Jun19

Those Darn Gnomes – Calling Whitetails to a Tuned Bow Review

By Huck N Roll on June 26, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Avante Garde, Death Metal, Nefarious Industries, Noise, Non-Metal Metal Things, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Avante Garde, Death Metal, Noise, Non-metal Metal Things, Progressive Metal, 20 comments

“Imagine being at a party with your musician pals. They’re all very accomplished. Suddenly, they decide to put on an impromptu jam. Everybody joins in–like, a dozen people. They decide they’re going to play, oh, I don’t know, some weird number, like from Harry Partch or something. Only they all play a different Partch composition at the same time, and add some slam poetry, pound on some homemade instruments, and one guy starts growling death metal vocals. Now comes the choose your own adventure part: do you sit there mesmerized, in awe of the spectacle unfolding, or do you stand up and leave due to your churning stomach, unable to handle the confluence of disparate styles, rhythms, and sounds? Welcome to Those Darn Gnomes.” Chaos is a ladder.

Lyken21 – Cyclical Insight Review

By Lord Doom on June 25, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Sliptrick Records, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“Bands who churn up a variety of styles within their sound present some challenges to music consumers and the journalists who cover them. On the one hand they provide a host of talking points in a single review, while on the other they make it difficult to categorize and pigeonhole. And there is nothing wrong with that, per se. One glance at where heavy metal music has drifted from its 1970s roots is all it takes to affirm that these mash-ups of styles can and often do enrich the genre.” Genre pile-up ahead.

Bloodred Hourglass – Godsend Review

By Holdeneye on June 25, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Out of Line Music, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 45 comments

“Last year, no fewer than eight AMG staff members placed Queen of Time by Amorphis somewhere on their year end list. If you’re reading this and happen to be one of the eight people whose names are written in bolded burnt orange in support of that album on this page — especially if your name starts with Angry and ends in Guy — please stop reading now and go about your business elsewhere. I’ll be honest with you, I never once made it all the way through that album in one sitting despite trying in earnest six times. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love on Queen of Time, but that’s just it — there’s a lot of it. The sugary melodies are great, but the album and most of its songs are far too long and there is not enough heaviness to balance out the pop. I was content to remain silent in my dissent until I began spinning Godsend, the fourth record from a different Finnish band, Bloodred Hourglass.” Hourglass houses and stones.

Temple Koludra – Seven! Sirens! To a Lost Archetype Review

By Master of Muppets on June 25, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Transcending Obscurity, Death Metal, 25 comments

“Throughout the untold eons that have comprised my existence thus far, I’ve found myself entangled in countless trysts with the myriad subgenres ov metal. Seasons pass, empires rise and fall, and as the face of humanity changes so does the soundtrack to my omnipresence. My point: I’ve been everywhere in the metalsphere, man, and though I have my preferences and proclivities, I’ll always respect death metal above all. There’s an earnest fervor found and felt throughout the genre at large, and it’s to death metal that I turn whenever I feel burnt out by a deluge of musical sameness.” Death for life.

Tar Pit – Tomb of Doom Review

By Carcharodon on June 24, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Doom Metal, Ordo MCM Records, Reviews, Sludge, Stoner Rock, Sludge, 29 comments

“There is, at least to my ears, a point at which doom, stoner rock, and sludge all intersect, at which point it’s hard to definitively class a band one thing or the other. This is perhaps unsurprising, given the common roots these sub-genres all share in Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Trouble, et al. And it is this murky, fuzzy point of overlap that Portland, Oregon four-piece Tar Pit inhabit and do so quite knowingly and unashamedly.” Stuck in the pit.

Thenighttimeproject – Pale Season Review

By Grymm on June 24, 2019 in 2019, Debemur Morti, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Progressive Rock, 24 comments

“It’s been a hot minute since I even remotely touched anything Katatonia-related. That’s not out of complete and utter disownership of a great band, mind you. I’ve just been bombarded with so much doom and black metal that keeping up with them can be a bit difficult. So when word that former members the Brothers Norrman had not only put out a new October Tide album, but also the second full-length album from their prog-rock outfit Thenighttimeproject, I figured a reacquainting/discovery mission was in order.” Night shift.

Ascend the Hollow – Echoes of Existence Review

By Kenstrosity on June 24, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Deathcore, Dr. Music Records, Dutch Metal, Electronica Metal, German Metal, Industrial Metal, Irish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Melodic Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Electronic Metal, Industrial Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 52 comments

“I am ashamed. Why? Because I almost let this badass record slip through my greedy clutches. You see, my good friend (who we know as Septic ’round these parts) randomly pops in now and again to apprise me on some of his choice metallic discoveries. He introduced Irish/German/Dutch quartet Ascend the Hollow to me and I was instantly hooked. Like, so fast my head spun. I needed to share my excitement for Echoes of Existence with as many people as possible, but how? It would’ve been grand if we received promo, I thought. Then, all of a sudden I received a virtual sucker punch while rooting around the bin—the thing’s been sitting there since the end of April! How in the actual heck did I miss that??? And lo I experienced great embarrassment. I nearly neglected one of the coolest new bands to materialize out of absolute nowhere this year.” Finder of nearly lost things.

Driving Slow Motion – Arda Review

By Carcharodon on June 23, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, American Metal, Experimental Metal, Fail Safe Audio Recordings, Instrumental Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Ambient Metal, Experimental Metal, Post-Metal, 12 comments

“Gauging by the comments section on a recent post-metal review that I penned, it would seem that a lot of people are over anything post-y. What better way to win new fans and friends than to write up an experimental, instrumental, post-rock collective? Hmm, on reflection, this could be a hard sell.” Coffee is for closers.

Hell Bent – Apocalyptic Lamentations Review

By Saunders on June 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 6 comments

“Hailing from Rhode Island and boasting a moniker indicative of their mode of destruction, Hell Bent create metal sympathetic for the time poor modern metalhead, unleashing a livewire debut LP which shreds through nine potent songs in a mere 23 minutes. Before you ask, Apocalyptic Lamentations is not a grindcore album but rather a raw, punk-infected slab of death-thrash that aims right for the jugular and does not let up.” Reigning Hell.

Glare of the Sun – Theia Review

By Master of Muppets on June 21, 2019 in 2019, Austrian Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Lifeforce Records, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, 72 comments

“This site has introduced me to countless gems that have captivated me and permanently improved my life in inimitable ways, yet even my most heartfelt exercises in overrating have failed to yield ‘that’ album unto me… until now. With Theia, the sophomore full-length from Austria’s Glare of the Sun, I have found completion, something that fills my Muppet void in ways that would make Ron Jeremy blush.” Sun worshiping.