“Dolph does Focus, who could have seen that coming? Certainly not a ramshackle group of kids in Florida who drank death metal in the wild and jazz fusion in the heat of endless study and rehearsal.” We said FOCUS!
Atheist
Fabricant – Drudge to the Thicket Review
“Fabricant is the shiny, new progressive tech-death project founded by two members of Berkeley-based prog deathers Mefitis. On their excellently named full-length debut Drudge to the Thicket, the trio involved pull out all the stops to take you on a bouncy, jouncy, unpredictable ride through the progressive side of death metal, and by the time it’s all over, you’ll feel like you’ve been drudged THROUGH the thicket backward.” Tangled bush wrangling.
Till the Dirt – Outside the Spiral Review
“Till the Dirt is comprised of Atheist members Shaefer, guitarist Jerry Witunsky, and bassist Yoav Ruiz-Feingold, as well as Soreption guitarist Ian Waye and Fermentor drummer Dylan Marks. With an Atheist-heavy lineup, what can we expect from Till the Dirt? Well, death metal with nu-metal was not on my Bingo card.” Things that should stay buried.
Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium Review
“Between twenty-twelve and twenty-eighteen, Philadelphia’s Horrendous morphed from a straightforward old school death unit into a sophisticated and elite progressive death metal force, boasting a trio of gripping LPs on the back of a solid debut that hinted at Horrendous’ potential without fully preparing listeners for their stunning evolution.” Victory and mutation.
AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Haxprocess – The Caverns of Duat
““AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Brace for Haxprocessing.
Anachronism – Meanders Review
“The word ‘meanders’ itself describes more than just the state of lesser dissonance heavy or atmospheric acts who clash songs out of existence with contrapuntal Tetris. Rather, Anachronism with their latest leans on the artistic concept of the meanders as they might appear in a mosaic, ornamental patterns of winding or interlocking lines.” Musical blocks in sonic temples.
![Sadist – Firescorched [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sadist-Firescorched-01.jpg.webp)
Sadist – Firescorched [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]
“Nearly 30 years into their career, Sadist still manages to fly under the radar. For the olde and young who dig through the single-word glossary of 90s tech/prog/weirdo death metal, Sadist falls curiously along the progressive spectrum. True to the Italian horror spirit that Sadist embodies, their work tiptoes the line between abstract and abrasive to unsettling effect, and just plain meandering and ineffective.” Sadistic biscuits, firescorched.
The Willowtip Files: Capharnaum – Fractured
“Pennsylvanian-based independent label Willowtip Records was established by Jason Tipton in the late ’90s. From humble beginnings the label has stood the test of time, becoming one of the most respected and highly regarded record labels in the extreme metal scene. It takes something special to create a label with a consistently unfuckwithable roster of quality, innovative artists, while retaining long-term integrity and durability. Willowtip is the self-proclaimed forward-thinking label, releasing a slew of modern classics and top-shelf albums that may have a lower profile but are more than worth your while.” Next stop: All star death.
Obsolete – Animate//Isolate Review
“I’ve spent much of this year listening to Obituary and Mortician. Both are death metal, but death metal is a wide field and you can’t mistake either band’s sound for the other’s. To address this, we put bands into subgenres within a subgenre – Floridian death metal, for instance. This is nice because I don’t want to sift through a bunch of Entombed clones to find something like Monstrosity. What about when our subgenres within subgenres cease to be useful to describe a sound? Then we get stuff like slam, which is brutal death metal played a specific way – a subgenre of a subgenre within a subgenre. If you’re thinking that Obsolete’s debut Animate//Isolate will lead me down a sub-sub-sub-genre rabbit hole, go ahead and give yourself an executive producer credit.” Old tech.
Contrarian – Only Time Will Tell Review
“My first exposure to American progressive death outfit Contrarian was on their third LP, 2019’s Their Worm Never Dies. Despite impressing with their technical skills and old school soul, the material never quite hit loftier heights, resulting in an enjoyable, talent-laden album of the solid variety. Only Time Will Tell is a relatively speedy turnaround and comes with some line-up changes in tow.” Prog after Death.
