“With the dawn of a new year and all the changes that come with it, sometimes it’s good to keep in mind the things that stay the same. That is: Judge Judy will always provide excellent daytime television. The “cockroach mosh” video will never not be funny. And Hells Headbangers will continue to deliver a seemingly endless supply of barbaric extreme metal pulled from countries I’m only familiar with thanks to National Geographic.” Mysterious and riffy.
“The world has moved on, woe Discordia, and every day sees more and more elements of the past being phased out of existence. Goodbye, Pogs. Farewell, AIM. RIP Nu-Metal (no, seriously, please rest). The sands of time are a cruel invading force, whatever will they snatch up next? Chile’s Thy Serpent’s Cult may be bowing out of the fight after nine years of thrashing to death, but their answer, given in their swan scream album Supremacy of Chaos, remains as trve and timeless as ever: Not our fucking death metal.” Time waits for no band.
“Chilean doom metal act, Procession came out of left field and surprised me with 2013s To Reap Heavens Apart. It was an intriguing mixture of Candlemass, Primordial and trve metal acts like Visigoth and Argus, brought to us by members of such diverse acts as Destroyer 666 and the late, great In Solitude. It worked well despite being rough around the edges, gritty and unpolished, and made me eager to hear more. It’s been quite the wait, but late 2017 finally brings us their third album, Doom Decimation.” Chilean-fried doom.
“Presumably vocalist/bassist/guitarist Nabucodonosor III has been busy with black-thrashers Force of Darkness while drummer Hateaxes Command has been pounding the skins for seemingly every band in the Chilean underground. Nonetheless Archer’s sophomore full-length is finally upon us, and it probably isn’t too far off what you’d expect from a record with ‘impure’ in its title and poorly rendered titties on its cover.” Raw is a lifestyle choice.
“Introducing Chile’s very own Infamovs, champions of that perennially classic style of exhumed, grave dusted death metal, which we all love to love. And, yes, I did spell the band name correctly; you’re going to have to be extra kvlt to read this one.” There is no “v” in old school.
“Those who know me will tell you that Steel Druhm is a man of refined tastes. As such, I don’t always listen to cult underground doom, but when I do, I like it the same way I like my chili – extra meaty and full of crippling regret. Obscure Chilean doom purveyors, Condenados have their own homestyle recipe they’d love to share and on their second album, The Tree of Death they’re looking to serve it to a wider audience.” Ent no thing.
![Siaskel – Haruwen Airen [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SIASKELCOVER-768x696.jpg)
“Very few things impress me more than a band that knows how to incorporate ideas from their native lands or languages into their music. Take Orphaned Land’s beautiful incorporation of Middle-Eastern motifs in their message of unity, for example. I’m a sucker for this kind of sound.” Roots, bloody roots!
“I often gripe about the general state of the current thrash scene and how it’s stagnating with a lack of cutting edge innovators and general over reliance on rehashing the past. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, however, more often than not I find myself looking back to the past and grabbing an old favorite to get my thrash fix. Already in 2016 old school thrashers have been grinning from ear to ear with the return to form of Megadeth and Anthrax, along with the enduring space-age proggy thrash of the recent Voivod EP. Fortunately there’s a heap of room for new faces to emerge and make an impact on the current thrash scene and show that young pups can be as equally wily as old dogs.” Ready yourself for the latest in pup thrash!
“Maybe it’s the treacherous geography or all the active volcanoes, but there’s just something special about South American death metal. From Mortem’s sadly overlooked De Natura Demonium to the primal brutality of Atomic Aggressor, many of these bands have a certain other-worldliness that just isn’t found elsewhere.” Just want you thought your year end lists were safe.
“When perusing the AMG Upcoming Crap We Need to Review List™ of new releases, it’s easy to judge bands based on their names. King Heavy and their self-titled debut album apparently fell into the doom metal category, and I immediately made the connection with King Giant’s recent release – the two similarly titled bands within the same genre would surely broadly equate and offer a convenient comparative review?” Nothing is as it seems on the Crap List.
