Mar19

Athanasia – The Order of the Silver Compass Review

By Holdeneye on March 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Nu-metal, Reviews, Rock of Angels Records, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Nu Metal, 60 comments

“Our eventual overlords may be capable of incredible feats of logic and science, but they are still in their infancy when it comes to matters pertaining to the human heart. There’s something about how humans process emotional cues and meaning that the machines haven’t mastered and it shows when they’re tasked with creative work. Now, this is a metal blog, so you can probably guess where I’m going with this. What would it sound like if AI were to create a metal album to be marketed to the masses?” By the numbers.

The Mute Gods – Atheists & Believers Review

By GardensTale on March 20, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, InsideOut, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Progressive Rock, 37 comments

“With some exceptions, in a rule-of-thumb sort of way, the ‘technical’ modifier means ‘this was harder to play’ while ‘progressive’ means ‘this was harder to write.’ As such, experience is highly valued among progressive musicians especially, and progressive supergroups seem more common than other genres. The Mute Gods is another one of those, consisting of Steven Wilson’s bassist Nick Beggs and drummer Marco Minnemann, who also performs guitars here, and keyboard player Roger King who played with Nick and Steve Hackett of Genesis fame.” Great expectations.

Aephanemer – Prokopton Review

By Dr. Wvrm on March 20, 2019 in 2019, French Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Primeval Records, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 189 comments

“The vaunted sophomore album. The dreaded sophomore album. It’s a metal rite of passage nowadays, fully reflective of our hyper-streamlined society, for the raw and promising to go from who-the-fucks to our favorite bands in an insanely compressed period of time. This tends to be especially true for AMG favorites—see Wilderun, Æther Realm, Khemmis, Cân Bardd, Altars of Grief, Hamferð, etc., etc. Since the opening bars of their 2016 debut Momento Mori, I prayed that someday Aephanemer would assume their rightful place in that most hallowed legion.” One giant step.

Tempel – Tempel Review

By Mark Z. on March 20, 2019 in 2019, Hard Rock, Hardcore, Heavy Metal, Jansen Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Hard Rock, Hardcore, Heavy Metal, 29 comments

“Tempel originally caught my eye because I thought they were Tempel, the instrumental Arizona metal band whose sophomore album I reviewed back in 2015. But no, it turns out this Tempel is actually a new band formed by Kvelertak drummer Kjetil Gjermundrød, who recruited his brothers Epsen and Inge as well as longtime friend Andreas Johnson for the project. Tempel is the group’s debut album and it promises a melding of hard rock and metal in the vein of Mastodon, Kylesa, and Kvelertak themselves.” TempelARS.

Black Therapy – Echoes of Dying Memories Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 19, 2019 in 2019, Black Lion Records, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Death Doom, Melodic Death Metal, 137 comments

“Nobody sane wishes to be sad, but at some points in our lives we all have been, and it’s beyond dispute that emotional pain will be a part of our future. This begs the question of why we metalheads tend to seek out and enjoy music that evokes feelings of sorrow and listen for our own enjoyment. I’ve always found melancholy set to music a beautiful thing but have never considered why I’ve found it so. Perhaps it’s because to mourn a loss, a man must care deeply about that which has departed. Perhaps it’s the ubiquity of sorrow, and the sad song’s reminder that we’re not alone in our perils. Perhaps it’s the confronting of melancholy through music which gives us courage and makes us feel like we’ve faced down that which we feared. Perhaps it’s none or all these things, or perhaps more.” Therapeutic suffering.

Gomorrah – Gomorrah Review

By Grymm on March 19, 2019 in 2019, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, No Light Records, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 218 comments

“Confession time: I am not the biggest fan of technical death metal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the classics, such as Death and Atheist, as well as choice cuts from Cynic. But the genre as a whole suffers from either too many scale acrobatics, or way too much chugging on the low string on a 7-, 8-, or even 9-string guitar to even warrant such a overly abused tag such as “technical.” In other words, technical metal bores me to tears most of the time. You know what doesn’t bore me, though? Canada’s Gomorrah.” Smile back at this death.

Bloodbound – Rise of the Dragon Empire Review

By Steel Druhm on March 19, 2019 in 2019, AFM Records, Power Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Power Metal, 76 comments

“I miss Swordborn. I really do. He was up on all the latest power metal cheddar and well steeped in the genre’s Gouda, bad and ugly. With him inexplicably missing in action, I’m tasked with more power metal glory than I’ve been since the primordial days of AMG. That means taking the bitter with the sweet and brother, there’s a lot of bitter out there. That brings us to Sweden’s Bloodbound, who began life as a traditional metal act helmed by the great Urban Breed. After he left the band, they shifted from classic to power metal, and since 2014s Stormborn, they’ve been playing the Game of Thrones, delivering tales of dragons, empires, and orcs with somewhat uneven results.” Train your dragon.

Omicida – Defrauded Reign Review

By Holdeneye on March 18, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 44 comments

“Why fight such labels? It’s far easier to lean in and double down! With this in mind, I’ve been champing at the bit to issue my first 5.0 rating because I’ve found that dismemberment is best handled like ripping off a Band-aid. Why wait? Naturally, I picked up the sophomore album from London (via Los Angeles) band Omicida, as two of its members have spent time in AMG darling White Wizzard, with one of them (drummer Giovanni Durst) even attaining Happy Metalperfection.” You were told not to speak of them.

Venom Prison – Samsara Review

By Kronos on March 18, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, English Metal, Grind, Prosthetic Records, Releases, Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 135 comments

“The band’s grindy, slammy death metal draws many parallels to Cattle Decaptitation, whether it’s their everything-but-the-kitchen sink approach to riffing, their sudden outbursts of groove, or their vicious takes on social injustice. Samsara has no dull edges, no safe entrances, and a complete lack of regard for your safety.” Limited safe spaces.

Superlynx – New Moon Review

By Cherd on March 16, 2019 in 2019, Dark Essence Records, Doom Metal, Norwegian Metal, Occult Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Doom Metal, Occult Rock, 47 comments

“Stoner doom can frequently be heard in the House of Cherd. I enjoy it in my rotation, being, as I am, of Doom. Mrs. Cherd, however, takes particular delight in it. Whenever we’re doing housework to one of her playlists, it’s not uncommon for three Windhand songs from different albums to be followed by Bongzilla, then Electric Wizard, all while she promises that there are other genres in there and the next song probably won’t be stoner doom.” Family friendly doom.