Cynic

Contrarian – Their Worm Never Dies Review

Contrarian – Their Worm Never Dies Review

By Saunders on March 14, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Willowtip, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 77 comments

“Dear readers, what are your favorite ’90s progressive or technical death metal albums? Perhaps it’s Cynic’s legendary Focus, Death’s Human, Edge of Sanity’s Crimson, or is it Pestilence and their classic Consuming Impulse opus? Or maybe Atheist’s brilliant Unquestionable Presence album floats your boat. Or digging deeper, a more left-field choice: Martyr’s underrated Hopeless Hopes. New York’s Contrarian pay omage to the classic ’90s progressive and technical death scene through their retro and impressively authentic throwback style of spazzed out prog death on their third LP, Their Worm Never Dies.” Undying worms and olde death.

The EP, Demo, and Oddity Post [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

The EP, Demo, and Oddity Post [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By El Cuervo on January 2, 2019 in 2018, American Metal, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Speed Metal, Swedish Metal, Technical Death Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Ukrainian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Electronic Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Speed Metal, Technical Death Metal, 146 comments

“As a younger man I had no concept of the “EP,” nor the “demo,” nor the “split.” When was the last time Iron Maiden had to curb their excesses by squashing ideas into half an hour? When were Judas Priest not able to afford a professional recording studio and production job? And when’s that Metallica/Megadeth split due again? Such formats are reserved for the underdogs of the metal world, those bubbling beneath the surface of popularity who write music for the sheer creative expression and who will never see monetary reward for their time and effort.” Short is sweet.

Obscura – Diluvium Review

Obscura – Diluvium Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 12, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, German Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Death, Relapse, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 197 comments

“Obscura’s 2009 release, Cosmogensis, dropped right when I was getting back into metal in a big way. I, like most people who heard it at the time, hailed it as the spiritual successor to Necrophagist and crowned the band the Kings o’ Noodly Death Metal. They have, in my estimation, never lived up to these expectations. Both Omnivium and Arkóasis fell flat, and both suffered from similar weaknesses; ballooning song and album-lengths, often at the cost of compositional focus and coherence.” If that’s not a cliff-hanger that makes you need to click, nothing is!

Apocrophex – Æternalis Review

Apocrophex – Æternalis Review

By Kronos on May 23, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 40 comments

“It’s heartening to see musicians still figuring out the formulas and successfully imprinting their own identity on what is unquestionably the world’s greatest form of music. And in that vein, it’s time to unsheathe your wallet and supplicate the hard-earned fiat currency of your worldly region before Apocrophex.” A penny for the prog-death.

Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy Review

Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy Review

By Saunders on May 22, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 135 comments

“The Malkuth Grimoire marked an exciting beginning for the star-studded line-up of Alkaloid. Escaping the imposing shadows of the band members other projects in unique and often unconventional ways, the album was very well received by myself and the metal community at large. Despite the chinks in its futuristic armory, such as the excessive bloat and ambitious but not always successful experimentation, Alkaloid emphatically proved they weren’t content to coast by with another typical tech death project. Now Hannes Grossman, Christian Münzner and co return with Liquid Anatomy.” Fluid dynamics.

Pestilence – Hadeon Review

Pestilence – Hadeon Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 13, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 115 comments

“Kill to survive; metal in 2018 is facing a similar conundrum, and has been for years. As the scene gets busier, it bleeds and struggles, much like extreme metal did in the mid-late nineties. Albert Mudrian’s Choosing Death showcases the problem ably: extreme bands simply had nowhere left to go. The glut of boring material is exhausting, and it gives the impression of an enervated scene. Pestilence, releasing their eighth studio record Hadeon this year, seems to feel this climate and have wisely decided to sound like a death metal band who loves making death metal.” A plague of death.

Ne Obliviscaris – Urn Review

Ne Obliviscaris – Urn Review

By El Cuervo on October 24, 2017 in 2017, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, 109 comments

“Ne Obliviscaris have proven one of the more controversial bands that I’ve reviewed during my incarceration tenure at AngryMetalGuy.com. My review of Citadel split the crowd with AMG Himself, an outspoken critic of the Aussies’ modern aesthetic. I, on the other hand, love their dynamic duality of blasting black and death metal, with softer, classically-influenced progressive tendencies. My youthful inexperience with imparting opinions on controversial matters ensured I lingered on the dissenting commentary provided by others and did, in fact, give it some consideration. Nonetheless, others’ doubts were set aside by the end of the year as I happily awarded the record my coveted Album of the Year. Three years passed, my skin thickened and now they’ve written their third full-length: Urn.” Even rhinos get lonely.

Disperse – Foreword Review

Disperse – Foreword Review

By GardensTale on February 26, 2017 in 2017, Polish Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Progressive Metal, 65 comments

“Music, like any craft, is different for those who practice and create it and those who only consume it. The learned are better able to distinguish between what is crafty and what is easy, gaining a perspective that appreciates elegant complexity more than a casual listener would. I am not a musician, nor a professional critic, but I like to think (or delude myself) that I have gathered enough listening and analyzing experience to at least meet the pros halfway.” Go the extra mile to the halfway point.