“Occasionally a promo in the list sparks some crusty old memory of an album. Nargaroth rang no bells on that front though I did marginally enjoy 2001’s Black Metal ist Krieg (A Dedication Monument), and Ash (aka “The Artist Formerly Known As Kanwulf”) is generally considered one of the forefathers of the second wave of black metal and had always been a staunch proponent of tradition and those three albums were no exception.” Old musician/older writer. FIGHT!
“Attempting to categorize Laster is like trying to catch air with a net, but in a hypothetical “pick a genre or die” kind of scenario, one would probably end up lumping them in with the blackened shoegaze crowd. To do so would be a crass oversimplification, however, as their music incorporates an absurdly diverse range of elements and influences.” AMG policy requires air nets be worn at all times.
“I was rooting for Terra. About two years ago when this English trio released their untitled debut, I thought the group had the potential to breathe fresh life into the so-called “Cascadian” black metal scene that had been losing steam for the past few years. Nevermind that they aren’t technically from the Pacific Northwest…” Cascading is the new voguing.
“The first thing that struck me about Uada is that although they are categorically black metal, drawing influence from numerous sources, they’re so bright and energetic. There’s a vibrancy here which is missed entirely by so many of their blackened peers. The musicianship is enthusiastic, agile and infectious as neat ideas are incorporated throughout – I’m not supposed to be feel happy when listening to black metal but I invariably am with Devoid of Light.” We laughed, now we must applaud.
“The phrase “Spain is different!” seems to roll off the tongue of many a Spaniard. And rightly so; as a country its culture, cuisine and even the architecture, are markedly recognizable in flavor, style, look and feel. So how does that relate to Unbegotten’s debut release Proem of the Unborn? Have these mutinous Spaniards turned against their Spanish roots? Or have they perhaps added a little Flamenco or maybe some Latin pizzazz to their black metal offering?” Spain’s Unbegotten isn’t that different after all…
“As this site’s self-appointed Angry Metal Bottom Feeder, I take it upon myself to devour all the metalcore, post-black metal, and trendy bullshit that I suspect my more evolved brethren often don’t want to touch. I guess part of me still has fond memories of older albums in these genres and continues to hold out hope that new releases will be just as good. While this means filtering through a lot of mediocrity, occasionally I’ll stumble upon a gem that makes it all worth it.” The AMG catfish may have found gold down there in the muck.
“It seems like only yesterday I was writing clichés sitting on a balcony overlooking the idyllic Okinawan sea, sweat streaming down my balls, and Cardinals Folly’s second album blaring from my headphones as I tackled my first Angry Metal Guy review. But of course it wasn’t yesterday, it was nearly two years ago, and since then much has changed.” Not all of it for the better.
“I was relatively surprised to find I wasn’t yet acquainted with Crimson Moonlight. Party to the ‘unblack’ metal scene emerging in the latter 90s in Scandinavia, their Swedish roots stretch back to the infertile earth of 1997, associated with the relative popularity of the likes of Extol and Antestor in their unorthodox fusion of black metal with Christianity. The 19 years since their first demo has only seen 2 studio albums and Divine Darkness is their first in 12. This leaves question marks over their contemporary relevance and lack of recent experience with the project: would they be able to harness the anachronistic spirit of their unblackened origins, wherein Christian black metal was almost as sacrilegious as black metal itself?” Can this much metallic irony be good?
“I would very much have enjoyed to be present in the early planning stages for An Outsider, the sophomore release by Seattle’s Rhine. They were presumably too sincerely engrossed in masturbatory discussions of how their favorite bands have “influenced our sound” and solemn declarations that “I just wanna make good music man, fuck genre-conformism” to notice that the net result is beyond kaleidoscopic.” Mixer metal has arrived!
If you’ve been around since 2014, you may be aware that I’m rather taken with Andy Marshall’s solo project, Saor. As a talented song-writer and multi-instrumentalist, he has capably demonstrated that he knows his way around Gaelic culture and melodic intensity. Fuath—Gaelic for ‘hate’—is more fierce, more ominous, more closely tied with Norwegian black metal than Marshall’s other work, but it retains the profoundly evocative atmosphere for which his work is known. The imaginatively-titled I is his first release under this new moniker and it seems he’s on to another winner.” Come for the Christmas trees, stay for the music.
