Dodecahedron

Kronos Comments: On Sampling Bias and the Seedy Underbelly of the European Metal Scene

Kronos Comments: On Sampling Bias and the Seedy Underbelly of the European Metal Scene

By Kronos on February 8, 2015 in Black Metal, Blog Posts, Djent, French Metal, Groove Metal, Hardcore, Non-Metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Progressive Metal, Russian Metal, Unsigned Bands, Black Metal, Djent, Experimental Metal, Hardcore, Non-metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Progressive Metal, 16 comments

“Just about every day, Angry Metal Guy pushes out a review of an upcoming or recently released album, producing press for the album whether we love it or hate it. It exposes readers to a lot of material, but disadvantages artists who aren’t putting out music at any given time. Given a small temporal window, this creates a very biased sample of the music scene. I love reviewing albums, but a lot of great and criminally overlooked bands are in between releases right now, and it kills me to see their hard work go unseen. So in order to rectify their invisibility, they’re being talked about here, where you can be held captive by the unbreakable bonds of html and subjugated to my terrible opinions.” Next stop, Europe!

Epistasis – Light Through Dead Glass

Epistasis – Light Through Dead Glass

By Kronos on March 12, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Crucial Blast Records, Danish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 6 comments

“Imagine that you mated Gorguts and Dodecahedron and left their bastard progeny on the doorstep of The Ocean. By the time Light Through Dead Glass flies out the F1’s mouth, nature and nurture have taken their course in shaping their grubby offspring. Passed down from their father are incoherent shrieks and furious black metal riffs, complementing the intricate bass lines and scintillating guitar tone contributed by their mother. Both parents passed on the recessive atonality and strangeness alleles, and somewhere along the line a mutation occurred giving rise to the novel trumpet player feature. Despite Epistasis’ breeding, their adopted parents have taught them some manners, instilling upon the young band a sense of melody and introspection. With such a colorful bouquet of attributes, Epistasis is an impossible specimen to miss in a screen, even for the amateur metal geneticist.” In our ongoing quest to marry ivory tower academia with metal analysis, here’s Kronos discussing insect genetics and their relation to progressive and black metal. Huh?

Exivious – Liminal Review

Exivious – Liminal Review

By Grymm on November 11, 2013 in 2013, Dutch Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 7 comments

“Guitarist Tymon Kruidenier and bassist Robin Zielhost were introduced to the metal masses as the new members of reactivated prog/death gods Cynic back in 2007, with Zielhost replacing bassist/Chapman wizard Sean Malone for live purposes, and Kruidenier handling both guitar and growling duties both live and on Cynic’s incredible comeback album, Traced in Air. Both members would end up departing after the subsequent tours for Traced in Air, instead working on their own muse, the all-instrumental Exivious.” Anytime someone mentions Cynic, metaldom gets all agog. Grymm boldly mentions them here in relation to an all instrumental, prog-metal monster. What comes after agog?

Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen Review

Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 1, 2013 in 2013, Avante Garde, Candlelight, Norwegian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 10 comments

“Ihsahn records used to get a breathless introduction about how incredible the former Emperor frontman’s solo career was. While this might still be true for some breathless fans, it is not the case for me. While I am still a huge fan of The Adversary and angL, both Eremita and its predecessor After left me cold.” Das seelenbrechen is Ihsahn’s newest crack at a solo record. Will it leave this Angry Metal Guy as cold as the man’s last two records?

Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron Review

Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 4, 2012 in 2012, Black Metal, Dutch Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Avante Garde, Black Metal, 17 comments

“When I was first cutting my teeth as a reviewer over at the long defunct Unchain the Underground, I had the distinct honor of reviewing Blut Aus Nord’s 2003 opus The Work which Transforms God. I recall it distinctly being one of the most difficult reviews I ever had to write. The music the band created was new, extreme, pummeling, challenging and ultimately difficult on a level which few records I’d ever heard before were. It offered up an extremity for which I was not prepared. I could tell, though, that it was a revolutionary record. It was something special; incredibly special… extreme, abstract, brilliant, innovative and done in a way that I was not ready for. I really, really hated it.” Nearly one decade later, what the hell will AMG do with Dodecahedron?