Unsigned Bands

Monolith – No Saints No Solace Review

Monolith – No Saints No Solace Review

“My tolerance for the often maligned deathcore subgenre received a boost of newfound optimism on the back of stellar 2019 releases from scene heavyweights, Shadow of Intent and Fit for an Autopsy. Both bands demonstrated the sick grooves and punishing, over-the-top brutality and technical chops, reminding me of a time long ago where bands like All Shall Perish and early Despised Icon tore me a new one. Yet, more often than not the style falls flat to my jaded ears. Perhaps an unsigned UK deathcore outfit may not be the best choice to pull myself out of a writing rut, but I’ll be damned if I’m not ready to take the plunge and hope for minor miracles.” Deathcore blues.

Black Sites – Exile Review

Black Sites – Exile Review

“Chicago’s Black Sites is the brainchild of guitarist and singer Mark Sugar, formerly of underrated modern thrashers Trials. It could be that Sugar and I are roughly the same age, both grew up on shitty post-glory-days ’90s thrash metal and/or are both from the Midwest, but whatever it is he seems to speak my language. Trials’ final album ended up on my Top 10(ish) in 2015 and Black Sites’ debut found similar acclaim in 2017. A songwriter with two albums that placed at #2 in my Top 10(ish) lists in the year they were released is about as close to a direct highway to “elevated expectations” as it gets. And when Mark sent me Exile, I can say that I was very excited.” Makin’ bacon (and metal).

Ols – Mszarna Review

Ols – Mszarna Review

“Extreme metal purists skip this review now: we’re venturing into the realm of fancy-pants, hairy-fairy dark-ambient neo-folk. Picture this – you’re listening to an album that’s blowing you away. Riff after riff after riff pummels your puny brain and causes you to moan and grin and sway like a bath-salt sniffing metal whore. Then, as the riffs reach their apex, as the album continues to wither your bones into ash, an ambient interlude drags you upside down and twists your expectations inside-out. Now you’re either going to despise this forceful, useless intrusion or revel in its sweet unexpected nectar.” Taste the nectar, contract the nectar rabies.

Mad God – Tales of a Sightless City [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

Mad God – Tales of a Sightless City [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

“Due to either time constraints, tight deadlines, or this wonderful thing we all call life, I do miss an album or two to review in time. South Africa’s Mad God make a worthy addition to the year’s crop of doom with their self-released debut, Tales of a Sightless City.” God is mad, look sorry.

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Canvas Black – Destructive Herd Mentality

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Canvas Black – Destructive Herd Mentality

“Back in the primordial days of this here blog, we attempted something called “AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeo.” The basic idea was to select a bunch of unsigned bands and give them the collective review treatment to find the most worthy buried gems. It was our humble effort to remind folks that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal. After several years of self-righteous elitism where we largely overlooked unsigned acts, it’s high time we make amends.” Today, we ride (and review).

Madrost – The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh Review

Madrost – The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh Review

“One of my earliest review assignments here at Angry Metal Guy was for the sophomore album from unsigned Orange County thrashers Madrost. With the benefit of hindsight I was a tad generous with the scoring, however,Into the Aquatic Sector proved a highly competent and ripping affair of sci-fi themed retro thrash, bolstered by death and prog elements. Fast forward to 2017 and Madrost is back for another round of thrashing fun, but this time the musical quotient has been flipped.” Sector Vektor eat them all.

Highland – Loyal to the Nightsky Review

Highland – Loyal to the Nightsky Review

“Though I appreciate black metal and listen to my fair share of the genre, generally I’m more of a death metal guy, so I’m particularly selective when it comes to choosing artists to engage my black metal fix. When perusing the promo portal, for some reason the band name, album title and unsigned status of American/Armenian trio Highland was enough to pique my interest and curiosity. Plying their trade with a minimum of fuss, Highland channel Scandinavian second wave influences, spiked with shades of the livewire thrashing energy of Absu, riff-driven groove of Vreid, and seething wallop of Mantar, delivering an aggressive and dynamic album.” It’s over Anakin….

Of the Sun – Before a Human Path Review

Of the Sun – Before a Human Path Review

“Self-proclaiming their music as ‘southern progressive metal’ sounds interesting on paper, bringing up imaginative scenarios, such as combining a dose of burly Down-styled metal with the adventure and bombast of prog. A number of similar scenarios whipped through my brain before settling in to jam Before a Human Path.” When prog-metal goes south.