Blut Aus Nord

Darkspace – Dark Space III I Review

Darkspace – Dark Space III I Review

By Grymm on September 21, 2014 in 2014, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Black Metal, 6 comments

“The concept of outer space presented in the confines of black metal is nothing new. Samael’s 1996 classic, Passage, delivered the final frontier via programmed drum beats and symphonic grandeur, making the concept dark yet accessible. Yet, for as great as Passage was, it lacked a certain coldness and aura that goes hand-in-hand with black metal. Leave it to fellow Swiss aliens Darkspace to take the concept of outer space, with its unknown and potentially evil discoveries, and travel at warp speed with it over the course of three minimalist albums and one EP.” Creepy outer space black metal is creepy.

Vehemenz – Vehemenz Review

Vehemenz – Vehemenz Review

By Grymm on May 18, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, German Metal, MDD Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 4 comments

“Nothing annoys me more than when artists hype up their work beyond perceivable notions. You know what I’m talking about. “It needed to be visceral.” (adorable, Linkin Park). “…unique, not following trends” (right, Savn)? It’s just better for everyone involved to just shut the hell up and let the music do all the communication for you instead of throwing out false pretenses in hopes that maybe someone out in the Nethersphere will somehow agree with you. In other words, take a note from Germany’s Vehemenz, who have managed to grab my attention and kept me musically fixated and grinning ear-to-ear with their self-titled debut 5-song EP, all without overhyping the ever-loving shit out of it.” We at AMG will tolerate no guff, bullhockey or hype. None!

Things You May Have Missed 2013: Patrons of the Rotting Gate – The Rose Coil

Things You May Have Missed 2013: Patrons of the Rotting Gate – The Rose Coil

By Grymm on December 15, 2013 in 2013, Black Metal, Irish Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2013, 1 comment

“My summer vacations weren’t very… productive. Here’s a quick laundry list of my early Grymmness: blowing on Nintendo cartridges to get that damn pink screen to stop flashing, trying (and failing) to learn how to skateboard, playing guitar in a proto-metalcore band that would make early Converge shake their heads in embarrassment, swimming in a ice-cold pool in New Hampshire, etc. Needless to say, my summers were for lounging and goofing off. So when I ask how was your summer and you say, “Oh, it was okay, I just spent the entire summer writing, recording, screaming, playing, programming drums, producing, mastering, and even doing the artwork for the debut album of my one-band progressive black metal band. Nothing major!”, you are either: a) gleefully full of shit, or b) multi-talented Irish lad Andrew “Manshrew” Millar, sole proprietor of Patrons of the Rotting Gate, and mastermind behind their impressive self-released debut, The Rose Coil.” Grymm sets his review phaser on fanboyish glee and blasts way about something you might have missed.

Things You Might Have Missed 2013: Bolzer – Aura

Things You Might Have Missed 2013: Bolzer – Aura

By JF Williams on December 11, 2013 in Black Metal, Death Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Swiss Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2013, Black Metal, Death Metal, 4 comments

“This year produced a great deal of excellent EP releases, but the Swiss duo Bölzer’s mini-LP Aura managed not only to be the best of the bunch, but also beat out most full-lengths with three tracks and 23 minutes of some truly next-level occult black/death metal. The record features perhaps one of the best riffs of 2013 in “Entranced by the Wolfshook,” which marries a Blut Aus Nord-ian guitar tone with pseudo-Wagnerian orchestral synths and an absolutely bangin’ main riff that you can’t help but meet with a shit-eating grin and grimace. Seriously – it’s the kind of metal-as-all-hell lick that an appreciation of which should serve as a litmus test to expose the false amongst our ranks.” JF Williams draws your attention to an EP you might have missed which may or may not feature the Riff of the Year! I like riffs. Do you?

Cult of Erinyes – Blessed Extinction Review

Cult of Erinyes – Blessed Extinction Review

By Grymm on October 11, 2013 in 2013, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, Code666 Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 5 comments

“Man, I do love me some Blut Aus Nord. Ever since their landmark 2003 album, The Work Which Transforms God, the rebellious French “trio” (are they actually a band?) set a new standard for uncomfortably cold, ridiculously unpredictable black metal, inspiring future robe-wearers of the world to put down their torches and pick up a copy of Streetcleaner on vinyl. One such band to follow in their grimy footsteps is Belgium’s Cult of Erinyes, who have returned with their second album (and fourth overall release since their inception in 2009), Blessed Extinction. Have these upstarts taken the tools given to them by Vindsval and company to usurp the throne from the French masters of the frozen arts?” Is any French throne really guarded all that well? I think not!

Acolyte – Alta Review

Acolyte – Alta Review

By Natalie Zed on April 30, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Black Metal, Death Metal, English Metal, Mordgrimm, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal

“Alta is the debut full-length released from progressive black metal band Acolyte. Their sound is slightly challenging to put a finger on; their primary influences are clearly extreme, blackened metal bands like Deathspell Omega, Enslaved, and even French black metal experimenters Blut Aus Nord, but the sound they produce has a groove-based, classic heavy metal simplicity that belies their more progressive interests.” Natalie gives a quick breakdown on the debut from progressive black metallers Acolyte and how their old sound matches their new style. On an unrelated note, that’s one ugly cover!

Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory and Injury Review

Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory and Injury Review

By Noctus on April 25, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Black Metal, Candlelight, Irish Metal, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 29 comments

“I may as well skip describing anything and just post a video of me attempting to eat my own hat. Yes, I was 100% convinced this album would be awful. When the album cover was released and the music video with a black metal interpretive dance was revealed, all I could think about was that they were trying too hard to be “artsy.” Not that I was against the idea of a departure from old themes, mind you — because I was one of the few who couldn’t understand why everyone liked Mammal so much.” While we all wait anxiously for Noctus to record his hat eating videos, he’ll explain why the new Altar of Plagues is much better than their last outing. Did I mention Noctus usually sports a sombrero? Yeah, this is gonna be fun!

Spektr – Cypher Review

Spektr – Cypher Review

By Noctus on February 10, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Agonia Records, Black Metal, French Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 2 comments

“Mechanical dissonance, black metal, experimental tones – all things alluring, no? To a select few individuals with a taste for the twisted, anyway. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the French seem to have an affinity for black metal with a twisted, experimental tinge. With bands like Deathspell Omega and the highly influential Blut aus Nord pioneering the dissonant, mangled tones, it’s no surprise that black metal outfit Spektr also hail from the same shores. They do have one rather unique aspect to the sound that sets them quite apart from such peers; that being the total absence of vocals, which is rather unusual for both black metal and metal as a whole.” Noctus is our resident expert on bleak, experimental black metal, so we called him in to discuss this grim, instrumental black metal opus. Did I mention its an instrumental black metal album?