Hungarian Metal

The Moon and the Nightspirit – Aether Review

The Moon and the Nightspirit – Aether Review

By Twelve on June 27, 2020 in Reviews, Folk, Not Metal, 10 comments

“I love receiving distinctly non-metal promos. I mean, it’s the name of the site, right? Angry ‘Metal’ Guy. Receiving folk, neo-folk, ambient, and similar musical styles feels like a statement from their artists: “no, it isn’t literally metal, but it’s metal in enough ways for you, ‘Guy.’” And I’m not complaining; from Winterfylleth’s The Hallowing of Heirdom to October Falls’s Kaarna to Forndom’s Faþir, some of my favorite musical discoveries have been metal “in all the right ways but one,” and all featured on this site. Since 2005, The Moon and the Nightspirit, a Hungarian duo featuring multi-instrumentalists Ágnes Tóth and Mihály Szabó, have been making traditional folk music; Aether is their seventh full-length album, and it feels like it belongs in all three of the above fields.” Aether realms?

Ghost Toast – Shape Without Form Review

Ghost Toast – Shape Without Form Review

By Master of Muppets on March 14, 2020 in 2020, Hungarian Metal, Instrumental Metal, Inverse Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 48 comments

“It’s nice to have some actual dialogue after my solitary confinement to Shape Without Form. That’s right, tubthumpers: Ghost Toast are an instrumental band! There’s been a lot of that lately, and I’m not really sure why, but I was bound to deal with something of the sort sooner or later, and now here we are, Ghost Toastin’ it up.” Rye revenants abound.

Perihelion – Agg Review

Perihelion – Agg Review

By Huck N Roll on December 6, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Hungarian Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 31 comments

“I feel bad for bands who release albums in December. We are so focused on crafting our year-end lists (and panning each other’s) that we really aren’t that interested in listening to even more new music. Still, Perihelion hold a special place in my heart. Not many bands hail from my ancestral breeding ground of Hungary. I’m sure there’s more, but these guys and Thy Catafalque are the only two that come to mind. And two years ago Perihelion released Örvény, which was quite a nice piece of work. Now comes Agg, the band’s third full-length.” Hungary for more.

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

By Eldritch Elitist on August 28, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Hammerheart Records, Hungarian Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 51 comments

“In my mental compendium of underappreciated metal treasures, Hungary’s Sear Bliss holds a somewhat unique position. Though they’ve only released one truly great album in my eyes (2007’s The Arcane Odyssey), they have a relatively extensive back catalog of solid records, making them an easy selection whenever I want to throw on an uncomplicated black metal album that offers a few unique instrumental twists. The band’s incorporation of trombone had always delivered a distinct sense of heavy, brassy atmosphere that effectively combined second wave tropes with Summoning-esque majesty. With Letters from the Edge, the latter has stayed intact, but the former has fallen to the wayside in favor of something a bit more absorbing and melancholic.” Blackened trombone.

Thy Catafalque – Geometria Review

Thy Catafalque – Geometria Review

By Dr. Wvrm on May 4, 2018 in 2018, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 60 comments

“I can’t speak for everyone, but this year hasn’t exactly crushed it for me. I don’t know what it is. A case of the heard-it-all-befores? The inescapable drain of attempting to keep up with everything but feeling like you’re keeping up with nothing? Whatever it is, I circled Thy Catafalque‘s Geometria early, hoping it would wrench me from my malaise. With Tamás Kátai, you’re never getting the same thing twice.” Malaise forever.

Ektomorf – Fury Review

Ektomorf – Fury Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 12, 2018 in 2018, AFM Records, Groove Metal, Hungarian Metal, Reviews, Groove Metal, 0 comments

“Looking back at what I wrote about Ektomorf’s Aggressor in 2015, I was clearly exasperated; Ektomorf seemed to lack some complexity or authenticity I was searching for in metal. Reviews reflect not just where the author was but what he thinks and why, if written successfully. On Fury, Ektomorf have predictably remained the same.” A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little bands.

Perihelion – Örvény Review

Perihelion – Örvény Review

By Huck N Roll on November 20, 2017 in 2017, Apathia Records, Hungarian Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Post-Metal, 51 comments

“After four long months, the moratorium on Huck N Roll reviewing albums with non-English singing has come to an end. And as luck would have it, this venerable reviewer managed to snag something from Hungary, AKA the Old Country. Perihelion isn’t a very Hungarian word, but the band makes up for that with a plethora of umlauts, accents, double acute accents, and other glyphs throughout their song titles. That automatically makes the band trve and is worth 0.5 bonus marks ” Umlat what your country can do for you.

Thy Catafalque – Meta Review

Thy Catafalque – Meta Review

By Dr. Wvrm on September 30, 2016 in 2016, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Electronica Metal, Hungarian Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, Electronica, 42 comments

“Imagine your basic symphonic black metal, say, Emperor. One day, Ihsahn’s on a big electronica kick, so he throws some cash at the latest Toontrack update, digs out his high school band instruments, and rolls all his artsy friends over for a weekend. No blasting, no razor thin production, just a full plate of programmed drums and defied expectations. This is the sound of Tamás Kátai’s Thy Catafalque.” And what a sound!