“Kryptograf cite influences that include Witchcraft, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Black Sabbath, and it all fits. Between the band lineup—two guitarists, three vocalists, plus bass and drums—and a healthy helping of fuzz that permeates without overpowering, Kryptograf wears its ‘60s influences loudly and proudly.” Fuzzy navel gazing.
“We don’t get much metal from the tiny island nation of Malta. It has a smaller population than my home town in New York and the AMG archives reveal coverage of only 3 other acts hailing from that neck of the Mediterranean. Now melodic death metal crew Angelcrypt is lucky number 4 to make the leap with their second album, Dawn of the Emperor.” Malt-metal.
“There are times that that little hunger for the visceral creeps up, and I need to have that itch at the very least tickled, and only the most extreme of extreme metal can satisfy that particular pang. Do Aussie newcomers Nemesium succeed in flaying my skin raw with their debut, Continua?” Rage show.
“I’m just now becoming aware of the fact that reviewing previously unknown (to me), established black metal bands with solid discographies has become one of my favorite hobbies. Last fall brought me Germany’s Krater, with their well-produced and varied venomous assault. Last month saw me covering Finland’s …and Oceans, a band that blasted onto the scene again after nearly twenty years of silence with an album that effectively displayed the band’s evolutionary past. And now I’ve spent the last several weeks spinning Effigy of Nightmares from Cincinnati band Valdrin.” Effigy of the unforgotten.
“Sometimes I wonder how much bigger metal would be if more people were to give it an honest chance. Most people are put off by the surface-level noisiness of the music and its inherent aggression, without realizing its cathartic value.” Juiced.
“I find myself greatly missing Hail of Bullets these past few years. That Dutch band of battle-hardened warriors had a truly great sound and knew how to craft devastating death metal ditties that stuck in your brain pan like a bayonet with a serrated edge. Perhaps that’s why the full-length debut by Indiana upstarts, Obscene clubbed me so brutally about the head, neck and buttocks.” Death porn.
“Angry Metal Guy’s latest n00b interrupts your regularly scheduled black metal to bring the ultimate question: is power metal metal? “It has the word metal in it, so of course it is, you babbling bumbling baboon,” you say. I get it, and it’s been proven again and again, but while various facets of the metalverse have to justify why they’re not rock, power metal is one of the only styles that must justify why it’s not pop.” Justify our love.
“Their debut in 2018 was received poorly by the respective probationary writer, noting that it suffered from “conflating incomprehensible fury and aimless blasting with gripping riffs and relentless aggression.” While it was slightly underrated, and this at least demonstrates that not all of the probationary writers were overrating bastards (though all the ones who made the cut are), it was far from essential and hardly suggested that there were great things to come. Enter 2020 and Providence.” New year, new gear.
“The promo blurb had promised me that Sarpa, although rooted in the black metal aesthetic, incorporates a lot of other elements, including some Afro/Latin rhythms! Have I got a blackened Sepultura on my hands or a misguided attempt to make world-music black metal?” Kitchen sink-core.
“I first heard of Ebonivory due to Caligula’s Horse. These guys were supposed to open for the Horse on their North American tour this year, but of course that was cancelled. It did prompt me to hit up Bandcamp and purchase their discography (two EPs and an LP), which turned out to be really good. References can definitely be made between these guys and other Australian prog acts such as Voyager, Karnivool, and Dead Letter Circus. Fast forward a couple of months and here we are, with a brand new release from these Aussies.” Perfect harmony?
