![Shadow of Intent – Reclaimer [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shadow-of-Intent-Reclaimer-Cover-768x768.jpg)
“Shadow of Intent have a lot in common with your typical power metal band. Florid guitar lines, cheesy orchestration, slick production, and ridiculous space fantasy lyrics (pulled straight from the Halo video games) are elements you’d expect for a band of central European hair-conditioner-connoisseurs.” Brvtal power!
“Genus Ordinis Dei (GOD for short) by their name wonder what the biological classification of an Abrahamic God would be, and they do this by seemingly breaking the rulebook and combining symphonic death metal with elements of the traditionally blue collar of deathcore.” Symphonic deathcore? Surely you can’t be serious.
“Dedicated readers of this very website will know that Kronos fears neither God nor core, and I picked Waver out of the promo bin knowing full well what I was getting myself into.” Did you though?
“Deathcore, in its peak popularity, was essentially the dubstep of metal. Structured around a massive breakdown in the same way dubstep is structured around its 808 drop, the prototypical deathcore song was a kinetic experience designed to ratchet up the tension until a cathartic release blasts forth. This compositional style is extremely limiting, which is why both sub-genres will (and arguably already are) seen as flashes in the pan.” Pan’s Labyrinth.
“I’m an extreme guy. By this I don’t mean that I consider myself dangerous or an advocate of some horrendous 90’s marketing initiative, rather that I am a man of extremes – when I like something, I like it a lot; when I dislike something, I have almost no capacity to hide it. Having said that, I pride myself on giving anything and anyone a fair chance, and so it is with music. Lest I resort to using an entire genre as a de facto pejorative, I make sure that it’s an informed opinion that I weigh against an act. Thus, when I say I’m not a huge fan of deathcore, it’s an evaluated choice – not a trendy point of view.” Extreme regression.
“I had shit to do, so I showed up to see Lorna Shore and decided to head out before Fit for an Autopsy took the stage. I’d listened to Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell, when it came out a few years back, and though I definitely liked it, the album was a bit too unfocused to stick around in my rotation. I figured the band wasn’t going to play anything I really enjoyed. I fucked up.” Regret about missing an autopsy? That’s metal.
“Before I write this review, let me educate the non-American readers of this fine website about the amazing about-face that happens this time of year. Just one day before I finalized this review, our nation celebrated Thanksgiving, a day where we all sit around the table, eat turkey, unsuccessfully avoid all conversations about politics, and above all give thanks for what we have. I mention this because 24 hours later, a phenomenon known as Black Friday began. A day where all promises of thanks and gratefulness are dashed.” Fight for that discount waffle maker!
“The state of deathcore in 2016 isn’t an enviable one. It’s not quite old enough yet to spur on needlessly salty debates about the best MySpace pages, and it’s not fashionable or ubiquitous enough anymore to act as a gateway to further extremity as it once did for so many. Suicide Silence was never that good to begin with, but their records have noticeably declined in quality since their debut. Job for a Cowboy has been a boring modern death metal band since Genesis. All Shall Perish hasn’t released an album since 2011, let alone a good one since 2008; the list goes on. Enter the best-known Canadian deathcore band that’s not Cryptopsy in 2008: Despised Icon.” Deathcore in da house!
“In all honesty, I grabbed Isolation – the Kansas City quartet’s third full length since forming in 2005 – fully expecting to hate it. After all the great albums that landed in my lap recently, low-brow electronica/metalcore seemed like an interesting change of pace, and while I get 95% of our readership probably despises this music, I did my best to go into Isolation with an open mind.” Masochism is alive at AMG.
“After three years plagued by seemingly perpetual setbacks, The Schoenberg Automaton’s second full-length Apus has finally made the journey from a studio in Australia to my speakers in Chicago. The Brisbane-cum-Vancouver-based technical death metal outfit caught my eye with their first EP and took off in 2013 with Vela, which built on their progressive and extreme roots, expanding their unique and abstract sound quite successfully. Yet early-release tracks from Apus had me worried that the band had abandoned just what made their previous releases so interesting and vital. Had the sophomore slump stymied their songs?” Is The Schoenberg Automaton on autopilot already?
