![Zeal and Ardor – Devil is Fine [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Zeal-and-Ardor-–-Devil-Is-Fine.jpg)
“It’s about time we got to this. Since its release in April, Devil is Fine has exploded in popularity and earned accolades and interviews across the web, based on, as far as I can tell, little to no promotion from the artist. It has sold over 1000 copies on Bandcamp. But the album’s worth as a success story is just the beginning and even its contents don’t quite tell the whole tale.” This is a weird one.
“It’s been about 3,800 days since Tool pressed any fresh material, so I’m guessing we’re almost halfway to something new? Well, a trio of go-getters from Colorado up and said “fuck that” taking matters into their own hands. They formed a band called Source, wrote a bunch of Tool-y material and now they’re set to make their debut with Return to Nothing.” Out of the Toolshed and into the limelight.
“There’s a lot of pent up anger and frustration going around these days. Whether that certain something bothering you is serious like the weather or banal as your governing politicians spewing hatred, it’s always nice to be able to turn to metal in search of some escapism. To find a way out. A portal to a safe space. A wonderful soundtrack for hollow and bitter soliloquies. You might think, at first, that San Francisco’s ex-trio, now duo, Howls of Ebb provide exactly that with their experimentally tinged blackened death adorned with dark and threatening atmospheres and hints of aggression.” And you would be extremely wrong.
“Yeah, I’m pretty peeved about that title, too. In a Car Bomb-esque display of eccentricism, the experimental metal group that Dr. Fisting calls “the loudest band I’ve ever heard in a club” have offered unto the world a palindromically-titled album that’s a darling of search engine optimization but a demon for memorability.” Kronos drops some scientific knowledge on all y’all. Is 1010II0101 more memorable than its title?
“The music of American drone metal duo Sunn O))), even though structurally simplistic, is anything but easy to consume. The richness of their sound still pours through layered subtleties that require attentive listening lest they be drowned out by the incisively crumbling riffs.” It’s all about that riff, that riff, that riff.
“Once upon a dark and glum time, also known as the beginning of the dank ‘90s, a bunch of enigmatic German misfits got together, formed a band called Bohren & der Club of Gore, and started playing music that was quite novel for its period.” The age of Jazz doom is upon us.
“After naming The Mother of Virtues 2014’s best album, it can be unambiguously inferred that I have quite the soft spot for New York’s strangest and most horrific four-piece, Pyrrhon. After Relapse dropped them from their roster earlier this year, citing, of all things, a “lack of commercial success,” the group was quickly snatched up by underground micro-label Handshake Inc., who are doing the world a service by releasing the new EP, Growth Without End.” The Walrus of Approval has been given.
“Whenever anyone proposes that an artist, album, or condiment is something I’ll “love or hate,” I feel an intense compulsion to remain ambivalent about whatever art, music, or Marmite they’re talking about. “You don’t know me!” my brain spits, “your artificial dichotomy is patently absurd, and I’ll prove it by maintaining a neutral and balanced view!”” Objective, subjective. Love or hate. This is the life of the metal reviewer.
““What fundamental biological principle gives the largest number the right to think they are preserved from error?” wrote Henri Laborit, in the past. Well, quite. Majority opinion dictates that black metal is unlistenable filth, but to the endarkened it can sound quite wonderful.” Majority rules, though the masses are asses.
“Bands enshrouded in mystery have almost become a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick that really works. What we don’t know makes us wonder and look on with morbid curiosity, and as such, I landed myself this obscure number, Envoy.” Noctus loves obscure stuff, so we gave him this gem from the wilds of Russia, where wolves hunt vodka and men drink rocks.
