German Metal

Voices of Destiny – Crisis Cult Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 17, 2015 in 2015, Deathcore, German Metal, Massacre Records, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 45 comments

“Voices of Destiny is a German symphonic metal band putting out their third record in 2015 (well, 2014 for Europe, but for some reason we didn’t get the promo). Since you’ve never heard of them, the best way to describe them is to say that they have a brand of symphonic metal that’s somewhat like a combination of the beauty and the beast style we all know and have mixed feelings about and, well, “core.” After putting out a pretty good debut in 2010 (From the Ashes), they followed up what was a bit more of a straight record with Power Dive in 2012. On Power Dive the band introduced Deadlock-like breakdowns, but still managed to produce a pretty good record with Maike Holzmann’s unique soprano doing a lot of heavy lifting. While they weren’t quite taking the symphocore scene by storm, Voices of Destiny had two adequate records under their belt and seemed to have some promise.” Then tragedy struck…

Orden Ogan – Ravenhead Review

By Steel Druhm on January 12, 2015 in 2015, AFM Records, German Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 40 comments

“Orden Ogan has a name that greatly irritates me, but they’ve been a positive force in Euro-power over the years with semi classics like Vale, Easton Hope and the very respectable To The End. What I always enjoyed about them was how effectively they could fuse the vintage sounds of countrymen Rage and Blind Guardian into something enjoyable and at least partially unique.” Love the player, hate the name. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

Ascension – The Dead of the World Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 17, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, World Terror Committee, Black Metal, 5 comments

“When it comes to orthodox Swedish-style black metal (which I’ll call “orthodox black metal” for the rest of the review), explaining the general aesthetic is essentially pointless. I can call an album cold, frostbitten, grim, and evil until I turn blue in the face from hypothermia, but that won’t answer the one question readers have when they come to reviews: is this worth listening to?” Orthodox black metal for Christmas? I see what they did there.

Revel In Flesh – Death Kult Legions Review

By Steel Druhm on December 7, 2014 in 2014, Cyclone Empire, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 8 comments

“Here’s where I would say Swedish retro death is back, but one cannot come back if they never left in the first place, and they can’t be missed for that very same reason. Since Germany’s Revel in Flesh is but one of many bands making sure the classic Entombed sound never vanishes from this mortal coil, they’re all but guaranteed to feel like that comfortable sock you’ve had since the Ford Administration.” C’mon, you know you have room for one more Swedish death act.

Downfall of Gaia – Aeon Unveils The Throne of Decay Review

By Mark Z. on November 19, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, German Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Black Metal, 17 comments

“Somewhere deep in the bowels of the Internet (right next to erotic Sonic the Hedgehog fan fiction, if I recall correctly), I uncovered Downfall of Gaia, and my dick has been crooked ever since.” Hedgehog porn is a big favorite at AMG, especially “Hedge Trimmers.”

Deserted Fear – Kingdom of Worms Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on October 15, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, FDA Rekotz, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 9 comments

“As many AMG readers know, production quality plays a major role in the reviews posted on this site. Love it or hate it, care about it or don’t give a fuck about it, awareness of the “Loudness War” and the desire for quality metal is real. And with a new Angry Metal-Fi article out on dynamic range, I found it timely that I would be reviewing Deserted Fear’s sophomore release, Kingdom of Worms. Why, you ask? Well, Dan “The Man” Swanö himself handled the mixing and mastering of the album.” Here Dan is to save the day!

Ophis – Abhorrence in Opulence Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on September 16, 2014 in 2014, Cyclone Empire, Death Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 4 comments

“Five doom/death songs comprising sixty minutes of music is a risky proposition that lives and dies by one thing: riffs. If you’re going to write songs that average out to twelve minutes in length, the riffs contained within had better be interesting, dynamic, and, of course, crushing.” That means some long, potentially ADHD offending tunes. Can Ophis hold the interest of the busy metaller?

Dark Fortress – Venereal Dawn Review

By Madam X on September 3, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Century Media, German Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, 22 comments

“Concepts are tough nuts to crack, you’ve got to get your story across in roughly 7-10 tracks and at the same time the songs themselves need to stand alone and impress. Venereal Dawn is the latest addition to the now seven-deep discography for German black metallers Dark Fortress and it was three years in the making.” Does Dark Fortress crack said nut? Find out by clicking this handy, dandy link below…

Slaughterday – Ravenous Review

By Lord Doom on August 8, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, FDA Rekotz, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 4 comments

“Death metal has pretty much gotten to the point where if you’re not doing something new and cool with the genre, then you’re damned to be unknown for the rest of your career. Even though tours like Summer Slaughter are covering every corner of the genre, some bands are just not willing to progress any further and stick to what isn’t broken and doesn’t need fixing.” It’s time for yet another probationary writer to shake the word machine and see what falls out. Here we have Gothmog discussing the wares of retro deathsters Slaughterday.

Accept – Blind Rage Review

By Steel Druhm on August 6, 2014 in 2014, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 9 comments

“Accept (and Grave Digger) are Germany’s grand contribution to the Pantheon of Unkillable Cockroaches of Metal. Decade after decade they continue releasing albums brimming with the same traditional metal ideas, slightly rejiggered and reformed, but always recognizable and predictable. Even after the loss of the diminutive but iconic Udo Dirkschneider, the boys from Berlin just kept right on rolling and the two post-Udo platters were their liveliest in forever. Here they come yet again with Blind Rage and it’s comforting as always that nothing much has changed.” With age comes wisdom, and in the case of Accept, surprisingly solid metal.