“It’s sometimes hard to keep up with the entity we call [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire]. Starting in the late ’90s, these Italian cheese-mongers took the power metal world by storm with their bombastic, orchestral power metal. The young, bright-eyed Italian maestros reeled off four albums that added an epic, operatic flair to the neoclassical metal of the 1980s they’d grown up on. While the band’s near-demise is one of the greatest scares of my adult fandom, Rhapsody of Fire’s return from the near annihilation was celebrated with two excellent records and an EP in short succession. Then tragedy struck. Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli would each get their own version of the band—with Turilli’s staying on Nuclear Blast, and Staropoli’s moving on to AFM.” What became of these poor, Italian maestros in the big, cold, dark world? Click to find out!
2016
Pil & Bue – Forget the Past, Let’s Worry about the Future Review
“Every now and then, amidst the non-stop barrage of mediocre death and black metal we review here at AMG, we get something that’s a little bit out of the ordinary.” And since we’re all such elitist snobs, we like that.
Gygax – Critical Hits Review
“When AMG himself dropped a promo on me from a new band from former Gypsyhawk members called Gygax, named after the Godfather of D&D himself, E. Gary Gygax, I was both intrigued and skeptical. I love my metal and nerd tendencies, and Gygax had better come in with a decent THAC0 and saving throw if they wanted to withstand a lashing from yours truly.”
Lycus – Chasms Review
“Tempest was one of those remarkable underground metal debuts which developed sufficient hype to breach the upper echelon of popular online publications despite its apparent lack of commercial appeal. The oppressive funeral doom, courtesy of the plucking, hitting and growling gents over at Lycus, was positively received by Pitchfork, Decibel and theneedledrop, ultimately garnering a Relapse record deal. Some of us didn’t quite get Lycus before. So did we get on the hype train yet or what?
Raw – Battalion of Demons Review
“I know this will be a shocker to many, but it appears that Dr. Grier’s second review of 2016 is a thrashy one. This time, however, it’s not a by-the-numbers release of straightforward Metallica, Slayer, or Exodus brown-nosing.” The Doctor and his thrash are like conjoined twins and just as cranky.
Brainstorm – Scary Creatures Review
“I’ve said it before and now I’ll say it again: there are only a few bands I know won’t disappoint me and Brainstorm is the vanguard of those few precious dependables. Sure, some albums are more massive than others, but they’ve yet to let me down with a weak or uninspired effort.” Steel loves his dependables and his Depends.
El Caco – 7 Review
I’ve been in the mood for some killer stoner rock as of late. Ever since the almighty Kyuss went belly-up in 1995, I’ve been on the lookout for some killer jams to race cars, drink a few IPAs, and clean some demons to. The deserts of California were a ripe breeding ground for desert jams, and Kyuss’s disbanding left a gaping hole. Roaring down the highway in a souped-up, cherry-red Camaro comes Norway’s El Caco, who bring with them their seventh full-length, imaginatively entitled 7. Do they have what it takes to become the new stoner rock kings, or should you just hush them all away?
Suppressive Fire – Bedlam Review
“The Raleigh-based power trio of Suppressive Fire plays a brand of fun and slightly blackened thrash that skips the pizza entirely. Culling mainly from the “devil metal” of Nunslaughter, Nocturnal Breed’s Fields of Rot, and producer Joel Grind’s main outfit Toxic Holocaust, this is a modern take on thrash, infused with more extreme elements but still being rooted in the ethos of the harsher end of the classics spectrum.” So, can this debut differentiate itself in the early days of 2016?
Exmortus – Ride Forth Review
“California’s own technical thrash metallers, are a band who does everything I love in metal. They write fast songs, packed with frantic energy and rarely pushing the 5 minute mark. Their guitar work is tight, melodic, and classically influenced. Ride Forth, which drops on January 8th from Prosthetic Records, is an album that goes from zero to 90 in a split second and never drops in intensity as it pounds through nine tracks of palm-muted, staccato licks, arpeggios galore, and non-stop double-kick ass kicking (all while doing it for the Horde!).” Well, that sounds promising. But everyone knows that things are never this simple with Angry Metal Guy.
Venomous Concept – Kick Me Silly – VC III Review
“Ever a purveyor of mild understatement, Encyclopaedia Metallum describes Venomous Concept as the “side project of several notable metal musicians.” Their lineup reads like a fucking who’s who of grindcore royalty and it’s one of Shane Embury’s fifteen gazillion side-projects.” Grind Royalty would be good band name too.