“Vendetta is a very old and very German band, with their full-length debut being released back in 1987. Like one particularly moronic German who took it upon himself to draw the dumbest conclusions out of philosophy’s oeuvre humanly possible, Vendetta really like the idea of Violent Revolution.” Who doesn’t like the idea of some vintage Kreator?
“Listening to Trümmerfarben, the fifth album of Germany’s pagan black metal vets Thormesis, is like going to dinner with a promising blind date seated across from an incredibly obnoxious couple. Your date is attractive on a surface level and, after a few minutes of conversation, you discover that they possess a unique personality and an emotional depth that’s not overbearing. Yet, just as you’re starting to form a connection, that damned couple across from you begins an argument, raising their voices to a deafening roar that drowns out your dialogue.” Sound of a romance fading.
“One of the best parts of the job of a music reviewer is stumbling across new, relatively unknown bands that deserve attention for what they’re doing. In what I hope is a good omen for the year, I’ve already encountered my first left-field surprise with Germany’s Nailed to Obscurity. As their name ironically suggests, these chaps have been toiling away without much attention, but King Delusion may be about to change that for the better. Nailed play an interesting fusion of death/doom and post-metal, and as the album unfolded, the list of bands their style borrows from grew long and prestigious indeed.” Nailed it!
“For those paying attention, 2016 was a bit of an American thrash revival with many of the 80s biggest names scoring successful “comeback” albums full of rich, speedy goodness. Hell, even Metallica graced us with something arguably worth hearing, so the pigs have clearly taken flight. Sadly, our beloved European counterparts fared less successfully, with Destruction and Sodom releasing decent but unremarkable platters. That leaves it to the mighty Kreator to right the Germanic thrash battleship and hold the Flag of Hate high as they return from a 4-year hiatus with Gods of Violence.” The elder gods are violent gods.
“The monkey’s paw is gripped tightly in your hands, a mangy curio purchased on your recent travel abroad. The wizened fakir that sold it to you promised it could fulfill any wish, an absurd statement but here in the stillness of your room curiosity has sunk its claws deep into you and a whispered plea escapes your lips: ;I wish for an album that can recapture the sound of early Machine Head.'” If wishes were Machine Heads, Rob Flynn would abide.
“Relentlessly picking on black metal bands whose members opt for anonymity is a favorite pastime of ours here at Angry Metal Guy, but it kinda sorta makes sense when you look at the practice from the band’s perspective. When trying to break into the scene, withholding one’s identity means that critics have only the music to go on, and if the musicians happen to suck, it eliminates any possibility of cred shredding in the eyes of the masses.” Secret identities are metal.
“Once upon a time, this writer, still a wet-behind-the-ears thrash aficionado, met his first brother-in-metal. He was a lanky fellow who’d rattle his neighbors’ windows with sessions of Cannibal Corpse and hit the pits so hard he’d be out of class for a week. So strong was our bromance that I cut my very first class to hit my first real show with him — I even had a beer (underage!) — what a rebel I was. I owe him, specifically his deification of Glen Benton, for a good portion of my listening habits.” Beers, Benton, bromance, Battlestar Galactica.
“I like doom, it’s a genre replete with crushing riffs, evocative themes (doom spelled backward is “mood,” after all) and one of the best examples to turn to when you need something spine-crushingly heavy. What it doesn’t do is respect your time.” Time waits for no band.
“News from Germany, courtesy of power metal band Victorius: apparently it’s totally fine to remove pesky vowels from words as one sees fit, much in the same way the Brits pretentiously shove “u” into words that never needed it (let the comments war commence)!” Take a vowel, leave a vowel.
![Uprising – Uprising [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/uprising-cover-768x765.jpg)
“Why we would be receiving a promo (with a 2017 release date) for a record that has been out since March of 2016 is beyond me. Well, it’s not beyond me because this sort of thing happens all the time. Sometimes it occurs because of a band’s recent signing and re-release of that album or, other times, it’s because a new distribution deal sends the record overseas. Regardless the reason for the delay, I couldn’t pass up a last-minute TYMHM for Uprising’s self-titled debut.” Another minor gem from us to you. Now buy us a beer.
