Blood Music

Hollywood Burns – The Age of the Saucers [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

Hollywood Burns – The Age of the Saucers [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

“You can probably already tell that this is not a metal album. Maybe you can’t, I dunno. Either way, I can attest that this here album is awesome. Hollywood Burns is far from a household name, but French darksynth upstart Emeric “Hollywood Burns” Levardon deserves a big reputation boost coming off of his latest opus, The Age of the Saucers. Alien abductions abound and riffy electronic buzzery surround, handily securing my attention as he serves everything I want in music through his unique synthwave lens.” Watch the skies.

Perturbator – Lustful Sacraments Review

Perturbator – Lustful Sacraments Review

“It is an interesting phenomenon how French synthwave musician Perturbator became a common household name among today’s metalhead community. Several years ago, I had an opportunity to see Perturbator live at Seattle’s vegan metal bar The Highline, the same venue where I previously saw Alcest, Oathbreaker, and Khemmis. Though it slipped my mind why I ultimately was unable to attend the Perturbator show, the point is that Perturbator has somehow become more aligned with the underground metal scene even though it would make far more sense for the band’s music to circulate most comfortably in synthwave circles.” Synthy lust.

Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

“Manned by the dark mind of Ken Sorceron, Abigail Williams has come a long way in the last decade. Surviving lineup changes, relocations, and changes in musical directions—as well as fandom—Sorceron pushes on, refusing to settle on a path created for him by others’ expectations. Up ahead is another bend in this path. So, take my hand and let’s Walk Beyond the Dark together.” Abby normal

Avandra – Descender Review

Avandra – Descender Review

“There are some excellent metal records out there—Voyager’s Ghost Mile comes to mind, along with Wishfield’s self-titled release from earlier this month—that I find quite relaxing. These kinds of records sneak up on you. You might not think much of them at first, but as time passes you crave them more and more. Which brings us to the band of the day: Avandra. ” Prog for pondering.

Astronoid – Astronoid Review

Astronoid – Astronoid Review

“You wake up and everything seems better. The air is fresher, the sun is brighter, and you feel a sense of hope you haven’t felt in years. That’s what it was like listening to Astronoid’s 2016 debut Air for the first time. From out of nowhere, the Massachusetts quartet burst onto the scene with a style that hit the perfect sweet spot between fresh and familiar. Combining Deafheaven-esque music with airy, poppy singing, the band built off their experience in Vattnet Viskar to create something truly original, something that soared through a world of timeless innocence right onto my Album o’ the Decade shortlist.” Following a dream.

Irreversible Mechanism – Immersion Review

Irreversible Mechanism – Immersion Review

Irreversible Mechanism’s debut caused a bit of a stir when it came out in 2015, becoming one of the most successful new releases at the time for the now well-known metal/synthwave boutique label Blood Music. The appeal of Infinite Fields came from both its epic scale and technical wizardry, but like a lot of metal acts, the band achieved that scale via levels of choral and orchestral synthesis that would make Jari Maenpaa himself blush. As fun as it turned out to be, it was easy to write off the band as a young guitar wizard’s opulent vanity project, accomplished but ultimately lacking in the sort of levity that such maximalism chafes against. It’s not so easy to do the same with Immersion.” New flesh prevails?

Corrective Measures: Angry Metal Guy’s Stack o’ Shame Edition

Corrective Measures: Angry Metal Guy’s Stack o’ Shame Edition

“Like with video games or books, one’s “Stack o’ Shame” is the stuff one intends to do but has not been able to do for one reason or another. These reviews are all too late to write full 600-800 word reviews for. On the other hand, I am going to be way too busy this winter to be able to handle writing a bunch of TYMHM. So, I am invoking my right to rule through this (hopefully one-off) post that rounds up some stuff that I fully intended to review and didn’t. So by ways of an apology to both you, the readers, and the albums in my Stack o’ Shame, I bring you some angry, metal blurbs. Mea culpa.” Sometimes sorry is enough.

GosT – Possessor Review

GosT – Possessor Review

“In my adolescence, I loved staying up late to watch whatever horror films cable television deemed unsuitable for daytime consumption. Whether it was an old-school gem like Nightmare on Elm Street or absolute trash like Pinata: Survival Island, it was all thrilling to me, greatly enhanced by the blackness of the silent house, lit solely by the macabre images unfolding on screen. As much as I love horror films, they have long since ceased to be as darkly mystifying. Yet, the atmosphere presented on GosT’s Possessor brought the memories back in waves. A bewildering combination of synthwave, horror soundtracks, and extreme metal, Possessor instantly recalled the captivating schlock of the after-midnight movies from my youth with its similarly commanding presence, even if its spell is somewhat inconsistent.” Don’t look in the basement studio.

Astronoid – Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

Astronoid – Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

“Fearless. That’s the word I keep coming back to when trying to describe this Boston quintet’s debut. Sure, there may be better ways to describe the music – carefree, blissful, soaring – but nothing captures the spirit of Air quite like “fearless.”” Fear is the mind killer.

Lychgate – An Antidote for the Glass Pill [Things You Might Have Missed 2015]

Lychgate – An Antidote for the Glass Pill [Things You Might Have Missed 2015]

“I vividly remember my first encounter with black metal (Burzum), a music so dissonant and evil-sounding that it left twelve-year-old me completely bewildered and flabbergasted. In metal, it was rare and legendary extremes like Gorguts that came close. Until recently, that is, when my ears were graced by the insanity that is Lychgate’s An Antidote for the Glass Pill.” The weirdness is strong with this year’s TYMHM selections.