“Dark Buddha Rising is a Finnish band, formed in 2007 and packing six full-lengths and an EP under its belt. For a collective that channels drone, doom, and sludge (you’d be safe to throw some stoner doom in there too), their megalithic songwriting is surprisingly restrained, relying on simple bass riffs, distant vocals, and other instruments to communicate their psychedelic soundscape as it reaches a drone climax.” Buddha don’t play.
Baroness
Calyces – Impulse to Soar Review
“Calyces’ mastermind is singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Manthos Stergiou, late of Tardive Dyskinesia. This time around, Stergiou and his bandmates are going for a sound that is heavily influenced by Mastodon, Baroness, and Tool. This has been done to death, so the key to making it work is writing great songs and establishing your own original take on those bands’ sounds.” Impulse to ape.
Valkyrie – Fear Review
“Summertime is when I’m most susceptible to the bleary-eyed charms of jammy, fuzzed out retro/occult doom. That kind of music just seems to go with warmer days and brighter skies. Virginia’s Valkyrie play their cards right by dropping their 4th album in the middle of a New York heat wave, as my brain is already hot-wired to embrace what they’re doing on Fear.” Fear is the riff dealer.
Hyborian – Vol. II Review
“Hyborian first bored into my consciousness with their single, “Head and the Sword,” an absolutely killer song that showcased a suave combination of sludge, stoner, and prog influences. To this day it remains one of my favorite songs, and it paved the way to their debut album, Vol. I, which took that single and pushed the style into heavier territory, most notably with the vocals. Comparisons are for the lazy amongst us, and that includes me, so let me put forth that there is definitely influence from early Baroness and Mastodon buried in these riffy songs, along with no small dose of High on Fire.” CROMulent.
An Evening with Knives – Sense of Gravity Review
“Our latest post-metal loving Dutch trio An Evening with Knives is hoping to take a stab at the scene with their second full-length, Sense of Gravity. They advertise their sound as ‘where the wall of sound falls down into a sea of tranquility’ in a fusion of post-metal and stoner-doom. Does their intriguing premise succeed in a cut above the rest or will it just settle being another post-metal old knives’ tale?” Falling blades.
Bricks & Diamonds: The Best and Worst Sounding Albums of 2019
“In the tradition of the past Angry Metal-Fi end of year articles, some of the AMG team came together with a list of what we consider the best and worst sounding albums of 2019. Encouragingly, there were far more best-sounding albums on the shortlist than worst-sounding. Is this perhaps indicative of a subtle shift from extreme brickwalling in the broader metal market? We can only hope…” Bricks are for throwing.
Angry Metal-Fi: The Best and Worst Sounding Albums of 2019
“Metal-Fi? One has got to wonder if the serious lack of updates on the site is because of these issues or are they in fact the root cause? I honestly don’t know. Certainly, neither Dave nor I could have possibly foreseen that our unannounced hiatus last year would kick off Ragnarök. But unfortunately, that’s what all of the facts seem to indicate. Our bad.” Deaf and taxes.
Rat King – Vicious Inhumanity Review
“Do you want your face ripped off? Are you desiring to have your skull bludgeoned to concussive proportions? Do you want both at once?? Look no further, ’cause deathgrind’s got you covered. From the swanky animal-lovin’ veganity of Cattle Decapitation, the hardcore crusty punch of Misery Index, the tech wankery of Dying Fetus, or the murky brutality of Infernal Coil, it’s a style characterized by one focus: knocking your lights out hard and fast. In spite of the savage atmosphere, it’s a style royally ruled by the the upper echelon of the aforementioned acts, and a trickle-down effect of its underlings.” Reaganomics killing you.
Oberst – Paradise Review
“Back in the 90s, I was in a very famous TV show I was all about hardcore and early metalcore. As a matter of fact, I was straight edge, though not for the same reasons as other practitioners of that ethos. I was a good Christian boy who happened to like aggressive music, and the rise of Tooth and Nail Records and their sub-imprint Solid State meant I could have my cake and eat it too (that’s not to say I didn’t have dalliances with “secular” labels like Victory or Revelation). I left -core behind many years ago, as tends to happen as one ages, but last year I found myself drawn to a few newer bands with hardcore influences, and that got me nostalgic. Return to the core.
Dr. Wvrm’s Top Ten(ish) of 2019
Dr. Wvrm takes time away from his busy n00b kicking schedule to drop his Top Ten(ish) of 2019 because he cares.