2.5

The Ocean – Anthropocentric Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 22, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Eurocore, German Metal, Metal Blade, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Sludge, 5 comments

gotta say up front that I am not a big fan of sludge, I mean, you should be forewarned of this. So when I first heard The Ocean’s controversial (and apparently much hated) opus Heliocentric I was really happy about it. It was way more shoegaze or post-hardcore than it was sludge or anything really coming near to it. Short on the hardcore and tall on the clean vocals, I was impressed. I gave it a 4.5/5.0 and I stand by that (in spite of the incessant whining of jilted fans). So I was pretty interested to take a listen to the follow-up Anthropocentric. And my worst fears were confirmed: they pulled an Opeth. Soft record. Heavy record. Blech. Anyone else ever notice that this never works?

Grave Digger – The Clans Will Rise Again Review

By Steel Druhm on October 12, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, German Metal, Napalm Records, Power Metal, Power Metal, 6 comments

Nobody, and I mean nobody does epic Scottish war metal better than those crazy Germans in Grave Digger! On their FIFTEENTH album The Clans Will Rise Again, the Diggers revisit territory well covered by 1996’s Tunes of War and we get all new tales of William “Braveheart” Wallace and his efforts to cast off the yoke of English tyranny and oppression. By now most know what to expect from a new Grave Digger platter since these guys are the AC/DC of Germanic metal and there aren’t many big surprises here either. You get some rollicking, guitar-driven, semi-thrash power metal numbers with the unique and harsh warble of sole original member Chris Boltendahl, and few slower power ballads tossed in for atmosphere and such. Although there are significant consistency issues here, if you liked what they were cooking before, you’ll probably like this and if you didn’t, you still won’t.

Cataract – Killing the Eternal Review

By Steel Druhm on October 4, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Metal Blade, Metalcore, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Metalcore, 2 comments

What the hell is THIS? A metal-core band I actually like? Impossible! Well, like may be too strong a word here but Killing the Eternal, the sixth album by Swiss metal-core mavens Cataract is much less annoying and cringe inducing than most of the metal-core I’ve been subjected to over time. Perhaps this caught me in a rare moment of good humor, or maybe Cataract have learned over their long existence that their bread is buttered on the death/thrash side of things. One thing is for certain, Cataract manage to avoid many trappings of the classic “core” sound that I find so irritating, and as a result, this is a fairly tolerable, and at times, even enjoyable album.

Death Angel – Relentless Retribution Review

By Steel Druhm on September 21, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, American Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 9 comments

When California sons Death Angel came from nowhere and dropped their classic debut The Ultra-Violence on the metal world in 1987, yours truly was blown away in a pretty major way. That album, along with a handful of others, defined my metal youth and I still listen to it regularly to this day. Sadly, the minds behind that classic release could never record its equal and the albums that followed were always somewhat of a mixed bag. Nowhere has this trend been more evident than on release number six, Relentless Retribution.

Bonded by Blood – Exiled to Earth Review

By Steel Druhm on August 12, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, American Metal, Earache Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 0 comments

Here comes another entry into the retro-thrash movement, for better or worse. Exiled to Earth is the second album by California thrashers Bonded by Blood and much like their debut, it’s firmly rooted in the 80’s thrash movement. Back in the days of the original thrash invasion, for every top-notch band like Slayer or Exodus, there were ten sub-par, generic clones like Atrophy, Devastation and Gothic Slam. Sadly, this release falls closer to the latter category.

Winterfylleth – The Mercian Sphere Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 20, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Black Metal, Candlelight, Reviews, Black Metal, 1 comment

Winterfylleth is a pagan black metal band from Manchester, England who previously has a full length that was released on Profound Lore. They join the ranks of modern black metal bands who, while conforming to many aspects of the genre, are still fighting against the basics: grindy Satan worship. Instead, Winterfylleth produces atmospheric, but melodic black metal that fits in perfectly with a lot of what’s going on around the world in black metal, but that definitely couldn’t be grouped in with sort of “post-black metal” crowd. The Mercian Sphere has the basic foundations of what could be a highly successful record in 2010, but there are a few things that get in the way for this Angry Metal Guy.

Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 19, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Nuclear Blast, Power Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, 58 comments

Blind Guardian is easily one of the most unique bands that modern metal has ever encountered. I really do think that they are one of the most original acts to ever come out of any scene, sub-genre or crevace within the greater history of metal. Combining bay area thrash influence with a German power/thrash legacy and sprinkling liberally with Queen, this German act has been at the forefront of power metal and progressive metal since Imaginations from the Other Side (for sure, and probably even before that). Few bands in metal command the kind of insane loyalty from their fanbase and few bands ever deserve that kind of loyalty, frankly. Even for me, personally, Blind Guardian was one of the bands that really got me exploring modern power metal. I picked up Nightfall in Middle-Earth and my life was forever changed. That record still ranks in my top 10 of all time, easily.

Náttsól – Stemning Review

By Angry Metal Guy on June 24, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, 0 comments

Norwegian metal is famous for two things in modern times: the rise of modern black metal, and more recently, Norway’s fall into disrepute within the metal scene. Since the latter occurred, we have often been hailed with the new band that is somehow breathing new life into the old scene or still making black metal in the old style,and the next band to be hailed in that line is Náttsól, whose debut album Stemning hits European shores in June and the American shores in July. Náttsól we are told, breathe a new and icy life into the dead Norwegian scene that has been a disappointment to us all since the early 2000s. Surely, they’ll be the ones!

Darkthrone – Circle the Wagons Review

By Lord Doom on May 26, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 0 comments

This review is late. Nearly three months late in fact. But perhaps it is best to look at Darkthrone’s Circle the Wagons outside of the usual fervor surrounding an iconic band releasing new material, especially one that sets internet message boards alight as much as Darkthrone. Despite being considered the grandfathers of the True Norwegian Black Metal genre, Fenriz and Nocturo Culto have now become one of the more hated bands in extreme metal. Their drastic shift away from the sound that they pioneered; adopting a more crust punk, thrashy, rock ‘n roll influenced approach polarized their fanbase and turned their recent albums into records you will either love or hate.

Cathedral – The Guessing Game Review

By Lord Doom on April 19, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Doom Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, 2 comments

After five long years, doom metal fans everywhere are graced with a new record from Coventry occultists, Cathedral. At thirteen tracks on two discs, The Guessing Game seems a fitting followup to 2005’s doom epic, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, which this angry metal guy thinks was their finest offering since their first three albums. All the elements are here – the same line up since Carnival Bizarre; groovy riffs; trippy cover art by Dave Patchett; the usual mix of mythology, literature and occultism that makes Cathedral’s lyrics so much fun to listen to and read – but does that guarantee a stellar album.