“Hardcore sometimes gets a bad wrap in metal circles, however, there is no doubting the potential for hardcore and metal to join forces in ways that transcend the often-maligned metalcore tag. Industrial Puke is a newish act straight outta Sweden, but don’t let that fool you, dear listener, this is an experienced outfit featuring members of Burst, Obstruktion and Rentokiller.” Clean up in aisle all.
“When one considers the state of Iowa, one is unlikely to think of black metal. Be-masked hard rock radio metal? Yes. Black metal, no. Likewise, Iowa conjures images of corn fields, wind turbines, college football Saturdays and James Tiberius Kirk. But the ocean? Not unless you’re a paleontologist. You see, the verdant rolling hills of all those Grant Wood paintings were once covered by an enormous prehistoric inland sea. As a result, the place is absolutely lousy with fossils of trilobites and giant sea scorpions. I wonder if this was at least part of the inspiration for Iowa City, Iowa’s very own crusty black metal quartet Dryad as they were writing their debut full-length, the marine-themed The Abyssal Plain.” Flyover seas.
“Along comes Stockholm’s Encryptment with debut Dödens Födsel, a title that translates from their native Swedish as… wait, give me a second with Google Translate… my goodness! “Dead Fetus.” That’s grisly, but fair enough–the Kingdom of Metal is a tough place to be an angel or a fetus. Dödens Födsel was a random pluck from the Promo Sump, and I half-hoped to let it go neglected in the crush of list season and day-job deadlines. Then I pressed “play,” and the album assaulted me with a half-hour of crusty, blackened death vitriol.” Womb raider.
“There are, of course, other styles of metal practiced here, but few Minnesota bands outside of black metal have enjoyed the critical acclaim that acts like False or Obsequiae or Minnesota-by-way-of-Kentucky transplant Panopticon have. Those who have been watching the local scene closely will tell you that Feral Light have turned some heads over the last few years around Minneapolis, not to mention abroad. Enough so, apparently, that their fourth full-length has secured the attentions of heavyweight Italian avant-black label I, Voidhanger.” Minnesota wild.
“Imagine my surprise when, upon taking this gig, I discovered that some of my fellow writers, including our illustrious boss, were never-sludgers. As I’ve endured their hurtful, anti-sludge rhetoric, I’ve noticed a frequent correlation between sludge hating and symphonic power cheese-loving. As no lover of metallic brie myself, I’m left to wonder if we’re hardwired at the genetic level into these camps just as research suggests we may be similarly inclined toward progressive or conservative politics, or to see a blue and black dress versus the mouth breathing, evolutionary dead-ends who see a gold and white dress. I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re team sludge and wary of anti-sludge sentiment within the body metallic, you’ve got a man on the inside. So let’s wade together into the muck of Charlene Beretah’s new album Ram. Never-sludgers need not apply.” Sticky business.
“As one begins to explore metal more and more deeply, one comes to the realization that there are certain ‘legendary’ albums that seem to be appreciated more for being innovative than actually being good. I would argue, for example, that Napalm Death’s Scum is a pretty mediocre album overall and was far surpassed by the material that followed it, even if it remains a critical piece of extreme metal’s history. This becomes a problem when bands create new releases similar in style to these ‘innovative but not very good’ albums, resulting in records that are neither innovative nor good. But maybe Stomachal Corrosion could escape this fate” Tummy trouble.
“Old school death metal holds few surprises. Much like Nightwishcore or stoner metal, its sound is so well established that any deviations from the tried and true standard swiftly take it out of the OSDM sphere into modern death, melodic death, or other variations on the theme. If you want to retain that old school buzzsaw to the cranium feel, yet add a different element, you need something that supports the dirty, grimy nastiness with something of a similar murk.” Young murks.
“There’s heavy, and then there’s heavy. Morne are the latter. If you don’t know the difference, you will after listening to To the Night Unknown, the Boston band’s fourth album. To be honest, I’m wasn’t previously familiar with this group, nor have we reviewed any of their older material here at AMG, but after letting To the Night Unknown melt my speakers and put cracks in my walls for a few weeks, I’ll be exploring their back-catalog tout suite.” Morne is more.
“This January, the Angry Metal Gods saw fit to bless us with multitudes of favor during what strange, countless aeons of headbanging have typically proven to be the darkest of times for trve believers, and we all say thank-ya. February it may be, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to say goodbye to Jørnuary tidings, and it’s definitely not time to stop saying thank-ya. By the deity-defying powers of Muppets, France, and procrastination, let us bask in the revitalizing glory of 2018’s expectations-shattering induction for just a little longer. Friends, meet Viscères, the second full-length by Bind Torture Kill.” Fashionably late and brvtal.
![EP Edition [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cuervoportrait.jpg)
“Last year I compiled a year-end EP post with which I received help from my colleagues and of which I was quite proud. This year I institute this post by repeating it.” Get institutionalized.
