“Not to be confused with skindrone dot com (a website promoting “5 Proven Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis on the Scalp”), the Skin Drone of interest here turns out to be a tech-death group from Massachusetts/Arkansas. Formed by Bluntface Records founder Otto Kinzel, Skin Drone fuses traditional tech-death with blackish avante-garde—the latter flavorings being the most interesting.” Why isn’t there a band named Seborrheic?
Twenty-fifteen has been a hell of a ride. It’s been one of my favorite years for music in quite a long time, and I’ve been struggling to prune this list down to 10(ish) records that I really love. But in some ways, the top 5 has never been easier for me to choose. What I find most fascinating about this list is how completely out of step I feel with what I see as being touted as the coolest parts of the underground. I seem to be pretty far afield while everyone else seems to be fawning over the latest ’70s retro doom phenomenon, hope drones, or the latest example of black metal kids missing that intensity not 15 minute songs was the cool part of black metal. This is what it feels like to have been left behind by a scene; to have lived long enough to be that old guy shaking his fist at new trends in metal.
“This year saw many a change… Old friends were lost and new friends were found, likewise there were job and career changes, but through it all AMG and its growing feeling of community shone bright and strong.”
“And so emanates my refrain: 2015 was a shit year for metal. My colleagues, and you, reader, may disagree, but I stand firm in my ambivalence towards this year’s release schedule as a whole.”
“2015 has not been the best of years for yours truly, with car accidents, challenges, setbacks, and death upon death upon even more death dropped into my unwilling lap. I was ready to rain supernova-warm hellfire upon this calendar year, but thankfully, a much-needed vacation with friends just this past week helped to deaden the pain of all this negativity the year had brought upon me. Musically, it’s been quite positive and productive. October alone was a monster of a month for metal, as you can see by my list. So despite all the negative garbage, at least the soundtrack was incredible.”
“We’ve reached the end of 2015 and this year I’m personally editing these Top Ten lists. For the first time (ever) I am reading the production of the different writers we’ve assembled over the last few years. I am shocked. I am dismayed. I feel angry, offended, galled. But I am not surprised. Under Steel Druhm and Madam X‘s indulgent care and averted gaze the young Angry Metal Staffers have run amok. Alas, after having actually consumed of the words these gentlemen produce, I’m firing them all. It’s back to the drawing board: me, Steel Druhm, and as much metalcore as you can eat!”
Here at Angry Metal Guy we try to keep you on your toes. One of the ways that we do that is by randomly publishing the Record(s) o’ the Month whenever we want to. It’s a great way to really cause problems for those who set their schedules by it, tell jokes about how late it is, or generally reference it in any way that isn’t reading it when it so has the good grace of being published. This is all done with the sure intentionality of a surely intentional person who is not unreliable, but instead totally reliable and is absolutely 100% in control of when the Record(s) o’ the Month get posted. Under no circumstances should other conclusions be drawn; if such conclusions are drawn, you would be foolish to have drawn such conclusions and I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!
“The last time I put meat in my fridge was three months ago when I had to store a turtle carcass until I could properly preserve it. At parties I stand by the recycling bin and cuss at people who try to put their beer cans in the trash. Whenever I see a disaster movie I not-so-secretly root against the humans. I’m just short of buying carbon offsets for my own respiration. I think Cattle Decapitation is the coolest band on the entire planet.” Kronos hugs trees and bees.
“Feed the silage of Napalm Death, Rotten Sound and Cephalic Carnage (the grindier bits) to the cow of creativity, and Cattle Decapitation will likely have something to say about your heinous animal cruelty. But survive their wrath, and one to three days later this noble beast will reward your sadism by passing quite the musical meadow muffin.” Poo goes there?
“What time is it? It’s motherfucking Carcass time, people. If you’re anything like me, you felt cheated by their “final” album Swansong back in ’96, and the legions of Heartwork-inspired posers failed miserably to fill the void. You may have given up hope on any kind of closure, until the band’s return to live work in 2007. Since then, it’s been a waiting game, a simple “will they or won’t they” concerning new music. And now, after a 17-year wait, the answer comes in the form of the brilliantly-titled Surgical Steel…” What’s the verdict? Only time, and your scrolly button, can tell!
