“One of the most interesting consequences of the old-school death metal revival is the chance to hear what we all missed the first time around via myriad re-releases of rotting relics buried by time and dust. Naturally there are weak links that should’ve stayed forgotten, but Quebecois death metal band Gorelust’s 1995 debut Reign of Lunacy deserved its ungentle exhumation.” Back from the dead and still French-Canadian.
“In recent years, very few bands have been able to prevail over my increasingly jaded and negative outlook on music and life itself. One of those bands is Miami natives Torche, who won me over with their unique combination of melodic sense and gut-pummeling heaviness.” Will Mr. Fisting still carry the Torche after this release?
“I’m always up for hearing music from bands who are pushing envelopes, crafting daring, original soundscapes of sheer genius that leave people slack-jawed and awestruck, inspiring young, budding musicians to pick up an instrument and pay homage to their ancestors. Morbid Angel was (at one point) one of those bands.” If you’re going to mimic someone, old Morbid Angel isn’t a bad way to go.
“Matter As Regent. A bold statement indeed, against Platonic tradition which has dictated Western philosophy for millennia. Such a title rejects the notion that form subordinates matter, esteeming matter as the fundamental force and model around which everything revolves. My interest was immediately sparked, and it was with academic fervor that I approached this promo.” To Hume is this philosophical excess aimed, because I certainly Kant tell.
“Not much is known about the mysterious entity Dead in the Manger. And by not much, I mean virtually fucking nothing. The band choose to remain anonymous for whatever reason, perhaps due to the overwhelming fame and fortune that comes with life in an underground band playing extreme metal.” Another band trying to be mysterious and kvlt. They’re only here so they don’t get fined.
“As my home gets buried under layers of ice and snow, an album arrives to bring that same bleak midwinter experience to everyone, no matter how sunny and tropical their geo-positioning. A Swarm of the Sun is a deeply depressive post-metal, atmospheric doom duo from Sweden, and their sophomore album The Rifts brings you all the isolation, cold and melancholy of being trapped in a cabin surrounded by nothing but whiteness, death and frozen silence.” Tired of feeling positive and happy? This will fix that, maybe permanently.
“Post-metal had something of a heyday in the last decade, with seemingly everyone on the Internet gushing over Isis’ Panopticon, Neurosis’ Given to the Rising, and whatever Cult of Luna and Pelican were up to. While there’s still quality post-metal coming out today (The Ocean’s Pelagial in 2013, Beak’s debut last year), I think it’s safe to say the genre is no longer as in vogue as it once was.” And if you don’t have vogue, what do you have?
Now that the Jørnbellion has been crushed, Angry Metal Guy can finally get around to doing what he does best: telling you what to listen to. So here’s AngryMetalGuy.com’s very first Record(s) o’ the Month for 2015 and you’ll notice that they’re even (gasp) on time! Come, take a gander, and find out why your favorite album of the month didn’t make our list.
“I once had a roommate who assured me Converge was “really just noise.” At one point in his life he had played guitar for a metal band, so my naïve young self believed him. My surprise when I finally listened to Jane Doe and was blown away by the sheer emotion inherent in the spastic, ballistic dissonance. Idylls have much the same thing going on – traditional melody is eschewed, and at times, it does sound like four guys trapped in a room trying to make as much commotion as possible.” Bring forth the noise room!
“We lost a great one today, folks. Katherine Ludwig, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the seminal and groundbreaking Metal Maniacs magazine lost her battle with cancer this afternoon.”
