Celtic Frost

Vainaja – Verenvalaja Review

Vainaja – Verenvalaja Review

By Grymm on May 17, 2016 in 2016, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 76 comments

“In 2014, Finnish three-headed beast Vainaja dropped a megaton bomb in the form of Kadotetut, leveling the ears of those who bore witness to their hymns, and placing themselves in a comfortable 3rd place spot on my year-end list with their mix of Celtic Frosty atmospherics and Asphyxiating tremolo doom. The story of a long-lost book of desecrations, sacrificial rites, and other blasphemous acts set to a bone-crushing doom/death backdrop, was both addictive and effective. Two years later, another tome has been unearthed.” Books cause nothing but trouble.

Suspiral – Delve into the Mysteries of Transcendence Review

Suspiral – Delve into the Mysteries of Transcendence Review

By Grymm on March 9, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Death Metal, I Voidhanger Records, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 59 comments

“When I was younger, I remember pre-ordering Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the original PlayStation, back when it was announced at my local Babbage’s in the fall of 1996. It would be a full three years later before it was released. In that timeframe, I graduated from high school, worked at Babbage’s then-competitor (Electronics Boutique), quit acrimoniously from said competitor, went Straight-Edge very hard, got unnecessarily angry at life and everything around me, gave up being Straight-Edge very hard, and moved around the same town three times Yet I still had my eyes on the prize. When I got the game, it didn’t quite live up to the expectations despite all the delays. This story illustrates that some would say I have the patience of that unfortunate Bible character, Job.” Oh, that can’t be good…

Varg – Das Ende aller Lügen Review

Varg – Das Ende aller Lügen Review

By Madam X on January 6, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Folk Metal, German Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Napalm Records, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Thrash Metal, 29 comments

“The arrival of 2016 finds the tides turning for Varg, now signed to Napalm Records. Das Ende aller Lügen (The End of All Lies) is here and with it Varg presents their latest direction—one encouraging impulsivity, unpredictability, revelry and brute force. All packaged in nice bright red war paint.” Madam X is here to tell you about the creepy German dogs she dragged home. Who’s not interested in that?

Grave Ritual – Morbid Throne Review

Grave Ritual – Morbid Throne Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on November 5, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Dark Descent Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 11 comments

“Writing press releases for regular ol’ death metal must be a tedious job. Brutal only has so many synonyms, and it seems every fifth album that comes out is supposed to rip my face off or dig out my entrails with a rusty melon baller. My face is still here, I’ve never touched either end of a melon baller, and death metal reliably carries on.” Melon baller awaits!

Grave – Out of Respect for the Dead Review

Grave – Out of Respect for the Dead Review

By Steel Druhm on October 12, 2015 in 2015, Century Media, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 17 comments

“There are few things more certain in life than ending up in a grave – whether it’s of the watery, earthen or concrete variety, we’ll all end up interred somewhere. In much the same way, you can almost guarantee a new Grave album will offer a quality dose of old timey Swedish death, heavy on the heavy and light on the frills.” Back from dead, chillin at the beach down at Club Med.

Vaee Solis – Adversarial Light Review

Vaee Solis – Adversarial Light Review

By Madam X on August 15, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Mordgrimm, Reviews, Signal Rex, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 20 comments

“Portugal’s Vaee Solis don’t have much experience administering slow tempo lashings steeped in thick doomy riffs, or for that matter, flogging you mercilessly with shrieks and snarls loaded with blackened ideology. It makes sense then that they’d turn to the guidance and creative output of seasoned veterans like Celtic Frost and Venom to light their path.” Whip it good!

Shroud of the Heretic – Unorthodox Equilibrium Review

Shroud of the Heretic – Unorthodox Equilibrium Review

By Grymm on July 28, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 10 comments

“Last year, I got to review Revelations in Alchemy, the debut album from Portland, Oregon’s Shroud of the Heretic. Even though it had a few hiccups (such as speeding up things unnecessarily), I was quite taken by how grotesque, viscous, and utterly grimy the album felt, as if the evil wasn’t delivered via possession or fear, but rather through slower, phlegmatic methods.” Phlegm is so metal.

Valborg – Romantik Review

Valborg – Romantik Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 18, 2015 in 2015, Death Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Temple of Tortorous Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 12 comments

“Admittedly, Valborg’s fifth full-length Romantik was selected for review by yours truly based solely on one thing: Valborg apparently sounds like Triptykon. I know; that’s not exactly the best approach when selecting a promo. However, being the fan I am of Tom G. Warrior Inc. (look no farther than my pick for 2014’s Album of the Year), how could I go wrong?” Did someone get trick-tykoned?

Sirenia – The Seventh Life Path Review

Sirenia – The Seventh Life Path Review

By Al Kikuras on May 7, 2015 in 2015, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Gothic Metal, Napalm Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 49 comments

“Pizza is a sacred thing. When it’s good, it’s damn good. When it sucks, it’s an affront to humanity. An atrocity on a level with the Biafran revolt, just about every Adam Sandler movie, some genocides, and Illud Divinum Insanus. If you’ve read more than one of my reviews here on AMG you will know that I often equate music to food, not just because it is an analogy I think most people relate to, but I love these two things more than even my family members who aren’t reading this right now. The Seventh Life Path may not be my pie of choice, but during my tenure as a music critic, I’ve heard enough from the formative years on to be able to approach an album with at least relative objectivity.” In food, as in music, too much sugar wrecks the palate.