“It seems Emmanuelle Tito, the man behind the Alchimia project, has a feel for classicism. The fusion of painted, classical artwork with overt utilization of Italian and Latin on Musa, his first release under this alias, depict a desire for a particular grandiosity which travels beyond the blue collar roots of metal.” He must be one of them fancy boys.
“Few could argue that the current Italian extreme metal scene is in poor health. Synthesizing a mixture of brutality and technicality to topple all manner of Renaissance genius, a cornucopia of bands have thundered from the woodwork in the last decade or so to propagate their brand of air-tight demolition. That said, as much as I love a good aural beating, I also require a pinch of musicality to help differentiate from the faceless hordes. Hideous Divinity, a band whose lineup includes current and former members of Aborted and Hour of Penance, have occasionally toed a fine line for me.” Tech-death from the old country.
“One of my favorite things about writing for Angry Metal Guy Unlimited, LLC is when I’m blindsided by a new band. Quiescence, the 2014 debut album by Italian doomsters Shores of Null, impressed the hell out of me with their wonderful combination of Daylight Dies riding with Alice in Chains en route to an Amorphis gig, and landed themselves on my Top Ten(ish) list of that year. Here we are three years later, and they return with their eagerly-awaited follow-up, the dreary Black Drapes for Tomorrow.” Comfortably null.
“Until recently, Arthemis had been one of around a few dozen bands I’d always had a mild curiosity for but had never bothered to closely investigate. I’m convinced the only reason I knew of their existence was because they included Power Quest’s vocalist and guitarist (Alessio Garavello and Andrea Martongelli, respectively) amongst their ranks, though now only the latter remains in the band. I also vaguely remembered them from high school as one of a handful of power metal bands that had a propensity for including bare breasts on their album covers, which always struck me as an ironic practice for what might be metal’s least sexy genre.” From Power Quest to Power Chests.
“Hey, you! Yeah, that’s right, I know you and your ilk, only scurrying out of your hatch for a new record if the music is heavier than a dying panda reading Sartre and the album is only available in limited release as sheet music stapled to the bathroom door in an abandoned hospital. Well, you better slink back to your cobweb-ridden hovel as Life-Related Symptoms by Anewrage is none of those things.” Time to appreciate the gentler things in life.
“There’re as many ways to suck as there are to rock. There’re bands like Akoma and Starkill that make watered down, lowest common denominator crap. There’re can’t-be-arsed bands like Green Bastard that sound uninterested in their own music. And there’re the inept enthusiasts, of which newcomers Dusius might be the patron saint. This band clearly love what they do, but most of it is truly, genuinely bad.” We are bad, and that’s good. We will never be good, and that’s not bad.
“There are plenty of underground gems out there, unsigned bands full of youthful energy, small-time groups without major label support, and skilled veterans in the scene that just don’t do music for a living. But for every great artist waiting to be discovered, there are ten just not worth unearthing. I’ve found another one; don’t continue reading.” That’s a joke. Keep reading!
“I like folk metal. It’s best when it takes the form of black metal infused with instrumentation and arrangements native to its respective country. Saor, Panopticon, and Nechochwen are truly great examples of this. The upbeat frolics of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, and their ilk are not merely average by comparison but actively annoying. I find their attempts at inducing happiness grating and vapid. There are logically two conclusions which I would likely reach following my random selection of Atlas Pain’s What the Oak Left: delight or irritation.” Not liking Korpiklaani is like hating dogs.
“Recall, if you can, your first exposure to black metal. If you’re a grizzled follower of the genre, its sinister novelties have become an aspect of your daily listenings that ceased to faze you long ago. I imagine, however, that you reacted to your first encounter with the style much in the same way your parents would; a knee-jerk response of “what the fuck am I listening to?” that shocked you in a way music never had before. My initial listen of Italian duo Lorn’s Arrayed Claws instantly recalled my reaction to the loss of my black metal virginity.” You never forget your first.
“Despite trying to sound like Death SS via their humble beginnings as a tribute to those guys, Deathless Legacy comes across more as a soporific Halloween-themed Nightwish, but with worse vocals. There are plenty of keyboards, and the tempos don’t generally get too lively. Sadly, ‘Monster Mash’ may actually make for an apt comparison.” So much for the Transylvanian Twist.
