“The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. The reviewing collective at AMG lurches from one new release to the next, errors and n00bs strewn in our wake. But what if, once in a while, the collective paused to take stock and consider the discography of one of those bands that shaped many a taste? What if two aspects of the AMG collective personality shared with the slathering masses their personal rankings of that discography.” Fearless Krallice rankers.
“Depleted Uranium scrape together the contrasting textures of the Dillinger Escape Plan and cut them with nastier shots of powerviolence. Pivoting between tense builds and haywire blasts of aggression, they try to make the best of Origins’ sixteen minutes and change, never dropping the pace for too long.” Half live.
“Melodic death metal is a strange beast for me. It’s one of those genres that almost always sounds good on first listen, but once the novelty wears off, I rarely find myself enamored enough to hang around. I recently joked that Amon Amarth is the only melodeath band I actually like, and while that may not actually be true, the sentiment illustrates what I need in order to like an album of this particular genre. No thanks to sad-boi, contemplative versions of the style; I need riffs and aggression in my melodeath platters.” Burning in elegance.
“Reader, we have before us a scabby and indelicate piece of business. It’s been a busy few shifts at the filth factory for Ectoplasma; Inferna Kabbalah marks the fourth time in recent years that they’ve dropped a compost heap filled with dung and rotting offal on our doorsteps. And a ghastly pile it is!” Nasty plasma.
“Oshiego play a very familiar style of death metal, with plenty of old school charm and technical flair. According to the promo material accompanying the album, their sound is described as a “relentless assault” and “crushing,” featuring an “uncompromising old school approach.” I wouldn’t disagree with these accolades outright, because for the most part, Jaljalut proves itself to be quite the “relentless” beast, maintaining a consistent, if overwhelmingly repetitive speed and tone throughout.” Relenting is for losers.
“If Australia is trying to kill you, then Descent is the club with which it bludgeons its victims. The Brisbane five-piece burst onto the scene in 2018 with Towers of Grandiosity, which worshipped at the altar of the most primitive old-school death metal. But Towers rested too heavily on its Neanderthal influences, failing to make a mark amidst stiff competition from down-under brethren like Faceless Burial, The Plague, and Earth Rot. Descent’s latest attack, Order of Chaos aims to outshine the OSDM riffraff by incorporating weapons from neighboring genres into the band’s arsenal, in defiant response to our review (I assume).” Murder Land.
“Barlow’s time as the classic Iced Earth vocalist solidified him as one of these legendary figures in my personal mythology, and that legend was only strengthened when I learned that he’d left the band to pursue a career as a police officer after the events of 9/11. His return to the mic with Pyramaze was a pleasant surprise, and I really enjoyed the 2013 self-titled debut from Ashes of Ares, the project he formed with former Iced Earth bassist Freddy Vidales. For whatever reason, I missed Ashes of Ares’ 2018 sophomore platter Well of Souls, but when I saw follow-up Emperors and Fools had found its way into the January promo bin, I threatened violence against any reviewer who might try to take it from me.” War arts!
“In the multiform sea of interpretations permitted by the tag ‘post-black metal,’ Oar direct their course towards singularly grimy, doom-laden waters. The band borrows from the likes of Amenra and Vous Autres in sinister and savage feeling, though eschewing smooth, reverb-laden tones in favor of a more suffocating vibe.” The real question is whether we can make it through a post-black metal review without a reference to Deafheaven.
“If there’s one musical style I could argue “let me down” last year, it was power metal. Nothing really grabbed me, nothing impressed me, nothing stuck. That’s disappointing, mind you, because I generally love power metal in all its cheesy, crazy glory. So when I came upon From the Ashes, the debut full-length from Danish newcomers Lastera, I didn’t need much convincing to check it out.” Ash power.
“Some 12 years after coalescing around ex members of Acheron, Orlando, Florida’s Druid Lord is back with just their third full-length. A hefty eight years passed between debut, Hymns for the Wicked, and its 2018 follow-up, Grotesque Offerings, on which the death-doom quartet “came up short,” according to our own Grymm.” Speaking ill of the dead.
