More lists for the list machine! The men who unwisely go by their real names, Mark Z. and L. Saunders boldly proclaim their best albums of 2018.
Alkaloid
Ferrous Beuller’s and GardensTale’s Top Ten of 2018
Ferrous Beuller and GardensTale need to unburden themselves and share all their picks for the best of 2018. Be polite and sit quietly until they’re done, then you can go outside and get a cupcake.
Obscura – Diluvium Review
“Obscura’s 2009 release, Cosmogensis, dropped right when I was getting back into metal in a big way. I, like most people who heard it at the time, hailed it as the spiritual successor to Necrophagist and crowned the band the Kings o’ Noodly Death Metal. They have, in my estimation, never lived up to these expectations. Both Omnivium and Arkóasis fell flat, and both suffered from similar weaknesses; ballooning song and album-lengths, often at the cost of compositional focus and coherence.” If that’s not a cliff-hanger that makes you need to click, nothing is!
Record(s) o’ the Month – May 2018
“It is often predicted that whatever records I review in a month will be the Record o’ the Month. This makes sense, as I have repeatedly referred to this as “Angry Metal Guy‘s Record(s) o’ the Month.” But what’s little known about this process is that we do actually vote. The votes don’t always move the needle on what I choose in the grand scheme of things. However, the writers frequently point me, as The Decider (that means that I decide), toward what the various writers and fans are enjoying. This is quite helpful for everyone involved. So yes, as usual, we are looking at my Record(s) o’ the Month. But this time around, there was also a pretty strong consensus behind closed doors which albums should be the Record(s) o’ the Month. And it gets better: it’s even on time! Is it a coincidence? Or did someone threaten to rip out my fingernails behind the scenes if the Record(s) o’ the Month weren’t on time for May? The world may never know. But the world is going to enjoy the hell out of this wallpaper for the next six months…”
Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy Review
“The Malkuth Grimoire marked an exciting beginning for the star-studded line-up of Alkaloid. Escaping the imposing shadows of the band members other projects in unique and often unconventional ways, the album was very well received by myself and the metal community at large. Despite the chinks in its futuristic armory, such as the excessive bloat and ambitious but not always successful experimentation, Alkaloid emphatically proved they weren’t content to coast by with another typical tech death project. Now Hannes Grossman, Christian Münzner and co return with Liquid Anatomy.” Fluid dynamics.
Divine Element – Thaurachs of Borsu Review
“Based on my review stats thus far into my AMG career, I’ve got a 66 percent chance of snagging a record featuring Spectral Lore guitarist Ayloss whenever I pull an I, Voidhanger release from the promo bin. It’s easy to see why the label is so eager to back his work; he’s one of the few black metal guitarists I can recall who possesses a unique playing style, slapping an unmistakable stamp onto pretty much every product he touches. But before he staked his claim to black metal fame with Spectral Lore, he cut his teeth on Divine Element.” Sharp teeth, sharp riffs.
The AMG Staff Picks the Top Ten Records o’ 2015: There’s No Accounting for Anything Anymore
“We’ve reached the end of 2015 and this year I’m personally editing these Top Ten lists. For the first time (ever) I am reading the production of the different writers we’ve assembled over the last few years. I am shocked. I am dismayed. I feel angry, offended, galled. But I am not surprised. Under Steel Druhm and Madam X‘s indulgent care and averted gaze the young Angry Metal Staffers have run amok. Alas, after having actually consumed of the words these gentlemen produce, I’m firing them all. It’s back to the drawing board: me, Steel Druhm, and as much metalcore as you can eat!”
Alkaloid – The Malkuth Grimoire Review
“When guitarist Christian Muenzner (Spawn of Possession, ex-Necrophagist) and drummer Hannes Grossman (Blotted Science, ex-Necrophagist) departed Obscura last year, needless to say I was pretty bummed. The duo was an integral part of the band’s sparkling technical and progressive death metal formula that yielded back-to-back masterworks in Cosmogenesis and Omnivium. So while Obscura’s future looks uncertain, the gifted pair have forged ahead with a brand spankin’ new outfit called Alkaloid featuring an all-star line-up….” Dudes from the big names in tech-death coming together in a new super project? Are your slide rulers in a tangled knot of anticipation yet?
