Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a dose of good-natured trollery from Steel Santa.
2016
The DRX – Throughout Within Review
“If my hypothesis is correct, then this should be AMG’s last full review of the year, and the honor has gone to a lowly newbie thanks to some seasonal schadenfreude courtesy of Steel Druhm. See, with our infamously dreadful December promo pool to pull from, I let the fates decide my final assignment of 2016. So while everyone else cozied up by the fire with their choice Things You Might Have Missed, he assigned me to tackle the third record of prog project The DRX, Throughout Within.” Prog the halls, then leave same.
![Mizmor – Yodh [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Mizmor-Yodh-768x768.jpg)
Mizmor – Yodh [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]
“Even before hearing a single note from Portland, Oregon’s one-man blackened doom psalmist Mizmor (מזמור), the striking cover art of Yodh—a reproduction of an artwork by Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński—tells us everything we need to know. The two faces in a desolate dystopian landscape, robbed of their distinguishing features and reduced to mute, expressionless monoliths, speak to our subconscious selves.” Woe to the world, the doom has come.
Gravebreaker – Sacrifice Review
“In times of turmoil, our old refrains become more important to our sanity than ever. After burying my wallet in the backyard following some semi-drunk Christmas shopping, I turned to the latest Gothenburg-spawned album on the pile. Nothing better than somber keyboard-laden melodeath and the pitch-black 4 o’clock hour to ease the pain, right? No chance.” The 80s ride again!
Rudra – Enemy of Duality Review
“I must admit, prior to reviewing Rudra’s eighth full-length, Enemy of Duality, my only exposure to the band was bassist/vocalist Kathir’s vocal contribution for the song “देवदेवं (Devadevam)” on the new Rotting Christ album. Granted, while the song failed to win me over, it succeeded in making me aware of the Singaporean black metal band. Curious to check out the band’s self-proclaimed “Vedic metal,” and noticing that the band just dropped Enemy of Duality, I grabbed the promo and my trusty cans to see what the fuss was about.” Don’t be rudra.
Murg – Gudatall Review
“With the AMG promo bin positively bulging under the sheer weight of obscure one-man black metal projects nowadays, whenever I’m tasked with reviewing the work of an unfamiliar BM outfit, I’ve almost begun taking it as a given that it’s going to be a solo affair. When Gudatall—the latest effort from mysterious Swedish black metallers Murg—landed in my inbox, I almost choked on my caviar when I cued up a promo photo and found there to be not just one individual behind the name, but two.” Two is the unkvltist number that there’s ever been.
Angela Martyr – November Harvest Review
“These days, PR companies feel the need to come up with unique classifications and genres for the bands they are repping. I’ve lost count of the number of “new” genres we’ve had to add to our tag system this year. Great example: this new release from Angela Martyr, with a label prominently affixed to the cover declaring the music as ‘grungy, mechanical, pessimistic metalgaze.’ Okay. Why don’t they just say, ‘Sounds like Nine Inch Nails?'” They’re paid by the word, Huckster.
![Zeal and Ardor – Devil is Fine [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Zeal-and-Ardor-–-Devil-Is-Fine.jpg)
Zeal and Ardor – Devil is Fine [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]
“It’s about time we got to this. Since its release in April, Devil is Fine has exploded in popularity and earned accolades and interviews across the web, based on, as far as I can tell, little to no promotion from the artist. It has sold over 1000 copies on Bandcamp. But the album’s worth as a success story is just the beginning and even its contents don’t quite tell the whole tale.” This is a weird one.
Maligner – Demon Review
“Metalheads know very well their favored genre is among the most complex and the deepest music composed today. Getting lost among intricate compositions and soundscapes both atmospheric and complex is all in a day’s listening for us. Maligner doesn’t concern themselves so much with intricate soundscapes, though. No, this Swedish trio is more concerned with fucking shit up as hard and fast as they can, and Demon is their declaration of war.” War is swell.
![Dormant Ordeal – We Had It Coming [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Dormant-Ordeal-We-Had-It-Coming-Cover-768x768.jpg)
Dormant Ordeal – We Had It Coming [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]
“Since first cozying up to Dormant Ordeal one sleepy summer Saturday, the thundering masterclass has hardly left my rotation. Perhaps not the finest death metal to ever emigrate from Poland, We Had It Coming nonetheless evokes a primal emotion that renders it impossible to extract rational thought from the perpetual desire to blast this savage motherfucker from the rooftops.” But that might scare away Santa!
