“New year, new sponge, same gig. What a better way to kick off 2024 than with some brutal, slightly proggy, slightly technical death metal! How serendipitous it was, then, that Engulf finally dropped their debut LP The Dying Planet Weeps upon my eager lap. Complete with very nice artwork and a remarkably rich and warm production, The Dying Planet Weeps aims to make a mockery of my scoring average as early in the year as it possibly can.” Engulfed by overratings.
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Feel the Paraphilia.
The holidays are near, but this is no time for shopping! Instead you should be consuming the Top Ten lists of the esteemed El Cuervo and Diabolus in Muzaka. These are the gifts that keeps on giving.
“Death metal is all about bludgeoning with extreme prejudice, but it also used to coincide with great songwriting. While the former has never been in question, I can’t consistently say the same of the latter. In an effort to cohesively combine the two, modernity has mutated penmanship into an almost grotesque caricature, often mistaking style for substance. Sometimes, however, proficiency and profusion meet in the middle to summon a storm of genuine portent. The Maltese death dealers, Abysmal Torment, have embarked upon a run of sustained quality and their fourth full-length, The Misanthrope, shows no sign of slowing.” Misanthropic brutality done right.
