Helmet

Marriage + Cancer – Marriage + Cancer Review

By Treble Yell on February 11, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Self Sabotage Records, Noise Metal, Post-Metal, 0 comments

“Many cite Meantime as the apple of their eye from Helmet but it’s the 1994 follow up, Betty, that brought the New Yorkers to my attention and with it delivered a slab of feedback and odd-time signatures that I never grow tired of. The plunging chords and staccato drums are perfectly balanced against Page Hamilton’s wry vocal delivery, a seismic yet focused payload of anti-establishment vitriol that takes hold of your spine and yanks it through your bowels. Meantime and Betty’s influence was partly responsible for the establishment of the alternative and post-metal scenes and to this day still inspires bands to pick up the axe, none more so thanMarriage + Cancer.” Strap it on?

Dead Is Dead – Constraints of Time Review

By Huck N Roll on September 27, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Sludge, Triple Eye Industries, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge, 26 comments

“A quick search of Neurosis on our wonderful website is quite revealing: of the first twenty reviews or mentions of those elder statesmen, Yours Truly is responsible for five of the links – more than any other reviewer. That means either I love that band more than other AMG thralls, or I dislike them the least. Which is interesting to me, as I’m certainly not the one here that’s into the heaviest music, for I am olde, and my ears are tender (when they aren’t ringing). So here I go again, getting suckered into a review where Neurosis, Helmet, and Isis are listed as similar acts.” Dead is as Neurosis does.

Vital Breath – Angels of Light Review

By Saunders on September 23, 2017 in 2017, Alt-Metal, French Metal, Hard Rock, Mighty Music, Reviews, Rock, Alt-Metal, Hard Rock, 25 comments

“Alternative metal is among the broadest of genre tags in heavy music. A few months ago, UK act Zedi Forder impressed with their solid interpretation of the alt metal style on their self titled debut. Alas, I broached this second LP offering from France’s Vital Breath with both trepidation and cautious optimism when I saw they were also listed under the alternative metal umbrella.” Alternative to what?

Gravdal – Kadaverin Review

By Madam X on August 18, 2017 in 2017, Black Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Soulseller Records, Black Metal, 50 comments

“It was the gorgeous construction of Torturmantra’s ”Mishandlet” (guested by Niklas Kvarforth), that roped me in. This past encounter with Gravdal, and hearing of guest appearances from members of Satyricon, Taake, SAHG, The Ruins Of Beverast, Seven Impale and Orkan along with lyrical contributions by V`gandr (Helheim and Taake) would seem to cement Kadaverin as a “must-hear” release. But does it?” The black metal circus arrives.

God Root – Salt and Rot Review

By Treble Yell on July 12, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, Sludge, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 25 comments

“Despite what the band and album name may conjure up, Salt and Rot by God Root is not the latest word in primal vegan cuisine. What we have instead is the second release from the Pennsylvanian quintet, a sludgy, post-metal mediation that sings of soil and sky and man’s connection to both.” Have we finally reached post-Neurosis?

The Glorious Rebellion – Euphoric Review

By Mark Z. on April 3, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Hard Rock, Magnetic Eye Records, Reviews, Sludge, Noise Rock, Sludge Metal, 30 comments

“Being a metal reviewer is fun. I get to discover new gems I probably wouldn’t have otherwise heard, I get to think of creative ways to make fun of bad albums, and I get to work with an amazing and talented group of fellow writers whose reviews and recommendations provide an abundance of new, quality metal to check out. But like all jobs, this one has a dark side.” Here comes the bittersweets….

’90s Metal Weirdness: Anthrax – Stomp 442

By Dr. Fisting on February 1, 2014 in 90s Metal Weirdness, American Metal, Blog Posts, 24 comments

Cast your minds back to a time when metal music was not cool. Nay, indeed, a time when metal was anathema to all that was considered to be “chic” and “in.” A time when your favorite bands were actually encouraged by the music industry to play slower, cut their hair, and write sensitive lyrics about their childhoods. Yes, this unfortunately really happened. Our semi-irregular feature “90s Metal Weirdness” focuses on albums released between 1992 and 2001 and which we all probably would rather forget. — AMG

Tomahawk – Oddfellows Review

By Alex Franquelli on January 25, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, American Metal, Ipecac Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 5 comments

Of all Mike Patton’s project, Tomahawk is the one I appreciate the least. Let’s be unprofessionally honest from the start: I can’t be impartial when it comes to judging the work of the genius from Eureka, CA because, yes, I am one of those pedantic nerds who can talk about him for hours at bus stops and grocery stores. Pranzo Oltranzista is in my opinion: “a postmodern monument to deconstructivism and a wordless essay on the very meaning of semiotics from a non-Kojevian perspective”. Or “it fucking rules”: you decide. And don’t get me started on the tragedy behind Fantomas or Mr Bungle’s sardonic stance on the morals of our times because I may end up comparing Patton’s vocal chromaticism to the continuous dichotomy between techne and episteme. Or “both bands fucking rule”: you’re an agent with free will, so you can decide for yourself.

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On Genres as Pejoratives

By Angry Metal Guy on August 26, 2012 in Blog Posts, Alternative Metal, Deathcore, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Nu Metal, Technical Death Metal, 85 comments

A really curious thing happens from time to time that I think it’s time to comment on. Because we all (that is, those of us who read and/or write AngryMetalGuy.com) love heavy metal, we all essentially draw boundaries for it. It all depends on your perspective, but largely we say that one thing is metal and another thing is not. We make fun of the things we find to be not metal and we praise (and often deify unnecessarily) that which we find to be super metal. This is not a surprise. In fact, I’d guess that it’s a natural part of the human brain: we group things and put them in their place so as to better order our world. We also use cognitive short cuts in order to reach conclusions about the vast seas of information that exist outside of our existence.