Cult of Fire – मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान (Ascetic Meditation of Death)

Cult of Fire – मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान (Ascetic Meditation of Death)

“A divine mother to the enlightened and a ferocious killer to those fearful of death, the Hindu goddess Kali is a figure of reverence and terror alike – a being that is by all accounts complex, mystical and arcane. What better genre to pay tribute to the Divine Mother than the fearsome majesty and ritual violence of black metal? Cult of Fire, hailing from the Czech Republic, move away from done-to-death “orthodox” Satanism obnoxiousness on their second album मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान (Ascetic Meditation of Death) in favor of focussing on Hindi mythology, creating an album that is entirely dedicated to this most fearsome of Hindi goddesses.” Czech black metal dealing with Hindu concepts? What could be more American??

Hell – Curse and Chapter Review

Hell – Curse and Chapter Review

“There’s an interesting history behind Hell. As a part of the original NWoBHM, they were close to releasing an album alongside contemporaries like Saxon and Iron Maiden, but bad luck and personal tragedy brought them low and derailed their best laid plans. Though they never made it past the demo stage, they were influential in the scene and championed by folks like producer and former Sabbat guitarist Andy Sneap. So taken with their old demos was he, that he encouraged the members to reform and give it another go with him on guitar, which resulted in 2011s Human Remains opus. That platter featured some ancient tunes loaded with NWoBHM flair and a noticeable Mercyful Fate influence, and while the music was highly enjoyable, I struggled mightily with the delivery of front man David Bower, which was overdone, uber-theatrical and at times, very cheeseball parmesan.” Now that they’ve had some time to sort things out, can Hell deliver some metal for the ages or are they still suffering from Drama Overload Disorder? Steel Druhm has the prognosis.

An Autumn for Crippled Children – Try Not to Destroy Everything You Love Review

An Autumn for Crippled Children – Try Not to Destroy Everything You Love Review

“Today on Angry Metal Guy we’re pleased to present you with some depressive, experimental doom black… wait, are those pink orchids? How adorable! It’s times like this that question whether I was destined to be a flower-arranger rather than a metal reviewer, but thanks to the adventurous forays of An Autumn for Crippled Children (AAfCC herein), I can finally embrace the idea of being both.” And on this special day of Thanksgiving, please allow Noctus to give you the gift of crippled children.

Angry Metal Guy’s Nerd Corner: Murder in Baldur’s Gate Review

Angry Metal Guy’s Nerd Corner: Murder in Baldur’s Gate Review

Gather ’round Internet travelers. Take a seat, and warm your hands by the fire. Load up that Rhapsody CD or maybe Nightfall in Middle-Earth to set the mood. In this new, but probably semi-recurring feature (unless there’s a mutiny), Angry Metal Guy will review things he thinks are awesome but that most of the world thinks are “nerdy.” Or geeky. He can never get those two straight. Anyway. The point is that he’s going to drop probably fairly infrequent reviews of random nerdy stuff that he loves because it’s his website. Or think of it like this: he’s the DM. And therefore, he can. Quit your moaning and roll initiative…

J.J. Hrubovcak – Death Metal Christmas (Hellish Renditions of Christmas Classics) Review

J.J. Hrubovcak – Death Metal Christmas (Hellish Renditions of Christmas Classics) Review

“Ho ho ho! The Christmas season is upon us, and as the holiday draws nigh, thoughts turn to chestnuts, eggnog, peace on Earth and… death metal??? Apparently Hate Eternal bassist and man of good cheer, J.J. Hrubovcak felt Trans-Siberian Orchestra weren’t stuffing enough metal in the stocking, so he decided to craft a short, vicious collection of harrowing carols.” Ready for a Slay(er) ride in the snow? You better be, because J.J. Hrubovcak and his yule tide death machine are coming to town and you’re on their naughty list!

Malthusian – MMXIII Review

Malthusian – MMXIII Review

“The foremost sin of Angry Metal Guy as a website is that Noctus gave Altar of PlaguesTeethed Glory and Injury a slightly less than perfect score. Since getting my hands on that album, I’ve been haunted by some part of it every day, whether it be the absolute devastation of “Burnt Year”, the dissonant wall of “Mills” or the wash of drum fills backed by gut-wrenching swathes of sound on “A Body Shrouded”. The album is one of few I have ever considered to be flawless, and one of the most memorable aspects of Teethed Glory and Injury is the drumming. So when I heard that after the group’s disbanding, Johnny King was drumming in Malthusian, I knew I had to check in on the budding black metallers before anyone had the chance to slightly disagree with me.” What’s this? Are Kronos and Noctus beefin?? And with the holidays just around the corner too. For shame!

Things You Might Have Missed 2013: Vhöl – Vhöl

Things You Might Have Missed 2013: Vhöl – Vhöl

“Being the jaded old fuck that I am, there are very few musicians that I go into straight-up fanboy mode for these days. One of those individuals is guitarist John Cobbett. Who, you ask? Cobbett is a member of prog sextet Hammers of Misfortune, and has done time in both Slough Feg and Ludicra, which puts him at the center of San Francisco’s present-day metal scene. When Ludicra abruptly folded after touring for 2010’s brilliant prog-black-metal opus The Tenant, I was genuinely bummed out. Lucky for me, Cobbett quickly assembled a new outlet for his heavier material, dubbed Vhöl.” Are you worried you might have missed some precious metal this year? We worry too, so we’ll start bombarding you with our selections of quality albums we didn’t get to review, but would hate to see you miss. Here, Mr. Fisting brings you the new project from the ever interesting John Cobbett. You’re welcome!

Blood Mortized – The Demon, the Angel, the Disease Review

Blood Mortized – The Demon, the Angel, the Disease Review

“No matter how over saturated or played out a musical genre may become, there are always one or two bands that can make it all vibrant, fresh and new again. Whether it’s their raw conviction, enthusiasm or killer song writing, those bands make the years melt away and remind you how it felt to hear the style for the very first time. That rush of excitement, feeling of awe and the sense of being there at the next step in metal’s evolution, that’s what it’s all about! When it comes to classic Swedish death metal, Blood Mortized is THAT band for me.” Stand back! Steel has been waiting for this one with baited breath and now he’s on it like beast at a beast emporium.