“Being old means you keep a lot of crap and not just what’s clogging your colon. I still have the issue of Unchain the Underground (as referenced in my last review) where I lambasted Voivod’s Angel Rat, an album that was like a poison-tipped arrow to my heart of steel at the tender age of 16.” The man has been lambasting since before some of you were eating.
“I have to admit that I picked up Frostbite’s Etching Obscurity for the cheesy band name and the “progressive black metal” tagline. Expecting a pretentious ambient/avant garde black metal album to laugh circles around, I instead found Etching Obscurity well worth my time.” And you know a doctor’s time is very valuable.
“It should go without saying that Deformatory are a brutal death metal band, not because you should already be familiar with them – Malediction is only their second release – but because of their moniker.” Brootal names say so much.
“In fulfillment of his apparent residency at Profound Lore records, underground metal sweetheart Paolo Girardi has lent his considerable skill to the debut record from Chthe’ilist, a death metal act as instantly recognizable as Girardi’s paintings.” Is this a case of fine art for fine art or pearls before swine?
“Consolidating an existing 2015 EP with new material, Vol. 1 & 2 is the debut full-length from Vancouver’s Seer, drawing on the likes of Kyuss in molding their heavy, riffy stoner doom sound. There’s a charming, rustic aesthetic to the music, and their dedication to simplicity is admirable—but this is far from a perfect record.” Well, El Cuervo certainly can’t be accused of burying the lede…
“As 2016 draws its very first breaths, it’s clear retro metal is here to stay. With throwback acts like Night Flight Orchestra appearing in various AMG year end lists and the utter debacle of White Wizzard scoring a coveted 5.0, the battle is all but over and we must accept our olde timey overlords’ authoritah.” Submit to your fate and get in the Cauldron.
“Supergroups make me weary. For every Down, Vhöl, or Borknagar that comes our way, we get subjected to bands that don’t vary much (if at all) from their more established main groups. The prospect of checking out yet another supergroup doesn’t exactly get my blood pumping, no matter how highly acclaimed that group is promoted by the critics and fans.” The prospects are definitely improving!
![Iskra – Ruins [Things You Might Have Missed 2015]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Iskra_Ruins-768x768.jpg)
“Despite what the general public may think, extreme metal is rarely written by extreme people. For all the songs about devouring maggot-ridden brains and summoning Shub-Niggurath, we all know that Corpsegrinder is really just a huge World of Warcraft nerd, and Trey Azagthoth is actually a closet Sailor Moon fanboy (and occasional emulator of the late Steve Irwin). Canada’s Iskra, however, is different.” Different like Glen Benton?
“Jon Mikl Thor (Thor to you mere mortals) is the real most interesting man in the world. From champion bodybuilder to Vegas entertainer, early adapter metal maven, actor and business owner, he’s been so many things that it simply boggles the mind. After making metal music since the 70s, he’s still excited to be writing and releasing new music and getting back on stage to flex his creative muscles. With a new album on the shelves and an award winning documentary shining light on his travels and trials, Thor is enjoying a late career renaissance few would have expected. Despite a hectic schedule, the man behind the myth was gracious enough to discuss his incredible life story with me and opine on where the Fates have taken him.”
“If Luc Lemay wrote a deathgrind album, the early demos would sound something like Okazaki Fragments. Earlier this year, the Calgary-based extreme metal outfit’s debut Abandoned blindsided me like a drive-by at Tim Horton’s by mixing rabid grindcore with the avant-garde tendencies of Gorguts and Pyrrhon in search of an ever more deformed and disgusting style of death metal. They found it.” Colour Kronos impressed.
