“When the whole “symphonic metal with opera vocals” thing hit the world with Nightwish, I was intrigued and quite receptive to the concept. I enjoyed their first few albums, yet within a scant few years, the deluge of generic female-fronted clone acts had me running for more extreme climes and rarely have I looked back. That brings us to Last Days of Eden, Spain’s answer to Nightwish.” Symphony of the Night(wish).
“Where All Hope Fades is Ataraxy’s second full-length, following on from 2012’s Revelations of the Ethereal. With a promising title, and seeing Where All Hope Fades referred to as “gruesomely textured” harboring “a sense of deep-set misery, almost pushing the record into death-doom territory,” I felt compelled to check it out. What I sampled, proved an interesting nod to 90s era Finnish death metal with notable similarities to bands like Abhorrence and Amorphis.” Is the letter “A” the key to quality doom death?
“Of all metal subgenres, heavy metal is the one with the honor of regularly being used as a synonym for metal at large. Considering it’s arguably the oldest of the bunch, this should come as little surprise, but one could also argue the case for doom metal, which no one outside of the scene ever heard about. Is it then due to age, exposure, or just my own warped view that heavy metal seems to be the most stagnant of metal subgenres? I won’t say nothing fresh ever arises from its corner (Sumerlands is a fine example) but by and large, heavy metal bands today all seem like pale imitations of the golden boys from the 1980’s. Death Keepers don’t do much to change that impression with debut Rock This World.” Remember the old, those days were gold.
“If you ever wanted to hear nineteen-eighty-pick-a-year aped by some little shits who never lived through Cliff Burton-‘tallica, 2017 delivered in spades. Barcelona’s young bucks No Amnesty should have been getting their braces off at 15, not hitting the stage. Now older, wiser, and still ineligible for a beer in the US, the world is their öyster.” Thrash knows no age of consent.
“A Spanish band that’s been active since 1999, Vhäldemar released a pair of relatively well received albums in the early 00’s, featuring influences far-flung as Gamma Ray, Manowar, and Rhapsody. After independently releasing a couple of underwhelming records in the early half of this decade, they’ve found a new home with Fighter Records, a label known around these parts for harboring the disasterpiece that is Tales of Gaia’s Hypernova.” Power metal: Approach with caution.
“Unlike the more northerly regions of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula is not often thought of when the metal scene is considered as a whole. There are bands, many of them well-known and respected, but the area is not Germany or Finland. Thought of even less is the Galacia region of Spain. But all the same, it’s spat up a lively little melodic death three-piece (after some down-sizing) in Bloodhunter. The name might be a little silly, but the music is not, fusing a traditional Gothenberg sound with hints of mid-period Death for their sophomore album The End of Faith.” The Iberian conspiracy.
“Altarage’s debut turned quite a few tar-covered heads, each new adherent drawn in by its tendrils of sticky ooze, a concoction of lo-fi hideousness that languished in the bogs somewhere between Portal and Teitanblood. Not the most original of albums, but it pounded a chord for metalheads oppressed by melody and clean production.” The sound of chunder.
This album absolutely fucking broke me. You see, the AMG style guide requires blog contributors to make careful scoring decisions based on how good or bad an album is. In terms of quality, Tales of Gaia’s debut Hypernova, in direct defiance of this foolproof system, is absolutely paradoxical. It is both one of the best and worst power metal albums I have ever heard, an amazing contradiction of a record that lacks so much as a hint of self awareness while also never taking itself seriously.” Power without responsibility.
“The formula for Spectral Ascent is quite simple. The music is rooted in classic, 70s style hard rock with a Coven-inspired occult atmosphere, draped over the bones of Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult. If that makes you think: “Well golly gee, this here description sure do sound like Ghost,” I would tell you two things: learn some grammar, and you’re almost right.” Me fail English? Unpossible!
“Everybody from Mayhem to High on Fire have been influenced by Celtic Frost, but few have been as blatant about it as Totengott. Let’s tally it up: their band name is a track title from Monotheist. Their cover art looks like a mountain goat version of the last Triptykon album. Even the name of the record, Doppelgänger, implies they’re just a shameless copy of someone else.” More(bid) tales.
