Feb16

Product of Hate – Buried in Violence Review

By Kronos on February 5, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Groove Metal, Metalcore, Napalm Records, Reviews, Groove Metal, Metalcore, 45 comments

“The most difficult part of this reviewing game are the albums so pedestrian, so utterly devoid of character that writing about them is nearly impossible. Upon listening to Buried in Violence, a black butt of despondency gathered over me, and my thesaurus quaked with excitement as I reached towards it, opened it, and leafed about in search of any possible way to express the album’s nature other than the one you’re about to read. Alas, Roget could see only so far into the future, and my search was fruitless.” Oh, now that’s a nail-biter!

Illusions Dead – Celestial Decadence Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 5, 2016 in 2016, Finnish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Melodic Death Metal, 24 comments

“While I’m a man who has never invaded a cottage owned by bears, eaten their porridge, and slept in their beds while complaining about everything the entire damn time, I sometimes feel a bit like Goldilocks when commenting on melo-death.” It’s time to bed hop our way through the melo-death genre.

Frostbite – Etching Obscurity Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on February 4, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Tmina Records, Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 32 comments

“I have to admit that I picked up Frostbite’s Etching Obscurity for the cheesy band name and the “progressive black metal” tagline. Expecting a pretentious ambient/avant garde black metal album to laugh circles around, I instead found Etching Obscurity well worth my time.” And you know a doctor’s time is very valuable.

Deformatory – Malediction Review

By Kronos on February 4, 2016 in 2016, Canadian Metal, CDN Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 15 comments

“It should go without saying that Deformatory are a brutal death metal band, not because you should already be familiar with them – Malediction is only their second release – but because of their moniker.” Brootal names say so much.

Aluk Todolo – Voix Review

By Roquentin on February 3, 2016 in 2016, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Drone, French Metal, Reviews, The Ajna Offensive, Black Metal, Drone, 10 comments

“It was on a tepid spring night that I witnessed, for the first time, the show put on by three mysterious French shamans going by the name of Aluk Todolo. A psychedelic, trance-inducing “krautblack” assault washed over the audience, permeating and shaking each molecule and atom of their beings. An unforgettable experience.” Darkness, beauty and brutality.

Fleshgod Apocalypse – King Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 2, 2016 in 2016, Death Metal, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 100 comments

Fleshgod Apocalypse is well known in these parts for having produced a debut album that I worship and two albums since then that I don’t. Back in aught nine, the band released Oracles, which was a neoclassical death metal record unlike anything I had heard. The songs were intense, with intricate, artful, and beastly guitar work. Unfortunately, while songwriting was excellent, the drum sound on the record was a bit like reading a great Russian novel IN ALL CAPS; high art, ruined by someone’s inability to capitalize properly. 2011’s Agony was a better produced record than its predecessor in some ways, but the band undermined its own sound by moving all the interesting melodies and ‘riffing’ to the orchestras. When they returned to correct this problem on 2013’s Labyrinth, the master was so bad that all attempts to rectify earlier missteps were voided by the static of clipping master.

Percussor – Disturbing Reality Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 1, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Death Metal, HPGD Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, 22 comments

“Like good whiskey, good old school death metal ages well. Like poor whiskey, the new wave of old school death metal sometimes produces things that purport to be in similar quality to the well-aged stuff, but are just cheap swill in an old looking package. Nobody can try everything, and to attempt it would mean being drunk all the time and only listening to OSDM releases, many of which are probably lacking anyway.” We only keep swill and rotgut at the AMG offices.

Septagon – Deadhead Syndicate Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on January 30, 2016 in 2016, Cruz Del Sur, German Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 12 comments

“Have you ever wondered what Lanfear would sound like if they played old-school thrash metal? How about if Atlantean Kodex had listened more to Exodus than Epicus Doomicus Metallicus? If you said yes to both those questions, then you are Steel Druhm and I claim my five pounds.” Re-thrash makes people wonder about many things.

Rhine – An Outsider Review

By El Cuervo on January 30, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Black Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

“I would very much have enjoyed to be present in the early planning stages for An Outsider, the sophomore release by Seattle’s Rhine. They were presumably too sincerely engrossed in masturbatory discussions of how their favorite bands have “influenced our sound” and solemn declarations that “I just wanna make good music man, fuck genre-conformism” to notice that the net result is beyond kaleidoscopic.” Mixer metal has arrived!

Prong – X – No Absolutes Review

By Dr. Fisting on January 29, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Groove Metal, Hardcore, Rating, Reviews, SPV, SPV Records, Uncategorized, Groove Metal, 19 comments

“Tommy Victor’s Prong have been cranking out music at a furious rate lately, delivering a studio record, a covers EP and a live album within the past 2 years or so. While this work ethic is admirable (and rivaled only by perhaps Max Cavalera), we all know quantity does not always equal quality. 2012’s Carved Into Stone was their best record since their early 1990s heyday, but the follow-up Ruining Lives was somewhat hindered by fake-sounding production and some half-baked attempts at melody. Can X–No Absolutes reverse the trend, or continue it further?” You just have to root for Prong, don’t you?