“The French are well-known for pushing envelopes in the black metal genre. From Deathspell Omega’s angular tremolo attack to Blut Aus Nord’s atonal warped melodies and bizarre trip-hop rhythms, France has proven to be a fertile breeding ground for innovative black metal. So when Paris’ Merrimack stands out by sounding Scandinavian, well, it’s gonna stick out like a sore thumb.” French missing.
“With the release of Labyrinth Constellation in 2014, New York’s Artificial Brain won themselves an immediate following of fans and critics alike, myself included. With a shudder and a scream, Labyrinth Constellation pulled me by the throat out into a borderless realm of cavernous sci-fi horror as bizarre as it was enticing. The album managed to feel vast without losing the down-to-earth grit of death metal, and even among other Gorguts-influenced groups, Artificial Brain had created a unique sound and a fantastic debut. Following that up will be difficult.” Upgrade or system error?
“Between pillaging, plundering, and getting insanely hammered, Mark Z. interview’s Revocation’s Dan Gargiulo.” The first of several plunder publications from this year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal excursion.
“Diĝir Gidim, a relatively new two-piece hailing from parts unknown and featuring vocalist Lalartu of Titaan, want to test your patience with their debut, the wordy I Thought There Was The Sun Awaiting My Awakening.” Words are free and all, but still….
“One of my favorite subjects in any form of media is the end of the world. There is an indescribable (and perhaps sadistic) pleasure I gain from witnessing people grapple with the prospect of the complete obliteration of their species and its history; the more micro the focus, the better. Zooming in on a select few and examining how they choose to spend their final, consequence-free hours feels like the purest hypothetical exploration of the human psyche.” I’d rebroadcast NFL games without express written consent.
“Recall, if you can, your first exposure to black metal. If you’re a grizzled follower of the genre, its sinister novelties have become an aspect of your daily listenings that ceased to faze you long ago. I imagine, however, that you reacted to your first encounter with the style much in the same way your parents would; a knee-jerk response of “what the fuck am I listening to?” that shocked you in a way music never had before. My initial listen of Italian duo Lorn’s Arrayed Claws instantly recalled my reaction to the loss of my black metal virginity.” You never forget your first.
“Listening to Shifting.negative makes me want to apologize. To all members of Aborym, and particularly mainman Fabrizio “Fabban” Giannese – I’m sorry for whatever conditions existed in your lives that caused you to think creating this album was a good idea. I also want to apologize to curious listeners, who may have seen Aborym’s past works compared to Anaal Nathrakh and Blut Aus Nord and assumed Shifting was another misanthropic, industrial black metal romp.” The apology tour has begun.
“If there was a saying that Papa Grymm would instill on us kids (besides to clean our rooms), it would be to make ourselves as uncomfortable as humanly possible. I don’t mean wearing sweater vests in the summer, folks, but rather stepping outside those little boxes we build for ourselves. Discomfort begets growth, after all. And what can be more uncomfortable than atonal, ambient black metal?” More edgy than a wedgie.
“As we slam the door on the non-stop game of Russian Roulette that was 2016, we at Angry Metal Guy Enterprises, LLC collectively realize that the adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” rings ever so true. New years always bring new promises. They also bring with them one-man black metal.” Seize the day and a drum machine.
“As readers of Angry Metal Guy, y’all know what happens when a new black metal band throws itself at the teeming hordes while trying to remain anonymous. Guessing games ensue. Frantic-yet-fruitless searches begin on various websites. Unicorns mysteriously appear. Nine times out of ten, though, nothing new is really brought to the forefront of our collective psyche. In other words, anonymous rehashes can only go so far, and repaintings of the same ol’ Deathspell Omega portrait get old quickly.” The picture of Deathspellian Gray.
