2010

Atlantean Kodex – The Golden Bough Review

By Steel Druhm on November 17, 2010 in 2010, 4.5, Cruz Del Sur, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, 4 comments

Crushing my friends, simply crushing. Like being flattened by some type of heavy industrial smoothing machine, The Golden Bough, the debut full-length from Germany’s Atlantean Kodex will compress you in a major way. However, this crushing may be one of your better listening experience this year if you dig epic/doom metal. Although I was lead to expect good things by their well-regarded Pnakotic Demos EP, I wasn’t prepared for anywhere near this level of asskickery. To put it quite simply, this is one of the most epic and huge sounding metal albums to drop on us in years. With a sound combining Into Glory Ride-era Manowar with the doom of While Heaven Wept and the atmosphere of Bathory’s Hammerheart opus, these guys have birthed a monstrous metal titan that should be essential listening for all fans of doom, epic or just plain old heavy metal.

Melechesh – The Epigenesis Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 10, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Black Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Black Metal, 0 comments

While the metal world has gone agog for Egyptian metal, and actually I’ve seen these guys linked up with Nile and Aeternam in other places, Melechesh is a unique band in that they are ultimately Sumerian metal. What’s the difference you say? Well, melodically not much. However, Sumeria is a totally fascinating historical place which was where modern day Iraq is (which is technically Mesopotamia, Sumeria was a grouping of city-states, this also includes the Israel and Palestine region). It is considered by most Biblical scholars to be the place where the “tribes of Israel” and the other natives of the region must have come from and it is south of or in the Fertile Crescent, which for anyone who knows their history is where agriculture is supposed to have come from. Some of the oldest texts in the world that we’ve ever found are Sumerian (written in Cuneiform) and the culture was highly advanced in math (inventing the abacus) and writing.

Vulture Industries – The Malefactor’s Bloody Register Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 9, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Dark Essence Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, 3 comments

Another one of those bands that has floated in and out of my ‘sphere of knowledge’, I’d never really given Vulture Industries a fair chance. Part of this was probably just laziness on my part, but also the undeniable fact that the band had been pigeonholed as an Arcturus rip-off certainly didn’t make me want to check them out very much. As I’ve been pretty consistent about, I think that rip-off bands are usually boring, unimaginative and frustrating. And with a band like Arcturus that is easily one of the most unique bands to ever show up from the black metal scene, I couldn’t see how it could possibly be even remotely good. Certainly a band cannot re-imagine the most imaginative band from the first wave of Norwegian black metal.

Virgin Steele – The Black Light Bacchanalia Review

By Steel Druhm on November 5, 2010 in 2.0, 2010, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, SPV, Heavy Metal, 10 comments

OK, what the hell is going on here? Why are metal’s elder statesmen forgetting to include metal on their metal albums? First Halford and now this? Virgin Steele has been around since forever (1982), and singer, keyboardist, pianist, composer David DeFeis is a near legendary figure in the metal scene who happens to hail from my neck of the woods in New York. Growing up, I always considered Virgin Steele a poor man’s Manowar (and I think these guys felt the same way). Although I was never a die-hard fan, they had some good early albums and DeFeis is a talented musician and truly gifted and versatile vocalist. However, on album twelve, the pompously titled The Black Light Bacchanalia, DeFeis and company have opted to create nearly ninety minutes of what can best be described as Manowar meets chamber music meets Vegas lounge music. Conceptually, easy listening/lounge Manowar is the equal of other such self defeating concepts as room temperature fire and Shakespeare performed by mimes. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Solefald – Norrøn Livskunst Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 4, 2010 in 2010, 5.0, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Indie Recordings, Progressive Metal, Record o' the Month, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 13 comments

Solefald is just a cool band and they have been for a long time. I first got into their stuff with the epic Red for Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey which came out in 2005 and that record has maintained a standard place in my discography because of its amazing blending of black metal, progressive metal and rock and unique Norse sounds. While I was not equally as impressed with Black for Death and I’ve been a bit hit or miss on some of the band’s older material, I’ve always appreciated the band’s unique approach to the music they produce and their intensely creative outputs. Nothing they have put out has really disappointed me, it’s just a matter of being more or less into it.

Allen/Lande – The Showdown Review

By Steel Druhm on November 3, 2010 in 2010, 4.5, Frontiers Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, 3 comments

Regular readers of the Angry Metal Guy’s mighty webpage will have noticed that I consider Sir Russell Allen (Symphony X, Star One, Avantasia) and Jorn Lande (Jorn, Masterplan, Avantasia, Ark) two of the very best metal vocalists in operation today. It was only last week I was ranting and raving about Allen’s performance on the new Star One opus and now I must rant anew, but what else can Steel Druhm do? Allen and Lande are both such enormously versatile and talented vocalists and it’s always a pleasure to hear them show off said talents. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I’ve gone hog wild over the previous Allen/Lande recordings where the two masters engaged in epic battles for metal pipes supremacy. Both their previous albums have become mainstays in my music rotation and hold up admirably to the repeated spins they receive. Now we are blessed with their third album The Showdown and the masters have once again delivered the goods and reaffirmed their place at the top of the metal vocalist food chain.

October Tide – A Thin Shell Review

By Steel Druhm on November 2, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Candlelight, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 1 comment

With the tides come a darkness and oppressive gloom and that gloom is known as October Tide. After resting in deep, dark slumber for the fullness of eleven years, the brainchild of Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia) and Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) crawls back into the light with another monumentally morose death-doom opus titled A Thin Shell. Not too many bands can survive such an extended state of limbo but when Norrman left Katatonia, he decided it was time to resurrect his side-project for a third album without co-founder Renkse. While it was quite natural to doubt a quality comeback or to fear a Katatonia clone, you can put those fears to rest. A Thin Shell is a remarkable album that showcases the beauty that exists in darkness.

Revolution Renaissance – Trinity Review

By Steel Druhm on October 28, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, Finnish Metal, Napalm Records, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 0 comments

Wow, Timo Tolkki just can’t catch a break! First, the founder, mastermind and guitarist of long running power metal institution Stratovarius had to leave the fold due to personal problems and private demons. Now problems have forced him to call it a day with follow-up band Revolution Renaissance, shortly after releasing Trinity, their third album. I was only lukewarm about their debut and actively disliked the slow and soupy mess that was Age of Aquarius. However, after spending time with the band’s swan song, I have to admit, it’s a shame to see them pack it in. This is a solid slice of melodic European power metal and a clear improvement over the prior Revolution Renaissance outings. While nothing on Trinity is genre defying or “revolutionary” in a musical sense (it actually sounds A LOT like his former band), it’s well done, enjoyable and contains some moments of exceptional power metal songwriting sure to please fans of the style.

Ross the Boss – Hailstorm Review

By Steel Druhm on October 21, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, AFM Records, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 0 comments

Is this new Manowar? No, that it ain’t. So it’s Rossowar? Closer, but still no. What we actually have before us is Hailstorm, the second album by Ross the Boss. Mr. The Boss was of course the original fret master for the legendary Manowar and he played on all their classic, seminal albums before riding off to seek glory on his own (yes AMG, there really are classic Manowar albums [I resent that statement. – AMG]). So what type of music would one of the founding fathers of sword and furry loincloth metal create in this day and age? Well, those hoping Ross assembled a merry band of Manowar imitators will be disappointed. While there are several unsubtle stylistic nods to his original band (the most unsubtle band of all time), this is way less Mano-thematic than 2008’s New Metal Leader and focuses more on early 80’s style metal and straight ahead power metal. In some ways this departure from his musical comfort zone works, in others it falls just a bit short.

Symphorce – Unrestricted Review

By Steel Druhm on October 20, 2010 in 2010, German Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 0 comments

Ah, another release from metal vocal monster Andy B. Franck’s “other” band Symphorce. While most in the metal world are familiar with his work with Brainstorm, Symphorce is his more “cult” band where he explores musical styles and moods that wouldn’t fit with the straight ahead metal style of his primary outfit. Over the years Symphorce has released some albums that were actually superior to those of Brainstorm and I often wondered why they weren’t better known, especially since Mr. Franck is one of the better vocalists in metal today. Generally Symphorce hasn’t strayed too far from the style Brainstorm employs but they have tended to toss in more prog elements and try more diverse sounds (but much less so than his original band Ivanhoe). That pattern continues here on their seventh album Unrestricted. However, this is a slight step back in quality from previous Symphorce albums and feels a little rushed and incomplete. Fortunately, the shortcomings in songwriting are at least partially overcome by the vocal efforts of Mr. Franck.