“The band are an institution and an interesting force in extreme metal for both their singular creativity and unflinchingly progressive politics in a genre dominated by derivation and incoherent edgelord lyricism. As I said in my review of The Anthropocene Extinction, Cattle Decapitation are just fucking cool.” Meat and greet.
“Carnifex released their best record to date in 2016’s Slow Death. What happened? Mick Kenney of Anaal Nathrakh was credited with production, programming, and writing. This was an interesting development: deathcore had been creeping into Anaal Nathrakh’s sound over the years, and now Kenney was directly influencing the genre which influenced his main project. Kenney is credited for vocal recording on World War X but is not credited as a writer. Nonetheless, Carnifex continues wisely down the path of deathcore influenced by the Anaal Nathrakh material influenced by deathcore.” Positive influences.
“Confession time: I am not the biggest fan of technical death metal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the classics, such as Death and Atheist, as well as choice cuts from Cynic. But the genre as a whole suffers from either too many scale acrobatics, or way too much chugging on the low string on a 7-, 8-, or even 9-string guitar to even warrant such a overly abused tag such as “technical.” In other words, technical metal bores me to tears most of the time. You know what doesn’t bore me, though? Canada’s Gomorrah.” Smile back at this death.
“No matter one’s perspective on Christianity, it is hard to ignore the fact that its central theme of life emerging from death is built into the very fabric of our universe. Cells, plants, animals, worlds, stars, galaxies all die, their remains either fueling or becoming an integral part of something else. You don’t have to believe any specifics of the faith to see the beauty in accepting this death/life paradox and finding meaning in the metaphor. Norwegian band Drottnar seem to have a firm grip on this paradox of constant change and renewal as their 20-plus-year existence has been one of continual metamorphosis, starting as a standard death metal band and mutating into a hard-to-describe whirlwind of blackened complexity that explores Christian themes on their two previous full-lengths.” Rebuild to renew.
“Reign of the Odious is the debut album from Musmahhu, a one-man metal project helmed by a man known only as Swartadauþuz. Reign of the Odious integrated itself perfectly into my mood playlist, however, and made for a chaotic emotional outlet.” Feelz the pain.
Grymm and Kronos have been a this metal review thing a long, long time. Therefore, their Top Ten lists should be considered essential reading. Read and learn.
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.
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.
![Order ov Riven Cathedrals – Göbekli Tepe [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Order-ov-Riven-Cathedrals-01.jpg)
“Göbekli Tepe, located in the southeastern part of Turkey, is believed to be the world’s oldest temple, predating the pyramids by roughly 6,500 years. With recent diggings finding three-dimensional figures of animals and humanoids in a period where many believed hunter-gatherers couldn’t possibly achieve such architecture, Göbekli Tepe continues to amaze historians just over twenty years after its excavation. It’s fitting that a mysterious Italian duo, Order ov Riven Cathedrals, would use this phenomenon as the title for their second album of utterly crazy technical death metal.” Olden worship.
“2018 marks an anniversary year of sorts. On November 11th, it will mark one hundred years since the end of World War I, a war that was supposed to end all wars, but instead introduced trench warfare and chemical weaponry, forever changing the landscape of combat to this day. To give attention to this, British duo Anaal Nathrakh, themselves celebrating twenty years as a band this year, crafted an album that gives respectful tribute to the writings, poetry, and the sheer terror that World War I brought to those who survived to tell it.” Dead in a ditch.
