Feb18

Necrophobic – Mark of the Necrogram Review

Necrophobic – Mark of the Necrogram Review

“On my desk as I claw at this review with a case of writer’s block so bad it’s like I chewed and swallowed an entire roll of Bubble Tape, is a copy of Necrophobic’s 1991 Unholy Prophecies demo. A benchmark in Satanic death metal that I am hoping will be the Metalmucil for my literary constipation.” Get regular for Satan.

Dirty Shirt & Ansamblul Transilvania – FolkCore DeTour Review

Dirty Shirt & Ansamblul Transilvania – FolkCore DeTour Review

FolkCore DeTour, the first live album from Romania’s groovy folk metal ensemble Dirty Shirt, hooked me as it waltzed out the door with clarinet and plucked strings on ‘Rapsodia Romana.'” AMG has always had a soft spot for folk metal, so see what he has to say about Romania’s first gypsy metal band. Eurovision, eat your heart out!

Angra – ØMNI Review

Angra – ØMNI Review

Angra’s Secret Garden was a surprise for me. It captured my heart by being extraordinary in its execution, not its novelty. The record was a solid group of songs that were well-written, well-performed, and fun to listen to. But let’s not kid ourselves, aside from having a spunky new 23 year-old drummer and slightly used 41 year-old singer, Angra wasn’t really doing anything unexpected. The record was graced by Jens Bogren’s Industry Standard Power Metal Production™, a guest appearance by scene matron Doro Pesch, and it was a straight forward affair. Secret Garden’s directness was charming in its lack of pretense, and I’ve come back to it a lot since then. So, three years later, 2018 starts off with Angra’s newest record entitled ØMNI. And this time, they’ve gone and written an orchestral, progressive metal concept album about the future. So, how’d that work out for them?” AMG and Angra together again.

Battlesoul – Sunward and Starward Review

Battlesoul – Sunward and Starward Review

“When I was first exploring metal’s myriad subgenres, I figured out what I like to hear in folk metal in record time. My favorites the style has to offer are those of the fast, infectiously catchy variety; acts like the early incarnations of Ensiferum and Equilibrium make up my personal top tier, plodding mid-paced and accordion-based stuff fills out the bottom tier, and any band in the mid-tier is merely forgettable. Battlesoul falls into this mid-tier, but it’s certainly not due to mediocre songwriting chops.” Tiers of the dragon.

Treedeon -Under the Manchineel Review

Treedeon -Under the Manchineel Review

“The Berlin trio practice a caustic form of sludge that draws from the filth of the NOLA scene and the crawling pace of doom, a music more intent on shredding vocal cords than guitar. Their choice of album title couldn’t be more appropriate – what could be a better metaphor for their environmentalist angst than the baneful swamp tree that killed Juan Ponce De Leon? In terms of North American plants, only the parsnip and chain cholla compare in viciousness, a characteristic with which Treedeon heavily identify.” Tree thuggers.

Necropanther – Eyes of Blue Light Review

Necropanther – Eyes of Blue Light Review

“In my eighteen months writing for this blog I’ve somehow failed to even once express my affinity for Skeletonwitch. They are, without question, one of my very favorite metal bands; their ability to pair unconventionally hooky melodies with equally catchy thrash rhythms, bred with prominent elements of melodic death and black metal, gets my blood flowing in a way that traditional genre affair can never quite match. Describing Skeletonwitch’s sound in this review also serves to summarize the sound of Denver, Colorado’s Necropanther.” Blast Panther.

We Have the Moon – Till the Morning Comes Review

We Have the Moon – Till the Morning Comes Review

“This is it, folks. We spent years telling our kids they were special, years encouraging them to be creative and let their imaginations run wild. No doubt this encouragement led to some fantastic art, but there was certainly some that were lacking. Fortunately, parents or instructors were typically there to steer these budding musicians along, telling them gently to ‘try something else’ or ‘maybe play soccer instead.’ But of course, there were always a few that slipped through the cracks.” Bad moon rising.

Schwarzer Engel – Kult der Krähe Review

Schwarzer Engel – Kult der Krähe Review

“Ever get that queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you commit to something that’s absolutely foreign to your comfort zone? You know what I mean… you say “yes” to something before you get a good, hard look at what you’re about to do, and all of a sudden, Internal You is “nope!”-ing at record speed? Folks, that was me upon accepting Kult der Krähe, the sixth album by German one-man symphonic machine Schwarzer Engel, upon looking at the cover without hearing a single note prior.” Kult ov One.

Insect Ark – Marrow Hymns Review

Insect Ark – Marrow Hymns Review

Insect Ark’s debut, Portal/Well saw a warm, if not enthusiastic, welcome at AMG by our staff’s very own card-carrying Illuminati member. Such is Roquentin‘s power that the one-woman, drone-doom project didn’t blow up despite its extreme catchiness and party-ready bangers. Never one to allow the powers that be (other than myself) to dictate a band’s future, it was with great curiosity that I reached into the murky waters of the promo pond to retrieve Marrow Hymns, a sophomore effort which sees founding bassist/multi-instrumentalist Dana Schechter joined by drummer and synth-wrangler Ashley Spungin. At forty-four minutes, it’s hardly a marathon, yet the staid oddness of the whole thing proves to lengthen the listening experience.” Swarm drone.