“I have many friends that share my exquisite taste in music. If this were not the case, I would not have stumbled across Spellcaster and their newest release, Night Hides the World. Suggested to me by a member of War Curse, Spellcaster is a purveyor of the simple and the accessible. Fusing six-string details with strong vocals, these Portlanders combine Iron Maiden-esque hooks with Ghost-ish melody.” Metal friends beat Super Friends any day.
“I’m a sucker for HansFyrste’s ghastly vocal style, he could probably read from the phone directory and I’d be very okay with it. The bug in my ear took effect around Ragnarok’s Malediction and it only got worse when I discovered Svarttjern’s
“There really isn’t much more to be said about Ragnarok that hasn’t already been said by our beloved Noctus and Madam X (and the rest of the black metal community). Ragnarok, like Urgehal, are one of the most underrated black metal acts on the planet. Perhaps it’s due to their consistency and unwillingness to fix-what-isn’t-broken that’s kept them from reaching black metal stardom (if “stardom” is actually attainable in this genre).” Consistency is the hobgoblin of great black metal (because it requires hobgoblins).
“When I was younger, I remember pre-ordering Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the original PlayStation, back when it was announced at my local Babbage’s in the fall of 1996. It would be a full three years later before it was released. In that timeframe, I graduated from high school, worked at Babbage’s then-competitor (Electronics Boutique), quit acrimoniously from said competitor, went Straight-Edge very hard, got unnecessarily angry at life and everything around me, gave up being Straight-Edge very hard, and moved around the same town three times Yet I still had my eyes on the prize. When I got the game, it didn’t quite live up to the expectations despite all the delays. This story illustrates that some would say I have the patience of that unfortunate Bible character, Job.” Oh, that can’t be good…
“I won’t lie, when I heard there was a new Sarke poised to drop on the unsuspecting masses, I scrambled to get my hands on it before Steel Druhm could review the unholy hell out of it.” And I would have too if it weren’t for you meddling kids!
“In 2015 I had the pleasure of opening up the New Year with a review of Volahn’s Aq’ab’al; a black metal album filled with so much cultural content (Mayan in this case) that it would have made Quorton’s head spin. Just over a year later I am presented with another opportunity to review a new release from Volahn’s small record label, Crepúsculo Negro—aka Black Twilight Circle.” Cultural diversity is the mission statement here at AMG.
“Without a doubt, Urgehal’s final release, Aeons in Sodom, has to be the toughest review I’ve yet written. It’s not difficult because it sucks or lacks anything worth writing about; rather, it’s difficult because of the strong personal and emotional attachment I have to Urgehal. I am a fanboy, in the truest sense of the word. What makes it worse is that Aeons of Sodom should have never happened.” The Doctor needs a therapist, stat!
If you’ve been around since 2014, you may be aware that I’m rather taken with Andy Marshall’s solo project, Saor. As a talented song-writer and multi-instrumentalist, he has capably demonstrated that he knows his way around Gaelic culture and melodic intensity. Fuath—Gaelic for ‘hate’—is more fierce, more ominous, more closely tied with Norwegian black metal than Marshall’s other work, but it retains the profoundly evocative atmosphere for which his work is known. The imaginatively-titled I is his first release under this new moniker and it seems he’s on to another winner.” Come for the Christmas trees, stay for the music.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Jon Nödtviedt decided to put Dissection to rest after the highly-influential Storm of the Lights Bane and decided to join Dark Tranquillity? Yes, I know, total blasphemy, but weirder things have happened. I mean, W.A.S.P. put out a better record last year than Slayer, for crying out loud. Nothing is completely out of the realm of possibility, right?
“Let’s be honest; I’m as excited for Abbath as my son is about his new Optimus Prime Halloween costume. Ever since hearing about Abbath’s new venture, my fellow scalpel wielder (Dr. Fisting) and I have yet to cease our musings of grand times spent with Immortal and the one-hit-wonder that is I. It’s bad enough that I’s Between Two Worlds already gets a shitload of playtime on the Grier IPod, but lately it has been even worse [I worship that damn album. – Steel Druhm]. So, what the hell does this have to do with anything? Paint yourself like a black & white cookie and follow us to the mountains!
