![Birdeatsbaby – The World Conspires [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/birdeatsbaby-world-conspires-768x768.jpg)
“One of the best ways to get my attention is to mention a band crossing genre boundaries in unexpected ways. Birdeatsbaby drew my eye, first, with their rather evocative name and, second, with that drop-dead gorgeous album art. But what really caught my interest was their history; the band started off in the punk cabaret scene and developed to include prog metal and symphonic influences.” Protect Baby Yoda!
![Aether – In Embers [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/aether-in-embers-02.jpg)
“Wintersun has long been a favorite of mine. Sure, it’s a band with a whole bunch of frustrations, but Jari Mänepää is a strong composer, and he’s got a cool sound that I can’t help but like. His wild blend of melodeath, power metal, black-tinged folk, and symphonic over-the-top wizardry appeals to me. It’s always a good Time T(w)o listen to well-composed symphonic heavy metal, and this is where the Polish group Aether come in.” Less spa, more metal.
![Pristine – Road Back to Ruin [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/pristine_roadBackToRuin_albumArt-768x768.jpg)
“Once again, whether due to rank neglect or prior obligation, we missed Pristine’s latest slab of bar-brawling, leather-bound, bluesy hard rock goodness. Fans of this site will remember Huck N Roll swooning over Pristine’s Ninja, which was indeed a strong record from a Norwegian band operating way under the radar punching way above their weight class. Road Back to Ruin punches even higher, swinging and swaggering hard enough to fell Sequoias like blades of grass.” Roads best taken.
![Nocturnal Departure – Cathartic Black Rituals [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Noctural-Departure-Cathartic-Black-Rituals-01.jpg)
“With a purple, black, and white/grey color scheme, Cathartic Black Rituals immediately calls Mayhem’s Live in Leipzig—metal’s best live record—to mind. It screams second wave black metal, and as a fan of that little niche I heeded the call.” Running into the Nocturnal.
“I have never had such a candid and comfortable conversation about this most miserable of subject matter with anyone before my discussion with Déhà, the mastermind behind Déhà and Slow, among others. It is my sincere hope that someone out there will read these words and feel the same level of support and understanding that I felt as they transpired, and it is all but certain that this will forever be the post that I am most proud and humbled to have contributed to this great Hall ov ours.”
![Blut Aus Nord – Hallucinogen [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Blut-Aus-Nord-Hallucinogen-01-768x768.jpg)
“Whichever the style, the quality of <'sb>Blut Aus Nord output never faltered. They could and have done whatever they wanted. Yet even in such a varied discography, their thirteenth LP Hallucinogen arrives as a sharp and expectedly unexpected detour. An ascendance to a higher celestial plane.” Black trip.
![HarborLights – Isolation Ritual [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/HarborLights-Isolation-Ritual-01-768x768.jpg)
“Back in August, I stumbled across an absurdity of the other writers loitering near the skull pit, waiting for the cleaners to finish. To pass the time, I suggested my fellows check out the advance tracks for HarborLights’ new record, which I misdescribed as instrumental post-metal.” Skull pit gossip and marina lighting.
![Kampfar – Ofidians Manifest [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kampfar-Ofidians-Manifest-01-768x768.jpg)
“I can’t remember the last time Kampfar disappointed me. Grier begins to count his fingers, evaluating every album the band has released since 1997. Oh, that’s right: never. ‘Why are you introducing a TYMHM this way?’ ‘Are you trying to freak me out or bury my hope?’ Maybe. But the real reason is that I’m a dick and I like to fuck with you all.” Honesty is a virtue.
![Otoboke Beaver – Itekoma Hits [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Otoboke-Beaver-Itekoma-Hits-01-768x768.jpg)
“As long as it’s good, gives us reviewers joyous vibes, and is kinda sorta somewhat within proximity of our wheelhouse, we’ll give it a fair shake and coverage. Kyoto’s Otoboke Beaver’s debut full-length, Itekoma Hits, is several miles away from our particular wheelhouse, but we see them, cheerfully smiling and waving while screaming, delivering some absolutely apeshit bonkers music that veers from pop-punk to hardcore to surf music to practically everywhere else and in-between.” It’s not metal, but then again, neither are you.
“Cold winds, ice, snow, overstuffed birds and crowded shopping malls. None of these played a role in making November’s Record(s) o’ the Month so fookin’ late.” Baby, it’s late outside.
