“Satan-hailing, long-standing Aussies Abominator are back after nine years of hiatus with yet another record of their signature blackened death (or deathened black?) metal. If you’ve listened to any of the band’s previous releases, it won’t come as much of a surprise that their fifth full-length Evil Proclaimed shows no shifts in pace, attitude, or sound.” The Motorhead of Sodom clones? I’m in!
“I loved the Cascadian/post-black metal craze, but let’s be honest: that bubble burst at least two years ago. After the umpteenth Wolves worshipper appeared (Addaura, Alda, Ash Borer – need I move past the ‘A’s?’), the mystique wore off and the music turned predictable.” Spring has sprung, and in case the snow hansn’t cooled your outlook, here’s some black metal to further harsh your mellow.
“When it comes to selecting albums to review, I rely on a tried-and-mostly-tr00 method of meticulous selection that’s been proven to garner conversations around water bubblers and soda machines the world over: I sometimes randomly just pick shit from a list and think, “Okay, that’s cool. Let’s give that a shot.” Behold, today’s selection is Iceland’s Dynfari.” In the game of chance, you win some and you lose some. Are the odds in Grymm’s favor this time around?
“Oh, how things have changed. Back in the Unchain the Underground days we used to get physical copies of releases. When I first started it as a print ‘zine in 1988, before some of my fellow staphers here at AMG were alive, it was a cassette and onesheet, then CDs. The digital copies just started to creep in towards the end of UtU existing as a web site.” Some things change, some don’t. Like the smell of a good angel corpse, for instance.
“I fucking love black-thrash, and if you don’t then I’m sorry about your inferior taste. My latest sample of the genre comes from Frosthelm, hailing from Minot, North Dakota of all places (coincidentally the same town as Ghost Bath – in case anyone still thought they were Chinese). Frosthelm are a quartet of self-confessed Dungeons & Dragons nerds who claim influences as broad as Metallica, Naglfar, and Dissection.” Put some Dakota in your dungeon and see how that suits ya!
“Three years ago I found a little piece of time-travel magic when I stumbled upon A Forest of Stars and their third release, a whimsical offering that envelopes you like an opium haze, transporting you back to 1891, re-opening the imposing wooden doors to the gentleman’s club and recruiting you into their English Victorian brotherhood.” Metal’s version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is back to save the day. Are you worthy of admission to their club?
“Much like rap-rock legends 8ball, Galar got dynamics. A lazy person might describe Galar’s music as “what Windir would sound like if they were a bit sadder, less widdly, and exchanged the cheesy synths for real instruments.” To be fair though, there’s more to them than that.” Need more black in your diet, maybe Galar is for you?
“It’s been five years since Norway’s Keep of Kalessin released Reptilian to a ludicrous amount of critical panning stemming from a combination of “The Dragontower” being entered into Eurovision and most critics donning their rose-colored glasses when looking at its two predecessors, Armada and Kolossus.” Still reeling from their Eurovision stunt, KoK is back to reclaim lost territory in Kvltvania.
“Honestly, I don’t know who is more thankful for the bat-like ears of the AMG senior (I mean this in the kindest way possible) staff; the readers or the reviewers. These old (sorry), metal titans have a knack for finding little-heard-of and underrated promos to be reviewed, and then hunt them down like a pack of blood-thirsty hellhounds.” Kvlt as hell, obscure as fook. Win win.
“There are few bands that cause me as much discomfort, uneasiness, and paranoia as Leviathan does. What’s crazy about it is, I fucking love it. Leviathan albums are like cult indie films that you are completely floored by even if they are a chore to get through.” Strap on the depression machine, you know the Wrest.
