“A hierophant – a word I was dimly aware of but confess that I had to look up – is a person who leads the religious into the presence of that which is deemed holy by the relevant congregation. It also a card in the tarot deck and at least one of its meanings is that of a teacher or counselor who aids the seeker in the acquisition of knowledge. Both of these meanings are wholly appropriate for Bay Area trio Forlesen’s debut, Hierophant Violent. I would estimate that, since beginning my tenure serfdom here at AMG, my musical consumption has increased by upwards of 80% and I was listening to a lot before I started. And yet it’s rare indeed that an album hits me like Hierophan Violent did.” Elephantine Hierophant.
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90s Metal Weirdness: Testament – Low
Cast your minds back to a time when metal music was not cool. Nay, indeed, a time when metal was anathema to all that was considered to be “chic” and “in.” A time when your favorite bands were actually encouraged by the music industry to play slower, cut their hair, and write sensitive lyrics about their childhoods. Yes, this unfortunately really happened.
Our new semi-irregular feature “90s Metal Weirdness” focuses on albums released between 1992 and 2001 and which we all probably would rather forget. But in the service of publicly shaming the musicians involved, we have pushed forward.