The days grow short and Listurnalia grows ever more refined and thoughful. Or so you would like. See what El Cuervo and GardensTale do to the curve.
Genus Ordinis Dei
Genus Ordinis Dei – The Beginning Review
“One can’t credibly accuse Genus Ordinis Dei of a lack of ambition. Predecessor Glare of Deliverance used bombastic symphonic death metal to weave a tale of religious prosecution and witchcraft. The entire storyline was accompanied by a series of self-produced music videos. A big project, but the album itself was undercut by bloat and failed to impress me as much as 2017’s Great Olden Dynasty had done. Now, as the year draws to a close, the Biblical story-weavers bring us The Beginning, another religion-themed concept album accompanied by videos, but with only 4 videos and a pared-down running time, I felt hopeful the Italians would not be making the same mistake twice.” Big religion.
Moonshade – As We Set the Skies Ablaze Review
“Moonshade treads a fine line between derivation and imitation with their brand of melodeath. Primarily pulling from the teachings of such stalwarts as Omnium Gatherum and latter day Amorphis.” Moon landings and sponge rantings.
Genus Ordinis Dei – Glare of Deliverance Review
“Genus Ordinis Dei’s last platter, Great Olden Dynasty, was a surprisingly excellent piece of symphonic and melodic death metal. Italian metal is not usually known for its restraint, particularly with symphonics, but while the orchestral textures were as excessive as expected, the songwriting was tight and focused, and the versatile roar of vocalist Niccolò is a fantastic asset to the band. 3 years later, the band’s aspirations have grown.” Inquisition-core.
Dystopia A.D. – Rise of the Merciless Review
“Preconceptions are fun, aren’t they? When I tell you Dystopia A.D. is a 2-man unsigned band from Jersey, or Joisey as it’s colloquially known, you’re already forming a picture in your head. If you’re like me, you’re probably expecting some sort of politically charged thrash, possibly of a crossover or core-related variety. Dystopia is, after all, a word that inherently defines a result of particular forms of governance, and Jersey is known primarily for blue collar thrash, Overkill of course its flag carrier. Combine that with the unsigned 2-man band and the picture seems complete. Except it’s utterly, utterly wrong.” Garden state fake.
Viscera – Obsidian Review
“In Hollywood, there’s a phenomenon called ‘twin films.’ Sometimes movies released around the same time have an uncannily similar plot, even though they’ve been in production around the same time and couldn’t have copied one another. A few well-known examples include Armageddon and Deep Impact, Antz and A Bug’s Life, and The Prestige and The Illusionist. Now, considering the frequency of release and inherent similarities, this isn’t really a thing in metal, but it still gave me pause when I noticed I was about to go through the second Unique Leader techy deathcore release with wav format tracks in just a handful of weeks.” Guts check.
Miles to Perdition – 2084 Review
“How many albums have we had concerning 1984? Orwell’s dystopia remains an ever-popular subject for musicification, to the point where it’s barely more than a cliche, despite Huxley’s Brave New World looming as a more apt comparison for our current day and age. Miles to Perdition agree that 1984 is an old hat at this point, so they have decided to push for an adaptation that really brings something new to the table. They have updated the novel to something more befitting the changes in our own culture since its publication, with… 2084.” Brave new 1984.
Northern Genocide – Genesis vol. 666 Review
“Industrial metal hasn’t had a great run as of late. The few I have reviewed in my three-year tenure at AMG did not fare well. In fact, the only good industrial metal I have heard in that time was the new Rammstein earlier this year, meaning the underground has delivered exactly zilch. Of course, I may have simply missed a whopper, but fact remains that most bands touting the term seem to use it as an excuse to blow out the speakers with horrendous production and/or use it as an ersatz term for metalcore or nu-metal. Maybe the debut from upstarts Northern Genocide can make a difference.” The Devil’s factory.
Genus Ordinis Dei – Great Olden Dynasty Review
“Genus Ordinis Dei (GOD for short) by their name wonder what the biological classification of an Abrahamic God would be, and they do this by seemingly breaking the rulebook and combining symphonic death metal with elements of the traditionally blue collar of deathcore.” Symphonic deathcore? Surely you can’t be serious.
