Idle Hands

Schammasch – Hearts of No Light Review

Schammasch – Hearts of No Light Review

“There are two kinds of metal albums that tickle my fancy. The first kind takes a band’s trademark sound, alters it just enough to keep things fresh, but also retains everything that makes that artist or band unique, enjoyable, and otherwise impossible to do without. The other has mere glimpses of what made that band who they are, but throws so many curveballs, surprise left hooks, and a kitchen sink or twelve your way, and demands that you catch it all. Swiss avant garde spiritualists Schammasch most certainly fit into the latter with relative ease. Even after releasing a three-disc, exactly-100-minute monstrosity in the form of Triangle back in 2016, it still didn’t fully prepare me for what Hearts of No Light had in store for me.” That’s a big Schammasch!

Coffin Rot – A Monument to the Dead Review

Coffin Rot – A Monument to the Dead Review

“This is death metal from Portland, Oregon. I could probably stop there and you would still know whether or not you’ll love this album. That city is absolutely dominating the genre this year, and we should probably just add a “Portland Metal” tag to Wordpress as that domination extends beyond the bounds of death metal. You’re probably getting tired of me blabbing about how great the Weird City’s output has been this year, but I could comfortably fill half of my year end list if forced to choose only from records released by Portland bands. And so, I will continue to drink from the fountain until it runs dry.” The weird travel on.

Record(s) o’ the Month – May 2019

Record(s) o’ the Month – May 2019

“Summer is here, and that means sweaty, miserable n00bs toiling away in the Skull Pits for no pay and even less appreciation. It also means terminally late Record(s) o’ the Month posts. This should come as a surprise to no one. The AMG staff is spread all over kingdom come this time of year, running amok on vacations, non-suspicious sabbaticals, and generally behaving badly.” Sun’s out, pun’s out.