2.5

Cydemind – Erosion Review

By Huck N Roll on May 31, 2017 in 2017, Canadian Metal, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Progressive Metal, 18 comments

“Welcome to the most self-indulgent genre of metal in existence: the dreaded instrumental progressive metal. Even I, a lowly and slavishly devoted minion of most things prog, cringe when the internet pleads with me to review an instrumental prog album. This music is tough to do well. Often, it’s much easier to simply wank until your wank falls off rather than write captivating songs. To grab my attention, you need something different, and that’s just what Montreal, Canada’s Cydemind have tried to do: they’ve added a violinist to the mix here, hoping to shake up the genre.” Shake the wank before returning to work.

Narthraal – Screaming From The Grave Review

By Akerblogger on May 25, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Icelandic Metal, Inverse Records, Reviews, 30 comments

“Narthraal are very proud of the fact that they are the only band in Iceland using the Boss HM-2 pedal to produce their fat and filthy old school Swedish death metal sound. Attempting to replicate the classic chainsaw sound is a tall order and Narthraal have a lot to live up to. Screaming From The Grave is a debut album that unashamedly plonks itself in the heart of the early 1990s.” Let’s give them an everflowing left hand welcome.

Pyreship – The Liars Bend Low Review

By GardensTale on May 24, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Bow Records, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge, 10 comments

“Samples in music have been a controversial point throughout its history. Their use ranges from the occasional embellishment to set the mood, to incorporating it into the lifeblood of the music, which was part of the origins of hip-hop. Detractors claim it to lack creativity by definition, because it means using someone else’s work. Defenders argue that the application of existing work in a different context is what makes it creative. No matter what your position, the fact is that plenty of metal bands have made use of them, from political voices in Megadeth to horror movie samples in Mortician.” A sampling of doom.

Beastmaker – Inside the Skull Review

By Saunders on May 22, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Stoner Rock, Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 13 comments

“Californian doomers Beastmaker take a familiar approach worshiping at the altar of classic Sabbath and Pentagram, grinding these well worn influences through a hazy stoner rock filter, complete with loose garage-y vibe. Already the band has a couple of releases under their belts despite their relatively short existence, but do these drugged-out heathens have what it takes to compete with the big guns?” Not to be confused with the Beastmaster, nor the Beastmilker.

DragonForce – Reaching into Infinity Review

By Eldritch Elitist on May 22, 2017 in 2017, English Metal, Metal Blade, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 57 comments

“There was a period back in my early high school days where I listened to DragonForce almost exclusively. I learned guitar so I could (badly) play “Through the Fire and Flames,” I wore one of the most atrocious band tees I’ve ever seen with pride, and I even made an unbelievably embarrassing PowerPoint presentation on the band’s history for a class assignment. I’m pretty sure my obsession with them stemmed from misdirected teenage hormones, which, with me being a DragonForce fan, definitely weren’t being aimed where human biology intended.” Dragonfetish.

Ardent Spirits – Mountain Howl Review

By GardensTale on May 17, 2017 in 2017, German Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 27 comments

“Music is a lot like food. Both are nourishing: food for the body and music for the spirit. There’re no accounting for taste, but there’s semi-predictable consensuses (consensi?), such as nu-metal and tofurkey are both hellspawn that should be scorched from the face of the Earth. Sometimes you feel in the mood for a big, luxury five-course meal, so you load up Ayreon, sometimes you crave the greasy slop of Vader, and sometimes you prefer a salad so you throw yourself out the sixth-floor window. With all this said, who’s ready for a medium-sized bag of popcorn?” Kernels of truth.

Lo-Ruhamah – Anointing Review

By Grymm on May 16, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Estonian Metal, I Voidhanger Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 15 comments

“Having been wrongly labeled as a Christian band, Lo-Ruhamah nevertheless garnered quite a few interested ears with their interesting take on progressive doom metal mixed with esoteric spiritualism. But then, they went inactive for almost a decade. Now, with the members spending time between the States and Estonia, they return with their long-awaited follow-up, Anointing.” Back from the dead, but not like Jesus!

Godhunter – Codex Narco Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 15, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Baby Tooth Records, Battleground Records, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 9 comments

“What kind of ‘god hunter’ is Godhunter? One out in search of truth, peace, and reasoning? Or are they on a hunt for revenge; fed up with the silence that returns their prayers or the global devastations no mortal man seems capable of preventing? Godhunter are many things and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both.” God is game.

Mountains Crave – As We Were When We Were Not

By El Cuervo on May 15, 2017 in 2017, Avantgarde Music, Black Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 20 comments

““Clear Light of the Void” is the third track from As We Were When We Were Not (henceforth AWWWWWN) by Leeds’ Mountains Crave and its opening explicitly grabbed my attention. Underpinned by a gently plucked simple progression, an old broadcast of Gerald Heard is sampled. Gerald Heard was a noted historian and writer but was also considered an expert on LSD; he espoused the mind-opening nature of psychedelic drugs. This sample led me to read around the young band and discover this psychedelic streak is important to them, citing Aldous Huxley as a particular influence.” Turn on, tune in, read on.

Summoner – Beyond the Realm of Light Review

By Huck N Roll on May 13, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Magnetic Eye Records, Reviews, Sludge, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Sludge, 11 comments

“When Boston’s Summoner came into being back in 2009, they were originally known as Riff Cannon. Made up of members of black metal bands Plagues and Deafheaven, Summoner is clearly a vehicle for these fellas to shed their black metal overcoats and give some love to the Baroness/Kylesa/Torche side of the bill.” Black does sludge.