Century Media Records

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself Review

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself Review

“Reunions are a mixed bag. When a band leaves the scene and returns after a long lay-off, an unhealthy set of expectations arrive with them; rose-colored prescription-strength glasses are adorned, pedestals are painstakingly crafted, and we all expect said band to simultaneously grow and yet stay the same. Case in point: At The Gates.” At the Reunion.

Death Alley – Superbia Review

Death Alley – Superbia Review

“No joke: the day I found out Death Alley’s new record was coming out, I was jamming hard to Captain Beyond and Blue Öyster Cult. It was as if my craving for some old-school rock reached across the ocean to the Netherlands. Not only did Death Alley hear my call, they answered it—with Superbia. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t much for religious interventions or anything but, my god, I almost picked up the Bible after that.” It’s bible good!

Necrophobic – Mark of the Necrogram Review

Necrophobic – Mark of the Necrogram Review

“On my desk as I claw at this review with a case of writer’s block so bad it’s like I chewed and swallowed an entire roll of Bubble Tape, is a copy of Necrophobic’s 1991 Unholy Prophecies demo. A benchmark in Satanic death metal that I am hoping will be the Metalmucil for my literary constipation.” Get regular for Satan.

Tribulation – Down Below Review

Tribulation – Down Below Review

Tribulation have been on an interesting career path as of late. While their early works could be loosely classified as Swedish death metal a la Entombed, the band gradually began to bring in other influences and become something else entirely. As of 2015’s The Children Of The Night, the band was taking cues from such diverse sources as Mercyful Fate and Sisters Of Mercy,, and seemed to have learned a few things from former tourmates In Solitude, with excellent results. I was curious about what Tribulation would do next, and with the impending release of Down Below, it looks like I’m about to find out.” Evilution.

Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse Review

Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse Review

“From Rabid Death’s Curse to Lawless Darkness, Sweden’s Satanic three-piece, Watain, have enjoyed one of the best careers the black metal community has ever seen. With each release, the band explored more and expanded farther than the record before. The result is that 2007’s Sworn to the Dark and 2010’s Lawless Darkness are a couple of my favorite albums of all black metal. But, then, a peculiar thing happened. That thing was 2013’s The Wild Hunt.” Hunting season is over.

Witchery – I Am Legion Review

Witchery – I Am Legion Review

“I like a gap of a few years between albums; I find it reassuring. Anything sub-24 months and I begin to get twitchy. This is probably wholly unreasonable, and I’m sure the AMG readership can think of a litany of absolute turnips that took years to write and record, but I simply can’t help it. I was a little put out, therefore, to discover that Witchery were planning to unbox their latest work, I Am Legion, a paltry 350 days on from the release of their crushing 2016 effort, In His Infernal Majesty’s Service.” It’s the slow knife that thrills.

Fozzy – Judas Review

Fozzy – Judas Review

“There’s only so far you can go when you write Linkin Park rock/metal. That said, Judas is one of the more fluid albums the band has ever put to tape. It flows the way you’d want a rock album to flow. It doesn’t overdo it, like the balls-and-booze Sins and Bones, nor does it overcompensate (for lack of balls), like the growly Do You Wanna Start a War. And it has the passion to at least be convincing. There’re a few hard-rock flops but the band actually attacked Judas with the same ferocity as Do You Wanna Start a War. But, the wimpy growls are gone and Judas is the better for it.” The Wizard of Fozz.

The Lurking Fear – Out of the Voiceless Grave Review

The Lurking Fear – Out of the Voiceless Grave Review

“An interesting anecdote I saw told was a fine–art professor’s first exercise with his Master’s students. He shows them a Jackson Pollock painting, and asks them to write why it is good. After receiving the wonderfully pretentious responses, the professor reveals that the “Pollock painting” was actually his apron from his studio, hopefully teaching the students that there may be more to judging good and bad art than feelings.” Smock-core!