![Malokarpatan – Vertumnus Caesar [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Malokarpatan-Vertumnus-Caesar-01-768x768.jpeg)
‘I don’t know about the rest of you, but work has been a fucking bear this year. Since starting tenish years ago, 2023 might be my lowest contribution to the site. It also caused me to miss a lot of great records I was looking forward to. Thank the sweet metal lord that we have TYMHM. And this one is special.”
![Owlbear – Chaos to the Realm [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Owlbear-Chaos-to-the-Realm-01-768x768.jpg)
“Eldritch Elitist first brought Owlbear to my attention by mentioning the band in the AMG back channels, and it was a tip that I forgot almost immediately. Fortunately, I rediscovered the band independently after being drawn by the name and the album artwork. When I started the album, my heart was immediately set ablaze by “Fiend of Fire,” Chaos to the Realm’s fantastic opener and one of the finest trad-metal tracks you’ll hear all year.” Whose sword is this anyway?
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Welcome to the Garden State!
“The past still lives around us—a phone booth dilapidated with its tethered telecommunications device extracted, an eerie, abandoned Sears parking lot, Def Leppard jammin’ for the 6:00 pm crowd at the grocery store. Even for new members of the heavy metal clan, the sounds of royalty—Maiden, Priest, Saxon—often line the path to whatever extreme they may later fall into. It’s no surprise, then, to read that new Japanese export Coven Japan declares themselves as a young band influenced by 70s bands like Angel Witch and 80s bands like Satan” Past as prolog.
Steam the Filters, they need cleaning! Fa la la la la la la la. Stains in the gearworks require sweeeping! Fa la la la la la la la. Holiday.
![Gatekeeper – From Western Shores [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Gatekeeper-From-Western-Shores-01-768x768.jpg)
“It is with great shame that I come before you today to admit that I initially missed Gatekeeper’s second full-length album From Western Shores when it released back in March. As Vice Premier of All Things Olde here at AMG, it is my responsibility to cover anthing traditional that happens to sneak through the Steel Filter™, and in 2023, I have failed mightily in this duty.” Dishonor and redemption at the Gates.
“On Heaven into Dust, Knife have done what many bands refuse to do: grow. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still heaps of Motörhead and Venom worship; plenty of gang chants and blackened vocals; oodles of speed metal chugging, heavy metal galloping, and thrash riffing; almost everything endearing about their debut still applies here and the changes are relatively minor, but they’re impactful.” Stab or prod?
As I surfed the AMG promo wave, Finland’s Death’s-Head and the Space Allusion (DHATSA) caught my eye. It was the attached “Modern Melodic Metal” tag that made me curious. It’s the kind of descriptor that lacks substance since the terms “modern” and “melodic” are often thrown around to the point of meaninglessness. I found myself almost instantly assuming the music would be trite and overproduced. I’d wager that some of you reading this did as well. But in truth, that’s hardly fair to DHATSA.” In space no one can hear your Death Head.
“It is not normal for us to review an album months after its release, but I’ve never been called normal, have I? This album was originally slated to receive the Things You Might Have Missed treatment, but some records simply demand the full-meal deal. This is one of those records.” Brace for Outcry!
“Bull Elephant are a wild bunch, and their particular approach to metal reflects that wildness in full measure. A bonkers combination of death metal, doom metal, stoner metal, prog, heavy metal, and the occasional dalliance with thrash, Bull Elephant’s sound offers much in the way of variation and permutation.” Now with extra Nazis!
