“In my years not reviewing albums, I’ve learned execution trumps everything. No pet project, no kitsch, no absurdist or ill-advised concept is doomed from the start. Well, ain’t that aces for Skiltron, the premiere bagpipe-powered Celtic folk metal band originally from Buenos Aires (maybe!).” Laying pipe all day long.
“While certain sectors of the metalsphere have to watch out for band members sporting certain unsavory worldviews or taking out aggression on spouses and such, the worst we usually encounter with prog band members is an (un)healthy case of extreme narcissism. So, we settle then often for the drama of a band suddenly seeing members vacate to form new projects, like Mike Portnoy and his on-again off-again Dream Theater play, or the long-drawn release from Obscura-born Obsidious. The new super(ish) group Temic is born of such an upending, with former keys maestro Diego Tejeida relinquishing his long-held seat with Haken for proggier pastures.” Group and super group.
“It is not normal for us to review an album months after its release, but I’ve never been called normal, have I? This album was originally slated to receive the Things You Might Have Missed treatment, but some records simply demand the full-meal deal. This is one of those records.” Brace for Outcry!
“Helms Deep is the brainchild of vocalist and guitarist Alex Sciortino, and the project is his personal love letter to classic heavy metal. Helms Deep recalls the olden NWoBHM majesty of bands like Angel Witch and Satan while simultaneously channeling the epic power of early Savatage.” So it begins…
“2023 hasn’t been the best year for black metal. With some scattered, notable exceptions—DHG and Manbryne among them—most new releases have been underwhelming, or at least disappointing. Undeterred, I continue to pick promos bearing the ‘black metal’ tag, because I believe the genre, at its best, is captivating in a way others aren’t, and offers a flavor of expression unique to itself. As we approach the sunset of the year, my persistence has paid off with the arrival of Avodah Zarah, the sophomore record from Polish/Italian outfit Amalekim.” Blackened treasures uncovered.
“It was hard to know what to expect from Let the Sun Swallow All. Biledriver’s Bandcamp page states that they “play a variety of metal, the genre of which we are eternally uncertain.” While broadly categorizable as a mixture of sludge and post-metal, the band’s confession is fairly accurate. Even the cover art is obtusely abstract (though rather nice). This is their debut, and sees the geographically disparate members—spanning Canada, the US, the UK, and Sweden—combine forces in a sometimes savage, sometimes somber series of sounds.” Rank and Bile.
“REZN made a minor splash in Casa Dolph back in… March?! Wow, time flies! Psychedelic doom itself isn’t particularly known for getting anywhere fast, but these Chicago practitioners have an admirable hustle to earn yet another release to their name. This go around, though, they’ve partnered with the like-minded, Hawkwind synth-heavy doomsters from way down South in Mexico City, Vinnum Sabbathi.” Double doom.
“While The Eye featured as many ideas as the many heads of a hydra, Position | Momentum streamlines them into a more focused beast. Expect second-wave tropes in tremolo, blastbeats, and vocalist Matteo Rizzardo’s ferocious shrieks (in his native Italian), but like Calligram’s catalog, the sophomore effort ascends beyond the Darkthrone and Mayhem worshipers of the cold dead world.” Calligram calling….
“At first glance, All for Metal seems to be a near perfect facsimile of Brothers of Metal—sans the incredibly talented Ylva Eriksson—so much so, in fact, that when I first heard them, I was convinced they were a Brothers of Metal side project. But further research, and further listens, reveal that while All for Metal may peddle the same chonky, bordering on goofy heavy/power as BoM, they are certainly their own beast.” All for spray cheese.
“I didn’t know what to expect with Deformity Adrift. Although I knew it’s rooted in the inherently unfriendly style of dissonant death metal, I wasn’t sure which breed: perhaps the scathing apathy of Mithridatum, the sun-bleached Altars, the occult mumblings of Mitochondrion, or the twisted technicality of Asystole, to name a few. I shrugged and thought, “I’ve seen it all” and pushed play on Nightmarer. What tormented me about the Berlin/Portland quartet is that, despite my best efforts to describe it with bands of similar ilk, I cannot put words to its latest foray. It rides the line neatly between the haunting devastation of its influences and a tantalizingly listenable quality that defies the need for abstraction. Nightmarer has created a unique dilemma.” DilemmaER!
