We’d have to ask Sentynel, but I’m pretty sure this is a historically late Record(s) o’ the Month. You’ll forgive me, things have been a bit hectic around the office. Some of that is good and some of it is bad, but the end result is the same: extraordinarily delayed Record(s) o’ the Month. But this month was pretty easy, I didn’t even get much push-back about this—which is a shame, because I like repressing the plebeians. So without further ado, your Record(s) o’ the Month for April of 2019.
“Inter Arma will not be pigeonholed. They’ve repeated this statement with each subsequent release, evolving subtly across a range of styles, but always sounding unmistakably like themselves. When a new album was announced for 2019, I quickly contacted resident man cat Grymm, who glowingly reviewed 2016’s Paradise Gallows, and pathetically begged confidently informed him that I would be handling this one. He pitied me respected my assertiveness and relinquished review duties.” Burning expectations.
“The heartiest slabs of sludge evoke a menagerie of crooked emotions. The cranking monotony of a repetitive riff, drenched in reverb and ambient noise, appeals to me at a most basic level. There’s something primal in the galloping crusty thump of a Conan track, something breathtakingly heart-wrenching in the western-tones of an Inter Arma track, something honest, stark and beautiful in the unique patterns of The Melvins. Each band balances creative flair with straight-forward aggression, though. When a voluptuous and extravagant song becomes too self-indulgent a switch to crushing straight-as-an-arrow slabcraft can drag it back into the dirty pits we crave.” Into the pits!
“Skan is The UK’s largest Optical and Technical Glass Warehouse and Applications Hub. The band Škan is the focus of this review. You’ll have to visit our affiliate site for a review of the UK Glass Warehouse Skan. A caron rides the s of Škan’s mysterious aplomb; similarly Death Crown, the debut album by this multi-national four-piece, is a mysterious and constantly morphing animal that one will find difficult to put one’s finger on.” Tech-glass is the new black.
“Every year, something special takes place in my hometown of Tilburg, The Netherlands: the festival of Roadburn. Roadburn isn’t like your average festival. There’s no marquees, no fields of green devolving into mud, and no crowds the size of small towns worshiping the biggest bands. Instead, thousands of people dressed in black gather from every corner of the continent, and some from other continents, to see over 100 doom, stoner and other kinds of acts whose success lies almost entirely in the underground.” Welcome to the dope show.
“I’ve been hitting the backspace key a lot as I’m writing my Top Ten(ish). Not because of a lack of anything witty to say, or a sheepishness of my selections. No, rather it’s because I’m of two minds as I type this.” Two minds, but only one weighty list!
“Metal is undeniably a multifaceted wonder. It has many moods and it incorporates many styles from a wide range of genres and mediums. But how much is too much? Is it too late in the evolution of this dark and dangerous genre for us to return to the simple days of booze, drugs, and rock ’n roll?” Yes, yes it is.
“Rare is the month where the AMG staffers can come together in the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill and choose a Record o’ the Month without hurling insults, chairs and lead at one another. July was one such rare and joyous occasion, if only because chairs and firearms were not available at the ice cream social/selection meeting.” Yay, team building!
“Reviewers the world over can agree; compartmentalizing bands into neat little genre labels can make life easier, but don’t necessarily do bands justice. Case in point: Virginia’s Inter Arma are equal parts Southern rock, sludge, doom metal, 70’s prog rock, and cavernous death metal.” Pigeonholery is an art AND a science.
