“But, the two biggest differences between Surrounded by Shadows and Matter & Void are the ones our beloved Brother Grymm had the biggest issues with—bass presence and song length. Justifiable complaints considering the band have two bass players and a nine-track sludge debut that carries on for almost an hour. But the band appears to have nipped these in the bud. Matter & Void is bassy, beefy, and its six tracks clock in at a mere thirty-five minutes. Not to mention, Sorxe has a label this time around. Time to find out what Matters and what’s Void.” Sludge matters.
Isis
Spotlights – Seismic Review
“I used to love shoegaze. Back in the day, I relished the hazy, wistful atmosphere of bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and The Daysleepers, usually while lying on a beach and pondering the life I wasn’t living.” Spotlights glare and shoes gaze.
Dead Is Dead – Constraints of Time Review
“A quick search of Neurosis on our wonderful website is quite revealing: of the first twenty reviews or mentions of those elder statesmen, Yours Truly is responsible for five of the links – more than any other reviewer. That means either I love that band more than other AMG thralls, or I dislike them the least. Which is interesting to me, as I’m certainly not the one here that’s into the heaviest music, for I am olde, and my ears are tender (when they aren’t ringing). So here I go again, getting suckered into a review where Neurosis, Helmet, and Isis are listed as similar acts.” Dead is as Neurosis does.
The Living – The Living Review
“I know some of you, dear readers, feel a pang of annoyance every time we review an album that is barely metal or not at all. “Why are you reviewing this?” you ask. “This is Angry Metal Guy, not Perturbed Rock Person!” And you’re right, of course, but there’s several good reasons to review these cases anyway.” Are The Living out to rustle your jimmies?
Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun Review
“With expectations sky high after the mesmerizing Abyss, Wolfe returns with her highly anticipated sixth opus, Hiss Spun. One of Chelsea Wolfe’s key strengths as an artist lies in her ability to continually evolve and reinvent herself. Familiar strands tie her works together, but she is not in the game of repeating herself, as Hiss Spun firmly attests.” Wolfe at your doorstep.
Impure Wilhelmina – Radiation Review
“It doesn’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that musical, rhythmic, melodic swing, baby. So with that in mind, I grabbed Radiation, the sixth full-length from Swiss post-metallers Impure Wilhelmina on a blind whim, having never heard a note from them prior. Only bad things can happen, right?” Take the impurity test.
Drought Year – Nothing More Than Worthless Review
“It’s mostly G rated, when it’s not violent, sick and twisted. That speaks to the accessibility of what you can expect from Drought Year’s sophomore release – Nothing More Than Worthless.” It’s a dry heat.
Comity – A Long, Eternal Fall Review
“Comity have been concocting their complex mixture of chaotic metalcore (the Botch, Converge, and Coalesce sort), sludge, noise, and all things experimental and dissonant since 1996. Of course, a band so complex and difficult to comprehend can only come from one place: France.” Why does France want to hurt us so much?
Pyreship – The Liars Bend Low Review
“Samples in music have been a controversial point throughout its history. Their use ranges from the occasional embellishment to set the mood, to incorporating it into the lifeblood of the music, which was part of the origins of hip-hop. Detractors claim it to lack creativity by definition, because it means using someone else’s work. Defenders argue that the application of existing work in a different context is what makes it creative. No matter what your position, the fact is that plenty of metal bands have made use of them, from political voices in Megadeth to horror movie samples in Mortician.” A sampling of doom.
Mountain God – Bread Solstice Review
“Post-metal – like it’s nearest neighbor sludge metal – builds upon the foundations laid down by doom, keeping intact the throbbing riffs and ponderous pace while shedding much of the fantasy and occult trappings in favor of a more intellectual, existential outlook. If doom was about the “what” then one could argue post-metal is more about the “why?”” Ask why to the Mountain God.