“As we’ve discussed countless times, the dreaded pandemic affected many bands and their music. In Dust Bolt’s case, the band decided to take that time away from record labels, concerts, and the noise of the business to rediscover themselves. The result is a reinvigoration, bringing back the excitement the band had when they first broke out on the scene. Brace yourselves.” Dust or bust.
“Evolution can be a tricky thing for a band to get right. Change too much and risk alienating an existing fan base. Or don’t change enough and risk pigeon-holing oneself, or even boring the audience who want to see some growth. Ever since Praise the Plague stepped onto the scene in 2018, they’ve been subtly shaping their intriguing admixture of doom and black metal. Particularly after sophomore The Obsidian Gate saw them commit to wielding in equal measure the grandiosity of the former with the sinister savagery of the latter, the question of where their approach would go next, as they established themselves, was foremost.” Down with the…Plague.
“Occasionally, we all gotta go back to our roots. Expanding one’s sonic palette is all fine and good, but when you’ve had a beast of a day, sometimes you just want to close your eyes and lose yourself in the familiar. 2024 has been incredibly hard work so far, which is why the AMG overlords suggested I go back to what Doomy does best: reviewing underground black metal. Zwielicht in the promo sump immediately jumped out. Experienced musicians (the band is nearly 20 years old)? Check. Evil and fast black metal? Check. Unencumbered by petty labels and their weird expectations? Check.” Hello darkness my olde friend.
“Though Germany’s Full Assault has been around for over fifteen years, I’ve never heard of them. I was even surprised they’ve never been reviewed before in these halls. But that might just be the lack of a label. Until now. Their Iron Shields debut, Dying World, is here with neothrash tendencies that combine a Crisix-like vocal approach with At the Gates thrashery.” Assault and BATT-ER-Y!
“Ah, Lucifer. I remember listening to their self-titled debut album back in 2015 and being immediately hooked by the killer pipes of frontwoman Johanna Platow Andersson and their take on fuzzy, doomy occult rock. But as I sit here to craft a review of Lucifer’s fifth album (aptly titled Lucifer V), I must admit that after that very first dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, I haven’t listened to them much in the intervening years.” New year, same Devil.
“Whether they like it or not, Sulphur Aeon left its mark on the death metal world. While it’s easy to focus on their lyrical themes and reverence for the Great Old Ones as a lyrical monument, their straightforward approach tinged with blackened precision and colossal atmosphere extends to more than the Cthulhu worshipers out there. Take their fellow Germans, the longstanding death metal act Drowned. While the lyrics of Procul His revolve around things like the occult, darkness, and abstract themes, you’ll find that the sound feels straight outta the Antisphere.” Tentacles in the void.
“The German town of Reichenbach im Vogtland in Saxony is, in all likelihood, not the first place one would look for a metal band. However, the relatively small and generally unremarkable town is home to Boundless Chaos. Four of whose five members previously comprised The True Hellfyre Warmachine, which managed one 2016 EP before (probably advisedly) changing its name the following year. Having acquired a fifth member, vocalist E.M., somewhere along the way, Boundless Chaos self-released an EP and a couple of splits between 2020 and 2023, which did enough to secure the band a deal with Germany’s Dying Victim Productions. Boundless Chaos have arrived?” Chaos is a map.
“If you were to ask me how I began 2024, my answer would be, “Why, with 2024, of course!” More specifically, 2024, the sophomore outing of the German hard rock outfit Ravenstine. A silly album title to be sure, but it piqued my interest, and I was in just the zone for a cut of Jorn-ish hard rock. Something that stuck out to me in the marketing around Ravenstine was the focus on them being first and foremost a group of friends. Could that mean 2024 is a pile of well-meaning but messy jams by a gaggle of lads taking the piss? Or is it perhaps a collection of great songs by artists all on the same wavelength.” The Album of the Year.
![Massen – Gentle Brutality [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Massen_GentleBrutality_01-768x768.jpg)
“If you know me—and most of you should by now—you know that I love bands who fearlessly combine multiple genres into one pot. I want to be blown away by their exploratory vigor, dismissing all pretense of genre loyalty with gusto. Give me something that challenges my advanced ability to categorize and compartmentalize, and you are likely to garner an instant fan. Enter Massen, a Belarusian/German Frankenstein monster who unleashed one of the best records of the year, Gentle Brutality.” Polite hooligans.
![Antrisch – EXPEDITION II: Die Passage [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Antrisch-Expedition-II-Die-Passage-01-768x768.jpg)
“Back in April—practically a lifetime ago—I interviewed Noise of Kanonenfieber, Leiþa and Non Est Deus fame. Ever the professional, I shamelessly used it as an opportunity to fish for album recommendations for my own enjoyment. In my defense, I did at least deign to share some of them with you ungrateful swine. Unsurprisingly, all of Noise’s recommendations were solid but there was one that really got its frozen claws into me, Würzburg, Germany’s Antrisch and their second record, EXPEDITION II: Die Passage.” In cold blood.
