Alt-Metal

Raketkanon – RKTKN#3 Review

By Huck N Roll on April 14, 2019 in 2019, Alcapop! Records, Alt-Metal, Belgian Metal, Experimental Metal, Reviews, Alt-Metal, Alternative Metal, Experimental Metal, 28 comments

“As Dr. Fisting and I sat on the floor outside the washroom at Angry Metal Guy Headquarters, quaffing the last of the Christmas party hobo wine, we agreed that, while folks these days might consider Raketkanon and their shtick kind of weird, back in 1994 the band would have been comfortably on stage opening for Faith No More. Their bizarre accouterments, kitschy stage shows, and (what seems to be, although I could be wrong) nonsensical lyrical dialect would be right at home in an Angel Dust–King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime era. That works for me: I love Faith No More, and more than that, I love bands that push the envelope and are willing to go on unexpected forays, even within single songs.” Freaks with a flag (and record deal)

Final Coil – The World We Left Behind for Others Review

By Steel Druhm on April 10, 2019 in 2019, Alt-Metal, British Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, WormHoleDeath Records, Alt-Metal, 59 comments

“I’ve never been much of a post and/or alt-rock guy, but the expertly crafted promo blurb for unsung U.K. act Final Coil captured my interest enough to review their 2017 debut, Persistence of Memory. It was an engaging little album too, mixing post-rock, restrained prog and grunge for a fairly unique sound. The album had its flaws, but I sensed a band that could go on to bigger things. Now a mere year and a half later, their sophomore effort The World We Left Behind for Others arrives with little fanfare, but that same sense of potential and promise.” What we leave and what we keep.

Moon Tooth – Crux Review

By Saunders on April 5, 2019 in 2019, Alt-Metal, American Metal, Hard Rock, Modern Static Records, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Alt-Metal, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, 96 comments

“‘Rock is dead’ is a tired geezer quote if ever I’ve heard one. Sure, I’ve bitched about the state of modern rock before, but in reality there’s plenty of substance lurking around. There’s rock that progs, and prog that rocks, while the incestuous bloodlines of the stoner, doom, and sludge scene are often tied to rock featuring plenty of quality bands. Yet I admit, finding hungry and interesting bands that rock hard enough to appeal to the average metalhead can be challenging. Enter New York’s up and coming Moon Tooth.” Fear the Tooth.

Down to the Bunker – Misery Review

By Lokasenna on February 23, 2019 in 2019, Alt-Metal, Hardcore, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Tenacity Music, Alt-Metal, Hardcore, 75 comments

“There are a few genres that tend to be whipping boys in reviewer circles, hard as we might try to weed out such partisanship. Alt-metal in particular tends to be somewhat divisive, with kvlt types eschewing it as mainstream hackery, and more refined types likewise eschewing it as lowbrow idiocy. Yet others like myself, due to the diffuse nature of the subgenre and its near-universal tendency to approach metal from outside rather than from preexisting archetypes, find it difficult to frame both aesthetically and critically; it also doesn’t help that like with its distant cousins, nu metal and post-grunge, the quality control is often poor at best.” Misery seeks company.

Revolutio – Vagrant Review

By Saunders on November 8, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, Inverse Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Alt-Metal, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, 22 comments

“When I look back, there’s been a notable lack of quality thrash, aside from the weirdo avant thrash of Voivod’s latest. Maybe my ears have been directed in the wrong places, but the genre in which I cut my teeth on many years ago continues to largely disappoint. So with a flicker of fleeting optimism I jumped on the chance to check out unheralded Italian thrashers Revolutio on their debut platter, Vagrant. But how does it fare? And should you give a shit?” Revolto, resisto.

Ambassador – Belly of the Whale Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 26, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, American Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Alt-Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 75 comments

“I know that any music which could accurately be described with words like “restrained,” “subtle” or (hurk) “romantic” is fighting an uphill battle to get even a cursory listen from the AMG demographic. I, too, love metal because generally it’s not those things. Metal is intense, overwrought and perpetually pissed the fuck off or wallowing in the deepest trenches of despair—no half-measures.” With an intro like that you can be sure this Nameless_n00b is trying to sell you something!

Soul Attrition – Vashon Rain Review

By Kronos on July 18, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, American Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Alt-Metal, 45 comments

“I picked up promo from a band called Soul Attrition purely based on how much the name sounded like Storm Corrosion, one of the few artists I keep handy in my “socially acceptable” playlist used for road trips and the like. At best, I was hoping for a moody and atmospheric post-metal album. I suppose Vashon Rain counts as moody and atmospheric, but two adjectives can only get one so far in the quality realm.” Blame it on the rain.

Odd Palace – Things to Place on the Moon Review

By Huck N Roll on June 18, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, Danish Metal, Prime Collective, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Alt-Metal, Progressive Metal, 51 comments

“Many of us at AngryMetalGuy.com make no effort to hide the fact that we love music that falls just off the beaten path. A good way to get mine and others’ attention is to name-drop The Mars Volta and King Crimson in a promo blurb: I’m immediately like a small child accepting candy from a stranger.” Free opinions!

Feed the Rhino – The Silence Review

By Kronos on February 20, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, British Metal, Century Media, Metalcore, Alt-Metal, Metalcore, 0 comments

“I’ll waste no time with introductions here and immediately address the four-thousand-pound pachyderm in the room; have metalcore bands just stopped trying whatsoever? What kind of fucking scene is it where it’s standard procedure to derive every single band name via mad libs? Between [verb] the [noun], [noun] [preposition] [noun], and [verb] [subject] [noun or phrase acting as a noun], you could cover a good 60% of all metalcore bands today.” Tonight only: Read the Review!

Holophonics – Fast Forward Review

By Kronos on February 8, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, French Metal, Mighty Music, Reviews, Alt-Metal, 1 comment

“In an effort to expand my horizons, suppress my average scores, and prevent this blog from becoming a black- and power-metal only publication, I’ve decided to spend more of 2018 with the dregs of the promo bin; bands no one likes, no one has heard of, or no one has the courage to approach given their genre tag. With the questionable name of Holophonics and the even more questionable tag of ‘Alt Metal,’ I feared that Fast Forward was a product from the center of that Venn diagram.” Deep is the promo sump.