“Originally released on an independent label in 2019, I didn’t find out about the excellent Age of Aquarius until Napalm re-released it this year. I’m writing it up anyway because it’s one of the best things I’ve heard this year.” Time is fluid.
![Villagers of Ioannina City – Age of Aquarius [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Villagers-of-Ioannina-City-Age-of-Aquarius-01-768x768.jpg)
Greek Metal
Shattered Hope – Vespers Review
“Like raw black metal, funeral doom operates at the extremely thin edge of an extremely niche wedge. Long, patient, languid tracks put many to sleep with their glacial pace. But glaciers carry enormous momentum as a result of their sheer mass. For those who appreciate it, funeral doom provides an unparalleled — and often profound — journey through grief and sorrow. Greece’s Shattered Hope offer their third attempt at this tricky genre with Vespers.” Sad scooters.
Prometheus – Resonant Echoes From Cosmos Of Old Review
“Prometheus is a Greek trio, releasing two demos, an EP, and one full-length since 2007. Their style professes to carry “the heritage of Hellenic and Scandinavian black metal” while fusing it with esoteric death metal. And fuse do they.” Tentacle-core reborn.
Calyces – Impulse to Soar Review
“Calyces’ mastermind is singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Manthos Stergiou, late of Tardive Dyskinesia. This time around, Stergiou and his bandmates are going for a sound that is heavily influenced by Mastodon, Baroness, and Tool. This has been done to death, so the key to making it work is writing great songs and establishing your own original take on those bands’ sounds.” Impulse to ape.
Miasmal Sabbath – Ominous Radiance Review
“Ah, long songs. They’re bitterly divisive and can (like most things in this genre) evoke strong emotions. Perhaps it’s because there are so many forms they can take. There’s early prog metal in the vein of Rush’s 2112, using shorter songs that make up an extended, conceptual track. There’s the Firelink approach, melding explosive passages with slower interludes, resulting in longer tracks that sustain interest through variety. There’s also the road taken by bands like Sleep, crafting dense, slower jams that create atmosphere while pummeling you with riff after smoky riff. So which road does death metal power trio Miasmal Sabbath take on their debut full-length Ominous Radiance?” Come, come, endure the Sabbath.
Sacred Outcry – Damned for All Time Review
“Sacred Outcry formed in 1998, and are now releasing their debut album, Damned for All Time in—pardon? Yes, this is their debut album, twenty-two years later. You’ve got to hand it to these guys, that is some dedication to the dream.” Time capsule ov steel.
Katavasia – Magnus Venator Review
“Something in the warmth of Grecian waters has stirred a strange black metal beast. The devil writhes with a Dionysian disregard for evil and frost. In Greece, there’s a playfulness to the black metal of bands like Hail Spirit Noir, Aenaon and Varathron. Featuring members of the three bands, Katavasia is a blackened heavy metal monstrosity that channels Greek myth, Satan’s charms and Babylonian conspiracy.” Magnus opus.
Mystras – Castles Conquered and Reclaimed Review
“Castles Conquered and Reclaimed is the first release from Mystras, another outing from Ayloss of Spectral Lore fame. Following the epic Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum split, which only dropped in March, I for one did not expect to see anything else from Ayloss in 2020, and certainly nothing of the scope and scale of this latest project.” Siege the day.
Enshadowed – Stare into the Abyss Review
“At least in my part of the globe, winter is upon us, thus it is the season to get down and gloomy with the darker, atmospheric arts. My regular rotation has seen a spike in melancholy, ranging from melodic death, downtrodden doom, and black metal. So with my mood well adjusted, I nabbed the fourth LP from long standing Greek act Enshadowed from the promo bin, teeth gritted and fists clenched ready to grimace and headbang through a respectable slice of black metal, or so I envisioned.” Black winter day.
Hail Spirit Noir – Eden in Reverse Review
“I’m enjoying that I’m now able to look back at the 2010s with retrospect. In all my personal affairs, life developments, and the end of my formal education. But in particular, musically. I can now definitively make sweeping statements like ‘Sleep at the Edge of the Earth is the best record of the decade,’ and ‘there was a better decade of music from 1971-1975 than across 2010-2019.’ But, and pertinently to this review, I can also state that ‘Hail Spirit Noir (HSN) is one of the most creative metal bands which became active during the teenies.’” Hail teen spirit.
