Arsis

Wretched – Cannibal Review

Wretched – Cannibal Review

Wretched’s thrash-influenced yet unmistakably modern take on death metal puts them in an interesting position between extremity and accessibility. By mixing thrashy riffing with top-notch melodic death metal in the vein of Black Dahlia Murder and Arsis and paying tribute to, though never falling victim to, metalcore tropes, their last three albums have been of a consistently high quality and the band has never failed to impress.” Tech-death with some interesting bells and whistles? Could be worth reading about….

Fisting Andrew Golota’s Top Ten(ish) of 2013

Fisting Andrew Golota’s Top Ten(ish) of 2013

“I don’t really have any clever observations about the past year in metal. A few of my AMG cohorts have griped that 2013’s release schedule was somewhat lacking, but I didn’t have that problem at all. There may have been fewer good albums quantity-wise (I wasn’t counting), but the ones that were good were REALLY fucking good.” Always the optimist, Mr. Fisting found the good in 2013 and tells you where it was hidden. He’s like Mr. Silver Linings!

The AMG Staff Picks the Top Ten Records o’ 2013

The AMG Staff Picks the Top Ten Records o’ 2013

This year the plebs get a say. While I have fought against this with every fiber of my body, Madam X‘s caring, feeling, and ultimately populistic, womanly touch has poisoned this blog by allowing people who aren’t me (including herself) to have lists. Frankly I’m offended. No one comes to Angry Metal Guy to read these guys’ lists. But hey, you know how it goes. Times, they are achangin’. As I no longer have time to be the site’s lone dictator, and Steel Druhm has proven incapable of keeping the mustache twirling hipsters underfoot despite his enormous gun collection and tough talk, you, dear reader, get extra Top 10 lists.

I hope you’re happy.

Persefone – Spiritual Migration Review

Persefone – Spiritual Migration Review

Persefone is in a bit of a strange position; a darling of the underground progressive metal scene, while still not being particularly well known. Formed in 2003, these Andorran prog metallers have a sound deeply influenced by the ’90s melodeath, progressive black and prog scenes including Opeth, Borknagar, Arcturus and Symphony X. In 2004 they released their debut record Truth inside the Shades and followed up quickly in 2006 with the epic Core. But it wasn’t until 2009 when Persefone blew the world of progressive metal up with Shin-Ken. The record was long, in-depth and gripping — with a unique sound palette that still hit home with metal fans. Technical, sprawling and unique Shin-Ken set the bar for Persefone tremendously high.

Illogicist – The Unconsciousness of Living Review

Illogicist – The Unconsciousness of Living Review

I first became acquainted with Illogicist back in 2007, at the height of the tech-death explosion, via a record called The Insight Eye. What intrigued me about these Italian virtuosos at the time was that, unlike most of the scene they were lumped in with, they leaned less towards “tech” and way more towards “death.” The band was clearly influenced by early 90s progressive death metal like Atheist and late-era Death, a.k.a. shit that I really like. And yet, despite all the potential, the album seemed to be missing something.

Arsis – Starve for the Devil Review

Arsis – Starve for the Devil Review

In the new wave of technical, fast, melodic death metal bands that have been coming out in the last few years Arsis has stood alone with its professional blending of melodic death, technical death and thrash. Basically an instant success story from their first CD A Celebration of Guilt, the band has gone through a lot of line-up changes and has been out there pretty much consistently since their break in 2004. Starve for the Devil follows on the heals of 2008’s We Are the Nightmare and there are a lot of expectations to be met and surpassed with this new album.