“Gather ‘round, friends, I’ve got a new group for everyone to check out, they’re called Sortout. They’re Austrian. They’re metal. They’ve got shouts. They’re angry about something. They have a band motto. And now, take a quick look at that cover art and confirm what you already knew to be true: today, I bring you metalcore.” Gut conqueror!
“The inspiration for the Bloomington, Indiana based Throne of Iron came to founder Tucker Thomasson when he heard Mark Shelton, the legendary frontman of cult act Manilla Road, had passed away. The band was created as a way to pay homage to the man and his music as well as Thomasson’s love for Dungeons & Dragons. For a time Throne of Iron functioned as a one-man project, but eventually Thomasson drew supporters to the cause and the debut, Adventure One features a full time raiding party/band/nerd herd.” Chaotic-neutral.
“It’s hard to say why I grabbed Mondo Generator’s subtly titled Fuck It from the promo bin but, if you’re putting me on the spot, I think excitement probably got the better of me. Not, I should be clear, excitement because I love Mondo Generator – I do not – but simply the excitement of seeing a band I had actually heard of, which had not already been snapped up by one of the nimbler reviewers. The brainchild of Nick Oliveri – and sometimes also known as Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator – of Kyuss, Dwarves and Queens of the Stone Age fame (among others), Mondo Generator has been around for quite a while.” Bad attitude.
“Playing a perfectly twisted combo of Coma of Souls Kreator and Reign in Blood Slayer that’s been laced with the icy fingers of black metal, Slaughter Messiah are unabashedly planting their flag of hate just south of heaven and laying claim to the realm of late 80’s/early 90’s thrash.” High, higher, hear the Pyre!
“On Thorns I Lay have had an unusual career arc, evolving from doom death into goth rock and eventually alt-rock weirdness. After a 12 year period of inactivity, these Greeks reinvented themselves as a doomy melodeath act and 2018s Aegean Sorrow mixed elements of Insominium and the early Peaceville titans adroitly for an impressive platter of sadboi death. Threnos sees them sprinkling a wee bit more of their old doom style into their melodeath sound.” Thorn birds.
“What is it about black metal that drives artist to go at it solo? You rarely hear about one man thrash or prog metal bands, yet some of the biggest and most influential black metal artists take their journey solitary, including the likes of Panopticon and early Windir. They usually get by with the assistance of a guest musician or two. And most of these hermits even specialize in the same subcategory of atmospheric black metal. Maybe the inherent misanthropy of black metal specifically has something to do with it, or people copying their examples. Maybe it’s simply an easier genre to solo than others. Whatever the case, Primeval Mass is another example, with main man Orth taking up vocals, guitars and bass, leaving drums to session musician George C.” One man, nine altars.
“I try to keep an open mind when it comes to music, seeking out new forms of our favorite genre in hopes of unearthing a new, unpolished gem that, with some sanding down, can shine radiantly on the eyes in the ears of those who will listen. So when a promising new death metal band from a land not known for promising new death metal gets hyped up, I’m going to fixate my ears upon it and give it a listen. Hence, Ukraine’s Schizogen.” Hype and tripe.
“I’d never heard of the band, but for the next two weeks, I listened to the album at least 25 times. I lived it. I breathed it. The review I produced was no Tolstoyan masterpiece, but the score was correct, and I remain weirdly proud of it. Netherworld Triumphant was a cool, bluesy amalgamation of a whole bunch of 70s and 80s hard rock influences, performed by talented musicians having a lot of fun. It wasn’t original, but it worked. It was also my ticket out of the Skull Pit. Now, a mere 15 months later, the Norwegians return with the ridiculously titled Astro Tongue in the Electric Garden.” Tongue AND groove.
“While I’ve certainly found many that have piqued my interest, few do it the way Archgoat does it. Fortunately, Portuguese trio Necrobode apparently heard my prayers and answered them with their Sob o Feitiço do Necrobode debut. Unfortunately, while this certainly scratched an itch, they still have a ways to go before they usurp their primary influence.” Goat with a bullet.
“Runescarred blend thrash, heavy and progressive metal together into an amalgam that is simultaneously all of those things and its own thing entirely. Immediately upon completing a preliminary spin of The Distant Infinite, bands which first came to mind included The Offering, Nevermore, and Havok.” Prog may be closer than it appears.
