3.5

Heavydeath – Eternal Sleepwalker Review

Heavydeath – Eternal Sleepwalker Review

“Today’s metal underground is more complex than ever. The Internet has opened up every time period and obscure scene for both exploration and exploitation, resulting in genres and subgenres spliced apart, hybridized, fused with non-metal elements, and shat out in an accelerating vortex of name-your-price Bandcamp zip files and ostensibly enthusiastic blog posts that seem to proclaim every half-assed side project as the best thing since Black Sabbath.” Why, we’d never!

Enforcer – From Beyond Review

Enforcer – From Beyond Review

“The classic 80s metal sound will never go away, because bands like Enforcer still live, breathe and eat that stuff. Their entire career has been spent chasing the closest approximation to early 80s speed metal as humanly possible and when they nail it, it stays pretty damn nailed.” It’s time for your required dose of old school metal, so open up and say…Enforcer!

Tähtiportti – Tähtiportti Review

Tähtiportti – Tähtiportti Review

“So, do you know anything about techno? What you’re about to read is a review of an album as far removed from metal as anything that ever appeared on Angry Metal Guy. There are only two, minor and farfetched at that, connections between Finland’s Tähtiportti and metal.” Admit it, you like techno. Bats and ants and bats and ants!

An Autumn for Crippled Children – The Long Goodbye Review

An Autumn for Crippled Children – The Long Goodbye Review

“Three consecutive releases reviewed by three different writers on AMG? This must be unheard of. Carving a little niche as one of the better and more evocative offshoots from the much-maligned ‘blackga(y)ze’ genre, An Autumn for Crippled Children have produced their fifth full-length in the beautifully desolate The Long Goodbye.” Many an AMG writer has tried his hand at figuring these cats out. They’re all gone now….

Feed Her to the Sharks – Fortitude Review

Feed Her to the Sharks – Fortitude Review

“Sharks leapt right into the cultural zeitgeist recently, with Katy Perry’s cartilaginous companions helping turn the Superbowl halftime show into something out of Dorah the Explorer’s Beachside Acid Trip. It’s perfect timing for Australia’s Feed Her to the Sharks to release third album (and Victory Records debut) Fortitude.” You know the thing about a shark, he’s got… lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eye. When he comes at ya, doesn’t seem to be livin’. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. Metalcore is kinda like that too.

Aktor – Paranoia Review

Aktor – Paranoia Review

“I’m getting rather tired of raving about Chris Black and his many musical endeavors (Pharaoh, Dawnbringer, High Spirits, etc.). Not because they don’t deserve the praise, mind you. I’m just reaching the point where I feel and sound like a shameless fanboy, and Steel Druhm doesn’t like that. Not. One. Bit. Apparently, Mr. Black cares little for my critical dilemmas, as he’s now released another winning musical project where he’s joined by Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppanen of the strange Finnish act Circle.” Black + Circle = Spin this black circle!

Furor Gallico – Songs from the Earth Review

Furor Gallico – Songs from the Earth Review

“When I hear someone mention a band with nearly as many active members in its ranks as the starting lineup of a baseball team, I immediately think of that one band from Des Moines (which is, honestly, the worst kind of buzzkill). There is always the risk of biting off more than you can chew when trying to incorporate so many musicians/instruments into an album, not to mention trying to balance everything on the stage.” Celtic themed folk metal from Italy? Now that’s fooking international!

Manilla Road – The Blessed Curse/After the Muse Review

Manilla Road – The Blessed Curse/After the Muse Review

“You can’t accuse Manilla Road of jumping on many bandwagons. Since forming in the late 70s, they’ve lingered in a perpetually kvlt phantom zone, honing their uniquely clunky proto-metal sound. While doing so, they’ve steadfastly remained oblivious to how the metal world evolved around them, and practiced willful ignorance toward modern production technology and recording advances. Because of this admirable history of stubborn stick-to-it-ness, I can’t accuse them of joining the double album trend we see developing of late, though a double album they doth deliver.” Another double album in 2015? This may become the Year of Too Much Metal!