“Following the uniquely progressive death(ish) trend of increasing Hippietude, Exist has slowly morphed over the years from a spacey, Meshuggah-ish prog act in the vein of Intrinsic-era The Contortionist to a Pink Floyd-ian tricky-rhythm rock, primarily, outfit.” Evolve, mutate, Exist.
“Dolph does Focus, who could have seen that coming? Certainly not a ramshackle group of kids in Florida who drank death metal in the wild and jazz fusion in the heat of endless study and rehearsal.” We said FOCUS!
“The NYC instrumental quartet Fall of the Albatross hides much behind their progressive metal label. Prog has always been a melting pot of any genre that wanders too close, but the genre mosaic of Fall of the Albatross is especially vivid. Their newest LP Rite evokes a diverse swath of influences ranging from the crushing mathcore of Car Bomb to the jazz fusion of Masayoshi Takanaka, with some dreamy Sithu Aye post-rock to round things out.” Prog bombing.
“Between twenty-twelve and twenty-eighteen, Philadelphia’s Horrendous morphed from a straightforward old school death unit into a sophisticated and elite progressive death metal force, boasting a trio of gripping LPs on the back of a solid debut that hinted at Horrendous’ potential without fully preparing listeners for their stunning evolution.” Victory and mutation.
“The Kvlt of Glitch pushes a fusion of EDM-pulsing industrial metal colliding with wantonly djent and noodling progressive metal. The more than qualified ChaotH (Humanoid), formerly of the departed Canadian darlings Unexpect, steers Vvon Dogma I through this blasphemous foray.” Good Dogma.
““AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Now attacking Greece.
“The word ‘meanders’ itself describes more than just the state of lesser dissonance heavy or atmospheric acts who clash songs out of existence with contrapuntal Tetris. Rather, Anachronism with their latest leans on the artistic concept of the meanders as they might appear in a mosaic, ornamental patterns of winding or interlocking lines.” Musical blocks in sonic temples.
![Sadist – Firescorched [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sadist-Firescorched-01.jpg.webp)
“Nearly 30 years into their career, Sadist still manages to fly under the radar. For the olde and young who dig through the single-word glossary of 90s tech/prog/weirdo death metal, Sadist falls curiously along the progressive spectrum. True to the Italian horror spirit that Sadist embodies, their work tiptoes the line between abstract and abrasive to unsettling effect, and just plain meandering and ineffective.” Sadistic biscuits, firescorched.
“In 2015, Singapore’s Lamentations demonstrated real potential with a debut entitled Echoes in the Wind. I’d always kept a weather eye on the Lamentations social media, but it took nearly 7 years for the sequel entitled Passion of Depression. 2022 sees the frontman Danny Jacob now collaborating with the members of his sister band Monotheist, and boasting a host of guest musicians including members and ex-members of Cynic, Extol, and Black Crown Initiate. Their Bandcamp page suggests that the band may now be based in the US, and I remained excited to hear how things had progressed with such a long period of gestation.” Lamentations of the wicked.
“A band’s name can make or break them. Regardless if you’re a blues band reaching for ominously foreboding atmospheres, or a power metal band named after a cute, furry rodent who loves clay baths, whatever you name yourself lends as much, if not more, importance as your music. So when I happened across Hadean Tides, the second full-length from Italy’s Assumption, I assumed from their “death/doom” labeling and their band name that this was going to be some early My Dying Bride worship of the highest caliber, complete with weepy violins and flowers withering. But you know what your parents said about why you should never assume…” Speculation and doomination.
