“Despite being a huge fan of death-thrash, I wind up feeling and sounding more like a curmudgeonly Goldilocks when I write about the stuff. It’s not fast enough, it’s not thrashy enough, it’s not death-y enough, there aren’t enough of those devastating Slayer-style slowdowns, and on and on ad infinitum. Naturally, I began to worry: was it me? Have I outgrown death-thrash?” No one outgrows death-thrash until death.
“2013 saw the release of one of the most unique power metal albums that I’d ever heard. Till Oberboßel (Elvenpath) and his host of guests constitute the conceptual studio project known as Lucid Dreaming, which is based very faithfully on Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles Of Prydain, a rather idyllic young adult coming-of-age saga inspired by Welsh mythology.” Puberty metal.
“SCENE: A slick, leather-appointed office on the 13th floor of an imposing building. The room is furnished with hellish trophies and framed photos of sobbing individuals. Faint wailing can be heard from the floors below.” AMG: the screenplay.
“Now here’s a strange and interesting story. Imagine forming your band in 1973, naming yourself after a Pete Sinfield song from his Still album. Imagine working on your first album for forty-three years. Imagine playing and writing for nine years, then sleeping for two dozen. And imagine recording the songs you’ve been writing for all these years over a number of sessions scattered across eight years and five different locales. Clearly, time moves at a different speed for German progressive rockers Sea Goat.” Vote Goat.
“In 2013, a young German band by the unassuming name of Evertale took the power metal world by storm with an independently-released firestorm of a fantasy power metal debut in Of Dragons And Elves. The band was hurriedly signed to NoiseArt Records and the album re-released, much to the relief of international fans. It’s been nearly a four-year wait, but a follow-up in the German’s signature power metal style is finally here.” Roll out the Orc barrel.
“Back in May, my Twitter feed burped this out at me: “30 years ago today, Helloween released Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I.” The memories flooded back. For most of you, our loyal thralls readers, 1987 isn’t even a glint in your papa’s eye.” Still a keeper after all these years.
“Hey look, the weirdest inside joke in all of metal is still going strong. Backstory: Masters of Disguise is a throwback speed metal act living and breathing to pay homage to a particularly obscure band from the 80s called Savage Grace. Who, you ask? Exactly. They were a good band but barely got any traction or notoriety despite a pretty solid outing with 1986s After the Fall From Grace. Now Masters of Disguise (named after Grace’s debut album) seek to revive their hero’s nonexistent legacy due to some highly tenuous ties to the original singer.” First Will and Grace comes back and now Savage Grace too?
“Kill! is most largely occupied by thrash influences but splices in death growls, hardcore sneers and the occasional slower, dirgier riff. The staccato style of djent also features, particularly in the introductory riffs to a number of tracks. The two bands I hear most are Kreator and Meshuggah, rendering it established in the modern day but definitely facing backwards.” Crippers and blood.
“We’ve been seeing it since the dawn of time: when one band finds success, record company execs stumble over themselves trying to sign the next great version of that band. Rarely is the next great version actually found: instead, what we usually end up with are tepid versions of the original, competent yet missing that certain intangible (and more often than not also missing decent songwriting). Case in point: the critical success bands like Royal Thunder and Blues Pills have enjoyed in recent years. Record labels are wading through quagmires looking for the next great female-fronted retro blues/metal acts, and tossing half-baked ideas at us in the hopes that something sticks.” Sticky or icky?
“Their sound is an excellent encapsulation of the dynamic nature of modern black metal, splicing post-black sensibilities with melodic bombastic and explosive drum performances. Due to the misguided hype, their fourth LP, Finisterre, was inescapably disappointing for my first few spins; much of what I love about Der Weg einer Freiheit’s prior album’s just isn’t here. With time, though, Finisterre blossomed into what I now regard as a complicated work of heartbreaking beauty, becoming the most impressive ‘grower’ of the year in the process.” Finisterre. Oh, Finisterre baby….
