Mantar

Woods of Desolation – The Falling Tide Review

Woods of Desolation – The Falling Tide Review

By Ferox on December 5, 2022 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Metal, 34 comments

“Australia’s Woods of Desolation makes metal to metaphor by. The band’s evocative style of blackgaze, preoccupied with the natural world and the passage of time, provokes strong reactions from their small but passionate cadre of fans. The Falling Tide is WoD’s first album since 2014’s As the Stars. That one dropped during what can be called Peak Blackgaze, when outfits like Alcest and especially Deafheaven briefly captivated mainstream audiences and divided the backpatch set with their twinkling takes on metal’s trvest subgenre.” All star gazers.

Encryptment – Dödens Födsel Review

Encryptment – Dödens Födsel Review

By Ferox on November 17, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 24 comments

“Along comes Stockholm’s Encryptment with debut Dödens Födsel, a title that translates from their native Swedish as… wait, give me a second with Google Translate… my goodness! “Dead Fetus.” That’s grisly, but fair enough–the Kingdom of Metal is a tough place to be an angel or a fetus. Dödens Födsel was a random pluck from the Promo Sump, and I half-hoped to let it go neglected in the crush of list season and day-job deadlines. Then I pressed “play,” and the album assaulted me with a half-hour of crusty, blackened death vitriol.” Womb raider.

Mantar – Pain is Forever and This is the End Review

Mantar – Pain is Forever and This is the End Review

By Saunders on July 13, 2022 in Reviews, Sludge, 30 comments

“After smashing out three albums and gathering loads of momentum over a five-year period, Mantar have remained quiet on the recording front, aside from a collection of cover songs. Pleasingly, Mantar return with their anticipated fourth offering, boasting a cool album title and minimalistic cover art. Can Erinc (drums) and Hanno (guitars, vocals) muster the creative energy and belly fire to deliver a knockout punch?” Moretar!

Wolf King – The Path of Wrath Review

Wolf King – The Path of Wrath Review

By Saunders on March 8, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Sludge, 14 comments

“California’s Wolf King came bursting out the blocks with their impressive 2018 debut, Loyal to the Soil, a piece I covered during the annual Things You might Have Missed season. Armed with a seething attack, hybridizing extreme metal with blackened hardcore, solid riffs and chunky grooves, the album served up gnarly aggression and pissed off attitude in spades, boding well for a bright future. Now the band returns with sophomore LP, The Path of Wrath, upping the intensity and blackened quotient, while otherwise keeping the guts of the debut formula intact. Although slightly less sludge and rock riddled, Wolf King set off vibes not dissimilar to German wrecking ball Mantar, a favorable comparison to my ears.” Wolves with grievances.

Contrite Metal Guy – Mistakes Were Made

Contrite Metal Guy – Mistakes Were Made

By Saunders on January 17, 2019 in 2019, Blog Posts, Contrite Metal Guy, 100 comments

“The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. Cascading promos, unreasonable deadlines, draconian editors and the unwashed metal mobs – it makes for a swirling maelstrom of music and madness. In all that tumult, errors are bound to happen and sometimes our initial impression of an album may not be completely accurate. With time and distance comes wisdom, and so we’ve decided to pull back the confessional curtain and reveal our biggest blunders, missteps, oversights and ratings face-plants. Consider this our sincere AMGea culpa. Redemption is retroactive, forgiveness is mandatory.” Bygones begone.

Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Saunders on December 1, 2018 in American Metal, Black Metal, Grind, Hardcore, Prosthetic Records, Sludge, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Black Metal, Hardcore, Sludge, 20 comments

“Wolf King’s impressive debut LP Loyal to the Soil dropped back in April and marked the young Californian band as an act to watch. Vitriolic blackened hardcore sits at the core of Wolf King’s sound, with sludgy beat-downs and whiffs of grind fleshing out their confident and aggressive formula. Although by no means a pair of peas in a pod, there’re certainly some aesthetic and tonal similarities with Germany’s Mantar, with Wolf King arguably having the upper hand when comparing their 2018 releases.” Wolf King can do anything.

Mantar – The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze Review

Mantar – The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze Review

By Saunders on August 24, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Nuclear Blast, Punk, Reviews, Sludge, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge, 67 comments

“The Contrite Metal Guy inside me has Mantar’s powerhouse 2016 sophomore album Ode to the Flame on a shortlist for downgrading. And although I believe I was a little too generous with the scoring, the album still impressed greatly and I’ve been able to rely on the German duo for high quality punk and doom infested blackened sludge since their stunning debut, Death by Burning, dropped in 2014. It seems the rest of the world is catching on rapidly, judging by Mantar’s ever growing stature and swelling popularity within the modern metal scene. Now, The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze is in the can, along with a heaving load of anticipation for the all important third full-length opus.” Art as punishment.

4 Days of Death: The Maryland Deathfest Diaries

4 Days of Death: The Maryland Deathfest Diaries

By Mark Z. on June 16, 2018 in 2018, Blog Posts, Live Reviews, 41 comments

“Anyone who’s seen The Wire knows Baltimore can be a rough place, but on Memorial Day weekend every year, things get especially brutal. Hundreds of rabid metal fans from all over the world descend on ‘Charm City’ to participate in Maryland Deathfest, and the result is four days of moshing, headbanging, and partying like it’s 1989.” Death to all.