In Mourning

Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Forlorn Path – Man’s Last Portrait

Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Forlorn Path – Man’s Last Portrait

By Angry Metal Guy on April 17, 2013 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Blog Posts, 0 comments

In our new monthly feature, which will show up here on the 15th of every month and run over the next few days, I (Angry Metal Guy) will select 5 bands at random (usually those who have followed my directions and have bandcamp accounts) to get blurbed by every member of the AMG staff. The idea is to do at least a bit of our part to point out that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal. While we simply don’t have the manpower to produce regular reviews of unsigned bands, this is my attempt at a minor mea culpa if nothing else. So enjoy Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo and our third entry for April 2013: Forlorn Path!

October Tide – Tunnel of No Light Review

October Tide – Tunnel of No Light Review

By Steel Druhm on March 12, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Pulverised Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 6 comments

“Steel Druhm is a sucker for well done doom death with oodles of morose, melancholy atmosphere. Yep, I like stuff that makes me feel as if I’m slowly drowning in an ice cold Finnish lake as wood gnomes and forest elves cry and throw Mardi Gras beads into the water (just go with it, don’t analyze). Because of these predilections, I heartily enjoyed the last opus from this bunch of downcast Swedes, which featured several members of Katatonia at one time or another. After some line up changes and a few years away from the game, October Tide skulks back with Tunnel of No Light and it’s business as usual (that business being depressing but darkly beautiful music).” But is the business as successful as before? Steel Druhm splashes about and does his best to answer that very question.

In Vain – Ænigma Review

In Vain – Ænigma Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 6, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Death Metal, Indie Recordings, Melodic Death Metal, Norwegian Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 19 comments

In Vain hails from Norway, famous for its black metal, its fjords, its oil, its social democracy, but certainly not its progressive death metal. It’s actually a little strange that the land that brought us Borknagar, Enslaved, Ulver, and Solefald has never really produced its own Opeth or In Mourning, instead outsourcing that to its less affluent and pampered neighbor to the east (that’d be Sweden for the geographically challenged). Without getting too much into regional politics, it’s safe to say that given how high on the hog these Norwegians live—exploiting their Swedish workers and guzzling crude oil at the state’s expense—it’s surprising that none of them have wandered into the melodic, progressive death metal genre. They certainly have access to enough subsidies for the arts to do so if they wanted to.

Beneath – Enslaved by Fear Review

Beneath – Enslaved by Fear Review

By Madam X on October 18, 2012 in 2012, 4.0, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 3 comments

Who would have thought that an icy wasteland would be good for the music community, it seems ice inspires insane speeds and death metal! A few weeks back, in my review of Kontinuum’s Earth Blood Magic, I commented on the metal kick-assery that’s making its way out of Iceland (and in particular Reykjavík), and at the time of their review another band aggressively caught my attention, doggedly refusing to let my mind rest! In true shit-happens style I ended up missing their release date and now you have a retrospective review of Beneath’s Enslaved by Fear [I feel shame at my tardiness].

Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Graveworm – Fragments of Death

Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Graveworm – Fragments of Death

By Rusty on December 13, 2011 in 2011, 3.5, Black Metal, Death Metal, Italian Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2011, 3 comments

Fragments of Death was my first encounter with Graveworm. Even though I shouldn’t have, I was surprised before listening to the album that they were from Italy and I wasn’t really expecting an album that would impress me. Call me a metal bigot but metal isn’t really something that the Italians would proudly add to their plethora of cultural influences for the rest of the world to enjoy [Bigot! There are some great Italian death metal bands, not to mention Rhapsody! – AMG]. Having confessed my prejudice, Italy has already stunned me this year with the new Fleshgod Apocalypse album which definitely improved the scene’s name and now Graveworm release Fragments of Death to add to what their fellow countrymen did a few months earlier.

October Tide – A Thin Shell Review

October Tide – A Thin Shell Review

By Steel Druhm on November 2, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Candlelight, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 1 comment

With the tides come a darkness and oppressive gloom and that gloom is known as October Tide. After resting in deep, dark slumber for the fullness of eleven years, the brainchild of Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia) and Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) crawls back into the light with another monumentally morose death-doom opus titled A Thin Shell. Not too many bands can survive such an extended state of limbo but when Norrman left Katatonia, he decided it was time to resurrect his side-project for a third album without co-founder Renkse. While it was quite natural to doubt a quality comeback or to fear a Katatonia clone, you can put those fears to rest. A Thin Shell is a remarkable album that showcases the beauty that exists in darkness.

Gloria Morti – Anthems of Annihilation Review

Gloria Morti – Anthems of Annihilation Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 29, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, Black Metal, Cyclone Empire, Death Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 2 comments

One of the best parts about being a reviewer, honestly, is getting a hold of records that you’d’ve never thought to buy on your own and really enjoying them. 2010 hasn’t actually had a lot of those for me. The year has gone pretty much as expected (and a little worse for certain bands, unfortunately). But one of the big disappointments has been the number of bands that I’ve gotten who I’d never heard of that just never pan out to anything. Because obviously it’s newer bands that keep things going and some of my favorite records of the last few years have been from bands that I didn’t even know existed until I got the record to review (Istapp for example, or In Mourning). Gloria Morti is one of those bands that I’d sorta gotten wind of, but never really heard before. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received Anthems of Annihilation but I was pleasantly surprised.