“A project of San Francisco-based musician Robert Woods-LaDue and Bay-area session jazz musicians, Onkos is definitely metal, but like, what? Most akin to Barcelona flute/double bass bastards Inhumankind, Vascular Labyrinth can be best described as a chamber jazz act covering death metal.” In the veins of weirdness.
“Ascended Dead hail from the San Diego area and despite the region’s nearly perfect climate with endless sunny days, they’re fucking furious and verging on a total nervous breakdown. This results in some of the most over-the-top and feral death metal I’ve heard in a while, and their sophomore outing Evenfall of the Apocalypse is a proper soundtrack for even the most hellish of end times. With Jon Reider and C. Koryn, both formerly of VoidCeremony leading the charge, Ascended Dead take a sturdy OSDM foundation and slather it with dangerously twisted and jagged progressive ideas.” Brace for body trauma.
“Here is a sheer cliff face of an album; if you’re hardy enough to attempt the climb, please sign this waiver absolving AMG Industries of responsibility for injury or death. Mithridatum debuts with Harrowing, five tracks of dissonant death metal that dare the listener to keep pace as the trio scrambles ever upward. If any album demands artwork from the late, great Lewandowski, it is Harrowing.” Disso-dares.
“The word ‘meanders’ itself describes more than just the state of lesser dissonance heavy or atmospheric acts who clash songs out of existence with contrapuntal Tetris. Rather, Anachronism with their latest leans on the artistic concept of the meanders as they might appear in a mosaic, ornamental patterns of winding or interlocking lines.” Musical blocks in sonic temples.
“Under the moniker Defilementory, this Danish four-piece offers a debut that feels like a continuation of its last outing, The Dismal Ascension, but dispenses with the brutal death obsession with dismemberment and excess entirely. Dysgnostic, as a result, sets forth on its own path – a descent, if you will.” De-evolution.
“Back in the primordial days of this here blog, we attempted something called “AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö.” The basic idea was to select a bunch of unsigned bands and give them the collective review treatment to find the most worthy buried gems. It was our humble effort to remind folks that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal.” Post-death is a thing. A Rodeö thing.
“Let’s talk about blood, baby. Hemoglobin and me. Let’s talk about all the blood things and the bad things that may bleed. Death metal and that hideous ichor that courses through us all are as synonymous as editors and intimidation… Swedish supergroup extraordinaire Bloodbath have made a career out of celebrating the genre’s twisted tenets and once pulsed at the very center of the classic scene.” Your bath is ready.
“To non-metal listeners, all metal sounds hostile. Stray far to the edges of the dissonant and avant-garde in the genre, and you’ll find a breed that even experienced acolytes can struggle with. One’s first Portal experience is a conceptual case in point. From out of this dark corner of disturbing and unfriendly sounds, Hissing has emerged.” Crawling dread and slithering heads.
“Beyond its cover’s deceptively pastoral mountain scene, Altars offers something lurking underneath. On paper, the trio deals in a collision of dissonant death metal name-drops we’ve come to expect, and it would be easy to stop there. But we won’t, because there’s something else. Ascetic Reflection’s unique take settles in the negative spaces between lurching and punishing with clarity and nimbleness, allowing its meditative lurch to burrow into listeners’ skin. Holding mirrors of the self and the divine and the futility therein, the aptly named Ascetic Reflection deals in shredding pain.” Altars of radness.
“Consisting of Italian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bruzzone and company, Bekor Qilish offers its debut Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism. While it toes the line between full-length and EP at twenty-eight minutes, it manages to embody really fun “Voidhanger-core” to a tee.” Avant-guardians.
