“If you were to guess what Nekrokraft and Witchery have in common, what would it be? OK, yeah, they’re both Swedish. What else? Nope, they definitely don’t play the same styles of metal—the former is more Swede-thrash oriented and the latter plays symphonic-black metal, in the vein of Dimmu Borgir. Give up yet? What these two groups have in common is their vocalist.” Scream us a song, you’re a screamer.
“It’s safe to say that The Lyricist is the closest Susperia has come to the sound first set by Tjodalv, et al. in 2001. This time, though, it’s without longtime vocalist Athera. After seventeen years with a single voice, how will this new record fare?” A new voice in the thrash chapel.
“Eating, or looking for things to eat. Boning down, or looking for people to bone down with. Shitting, or looking for music to shit on. The angry metal life devotes countless hours to these simple activities. How Rogga Johansson makes time for even one of these is a mystery. Metal Archives lists The Darkside, the debut of Stass, his project of the month with Crematory’s Felix Stass, as his 11th release of 2017.” No rest for the Rogga.
“Melodeath bands often fall into the trap of monotone execution, plying their Entombed trinkets and Insomnium baubles with every riff of every song. Poorly-produced Winter Jari bobbleheads might make a nice collector’s item, but unless you’re the American Wintersun utterly convincing in your ripoffs, playing songs that never form their own identity is a one-way ticket to the Dumpster of Destiny. Darkfall, est. 1995, register on the more vitriolic end of the melodic death spectrum, though they may protest otherwise.” Dumpster death.
“Subservience’s Forest of the Impaled, on the other hand, is a violent war waged through the militaristic practices of Grave, Vader, Dismember, and Hypocrisy. I know what you’re thinking: not more Swe/Poland–death. Legitimate complaint. But, while Forest of the Impaled isn’t the most engaging or original of releases, it has just enough going on for it to avoid being the discharged aftermath of their predecessors’ lustful ways.” You picked the wrong forest…again.
“When I happened upon As Darkness Falls, the third album by German trio Deny The Urge, the hairs on my back stood up, my eyes squinted in curiosity, and I braced myself for the worse. Is this death metal, or is this “death metal”?” Yes it is.
“My friends ask me what happened, but my ability to verbally communicate has been reduced to moaning and a weeping noise that sounds something like a baby panda crying for milk. I wonder how I’m going to make it through the final day of this floating festival. I wonder when the aching will subside. I wonder where my life went so wrong. How did I end up here, on the 7th annual 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, weak with exhaustion and feeling like my body has been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer? My mind drifts back…” Tales from a 70000 ton heavy thing.
“Our readers seem to know our tastes better than we do. So, it’s probably not surprising to anyone that I’m reviewing (and loving) the new Mors Principium Est record. Especially when you compare it to my top picks of 2016. This is my bread ‘n’ butter and MPE’s crushing melodeath (from Inhumanity to their new record, Embers of a Dying World) is as much a part of me as my gray hair.” Thrash that olde gray head, he said.
“”Listen to them, the children of Entombed. What sweet music they make!” Or something like that. There can be no denying just how ubiquitous the genre has become, but I harbor a serious love of all things Swedish death. Clearly so do Revel In Flesh, a band who have been successfully churning out body-blow Scandinavian flavored death metal for the last 5 years.” Left Hand wrath.
“I’ve never quite got my head around open-plan office space and those waist-height cubicles. Yes, your hive of corporate activity looks wonderful photographed from seven different angles; prominently displayed on your enterprises website. Oh and let’s not forget about the collaboration! But what’s the cost? Stress-induced irritability, hostility towards creativity and productivity, anxiety and ongoing health issues. Oh wait, collaboration just flew out the window… Where am I going with this? Music. More specifically, metal. Pain have proved themselves inconsistent over the years and as with most things in life, with the good comes the bad.” Good pain, bad pain, you know we’ve had our share….
