Groove Metal

Mutoid Man – War Moans Review

Mutoid Man – War Moans Review

“The sound of Mutoid Man is not something easily explained. The best I can come up with is ”80s metal mashed up with Nintendo game music, but with more hooks and a ton of guitar effects.’ Formed in NYC by Boston expats Steve Brodsky (Cave In) and Ben Koller (Converge), Mutoid has cranked out two and a half albums of catchy, hyperactive metal within a short span of time. 2015’s excellent Bleeder gained some recognition here at AMG, and now the band returns with that crucial third album, entitled War Moans.” Kiss the war.

Adrenaline Mob – We the People Review

Adrenaline Mob – We the People Review

“We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, certainly never planned for Sir Russell Allen to continue his New York/New Jersey nu-metal groove project Adrenaline Mob this long. In fact, with this third album inbound, things are bordering on a violation of listeners’ basic rights and freedoms. I’ve covered their previous outings of throwback hard rock and nu-metal, yet I remain at a loss why Mr. Allen is so enamored with this numb-skull style of pablum made infamous by Disturbed, Godsmack and Nickelback.” Careers in waste management.

Slagduster – Deadweight Review

Slagduster – Deadweight Review

“In the big and scary world of progressive music, fusion jazz is definitely among the most divisive. The heady complexity of the riffs, the drums that jerk back and forth with different tempos and measures and the structural integrity of a house of cards constructed by a madman often invite words like showing off, musical masturbation, or simply wanking.” Jazz hands be wanking.

Life of Agony – A Place Where There’s No More Pain Review

Life of Agony – A Place Where There’s No More Pain Review

“A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with friend and former Angry Metal Guy colleague Jordan Campbell about how influential bands of the 90s have changed significantly, and usually for the worse. While we disagreed on some aspects, we both agreed that Life of Agony had the strangest career arc out of all of them.” Strange journey, still in progress.

Bear – /// Review

Bear – /// Review

“While I’m quite comfortable in the realm of technical death metal, the whole European tech-metal/djent boom around 2010 never really made sense to me. Where did all of these bands come from, and why did so many sound like even shittier versions of Periphery? Regardless of the source, I can intuit from the number of stupidly named festivals that the continental metalheads keep holding that tech metal — without the death — is pretty popular somewhere.” The claws are out.

Of the Sun – Before a Human Path Review

Of the Sun – Before a Human Path Review

“Self-proclaiming their music as ‘southern progressive metal’ sounds interesting on paper, bringing up imaginative scenarios, such as combining a dose of burly Down-styled metal with the adventure and bombast of prog. A number of similar scenarios whipped through my brain before settling in to jam Before a Human Path.” When prog-metal goes south.

Demon Hunter – Outlive Review

Demon Hunter – Outlive Review

“A demon’s skull, shattered via a bullet between the eyes. America’s Demon Hunter certainly have some blunt imagery, and aren’t shy whatsoever about their faith. I don’t mind being preached at, being a fan of Rage Against the Machine and their absurdist politics and Behemoth’s cool death metal saturated with Satanic sophistry, so Demon Hunter’s blatant Christianity doesn’t bother me a whit.” White metal matters.

Semper – Kháos Review

Semper – Kháos Review

“Repeat after me: Djent is not a dirty word. It certainly appears that way with the general consensus in the metal community of the often maligned offshoot sub-genre of progressive metal. The potential is definitely there for bands to take the basic template of the djent formula and manipulate the components in a myriad of interesting and innovative ways, yet the quality bands able to do this effectively appear few and far between.” Semper fi, or semper die, there is no semper try.

Hadal Maw – Olm Review

Hadal Maw – Olm Review

“Melbourne’s Hadal Maw made waves in the Australian metal scene with their Senium debut in 2014. Although the album exhibited the band’s considerable potential through a frenetic blast of noisy tech-death, the compositions and production left ample room for improvement.” Has the improvement room been accessed?