Agalloch

A Secret Revealed – Sacrifices Review

A Secret Revealed – Sacrifices Review

By Cherd on January 28, 2019 in 2.5, 2019, Black Metal, German Metal, Hardcore, Lifeforce Records, Metalcore, Post-metal, Reviews, Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Post-Metal, 64 comments

“I’ve learned that when it comes to the promo sump, metalcore sneaks in the back door. This makes sense. we at AMG like to joke about all things -core, so why explicitly say you’re a metalcore band in your promo? Why not say you play post-metal, and when you’re safe inside the city gates, sneak out of that Trojan horse and stab the shit out of us with your VERY EARNEST SCREAMING and siq breakdowns? And so it is that I find myself reviewing Sacrifices, the second full-length from Germany’s A Secret Revealed.” Core at the door.

Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review

Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review

By Treble Yell on December 13, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Classical, Not Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Non-metal Metal Things, 62 comments

“There was a time when The End Records could do no wrong. Agalloch, Green Carnation, Antimatter, the label churned out a stream of genre-defining albums by metal bands large and small. So confident was I in their curation that I set upon buying practically every release The End Records put out, at least until the wheels fell off and the label debased itself by churning out mainstream dreck. But it was fantastic while it lasted, and Sombre Romantic, the 2001 debut record of Adelaide-based Virgin Black, was one of the early successes that left an indelible impression with its contrasting cries of doom and operatic embellishments.” A night at the opera.

Arête – Hymnal Review

Arête – Hymnal Review

By Grymm on November 12, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, The Fear and the Void Recordings, 49 comments

“I like to think of myself as a somewhat open-minded man-cat. After all, you don’t learn anything about people, places, things, food, and conflicting opinions with blinders on at all times. That said, after five wonderful years writing for Angry Metal Guy, I know what my limits are. Two things raise the hairs on my paws, neck, and face with no effort: one-person black metal and supergroups. So it only makes sense that my last non-Thing You Might Have Missed review of the year would be Hymnal, the debut full-length album by Arête, an American supergroup consisting of band members who all have their own one-man black metal projects.” Too many one-mans.

Arkuum – Die Letzte Agonie Review

Arkuum – Die Letzte Agonie Review

By Master of Muppets on August 16, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 59 comments

“There are some truths which we all hold to be self-evident no matter who we are. Examples of such universal certainties include that you will breathe oxygen under a blue sky, fire will be hot eleven times out of ten, and that, one day, you will die. Most do their damnedest to disarm that last trvth bomb, but it’s the only thing Germany’s Arkuum are thinking about on their sophomore effort, Die Letzte Agonie. With a fittingly foreboding production and a staunch refusal to smile, one man fatalist army Arkas cradles that aforementioned bombshell like a kvlt and cvddly baby, singing life itself to sleep with a 50-minute blackened lullaby.”Hvsh little baby.

Firtan – Okeanos Review

Firtan – Okeanos Review

By Akerblogger on July 21, 2018 in 2018, Art of Propaganda, Black Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 117 comments

“Categorization eludes Firtan. Okeanos, the second record by this German four-piece, is an album of vast fluctuations. Ever immutable and indefinable black metal rests at its core, but its proceeding layers are a lot more complex. Okeanos is a swirling cauldron of flavorsome sounds: profusely potent and pungent. Inspired by avant-garde intellectuals like Nietzsche and Lovecraft, Okeanos is a ‘dazzling display of epic black metal grandeur, suffused with autumnal atmosphere and winding-yet-captivating compositions.’ Firtan well and truly blow their own trumpet.” Pretentiousness and the void.

Extremity – Coffin Birth Review

Extremity – Coffin Birth Review

By Ferrous Beuller on July 20, 2018 in 20 Buck Spin, 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 54 comments

“At what point does death metal qualify as “old-school?” It’s odd to think that an entire sub-genre is predicated, in part, on how long it happens to have existed, and in this world of hyper-convenient immediacy, surely that span is shrinking at a rapid pace. One day, some poor fuck will be mooning over a Suicide Silence record telling his mates how the classics are always the best, and I will spin in my grave so fast I’ll bore into the center of the Earth. Rather than simply exhuming the dead, fortunately, Oakland’s Extremity lean more towards the Frankensteinian school of science.” Build-An-Abomination.

Khôrada – Salt Review

Khôrada – Salt Review

By Saunders on July 19, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Rock, Progressive Metal, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Sludge, Stoner Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Rock, Sludge, 81 comments

“It’s probably fair to say that Agalloch and Giant Squid went out with differing degrees of success on the recording front. Both issued their final albums in 2014, with Agalloch’s The Serpent and the Sphere garnering mixed opinions, while Giant Squid’s Minoans opus was a fine conceptual piece that stands among their stronger releases. With the dust settled on two stellar careers, can the ex-Agalloch collective of Don Anderson, Jason Walton and prolific drummer Aesop Dekker combine successfully with former Giant Squid and current Squalus frontman/guitarist Aaron Gregory?” Salve for loss or salt in the wound?

Oubliette – The Passage Review

Oubliette – The Passage Review

By Dr. Wvrm on July 16, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, The Artisan Era, Melodic Black Metal, 115 comments

“When a record feels right — truly right — you just know. No ramp-up is required. Nothing is asked of you but your admiration. Satisfaction is born in full, a sensation that mirrors the wholly filling quality of a spin free from reservations. Oubliette — a Tennessee meloblack outfit headed by married duo Emily and Mike Low, the latter of Inferi; some readers should be familiar with — comes dangerously close to that feeling with their second offering.” Marriage makes the heart blacker.

Runespell – Order of Vengeance Review

Runespell – Order of Vengeance Review

By Lokasenna on July 14, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, 35 comments

“Like most of my peers, I try to spread out my metal listening; variety being the spice of life and all that. Despite this, however, I frequently find myself short on new black metal. Instead, I return to old standbys; kvlt, traditional and the bravely exotic. Unfortunately, the promo sump is rarely a good way to fix this problem, as so few black metal bands are interested in innovating. This is particularly true at the offices of our friends at Iron Bonehead, an established where ingenuity isn’t welcome. Still, Australian studio-project Runespell’s sophomore release—Order of Vengeance—is at least less baffling than the last Australian black metal act I covered, pulling firmly from the Norwegian second wave with smatterings of other scenes and styles to keep things from growing stale.” Leftover Norway.