“Tolkien metal is actually a thing. For those that haven’t come across it prior to now, it’s a subgenre of black metal that’s supposedly more atmospheric and ambient with lyrics entirely based around Tolkien’s works. Summoning are the forerunners of the genre, but it looks like they have a little competition in the shape of Serbian band Númenor.” Nerds. Be. Raging (and LARPING).
“I guess you could say this is Happy Metal Guy’s version of Angry Metal Guy’s well-known article on objectivity mixed with Steel Druhm’s rant about the trials of a music reviewer. In research methodology, there is a phenomenon called “carry-over effects”. This refers to the problem of a previous experimental treatment’s effects on research subjects carrying over to the next experiment the subjects are participating in, which is likely to confound the results of that experiment.” In one of the strangest posts ever at AMG, Happy Metal Guy dons a lab coat and attempts to redefine the ongoing struggle for reviewer objectivity through the prism of science, scientology, phrenology, eugenics and other illegal human experimentation. In short, he aims to blind us all…with (junk) SCIENCE!
“As the only blackened thrash band willing to sing about fishing and fish generally, Kalmah always had a special place in my outdoorsy heart. I mean, who else can make simple tales of man vs. fish seem so epic and life threatening? I was impressed by their first four outings (with Swampsong being my favorite), but I felt really let down by their For the Revolution opus, which felt quite tedious. While things kicked back up for the enjoyable and energetic 12 Gauge, it still felt like a band entering the “spinning the wheels” period of their career. Thankfully, Seventh Swamphony sees these psychotic fishermen make a triumphant return to the off-the-rails, blackened thrash of old which straddles the line between the melodic tomfoolery of Children of Bodom and more extreme, cvlt black/death acts.” Do you like blackended catfish metal like Steel Druhm does? If so, you best don the hip waders and read all about the return of the swamp lords.
“Eternal Tears of Sorrow is an exceptionally fruity band name. The mere mention of it conjures images of a self-serious, black-garbed goth band (see photos) with a sultry, pouty femme fatale as front woman. If the name was keeping you away, you missed out on a quality band that blended black metal with melodic death, goth rock and symphonic power metal with good to great results. While I enjoyed all their albums, their crowning achievement was 2009’s Children of the Dark Water, which hit on the perfect combination of bombast, dark atmosphere, extremity, beauty and song writing that was shockingly good from stem to stern. At times it sounded like Cradle of Filth at their most symphonic mixed with early Cemetery, with traces of Kalmah, Insomnium and Amorphis added for good measure. After waiting over three years for a follow-up, we finally get Saivon Lapsi and with the long wait after such a great album, expectations were unavoidably high.” So… does this live up to those great expectations, or is it more of a bleak house? Get it? [YOU’RE FIRED! – AMG]
It’s the Record O the Month for December and now the beloved Madam X is here to give you the down n’ dirty on it. She seems pretty excited about it.
Who would have thought that an icy wasteland would be good for the music community, it seems ice inspires insane speeds and death metal! A few weeks back, in my review of Kontinuum’s Earth Blood Magic, I commented on the metal kick-assery that’s making its way out of Iceland (and in particular Reykjavík), and at the time of their review another band aggressively caught my attention, doggedly refusing to let my mind rest! In true shit-happens style I ended up missing their release date and now you have a retrospective review of Beneath’s Enslaved by Fear [I feel shame at my tardiness].
never heard of these guys before and didn’t know what to expect but they’re described as folk/viking black metal from Germany. Finis Terrae is their third platter and features guest appearances from members of Heidevolk and Equilibrium. Since I wasn’t able to locate their earlier works, I can’t speak intelligently about how this stacks up to their past material but I can say this isn’t what I expected from a viking/folk group. Instead, a lot of Finis Terrae reminds me of a mid-paced, way more melodic version of Children of Bodom with some hints of Kalmah appearing throughout as well. Only during the back half of the album does KromleK employ what could be considered a traditional viking/black metal style and by then it seems out of place after all the COB-lite noodling. Thus, this becomes a tale of two half albums that don’t necessarily compliment each other. While I was pleasantly surprised by the strange, progressive approach on some of the material here, things get pretty uneven and spotty as things move along. What we get left with is a confusing mish-mash of styles and intentions.
Those well-versed in the metal arts may see a band named Disdain and expect a dose of brutal death metal or possibly some frostbitten and bitter black metal. In this case however, the name is quite misleading. Disdain’s debut album Leave This World reveals a Swedish troupe bringing a somewhat unique spin to the traditional power metal sound and sounding far more experienced and professional than you might expect. This may owe to the fact that these guys have been in existence since the late 90’s and at one time even included Nightwish’s Anette Olzon on vocals. I can already hear the chorus of power metal bashers out there (you know who you are) screaming about how much crappy power metal is already on the shelves these days and how there isn’t room for any more whether it’s good, bad or ugly. Well, doubters be damned! Disdain has managed a rare feat and rise above most of their peers with this release while managing to avoid the many pitfalls that doom lesser power metal bands.
It’s hard to imagine a modern metal without Finnish bands, isn’t it? These guys have been pushing the scene forward for quite a while after having burst onto it with such a forceful manner a decade (or more) ago. One of the bands that has been sadly overlooked in this process has been Kalmah. These guys, while popular, have often taken a back seat to bands like Ensiferum and Children of Bodom in the international scene. This is a shame, because at least The Black Waltz put everything that Children of Bodom ever put out to shame and they make some of the later Ensiferum stuff look pretty weak, as well. While For the Revolution was a pretty big letdown for many fans, Kalmah has returned in 2010 with a scorcher called 12 Gauge.
