Angry Metal Guy

Ghost Brigade – IV – One With the Storm Review

By Steel Druhm on October 31, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 24 comments

“Ghost Brigade are tough to neatly pigeonhole into a specific genre. Their early material was definitely post-metal/post-hardcore, but as they matured their sound evolved to include doom, gothic rock, alternative music and slight touches of black metal and prog. By the time they released Until Fear No Longer Defines Us, their style was quite the interesting stew of influences, yet their music remained accessible, direct and highly emotional.” Lineup changes abound, so does the classic sound stick around? We have…the DEETS!

Giant Squid – Minoans Review

By Saunders on October 31, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Rock, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Translation Loss, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, 22 comments

“Firstly, before I delve into the guts of this review, here’s a bit of context regarding the elaborate conceptual narrative San Francisco’s Giant Squid have once again crafted with their latest weird and wonderful musical trip, entitled Minoans. The Minoan civilization emerged on the island of Crete and thrived from roughly 2700 to 1450 BC. I’m not here to give you a fucking history lesson, but for those seeking to get the full engagement of another carefully constructed and highly ambitious Giant Squid concept album, there’s an interesting backstory behind this mysterious civilization well worth investigating.” I feel like we just got a fucking history lesson.

Falls of Rauros – Believe in No Coming Shore Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on October 30, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Bindrune Recordings, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 12 comments

“My first exposure to Falls of Rauros was their sophomore release, The Light That Dwells in the Rotten Wood. Even though it doesn’t wander far from the style established by other great post-black metal bands of the Pacific Northwest, I immediately fell in love with its flow and seamless execution.” Can this lesser known act survive in the shadows of greater companions like Agalloch?

Sleep of Monsters – Produces Reason Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on October 30, 2014 in 2014, Finnish Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Gothic Metal, 10 comments

“Remember Babylon Whores? No? Honestly my memory did require some jogging, but they were a rather good Finnish gothic rock band (yeah another) that released some underrated albums in the late nineties/early noughties before disappearing about ten years ago.” There’s nothing like some tasty, goth-rock stle metal! But does this have the right flavor?

Obake – Mutations Review

By Roquentin on October 29, 2014 in 2014, 4.0, Avante Garde, Death Metal, Grind, Italian Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Rare Noise Records, Reviews, Death Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Sludge Metal, 6 comments

“Even a quick glance over Obake’s international lineup will tell you that this is not your run-of-the-mill extreme metal band. Nope, the musicians involved in this band are not metal musicians in the traditional sense.” Since we started the day with non-metal weirdness, let’s continue the trend with Obake.

Kontrust – Explositive Review

By El Cuervo on October 29, 2014 in 2014, Austrian Metal, Napalm Records, Non-Metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Reviews, Uncategorized, Hard Rock, Non-metal Metal Things, Not Metal, 11 comments

“Bestowing their bonkers brand of crossover hard rock on the bewildered brains of the masses, Kontrust boldly bounces back with Explositive.” Happy Metal Guy is gone, but Kontrust remains….

Oraculum – Sorcery of the Damned Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 28, 2014 in 2014, Chilean Metal, Death Metal, Invictus Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, 6 comments

“I’ll be the first to admit that I truly enjoy the old school death metal (OSDM) revival that seems to have been going on forever in the metal scene. That said, it does have its fair share of problems. Too often bands hopping on the OSDM train will focus on and nail down the cavernous murk that helped define classics like Onward to Golgotha and Diabolical Conquest, but forget that atmosphere was only half the battle…” The OSDM train just keeps chooglin on down the line, but do you still want a ticket to ride?

Sidious – Revealed in Profane Splendour Review

By Grymm on October 28, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Death Metal, English Metal, Kaotoxin Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 11 comments

“When you spend six years together, playing in each others’ bands and various side projects, it’s assumed that you get a strong feel of what each member is capable of bringing forth in a relatively new project. With each member also a part of the great UK doom/death outfit Eye of Solitude, Sidious has the distinct advantage of years of camaraderie and musical experiences together under their belt.” Lots of time in the tour fan can be a good thing, or lead to…complications. Which shall it be for this crew?

Beyond Creation – Earthborn Evolution Review

By Kronos on October 27, 2014 in 2014, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, 20 comments

“If you’ve never heard Beyond Creation’s début The Aura, honestly, what are you doing with your life? Are you happy with who you are? Because you damn well shouldn’t be. The Aura is, and I have no reservations in saying this, the best death metal début since Onset of Putrefaction. It also might be the best technical/progressive death metal album this decade has yet to offer. Out of complete fucking nowhere, a bunch of flaxen-locked French-Canadians self-released what might just be the pinnacle of modern tech-death. It’s brutal, it’s heavy, it’s overpowering, astonishing, and inventive, yet there also exists nuance, care, and maturity in the writing and performances that is completely unparalleled. The album is damn near perfect. This means, sadly, that Earthborn Evolution is doomed from the start.” Well, that seems pretty darn unfair!

Soen – Tellurian Review

By Angry Metal Guy on October 27, 2014 in 2014, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Spinefarm, Swedish Metal, 39 comments

“Soen’s Cognitive, which was released in 2012, was the band’s debut and it bore a striking resemblance to the work of Tool and, to be fair, A Perfect Circle. Despite this undeniable likeness, the record was chock full of fat grooves, great writing, beautiful vocal performances from vocalist Eklöf and amazing performances from all the musicians—but especially metal’s best bassist (Steve Digiorgio if there’s any doubt) and one of metal’s best drummers (Martin Lopez). I’ve often felt a bit guilty for labeling Cognitive as too derivative, because despite the sound it has been a regular on my playlist since then—and I would hate to be responsible for pigeonholing a band before they had time to develop; great debuts are few and far between.” But the operative question is: can Soen step through Tool’s shadow and come out the other side?