Groove Metal

Milking the Goatmachine – Nach uns die Grindflut Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on July 2, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, 17 comments

“It’s late summer; baby goat season has come and passed. The now-adolescent herd will face culling and sorting for important caprine tasks: males will live to the next season for breeding within the herd or sold to other herds, and viable females will stick around for production of milk, which can serve as liquid for cheeses or in cosmetics. Potentially some goats who are neither fit for breeding nor milking will go up for sale as pets or sent to farms who raise goats for food production. Milking the Goatmachine is an atypical pair of goats though; they never made it to feed or breed. These German-born cloven-hoofed heathens escaped the goat-industrial complex to persevere as guardians of galvanized riffs, embodying the spirit of one heavy metal’s most celebrated animal icons.” Goatshake.

Instigate – Unheeded Warnings of Decay Review

By Dear Hollow on June 27, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Technical Death Metal, 31 comments

“If you’ve read my reviews before, you know how cautious I am about the riff. While hordes of metal maniacs revel in it and many even choose metal entirely for it, I’m about the atmosphere. That being said, if the riff sticks, it sticks hard. Death metal albums like Dyscarnate‘s With All Their Might and Infernal Coil‘s Within a World Forgotten offer high octane insanity aplenty with just enough variety and atmosphere, giving further weight to the riff. Italian quartet Instigate invokes the riff – and hard.” Riffy sense.

GUINEAPIG – Parasite Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on June 12, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, 21 comments

“Suspiciously, only one other goregrind review exists on AMG, and it’s kind of shitty. If you follow the genre, you know that acts like UwU may squirt out 3 or more opuses in a year. As an organization, we are very much behind on showcasing this putrid genre of goregrind, so to rectify this oversight, I thrust myself upon GUINEAPIG’s latest bucket o’ blasts, Parasite.” Small but nasty.

Big Muff 68 – Swing Metal Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on June 5, 2022 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Hard Rock, Stoner Rock, 17 comments

“Do you know what a big muff pedal does? Well, if you don’t, it essentially can turn electric guitars into fat fuzzy rock machines. Over the decades, that sound has found a home across all genres that riff, stomp, and tear blues licks a new one. As such, the pedal name lends itself well to the mission of the wacky Norwegian outfit Big Muff 68, who seeks to give us a fresh new genre view with Swing Metal. If you hadn’t guessed yet, that genre is none other than… swing metal!” Tough Muff.

Mutilatred – Determined to Rot Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 16, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Slam, 32 comments

“In the ever-spewing world of brutal death metal, many bands push the boundaries of what low-IQ, shit-shoveling grooves can offer us—not Mutilatred though. These Toledo slam boys offer nothing more than what you would expect from the caveman school of death metal: riffs to keep the pit churning, skulls numbing, and hammers raising. When they hit the scene in 2015 with Dissecting Your Future, chug-junkies shotgunned the knuckle-dragging numbers like natty lights in the parking lot of a $5 show. In 2019, they also managed to squirt out a little EP—Ingested Filth—which helped load their tour-heavy existence with a few extra tunes. Then 2020 happened. Left to fester at home in a jar too small to contain their riffs, Determined to Rot represents the frothy, lid-bulging Mutilatred brew of a couple vile years.” Rot so fast.

Upon a Burning Body – Fury Review

By Dear Hollow on May 3, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Groove Metal, Metalcore, 26 comments

“Upon a Burning Body is a quartet from San Antonio, Texas, vocalist Danny Leal and guitarist Ruben Alvarez the only original members remaining. Beginning with 2019’s Southern Hostility, the act started to get away from the bitter taste of the ironically titled The World is My Enemy Now, focusing on cranking out fun headbanging tunes—no more, no less. Fury continues this trend for a more groove-inflected, crunchier, and overall more memorable listen than its predecessor.” Pyre starters.

Tranzat – Ouh La La Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on April 4, 2022 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 37 comments

“Tranzat won me over before I even heard a single note, their pétillant persona piquing all the “must listen” bones in my body. On a scale of swell to swole, these proggy French funnymen are decidedly swell-diddly-umptious. Not only have they provided a boy-band-meets-bowling-league cover art for our supreme enjoyment, but also they have adorned their merch page for Ouh La La with silly posters, silly shirts, and reasonable prices. You can even send them your own shirt (or turtleneck or polo) that they will gladly screen print for you. Perhaps for this third outing, Tranzat has finally coordinated with a highly supportive label.” Prep-core.

Møtivatiøn – The Infinite 8 Steps tø Pøwer / Møney / Møre Review

By Carcharodon on February 22, 2022 in Reviews, Alt-Metal, Groove Metal, Sludge, 17 comments

“Supergroups are not uncommon in metal. I’m sure each of you can think of three such acts—of perhaps varying quality—in just a couple of seconds. Here are the first three that came to my mind: DOWN, Demons & Wizards and, for some reason, Them Crooked Vultures, which may not even qualify as metal. Also operating on that fuzzy edges of metal is today’s subject, Møtivatiøn. Where those previous bands are supergroups, using that term for Møtivatiøn is an insult to supergroups: the population of this record classifies it as a super conurbation.” Your life needs coaching.

Bloodywood – Rakshak Review

By TheKenWord on February 16, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Folk Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Metal, 85 comments

“Bloodywood‘s approach to metal is, on the surface, similar to Linkin Park‘s in that they often combine rapped verses with sung choruses—utilizing both English and Hindi lyrics—backed by gym-ready riffs reminiscent of Hacktivist, We Butter the Bread with Butter, and even Dyscarnate. Look beneath those superficialities and you find a ton of cool Indian folk instrumentation playing along, particularly weighted towards woodwinds and festive drums.” The Rock Shack is now open.

Never End – The Cold and the Craving Review

By GardensTale on September 7, 2021 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Metalcore, 13 comments

“I know promo sheets are all about hyping up the band. Hyperbole is basically in the job description, and I and my esteemed colleagues are largely immune to the declarations of paradigm shifts and best things since sliced bread. But every now and then, something so ridiculous comes along that I can’t keep it from you all. If I am to believe the sheet for Never End’s The Cold and the Craving, “…they’re brutal, melodic and technical all at once without ever being too much of one thing, which is impressive. The grind remains godhead, obviously, but the entwined emanations flowing from it –thrash, match [sic] rock, prog, hardcore, metal, grunge—never felt more potently distilled, dynamic or organic. [It] weakens the boundaries between Rock, Metal, Grunge, Hardcore, Metalcore, Doom, Stoner.”” All things for all people.