2020

Angellore – Rien Ne Devait Mourir Review

Angellore – Rien Ne Devait Mourir Review

“Five years is a long time to go between albums. A lot of time to refine a particular sound is often exactly what bands need to put out their most spectacular releases. On the other hand, expectation is a tricky demon, and it bites both ways. For Angellore, a gothic/doom metal band from France, it’s been five years since the release of La Litanie des Cendres, and, I have to admit, my expectations are a bit high for Rien Ne Devait Mourir, Angellore’s third full-length.” More is more.

Suum – Cryptomass Review

Suum – Cryptomass Review

“It’s a new year and I’m already anxious to uncover 2020s version of Fvneral Fvkk. By that I mean a doom album that comes out of nowhere and hits me like a runaway logging truck, leaving me bloodied, battered but impressed. In search of the next unheralded monolith of massiveness, I took a flyer on unsung Italian doom act Suum. Cryptomass is their second album, and you just have to love that witty title.” Suum of all fears.

Godthrymm – Reflections Review

Godthrymm – Reflections Review

“Valentine’s Day is normally reserved for lovers. Cards are exchanged, chocolates and red velvety things are consumed, uglies are bumped… Valentine’s Day is a time that romance, passion, and love fill the air. But you know what pairs well with VD? DOOM. Not just any doom metal, mind you, but rather oppressive, downtrodden, and lightless British DOOM, complete with bold typeface and italics. And who better to serve you that kind of doom than not one, but two former members of My Dying Bride?” Heavy love.

Anvil – Legal at Last Review

Anvil – Legal at Last Review

“Not to say Anvil has no semi-classic records to their names, but those were over a dozen albums ago. By now they’ve recorded more than AC/DC, in a shorter time span, yet their sound also shows as much growth as their Australian counterparts. Is the new pro-weed romp another carbon copy or have the fumes brought some inspiration to the geezers?” Anvil is Anvil.

Maere – I Review

Maere – I Review

If people like ourselves confess our love of metal to a member of the general public, the common reaction is sneers and disgust. ‘I can’t listen to that stuff!’ they’ll say. ‘It sounds so, like, ugly and stuff!’ In my experience, there are two paths one can take when confronted with such unpleasant bigotry (besides the best option, which is ending the conversation). I can try to change their minds by playing the more beautiful side of the genre for them, such as the gentlest of progressive metal. I could also dig my heels in, say: ‘Fuck yeah it sounds ugly, just like your face!’ and blast said face full of dissonant death metal. In the latter scenario, Maere is a feasible candidate.” Death to the vntrve!

Mitochondrial Sun – Mitochondrial Sun Review

Mitochondrial Sun – Mitochondrial Sun Review

“Solo projects are an interesting beast. While rarely as successful as their originating bands, done well they can tread new and interesting ground. Done poorly, though, they can end up a pale imitation of the bands they came from. Mitochondrial Sun is the side project of Niklas Sundin, Dark Tranquillity’s long-time guitarist. Fortunately, it falls into the former category. ,b>Mitochondrial Sun is primarily dark instrumental electronic music, largely in the vein of 65daysofstatic, but also forays into modern classical.” Dark new age.

God Dethroned – Illuminati Review

God Dethroned – Illuminati Review

“The unimpeachable philosophy of famed slam poet Robert Conrad Flynn once posited that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” If we apply the paradigm to extreme metal, the veracity of the statement becomes rather apparent. All of our favorite genres of metal and, indeed, music are fundamentally stale. This isn’t a bitter take, it’s a fact. While we hungrily await the next morsel of genuine innovation, we sate ourselves with interpretations of reliable constants. Dutchmen God Dethroned have been plying our souls with searing melodic death metal for the best part of thirty years. Their oeuvre consists of scorching blackened passages and an adroit use of melody that never sacrifices suffering for seduction.” When consistency attacks.

Dzö-nga – Thunder in the Mountains Review

Dzö-nga – Thunder in the Mountains Review

“We all have those times where we look back and say to ourselves ‘what was I thinking?’ That’s kind of how I feel about reviewing Dzö-nga’s second album, The Sachem’s Tales, back in 2017. Today, a folky atmospheric black metal album with classical influences seems so far out of my wheelhouse that it’s not even in the same hemisphere. Yet, I did enjoy my share of Agalloch and Cascadian black metal back in the day, and as such, I was able to appreciate Tales as an inspired and engrossing piece of woodsy black metal with intriguing Native American themes. Led by vocalist and guitarist Cryvas, this Boston project has now returned with another opus, this time based on H.W. Longfellow’s epic poem ‘The Song of Hiawatha.'” Spirits of nature.

Sycomore – Bloodstone Review

Sycomore – Bloodstone Review

“Sludge metal. Depending on who you ask, it’s either awesome or meh. If you ask me, sludge falls under the hit-or-miss category, with an unfortunate bias towards miss. When everything comes together, e.g. all four records of Beastwars and the first four of Mastodon, the result is usually a monolithic slab of grimy riffs and scathing vocal assaults drowned in the fuzz of the damned. This is a good thing. However, all other times you end up with something about as interesting/enjoyable as room-temperature coffee poured out of a carafe stained as yellow as the dust inside a chain-smoker’s PC. This is a bad thing.” Sludge life.

Lorna Shore – Immortal Review

Lorna Shore – Immortal Review

“I’ve been a booster for Lorna Shore ever since I heard the Bone Kingdom EP. The basic pitch of the band’s early work was deathcore, for cats but good. Good riffs and effective breakdowns formed the backbone of songs that Adam DeMicco’s considerable solo and lead work elevated above almost anything else in the scene. The band has since re-invented themselves with each release, delving into grimy blackened deathcore with Psalms and taking a slick, blackened/melodic course with Flesh Coffin. AMG’s coverage of the band has been scanty due to the band’s rapid bounce through several record labels. Now playing in the big leagues with Century Media, I and the band, have been looking forward to their third LP, Immortal.” Going through changes.