Jan19

Necrutero – Metallo Review

Necrutero – Metallo Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 16, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 30 comments

“Recently while at a burrito shop, the worst fate befell me that can strike any poor customer of the food industry: the girl behind the counter got all my portions wrong. Sorrow enveloped me as a few paltry pieces of meat were laid out sparsely across the shell, the cheese meagerly scattered, the vegetables a seeming afterthought. What was presented to me was not the glorious bursting-at-the-seams juicy platter of expectations, but a vaguely meat flavored, vegetable sampling, cheese encrusted shell. The quality of the food—the succulent beef, the crispy lettuce—was overshadowed by a miserly portion at the hands of a blasé employee.” What the hell does this have to do with the Italian deathy thrash band Necrutero!? Click to find out!

10:13 – Result of an Iron Age Review

10:13 – Result of an Iron Age Review

By Dear Hollow on February 14, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, 29 comments

“I think we can all agree that the world is fucked. I was a middle school librarian for a few years and, while the majority of the population consisted of illiterate miscreants, the smarty-pants who could actually read (anything besides the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid) would always go for a dystopian/post-apocalyptic book. From the holy trinity of Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Divergent to newer and depressing takes on the genre, I’m convinced there’s gotta be something masochistic about indulging in a future whose bleakness rests solely on human shoulders, but every few years a new book or new movie will convince us again that such a future is inevitable without serious change. This brings us to newcomer 10:13, a new instrumental black metal act from the United States, whose sole member is multi-instrumentalist Neil Carter.” In the Age of Iron, they were metal.

Trollfest – Norwegian Fairytales Review

Trollfest – Norwegian Fairytales Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 10, 2019 in 2019, Folk Metal, NoiseArt Records, Folk Metal, 57 comments

“We’ve all heard heavy metal criticized for taking itself too seriously or, even more common, being so angry! I enjoy music that tackles tough topics like war, death, history and literature as much as the next angry metal guy, but sometimes it’s important to shake things up and take the piss. Behold Trollfest, a Balkan-folk inspired metal band known for their made-up troll language (a combination of German and Norwegian) who are about to drop their eighth full-length album, Norwegian Fairytales, on NoiseArt Records. They’re a metal band at heart, but if these nutcases are ever accused of taking anything too seriously or being too angry, I’ll eat my lederhosen.” Huh, apparently this n00b owns Lederhosen. Now we ALL know!

Rifftera – Across the Acheron Review

Rifftera – Across the Acheron Review

By Doom_et_Al on February 10, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 37 comments

“From a metal perspective, 2019 has been decidedly underwhelming so far. When the promo bin threw me a melo-death album by a band whose name sounds like an adolescent parody of iconic metal giants, I had little hope that things would improve. This sophomore effort by Finnish band Rifftera follows 2015’s Pitch Black; a self-produced smorgasbord of melodic death metal, thrash, power and prog, smashed together with the grace of a junkyard compactor, and then played with the dial at 11. It was fun, but it was a mess.” Have these Finnish melodeath-thrashers gotten their shit together?

Gloryful – Cult of Sedna Review

Gloryful – Cult of Sedna Review

By Twelve on February 9, 2019 in 2019, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 71 comments

“Back in 2016, Gloryful, a “true metal/heavy metal” act from Germany, released End of the Night, a record that capably demonstrated that heavy metal without energy isn’t really heavy metal. That record, while far from gripping, did display hints of promise here and there, suggestions that with a renewed focus, the band could put out something really engaging. Over two years later, Gloryful returns with Cult of Sedna, their fourth full-length, and the question looms: that energy, that “aspect above and beyond” that was absent last time. Is it back? Is it here?” Glory whole.

Desecravity – Anathema Review

Desecravity – Anathema Review

By Ferrous Beuller on February 9, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Japanese Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Willowtip, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 28 comments

“Japan probably isn’t top of the list of countries responsible for propagating the most volatile of technical death metal. Desecravity clearly don’t care for the geographical rank and file, however, as their hyper-proficient assault takes absolutely no prisoners. Anathema is the band’s third foray into profuse precision and exhibits a startling standard of musicianship. But, as with all overtly technical genres, there lingers an elephant in the room… What good is inimitable skill without commensurate song writing? I’ve lost count of the amount of bands I’ve heard over the years who exist, seemingly solely, as an extreme guitar clinic. No attention to structure, no time spent on foundation. Fortunately, Desecravity seem to be aware of this to some degree, but they aren’t entirely out of the woods yet…” Killed by tech.

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2019

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2019

By Angry Metal Guy on February 4, 2019 in 2019, Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 273 comments

One month down in 2019 and we’re off to the races. January was by most accounts—excepting the eventual contrarians in the comments section, a relatively disappointing month. After an almost overwhelming and backloaded 2018, the first month of 2019 felt like a pretty tepid start to the year. Fortunately, there were still some diamonds in the rough. So here’s three albums—two which received the reviews they deserved and one which was unfairly maligned—that I think that you should give your consideration from January of 2019.

Epitimia – Thread Review

Epitimia – Thread Review

By Lokasenna on February 3, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Folk, Naturmacht Productions, Reviews, Russian Metal, Black Metal, Folk, 43 comments

“There are few things that pair with black metal quite like dark ambient, but one of them is folk music. This goes double for the somber folk music of the more frigid Slavic regions. While tried and (sometimes) true acts like Drudkh are around, they aren’t the only stalwart Slavs to play in this sandbox. Enter Russian hybrid act Epitimia, fielding a formula mixing folk, dark ambient, and black metal for four albums now. Like many Russian bands, they smartly write only in their mother tongue (always a positive in my book). But at Angry Metal Guy Headquarters, lyrics are only a small slice in the rankings.” Pull the Thread and see what happens.