“I don’t know any bands that sound quite like In Tormentata Quiete. The vocals are the heart and soul of the band, but where this often indicates an accessible band with a single, capable vocalist, ITQ uses everything but the kitchen sink in its range of styles. Two equally capable ladies bring harmonic symphonies that without context might have befitted a progressive Nightwishcore band, but here they balance out Marco Vitals. The only male listed in the vocal department, I am forced to conclude this one man is responsible for the grandiose, operatic clean vocals, the hushed whisper of the spoken sections, the occasional guttural growl, and the absolutely caustic black metal screech.” Many tongues, few spit-ups.
"Rhapsody"
A Hero for the World – West to East, Pt 1: Frontier Vigilante Review
“I suppose this hokey shit is penance for my last review, which was of a great album. Here we have a third album following a sophomore release which was actually a Christmas album (no, really), West to East Pt.1: Frontier Vigilante is a Western-themed slice of Euro-power cheese, with members from Sweden, the US, and the Philippines. An international posse such as this usually brings a menagerie of influences to the table, planting seeds for great work, but whether that potential pays off is always uncertain.” This dog don’t hunt.
Divine Element – Thaurachs of Borsu Review
“Based on my review stats thus far into my AMG career, I’ve got a 66 percent chance of snagging a record featuring Spectral Lore guitarist Ayloss whenever I pull an I, Voidhanger release from the promo bin. It’s easy to see why the label is so eager to back his work; he’s one of the few black metal guitarists I can recall who possesses a unique playing style, slapping an unmistakable stamp onto pretty much every product he touches. But before he staked his claim to black metal fame with Spectral Lore, he cut his teeth on Divine Element.” Sharp teeth, sharp riffs.
Bloodbound – War of Dragons Review
“Bloodbound has been altering their approach from album to album in an attempt to find some mythological metallic sweet spot. Starting life as a cracking traditional metal group, they subsequently drifted into borderline Euro-power and back several times with varied results. On 2014s Stormborn they took things quite deep into D&D Euro-puffery territory with a threadbare Game of Thrones concept.” When you play the Game of Cheese, you win or you fry. Mmmm, fried cheese….
Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper – Walking in the Shadows Review
“I hate when artists known for a role in some famous/semi-famous band feel the need to feature their name prominently on subsequent endeavors. It always looks cheesy (Vinny Vincent Invasion), usually feels a bit desperate (Paul Di’anno’s Battlezone) and generally smacks of chasing faded glories (Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody of Fire?). Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper is the newish band led by Grim Reaper’s vocalist and the vehicle by which he hopes to recapture former accolades and ancient laurels.” Read Steel Druhm’s review of Grim Reaper, now featuring more Steel Druhm.
Serious Black – Mirrorworld Review
“I can’t believe it’s already been a year since Serious Black’s fantastic debut As Daylight Breaks. An album that proved dream teams can exist and can work. Not only that, but this supergroup achieved it via a style that rarely receives RotY nods from yours truly. Urban Breed, et al. even had El Cuervo singing along to tunes like “High and Low” and “Sealing My Fate” whilst leaving the AMG restrooms in terrible condition for the n00bs to clean up. And now, a year and change later, Serious Black is back with Mirrorworld.” Clean up in Aisle Trve!
Sonata Arctica’s Top 5 Awkward and Unintentional Successes
“I am stoked for Sonata Arctica’s forthcoming Ninth Hour which will be here on the 14th of October from Nuclear Blast. Now I know you’re probably thinking to yourself: “self, why would AMG write an article about a band’s ‘Awkward and Unintentional Successes’ if he likes that band?” Indulge me a second. See, Sonata Arctica started out as a better version of Stratovarius that was founded with a songwriter at the helm—Tony Kakko—who’s like a weird, Finnish version of Jim Steinman. This means that the band’s sound is epic, quirky, but ultimately it can get a little… awkward.”
Sunburst – Fragments of Creation Review
“It’s well known that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with power metal and progressive/power. Some of my favorite bands ever—Symphony X and Blind Guardian the most obvious among them—fall into this category, and I keep an ever-watchful eye peeled for new additions to my catalogue. Yet the genre is also plagued by some serious annoyances for me. First, many of the most popular vocalists are people who I find nigh-on unlistenable (Warrel Dane). Second, unlike my esteemed colleague and dictatorial collaborator Lieutenant Corporal Steel Druhm, I find that much of the music being produced within this scene just isn’t terribly heavy. Bands that others worship—see Anubis Gate—feel washed out and bland, offering up little “metal” to keep me engaged.”
Record(s) o’ the Month – February 2016
If I’d thought further ahead, I’d have come up with a fantastic joke about the fact that we’re releasing this February edition of the Record(s) o’ the Month on the 29th of February—that’s right, a leap year. This seldom-occurring date is, of course, special in a lot of different ways and made even more special by the fact that I am once again delivering the Record(s) o’ the Month on time. Well, not just on time, but early. Despite everything—and literally I have so much to do because I spent nearly ⅔ of February fucking sick—I am bucking up and telling you what the best record o’ the month for February was. And you should probably have seen these coming…
Fleshgod Apocalypse – King Review
Fleshgod Apocalypse is well known in these parts for having produced a debut album that I worship and two albums since then that I don’t. Back in aught nine, the band released Oracles, which was a neoclassical death metal record unlike anything I had heard. The songs were intense, with intricate, artful, and beastly guitar work. Unfortunately, while songwriting was excellent, the drum sound on the record was a bit like reading a great Russian novel IN ALL CAPS; high art, ruined by someone’s inability to capitalize properly. 2011’s Agony was a better produced record than its predecessor in some ways, but the band undermined its own sound by moving all the interesting melodies and ‘riffing’ to the orchestras. When they returned to correct this problem on 2013’s Labyrinth, the master was so bad that all attempts to rectify earlier missteps were voided by the static of clipping master.