Christmas is over, but the lists are still lurking! Next up is Dr. Wvrm and his highly important opinions on what ten albums you should hear in 2018.
Gaerea
Ferrous Beuller’s and GardensTale’s Top Ten of 2018
Ferrous Beuller and GardensTale need to unburden themselves and share all their picks for the best of 2018. Be polite and sit quietly until they’re done, then you can go outside and get a cupcake.
Essenz – Manes Impetus Review
“Stepping out of your comfort zone is often a healthy thing. Slither away from the soft bed you know into the cold bath of the unknown and you might find yourself with a new affection you never knew existed. When it comes to metal, by and large, this means black metal for me. Though I’ve run into the occasional band that surprises me with articulate frostiness, such as Mistur and Gaerea, the genre as a whole tends to linger outside my grasp. So here I am once more, venturing into the obtuse murk, with the harsh glare of Essenz, a German outfit of cryptically abbreviated band members.” From comfort to cvlt.
Iron Hunter – Mankind Resistance Review
“I can’t remember the last time I reviewed so many back-to-back black metal releases. But, no matter if it’s black metal or power metal, with so listening sessions of a single style of music, it takes awhile to snap out of it. I mean, Craft, Immortal, and Marduk have a shitload of albums to sift through. Though I know almost every one of them by heart, I never miss the opportunity to re-listen to a band’s entire catalog before beginning a new release. So, after hours and hours of listening to albums to better compare a new release to its predecessors, I’m free and now tasked with reviewing the debut album of a heavy/power metal band called Iron Hunter.” Iron up the metal!
Record(s) o’ the Month – June 2018
“Summer is always a slow time for metal releases. I bet some stats nerd out there could run which months correlate with the end of year lists, but I’d be willing to bet that summer months don’t. This is because most bands are out hitting festivals, fans are out seeing them, and no one’s spending money on new records. Yet albums are being released, and we here at the Angriest of Metal Guys dot Coms have been slaving away over hot reviews this whole time. As a result, we’re hitting you up with the most unexpected Record(s) o’ the Month for June of 2018 ever. Not only is it vaguely on time (they’re a planned portion of the month late so that we could enjoy that Amorphis wallpaper a little longer), but no one fucking called these. Yeah, that’s right. Who’s unpredictable!? I’M UNPREDICTABLE! You’re welcome.” Loose cannon’s gonna cannon.
Gaerea – Unsettling Whispers Review
“A black metal Transcending Obscurity release with monochrome artwork: who could have ever foreseen this one falling into my velvety grasp? Portugal’s Gaerea certainly put their Muppet-est foot forward when casting Unsettling Whispers into the Angry Metal Promo Sump, and yet I was wary. Black metal is the best metal, ov course, but it’s also everywhere and lately sounding too similar to itself. Sure, a few vague details got my attention, but I’m a poseur and all the Muppet love in the world can’t make an album innovative or objectively meritorious; did I perhaps build my hopes too high only to find yet another band trying to be either Ulcerate or Agalloch?” Black metal art.
