“I’m a sucker for a gnarly album cover. Give me a detailed image of a zombie, ghoul or otherwise undead creature holding a bladed instrument for use in committing appalling acts, and I’m a happy guy. It was this passion for putridity that led me to choose Into the Abysmal Void, the fifth album by Gothenburg, Sweden-based death metallers Carnal Savagery.” Void noids.
“As metal spawns an ever-growing army of combo meals, sometimes it’s nice to go back to the basics. Finland’s Byron, previously reviewed here by our gone-but-not-forgotten Huck n’ Roll, peddle a brand of occult rock with dashes of NWoBHM. Led by drummer Johannes Lahti—styling himself as Byron V—the band has emerged four years after their debut The Omega Evangelion with follow-up Chapter II: The Lotus Covenant.” Tentacle tantrums.
“Black metal is a finnicky beast. While it’s cohesively devoted to the barbed-wire sonic abuse of the darkest variety, and themes range from the occult, misanthropy, and our old pal Satan, The Infernal Sea dwells in history’s halls. While prior full-lengths Negotium Crucis and The Great Mortality respectively deal with themes such as the medieval church’s exploitation and the Black Death, 2024 finds the Brits exploring a distinct figure: the “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins.” Witch hammering on the coast.
“My name is Clyde, and I arrive from beyond with terrible news.”
And then things got weird. As does Dissimulator.
“The Chasm have been cracking skulls since 1994 with their riff-intensive, wildly creative death metal. Over the years they evolved from ass-scratching caveman death to technical insanity engineers, but skulls were always smashed just the same. Though I’ve been a fan forever, somehow I missed that The Chasm’s bassist/guitarist/vocalist Daniel Corchado had an epic/trve metal side project called Acerus and had been releasing albums since 2014. For this, I feel great shame and now I must make amends. The Caliginous Serenade is their fourth release and this one will be properly exposed to the AMG masses!” Ride of the Gorge Warriors.
“I’d be a fool for not giving Almost Dead some credit for not giving two fucks what anyone thinks of their straightforward and sometimes strange style. That said, Destruction Is All We Know is the oddest album of them all—no doubt with some help from dial and toggle man Zac “Friend o’ the Blog” Orhen.” Odd Fellows warchest.
“I got a chance to see Knoll live in 2022 shortly after the manic Metempiric dropped. All in all, only twenty people scattered about my favorite hometown venue—a homely bar with a solid stage attached to a bowling alley. This ragtag group of kids who looked to be no older than high school graduates gave the performance of a lifetime—gut-churning rhythms, sudden breakaways from ripping guitar phrases to crying trumpet blares, a vocalist whose life depended on the successful bleeding of the audience’s ears. Knoll represents the ideal of youthful ambition. As Spoken is the result.” Young horrors.
“Sometimes a band offers exactly what you want. One glance at Night Stealer by Savaged gave me all I needed to choose it from the promo dump. A roaring space panther scratching a moon in front of an exploding planet? This is exactly the volume-upping, beer-downing, old man-moshing palate cleanser that I needed after a black metal review. Though Spain may not be known for such loutish behavior, Savaged are keen to stake a place for it at heavy/speed metal’s dinner table.” Wild days, Savaged nights.
“”Modern melodic metal” is a term that wants to say a lot, but in reality conveys very little. More often than not this is a thin disguise for “pop-oriented,” and such is the case before us today. Formed in 2015 and with three previous LP’s under their belt, Sweden’s Metalite seem to have flown under the radar here at AMG HQ. This could be due to an omnipresent dairy allergy circling The Skullpit™, or the aforementioned genre tag provided by the band’s label.” In space no one can hear you be mellow.
“Ah, Lucifer. I remember listening to their self-titled debut album back in 2015 and being immediately hooked by the killer pipes of frontwoman Johanna Platow Andersson and their take on fuzzy, doomy occult rock. But as I sit here to craft a review of Lucifer’s fifth album (aptly titled Lucifer V), I must admit that after that very first dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, I haven’t listened to them much in the intervening years.” New year, same Devil.
