![Iskra – Ruins [Things You Might Have Missed 2015]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Iskra_Ruins-768x768.jpg)
“Despite what the general public may think, extreme metal is rarely written by extreme people. For all the songs about devouring maggot-ridden brains and summoning Shub-Niggurath, we all know that Corpsegrinder is really just a huge World of Warcraft nerd, and Trey Azagthoth is actually a closet Sailor Moon fanboy (and occasional emulator of the late Steve Irwin). Canada’s Iskra, however, is different.” Different like Glen Benton?
“Back in 2011, the ever-insightful Steel Druhm penned an excellent piece on being an older metalhead. It’s a very well-written, short essay on what it’s like to be a mature metalhead when many of your peers and colleagues have since moved away from our hallowed music genre of choice. As someone who is just a little over a year away from hitting 40, I’m going to expand on this subject a little.” Metalize the geezers!
“I love cheese. Think of all the wonderful things that wouldn’t exist without it. Pizza, cheeseburgers, nachos, quesadillas, 2003 Al Roker. Cheese is one of those things that, with rare exception, there can never be enough of. Our mission here at AMG is to be thorough and fair, so we listen to an album at minimum of a good three or six times. Since Instigator’s Bad Future EP is so short you can probably triple that.” Sure, cheese tastes good, but it will clog you up.
“The passage of time can seem like it’s moving so fucking fast that its almost surreal when sorting through candidates for the Yer Metal is Olde feature, and then suddenly realizing a significant album has crept up to a milestone anniversary which cannot be ignored. Such was the case when it dawned on me that Meshuggah’s groundbreaking sophomore classic Destroy Erase Improve celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015.” Some things can be destroyed, but not improved.
“Death metal, at least in its most modernistic and stereotypical actualization, largely eschews the cerebral in favor of the visceral, crafting violent soundscapes that reinforce instead of juxtapose the narratives of disfigurement, annihilation, and warfare that accompany the music. And…cut.” Fancy words from a pretentious man.
“Maybe it’s the treacherous geography or all the active volcanoes, but there’s just something special about South American death metal. From Mortem’s sadly overlooked De Natura Demonium to the primal brutality of Atomic Aggressor, many of these bands have a certain other-worldliness that just isn’t found elsewhere.” Just want you thought your year end lists were safe.
“Svart Records is a bastion of strange Finnish acts, and Jess and the Ancient Ones is one of the strangest. Starting with the same 70s occult rock indulged in by Ghost and Jex Thoth, they add in surfer rock and more than a little tripped out psychedelic acid rock to arrive at something altogether different.” Surf’s up and Satan is down!
![War Curse – Final Days [Things You Might Have Missed 2015]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/War-Curse_Final-Days-768x768.jpg)
“What can be said about War Curse’s Final Days? Well, it’s the best Slayer album of 2015. Tapping into Slayer’s mid-paced, hard-hitting era, War Curse delivers deliberate crushers that are neither lightning speed or slow paced, ripping raw or polished piggery.” And the bar was set so high by the last Slayer album too!
“Jon Mikl Thor (Thor to you mere mortals) is the real most interesting man in the world. From champion bodybuilder to Vegas entertainer, early adapter metal maven, actor and business owner, he’s been so many things that it simply boggles the mind. After making metal music since the 70s, he’s still excited to be writing and releasing new music and getting back on stage to flex his creative muscles. With a new album on the shelves and an award winning documentary shining light on his travels and trials, Thor is enjoying a late career renaissance few would have expected. Despite a hectic schedule, the man behind the myth was gracious enough to discuss his incredible life story with me and opine on where the Fates have taken him.”
“There aren’t many contexts wherein ‘Icelandic’ forms part of a natural phrase to an outsider such as myself. If I think ‘American…’ I complete the phrase with ‘Horror Story,’ ‘Hustle’ or ‘Heartbeat,’ among numerous other affiliated terms. There are but two completions which spring to mind after ‘Icelandic’ for me: ‘beer’ and ‘metal.’ I therefore understandably privilege the overachieving country and am here to impart on you the knowledge of yet more exemplary cultural output.” Everybody move to Iceland and drink lots of beer, everybody move to Iceland right now!
