Master of Muppets and TheKenWord with their very own Top Ten(ish) of 2019 lists? There goes the neighborhood!
Cormorant
Conjurer – Mire Review
“It apparently takes a lot to incite Madam X‘s fervor these days. Her list of the top 10 albums of 2016 was not a “best of” but a “least disliked” while the 2017 edition reduced this list to a paltry 5. And yet a little English band called Conjurer and their debut full-length called Mire grabbed her attention and converted it to an active recommendation within our internal channels. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that there are other writers with whom I share more musical preferences, but the promise of a chunky, riff-lead, progressive album was too enticing to ignore.” Listen to the Madam.
Cormorant – Diaspora Review
“If there’s one criminally underrated band whose discography I implore you to investigate, it’s surely California’s Cormorant. I sincerely rate their opening records, Metazoa and Dwellings, as among my favorites since the beginning of the new millennium. They’re unremittingly progressive, drawing influences from all manner of music since the ’70s, but tie it together delicately and emotively, all the while never ignoring the immense power of the riff.” Prog in a hard place.
Katakomb – Chained to a Wolf Review
“I love progressive metal fusions. To name just a few: Opeth, Cormorant, and Ne Obliviscaris are among my favorite bands. So the prospect of getting on board with a young and allegedly progressive black metal band early was certainly enticing. I say allegedly as our promo-meisters have been known to be deceptively liberal with genre labeling in the past, but I cut them some slack and acquired Chained to a Wolf by Katakomb with interest.” Wolves, chains and intrigue.
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2014
“The Year of Our Angry Overlord 2014 has been a crazy ride. One year ago this week I was finishing up one of the most stressful terms of my entire life, and this year has been a rush of teaching prep, reading, researching, and “OMFG.” You have certainly noticed that AngryMetalGuy.com has been pretty short one Angry Metal Guy in 2014, and that’s been tough for everyone involved I’m sure.” In this massive post Angry Metal Guy reflects on 2014, ranks a bunch of records, and is waiting prepared with his flamethrower for when the whine hits the fan.
Yer Metal Is Olde! Ulver – Bergtatt
Yer Metal Is Olde! is a recurring thing that we’re using to fill up space while we scramble around looking for reviews of new material that is worth reviewing. The idea was spurred on by the swath of amazing and classic records that are turning 10, 20, or 30 this year. It’s crazy to think that all the stuff that we worship is really as old as it is. Time moves quickly, but these classics never seem to lose their shine. Still, their enduring quality doesn’t change that your favorite metal is fucking old. Note: our focus today, Ulver’s Bergtatt is actually only 19 years old, but it was recorded in 1994 and for some reason I thought it was released then, too. Once I’d written this retro-review, I discovered that I was wrong. While it makes it less Olde, it’s not so much less. And it certainly deserves recognition.
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2011
And here it finally comes. I want to take a little time to gaze at my navel before heading off to the races here. 2011 has been a hard year for me and for AngryMetalGuy.com. Without the help of Steel Druhm, this website probably would have gone under due to serious burnout. It stands that there are other options for both of us as reviewers, but we both love this site and the little community it has become and don’t have any desire to see it go anywhere. And, frankly, due to blood, sweat and more blood, we just don’t feel like we can really stop working on this website. So when I say to you all, that we don’t want to stop doing this largely because you guys keep coming by and reading this I seriously mean it. It’s a great feeling–even when sometimes the music industry gets goddamned lame.
Cormorant – Dwellings Review
Cormorant is a band that I probably would have never found on my own. Instead, I just randomly got an e-mail from their promoter a couple years back, where she hooked me up with the band’s 2009 release Metazoa. I was duly impressed by what these coasties had to offer, so when I saw that these guys had a new record coming out, I definitely reached out to get a promo of it. And I’m happy that I did, though I think that Dwellings is a different beast from Metazoa. Bad? Definitely not. But did the band grow and get a lot better? It seems like the maintained a pretty even keel during the two years away.
Cormorant – Metazoa Review
Before this last week I’d never heard of Cormorant[1. Cormorant: “a large diving bird with a long neck, long hooked bill, short legs, and mainly dark plumage. It typically breeds on coastal cliffs, and is noted for its voracious appetite.” This voracious appetite has come to be used figuratively implying “an insatiably greedy person or thing.” – Thanks OAED] or of Saturnine Media. Because of this, I was able to be pleasantly surprised by what is one of the best underground albums of the year. But if you’re reading this, you don’t have to be surprised, you can go out and buy it as an informed consumer. You’re welcome.
