“No joke: the day I found out Death Alley’s new record was coming out, I was jamming hard to Captain Beyond and Blue Öyster Cult. It was as if my craving for some old-school rock reached across the ocean to the Netherlands. Not only did Death Alley hear my call, they answered it—with Superbia. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t much for religious interventions or anything but, my god, I almost picked up the Bible after that.” It’s bible good!
“It’s now been over a decade since King Diamond released an album. It’s almost been two decades since Mercyful Fate’s final record. Hell, the last time the King released a full-length disc, yours truly was is Mr. A.N. Grier. How fucking sad is that? As you can imagine, I’ve been dead inside since 2007.” Leave a Candle lit for the King.
“Crucifyre are no strangers to the crucible of the Angry Metal Guy review. Way back in 2014, Madam X pilloried Crucifyre’s Black Magic Fire for “mimicking what’s been done before” and its “lack of adventure.” It appears the band took at least one of those criticisms to heart. Past adding a new vocalist and a new bassist, third try Post Vulcanic Black plays up the band’s quirks, sounding more eclectic and experimental than ever before (at least as far as death-thrash goes).” Evolve or die.
“Tribulation have been on an interesting career path as of late. While their early works could be loosely classified as Swedish death metal a la Entombed, the band gradually began to bring in other influences and become something else entirely. As of 2015’s The Children Of The Night, the band was taking cues from such diverse sources as Mercyful Fate and Sisters Of Mercy,, and seemed to have learned a few things from former tourmates In Solitude, with excellent results. I was curious about what Tribulation would do next, and with the impending release of Down Below, it looks like I’m about to find out.” Evilution.
“Remember that scene in Ghostbusters (the real Ghostbusters…) where Winston tells Ray, ‘If someone asks you if you are a god, you say yes!’ Well, if someone asks you if you want to write a guide for teaching organic chemistry, you say hellafuckingno. I’m serious. Do yourself, and everyone around you, a favor. So, yeah, this year’s been nuts. Thankfully, there’s Angry Metal Guy—a solace for all metalheads to come together and be verbally abused and cat-tailed in the company basement.” Cat’s got yer list.
“I’m not quite sure how it happens but I always seem to find myself buried in black metal at the end of the year. It’s not like 2015, where Kampfar’s Profan squeezed its way into my top ten at the last second, but there are some last-minute gems from 2017. And two, in particular, involve the infamous Hoest. Last month, there was Taake’s Kong Vinter. This month, there’s the return of Norway’s sibling-driven Deathcult.” Goatloads of fun.
“As I write this, Halloween is fast approaching. For me, it’s a time of binging on bad horror movies, gorging myself on Starbursts, and watching girls make things slutty that I didn’t even know could be slutty. Yet those long shadows and that eerie October chill also make a great time to enjoy some good old-fashioned metal, even if by ‘old fashioned’ I really mean a style which just emerged a few years ago. I’m talking about ‘blackened heavy metal’…” Starburst, slutty nurses, B-horror movies, and… blackened heavy metal?
“For years, I thought something was wrong with me when I got in the mood for some simple, catchy rock/groove. I mean, there is something wrong with me when I get the urge to listen to Volbeat over Mercyful Fate. But, sometimes, one needs a palette cleansing. And that’s exactly why I feel no guilt when listening to bands like Darkhaus, Ghoultown, A Life Divided, and Diablo Blvd. Week after week of listening to constant doom, black, heavy, thrash (and everything between) can make your brain mush. Not to mention, trying to find the words for the couple selected for review while meeting writing deadlines for a textbook, teaching classes, etc. So, detoxing is necessary.” Cleanse my wounded palette.
“Without a doubt, the darkest moments of my life have involved vocalist Aldrahn. At first, it was an unfortunate coincidence. But then his voice and his music became my go-to during those dark days and nights. Be it his groundbreaking introduction with Zyklon B and Old Man’s Child, his psychotic direction with DHG, or his genre-setting contributions to Thorns. This one man has haunted my dreams (and nightmares) for close to two decades. I’ve considered suicide as his voice rang out on my speakers and I even attempted it while listening to Thorns. Then, no more music. But, three years ago, Aldrahn came back to us with The Deathtrip’s Deep Drone Master. While Deep Drone Master was fun, Urarv’s Aurum is something else.” The voice of pain returns.
“There are albums and there are comeback albums. While the former can have their share of pressure and anticipation, pressure and anticipation are inevitable for the latter. Especially the larger the gap between a band’s previous releases and their comeback. Celtic Frost’s Monotheist, for example, had a ridiculous amount of hype surrounding it. The band felt it, the fans felt it. But, after sixteen years of CF silence, Monotheist arrived and left its mark. Another legend to return from the grave is Autopsy. After another sixteen years, they returned with a vengeance—proving to the world they could still be as raunchy as ever. But, why a come back?” Back from the dead with the Reaper in tow.
