American Metal

Killer Refrigerator – The Fridge and the Power It Holds Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 10, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, 15 comments

“Hi, I’m Diabolus in Muzaka. You’ve probably read some of my musings on metal music in this space. I come to you today not just as a reviewer, but as a man who has been affected second-hand by appliance violence. Laugh at the cover or concept here all you like, but having witnessed a close friend’s assault by an appliance gone rogue, I see Killer Refrigerator as selfless visionaries using metal to bring us this message of our pending appliance-driven annihilation.” Honey, that appliance just called me an asshole!

Fulgora – Stratagem Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 31, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Hardcore, Housecore records, Reviews, Death Metal, Hardcore, 9 comments

“When sitting down to write this review, I managed to confuse where Fulgora gets their namesake from before looking it up. For reasons that may or may not include an increasingly counterproductive sleep schedule, writer’s block, and somehow still being regularly keelhauled for the Alestorm incidents of 2014 (no, I don’t regret it, and yes, I’m still right) I thought these Missouri misery dealers were named after Killer Instinct’s personification of cyborg murder Fulgore instead of the female Ancient Greek personification of lightning, Fulgora.” The Alestorm shaming will never stop.

Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches – Salem’s Wounds Review

By Grymm on March 30, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Century Media, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Gothic Metal, Sludge Metal, 18 comments

“Karyn Crisis needs no introduction. Her ability to use her considerable vocal chords, going from charming siren to raging banshee to guttural demon (sometimes within the same breath), is quite legendary. When her band, Crisis, went belly-up in 2006, Karyn took a sabbatical from music to concentrate on her art before meeting up with Davide Tiso, future husband and mastermind behind Italian avant-garde machine Ephel Duath in 2009….” And now we get a much more personal album from Karyn and Davide. This should be interesting.

Liturgy – The Ark Work Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on March 28, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Thrill Jockey, Black Metal, Experimental Metal, Rap Metal, 31 comments

“Whenever anyone proposes that an artist, album, or condiment is something I’ll “love or hate,” I feel an intense compulsion to remain ambivalent about whatever art, music, or Marmite they’re talking about. “You don’t know me!” my brain spits, “your artificial dichotomy is patently absurd, and I’ll prove it by maintaining a neutral and balanced view!”” Objective, subjective. Love or hate. This is the life of the metal reviewer.

Acid Witch – Midnight Movies EP Review

By Steel Druhm on March 25, 2015 in 2015, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Folk Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 21 comments

“Just in time for April Fool’s Day, here’s a real cluster-fook of a concept EP. Let me paint the picture for you. Imagine a campy early 70s horror movie about hormonally challenged teeny boppers at the drive-in on a Saturday night. That’s the night of the horror movie marathon hosted by the cheesy local rock station and their creepy radio personality. Oh, there’s also a satanic cult and a sex-obsessed serial killer lurking around, and for reasons beyond me, a early 80s hair metal band is playing. Good times are sure to be had before the axe falls, and that axe belongs to Acid Witch, the stoner doom/death act with tongue planted firmly in cheek.” Hockey masks, butcher knives and double edge axes – these are a few of my favorite things. Now die.

Wino and Conny Ochs – Freedom Conspiracy Review

By Steel Druhm on March 23, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Exile On Mainstream, Folk Metal, Reviews, 17 comments

“Though it’s difficult to put into words exactly why, this was one of my most anticipated releases of 2015. As a long time admirer of Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s musical career (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, etc.), I’ve really taken to his acoustic folk projects over the past few years. Be it his acoustic solo material, his work on The Songs of Townes Van Zandt cover album or his collaboration with German folk artist Conny Ochs, Wino’s voice seems tailor-made for bare bones, stripped-down American folk rock.” Who’s ready for something dark, different and real?

Unrest – Grindcore Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 22, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Grind, Reviews, Unspeakable Axe Records, 5 comments

“Quality will always trump originality, and bands like TrenchRot and Crypt Sermon embody that truism; the former released the great “let’s play Asphyx and Bolt Thrower”-core monstrosity Necronomic Warfare last year, and the latter recently released an old-school doom album that met with high praises from Steel Druhm. What does this have to do with Unrest? Well, members of TrenchRot and Crypt Sermon (along with USBM band Woe) have decided to grace us with an album of Nasum worship.” Philadelphia may be in the midst of a multi-genre metal renaissance. Sound the Rocky theme and prepare for step running!

Where Evil Follows – Portable Darkness Review

By Steel Druhm on March 21, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Moribund Records, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 18 comments

“Remember those shreddy noodlefest albums Shrapnel Records put out in the 80s and 90s? They’d basically take a guitar wiz kid like Marty Friedman and have him wank and solo through eight or ten tracks of masturbatory and self-congratulatory Yngwie worship. Since most of these albums sounded like 45 minute solos where the rest of the band went for coffee, they were never my cup of tea, but I certainly respected the talent involved. One of Shrapnel’s second-tier wank masters was Toby Knapp. After his stint on the noodle circuit he went on to found the very respectable throwback American power metal band Onward and release two very solid albums under that moniker.” The shred master hath returned to classic metal.

Perdition Temple – The Tempter’s Victorious Review

By Al Kikuras on March 17, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 39 comments

“Oh, how things have changed. Back in the Unchain the Underground days we used to get physical copies of releases. When I first started it as a print ‘zine in 1988, before some of my fellow staphers here at AMG were alive, it was a cassette and onesheet, then CDs. The digital copies just started to creep in towards the end of UtU existing as a web site.” Some things change, some don’t. Like the smell of a good angel corpse, for instance.

Dissident Clone – State of Dysphoria Review

By Grymm on March 16, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Grind, Reviews, Tridroid Records, 6 comments

“I seem to have a knack for grabbing consecutive promos by two-piece bands. Last year, it was the one-two punch of Brits Godflesh and Anaal Nathrakh. This week, it’s Dynfari and the subject of this review’s intense scrutinizing observation, Minnesota’s Dissident Clone.” Here’s something short and nasty to start off your week.