Archspire

Aborted – TerrorVision Review

Aborted – TerrorVision Review

“Everyone loves a good horror movie, and for years Aborted have given us the musical equivalent. Since vocalist and Belgian native Sven de Caluwé began the project in 1995, he’s taken everything from goregrind to Carcassy death metal to melodic groove experimentation and bludgeoned it into his grotesque sonic mold. If you want to know what Aborted sounds like, shove your fist into a jar of old mayonnaise while watching the grossest horror film you know.” Special sauce and TerrorVision.

Piqaia – Artifact Review

Piqaia – Artifact Review

“Over the past few years, Copenhagen’s most gruesome residents have established one of the world’s most fetid death metal breeding grounds, with acts like Phrenelith, Undergang, and Taphos garnering global attention. But with one look at the album art — say nothing of the band photo — you’ll recognize that we’re not going to hear from that ilk today. Instead, Piqia forces us to consider the lighter side of the city’s metal scene.” Pastels and prog.

AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 10(ish) of 2017: The List to End All Lists

AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 10(ish) of 2017: The List to End All Lists

“¡Chicos! It is arrived. The list for which you have all been waiting. Listurnalia has run its course for 2017, and the semi-final list is upon us. This year, there were a ton of different albums mentioned, and let’s just say for the record that any record that was mentioned that isn’t on my (AMG) list is wrong. But, alas, other people also work here or the blog wouldn’t be written. So, in honor of all these lesser mortals who think they’re special, I present: AngryMetalGuy.com’s Meta List. Also known as…” Lists of things once listed.

Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) Records o’ 2017

Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) Records o’ 2017

“We are getting dangerously close to being 9 years old. I started AngryMetalGuy.com at a time when I was a different person, and 2017 proved that more than any year of my life. I loved metal, I loved to write, I was looking for work and studying Swedish, and I was still in my 20s, and Enslaved was producing albums I worshiped. Now I’m older, busier, crankier, Enslaved mostly makes me yawn, and I’m dedicating my life to different kinds of things. But while AMG isn’t quite as ‘personal’ of a blog as it once it was, I still love it very much and it is still a reflection of my values on the Internetz.” Herein, Angry Metal Guy waxes nostalgic, bitches about stuff, and makes a big list that you will all hate because you’re objective.

Redemptor – Arthaneum [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

Redemptor – Arthaneum [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]

“By technical death metal standards, Arthaneum is an odd but compelling beast that stands-out by operating outside the box, while holding all the trademarks avid listeners of the style have come to expect. The intricate and complex musicianship impresses in all departments, but there’s a more measured, controlled approach, rather than purely focusing on unrelenting barrages of speed and cramming as many notes and ideas into each song as humanly possible.” There’s no place like tech-death for the holidays.

Record(s) o’ the Month – September 2017

Record(s) o’ the Month – September 2017

“Following a groundswell of excellent music in August, September showed itself to be an excellent month. There was a bumper crop of suggestions for Record o’ the Month in September, which I thoroughly enjoyed ignoring. Instead, I followed my gut—the primary thinking instrument of the decisive leader. I welcome your wailing and gnashing of teeth below. I revel in licking the salt of your tears from your face. I live for your suffering and desperate cries for the redress of grievances! All of which I will meet with a glorious, hearty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Power is the sweetest thing imaginable.” Caligula Metal Guy.

Archspire – Relentless Mutation Review

Archspire – Relentless Mutation Review

The Lucid Collective may have made Archspire’s career, but Relentless Mutation is the album that will make their legacy. Three years ago, Archspire’s second record dropped, followed by the mandible of many a tech death fan. Just when we thought the late 2000s tech death sound generated by the Sumerian/Unique Leader cohort was finally on its way out, here was an album that took the style and sprinted away with it, not even pausing at the finish line to let your ears catch up. It was concise, brutal, and spectacularly tight, setting new standards of both performance and writing, simultaneously catchy and indulgent. I would have been quite pleased to see Relentless Mutation recap the whole thing. But that’s not what happened.” Evolve via mutation.

Antropofago – Æra Dementiæ Review

Antropofago – Æra Dementiæ Review

“France has become quite the hub for memorable extreme music in recent times: Deathspell Omega front a dissonant black metal current; Blut Aus Nord fluctuate between various avant-garde stylings but have been a driving force in modern black metal; Cowards fiercely object to perceived façades of beauty and political correctness in their hardcore-influenced anger. Now Antropofago has stepped up to the mark, attempting to wrestle the tech-death reins from their compatriots Gorod, new material from which has been notably absent.” France wants to be the new Sweden.