“Back in 2016, Italy’s ghoulish Demonomancy released a split EP with Finland’s Witchcraft that was one of the first releases that I tackled as a scribe for the site. While the split didn’t have me feting either act I still wrangled a fair measure of enjoyment out of it, enough at least to warrant a closer look at Demonomancy’s new album, Poisoned Atonement.” Vote Hell.
“This past week I was giving Frozen Crown’s The Fallen King my dozenth or so spin as I was handling a particularly annoying clean-up report at my other office job. Typically, when faced with such an irksome task, I like to listen to fast music of either the aggressive or uplifting variety; either emotional response triggered by the conflicting styles will do the trick to kick my ass into work-mode. This particular go-round with Frozen Crown struck me, as it handily enabled both responses.” Don’t let it go.
“Italy’s Abysmal Grief have been doing horror-themed doomed things for 22 years. That’s a lot of time to be doing anything, perhaps enough that one might expect something downright brilliant from a band with such experience, but riddle me this: when’s the last time you encountered a brilliant 22-year-old?” Young, dumb and fulla doom.
“A Christmas tree shorn of spectacle is just a skeleton pining for its casket. Deathless Legacy are loud, boisterous and with their untrammeled Italian bombast are hoping to capture hearts and minds with Rituals of Black Magic, but they’ll have to prove they harbor substance beyond their sparkling facade.” Of bare trees and Italian cheese.
“I can never quite get my head around how quickly Bandcamp staked out such an integral position in my life. The online marketplace is responsible for expanding my listening horizons as well as keeping me attuned to what people I respect (and El Cuervo) find worthy of purchase. Plus, letting me truffle-pig for releases that might not hit the promo bin is how I found Æther Realm. It’s also how I came across Under Siege. The Italians’ folky, eclectic brand of melodeath hooked me from the start, and the notion that their debut might go unreviewed was too painful to allow.” The agony and ecstasy of the fanboy.
“Today, Cruentator present you with Variations on a Theme: the Kreator riff. That’s what the promo bin listing for Ain’t War Hell? promised, and for the most part, what it delivers. Ripping off acts is in vogue nowadays, and while Cruentator stop short of lifting Kreator’s riffs completely, it is for no lack of trying. Hell, that sort of thing can actually land you on top ten lists nowadays.” A Kreator in hand beats 2 Cruentators in the bush.
![Ancestral – Master of Fate [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1000x1000-1.jpg)
“A couple of years ago, I did a favor for Underground Symphony Records, and they retaliated by sending me a package of OOP and/or hard to find old power metal CDs — much to my delight. Amongst those CDs was the 2007 debut of Sicily’s Ancestral, a work of rough-edged, chaotic, yet surprisingly aggressive and adept power metal. Skip ahead a handful of months, and the band was announcing its upcoming sophomore release on Facebook after a wait of nearly a full decade.” Italian treats minus the dairy.
![Elvenking – Secrets of the Magick Grimoire [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1000x1000-768x768.jpg)
“Welcome to Bizarro Metal World, where the reviews are made up and the scores are reversed! Just kidding, but seriously, Angry Metal Guy himself was set to review this album. However, time being what it is during the holiday season (and AMG being as angry as he is), he didn’t get around to it. As luck would have it -at least for Elvenking – while I’ve heard tell that AMG was quite disappointed with this album, I am not!” Dodging the AMG bullet.
“When writing reviews I try to spend as much time articulating ‘why I like the thing’ as much as I do proclaiming that ‘the thing is good.’ This is strictly for the benefit of my audience; if I fail to indicate my qualifiers for good music, a reader with far-removed expectations may feel alienated or, even worse, make a blind purchase and end up wasting hard-earned Bandcamp Bucks.” Blind purchase blues.
“If only it were that simple. Completely instrumental albums are more difficult to write, I think because we are automatically drawn to voices. Without a vocalist, the tracks must be carefully composed to guide the listener’s attention and keep a sense of structural flow and integrity. Gemini is not carefully composed. Gemini doesn’t have flow and barely any structure. Rather, Gemini is a group of very talented musicians wanking onto a biscuit and hoping you’ll eat it.” Don’t eat the buttermilked biscuits.
