“Try as they might though, Ensiferum’s glory days seemingly sailed on without them after From Afar. 2017’s Two Paths aptly laid out the options before the band: death or glory. Without righting the ship fast, the hallowed melofolk act would scuttle all hope of escaping brand and exile. So they did the one thing guaranteed to sell nowadays: write some pirate metal.” Used YARR dealership.
“Collaborations in music (and metal) have been around since you were a tyke on your grandpappy’s arthritic knee. When they work, differing artists can bring out the best in each other, highlighting each other’s strengths, and masking their weaknesses. Blood Stronghold follows in this grand tradition: an international amalgamation of Australia’s Nightwolf (from Runespell) and veteran Polish drummer Krew (from numerous projects I honestly haven’t of).” Blood is thicker than…forts.
“My fine friend El Cuervo is an old soul. Not an olde soul, mind you, but getting there. We both enjoy deeply of the 70s prog scene, and one release we both dig is the late Bo Hansson’s debut from fifty years ago, Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings, or Sagan om Ringen in Swedish. Who cares? Well, we do, and so do the four Swedish individuals who comprise the psychedelic prog-doom act Kingnomad.” One prog to rule them all.
“Dawn of a Dark Age is an Italian black metal duo formed in 2014, brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Vittorio Sabelli (aka Eurynomos, also of Suici.De.Pression), currently featuring vocalist Emanuele Prandoni (aka Anamnesi of Progenie Terrestre Pura and Grind Zero). Sabelli has released five full-lengths since the project’s inception: volumes 1-5 of The Six Elements series (in order: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Spirit / Mystères). This presumably culminates in sixth full-length La Tavola Osca, even if I’m unsure what it has to do with the elements.” Bend them all.
“In the late 90s and early 00s, yours truly bombarded himself with an unhealthy amount of melodic death metal. Basically, anything and everything that came from Gothenburg, Sweden was feverishly devoured at an alarming rate. All blame goes to At The Gates, of course, but quite a few great albums came from there. Sadly, so did some absolute dreck. But there’s no denying that the groundwork that they, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames laid for bands to come, because no matter what, it just keeps coming, much to our joy and/or dismay.” Fever and syndrome.
“Come on, groove metal. I know you can do it. Elitists tend to treat you as the secondary antagonist of metal’s story, behind only to nu-metal, but between genre founders Pantera and the best bits of Machine Head’s discography, there’s still a lot of potential in this particular sound. Hell, I’ve even enjoyed the occasional DevilDriver when craving musical fast-food, which seems to be considered a heinous crime amongst some.” Groove you wrong.
“I have mixed feelings towards modern death metal. On one hand, you have a lot of bands doing pretty cool stuff, like the warped songwriting of Blood Incantation or the hardcore underpinnings of Xibalba. On the other hand, few of these modern bands are anywhere near as good as the classics. That certainly doesn’t stop them from trying, however, and Finland’s Skeletal are the latest looking to leave their mark on the scene.” Tastes like burning.
“Switzerland’s Poltergeist are a better-established band than I had initially realized. Sitting pretty with 4 previous albums spreading back to 1989, they benefit from a degree of metal legitimacy, having produced music in the same decade in which thrash metal came into existence. Following a 23-year hiatus, their 2016 comeback suitably impressed the prior AMG reviewer with their tasteful references to many of their better-known 80s contemporaries. 2020 sees their fifth full-length unveiled and it’s called Feather of Truth. Ghost ticklers.
“Having spun Ultrasound a couple of times before hitting Colours, I have to say my interest was not piqued. There was nothing wrong with Pixie Ninja’s debut outing but, as a commenter remarked on a previous instrumental record I reviewed, “yeah, this is nice, I could work to this.” On pressing play on Colours, however, I was immediately struck by the shift in mood and intensity on the band’s latest offering.” Pixie Colour Space Attack.
“DDENT is a French post-metal group from Paris, formed in 2013 and having released two full-lengths and an EP. Sporting a Pelican or Omega Massif vocal-less style, complete with post-rock dynamics, pummeling sludgy riffs, and a stunning sense of beauty within its uncompromising sound.” Post posts.
