“The dramatic fall from grace of the often maligned melodic death metal sub-genre is well documented among metalheads. Things were looking so damn rosy during the ’90s heyday.” Ah, those were the days.
Reviews
Record reviews
Intronaut – The Direction of Last Things Review
“Intronaut is one of those bands that I always meant to get around to but never did. With lineups that include(d) members from bands such as Impaled, Exhumed, and Mouth of the Architect, most people know Intronaut even if they have never actually heard them.” By crow, it may be time to hear the Nauts.
The Hell – Brutopia Review
“Hardcore largely exists as a reaction to things in the world that invoke the ire of an angry singer. This can range from society as a whole (Pro-Pain), the government (Sick of It All), or some unnamed person who wronged the narrator so often and so consistently that it literally must be their job to anger the guy (Terror).” More music for Leg Day at the local gymnasium.
Vanden Plas – Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld Parts I and II
“Vanden Plas has been a very consistent act in the prog-power scene for over twenty years, releasing album after album of high quality music in the same vein as Anubis Gate, Threshold and early Dream Theater. They always offered plenty of shred, wank and noodle but took pains to keep the music accessible and memorable.” Ready for two albums of big time prog-power? Then ascend to the Netherworld!
Blynd – Liber Sum Review
“At the end of 2014, I had the pleasure of reviewing the debut album by Stormcast, a band hailing from the island of Cyprus. Frame of Mind was filled with a passion I still can’t fully articulate except that this passion appears to be lacking in many bands of similar style. So when shuffling through this month’s promos, I came across Blynd (another Cypritian band) and I couldn’t help but hope for another stunner.” And the winner for Most Names Dropped in a Review for 2015 is….
Silent Line – Shattered Shores Review
“If you’re feeling a combination of bored, Aristotelian, churlish, and are unwilling to leave your house, Form and Matter: Metal Edition is fun for the whole family. It’s a simple game where you make the “form” (the “definition”/record title) match the “matter” (the music) of a record. Some examples: Your Weird Drunken Uncle Makes an Edgy Hard Rock Record; Alestorm but Not as Good, and Eight Strings, Zero Riffs.” And that brings us to today’s contestant.
Tetragrammacide – Typhonian Wormholes: Indecipherable Antistructural Formulae Review
“I like to think, two years into my writing gig here at Angry Metal Guy, that I would have a pretty solid idea as to how to approach a review at any given time. Listen to an album over and over, look up band’s page, throw together some lofty or detrimental words, give it a number, and *BOOM!* Pictures, publish, print, next. But there will come a time when a band puts out an album where you’re perplexed as to how to approach, grade, or even talk about it.” From India with hate.
Cold Northern Vengeance – Maelstrom Review
“When I think of blackened Viking metal with influences from prominent Satan-centric places on this great Earth – such as Norway and France – I don’t necessarily think of New Hampshire. I’m no expert in American history so maybe there were bountiful Viking raids on picturesque seaside towns like Seabrook, but I can’t be sure about that. Nonetheless, Cold Northern Vengeance comes bearing gifts of such blackened Viking metal from their cheerful home town in the form of Maelstrom.” Vikings ruined my leaf peeping weekend.
Onirik – Casket Dream Veneration Review
“As suggested by Neige of Alcest, dreams can be a truly inspirational medium to audial art. Personifying places and feelings of the dream world into those of a musical one can produce music that has both character and a buttload of passion behind it (even if the music is shit). Gonius Rex (the man behind Portugal’s Onirik) is another musician that taps into his own REMs for inspiration. In Rex’s case, these dreams manifest themselves into a much darker expression of black metal.” A dream to some, a nightmare to others!
Dark Moor – Project X Review
“Dark Moor has been tilting at windmills a very long time. As one of Spain’s longest-running power metal bands, they’ve had successful early albums like The Hall of the Olden Dreams and The Gates of Oblivion which benefited from crisp writing and the raspy roar of Elisa Martin. When she was replaced by Alfred Romero on the band’s eponymous 2003 album, they lost a bit of what made them stand out.” Grab your tinfoil hat and open your X-File!
