“Call me Diabolus. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – I granted the privateers in Alestorm a Letter of Marque and they went on to capture The Good Ship TYMHM and raise the Jolly Roger high over the AMG Staff’s Top Ten Lists. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating circulation. Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul, I simply drink away the accursed rain. Alas, my initial deed could not go unaddressed forever; I was ordered to write about The Dread Crew of Oddwood’s Lawful Evil.” Keel haul em’ all.

Kawir – Father Sun Mother Moon Review

By Grymm on April 25, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, 19 comments

“I’m a sucker for bands who incorporate their country’s cultural sounds into their music. Whether it’s Orphaned Land’s Israeli instrumentation, Chthonic’s weeping erhu-induced Thai melodies, or Nile’s violent riffing recalling the war-torn sand dunes and ancient pyramids of their home country of South Carolina, peppering your music with your country’s native sounds can make things a bit more interesting.” Think globally, listen locally.