“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.
![Theophonos – Nightmare Visions [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/a4256426977_0-768x768.jpeg)
“Nightmare Visions is a blackened grindcore debut from Michigan’s Theophonos, the brainchild of Jimmy Hamzey (Serpent Column). If that genre label sounds unappetizing, don’t let that deter you. Theophonos took every hard rock and metal song released since 1967, crammed them all into a woodchipper, and assembled the mangled output into a blackened 30-minute hydra. Miraculously, it works.” NightmareER!!
“There is something familiar and charming about what Green Lung do and do so well. Blending the likes of Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Boston and more, the band harks back to an earlier time and, on Black Harvest, managed to do that with their own voice. However, there are lots of other things I can reach to for comfort and familiarity, perhaps explaining why I haven’t reached for Black Harvest until thinking about this review. What staying power does This Heathen Land have?” Of Lungs and lands.
“We all have our dirty metal secrets that we selfishly keep to ourselves, only sharing with a select few close to us. Or alternatively, we incessantly talk up underground gems and spread the gospel to anyone that will listen, as we cherish our slice of underground cred. Into the Obscure aims to right the wrongs and unearth the artists/albums that for whatever unjust reason didn’t get the exposure, appreciation or credit they sorely deserved the first time round.” Master! Master!
“Does innovation matter in metal? I often seem to find myself saying something along the lines of: “[insert band name here] isn’t really doing anything new here but perhaps they’re not really trying to.” Is ‘not doing anything new’ inherently a criticism? There’s no point asking London, UK’s Green Lung, as they’ve been too busy to care, absolutely nailing their brand of Black Sabbath worship.” Ancient airs.
“1996 represented a challenging year for Rage Against the Machine. It was 4 years after their incendiary debut, Rage Against the Machine, had deftly combined metal and rap, and before nu metal was considered the leper of metal genres. There were already clear creative differences within the band, with front man Zack de la Rocha occasionally at odds with his band-mates. Whereas the songs for Rage had developed organically and spontaneously, the follow-up, Evil Empire, was proving to be a much more labored affair, taking over 2 years to write and perform.” Against empires forlorn.
“Calyces’ mastermind is singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Manthos Stergiou, late of Tardive Dyskinesia. This time around, Stergiou and his bandmates are going for a sound that is heavily influenced by Mastodon, Baroness, and Tool. This has been done to death, so the key to making it work is writing great songs and establishing your own original take on those bands’ sounds.” Impulse to ape.
“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.
“I found myself wondering whether the members of Freddy and the Phantoms who aren’t the eponymous vocalist/keyboardist Frederick (Freddy) Schnoor write down “Phantom at Freddy and the Phantoms” on their resume. The promo material did not answer this pressing question, so I’ll happily assume they do. Also on the resume of any given Phantom is participation in one of 2015’s best rock records: Times of Division.” Rocking the stars.
“Picture a scene of domestic bliss lockdown homelife, as Mrs. Carcharodon enters to the kitchen, where yours truly is playing with the shark pup, and, after a lengthy pause, asks: “Is this one of your promos? It’s actually pretty good—sort of reminds me of Nick Cave in one of his alter egos like Grinderman.” An astute observation and one that got me wondering, what are the limits or boundaries to what we do and do not review here on this ol’ metal review site.” Power metal, and only power metal.
