“It’s a rare occurrence when a band completely floors me with a debut release. Not just show bright glimmers of potential mind you, but seriously blindside me with a sound that is fresh, unique and remarkably well developed for a first release. Such was the case when Oakland’s Secrets of the Sky seemingly emerged from nowhere with their brilliant opus To Sail Black Waters in 2013.” The hype is strong with this one.
“Along with Blood Mortized, Entrails are one of the few retro Swedish death acts that don’t give me Old Timer’s Fatigue. It’s hard to say why that is, since they ape classic Entombed and Dismember just as hard as all the other pimpanzees in the throwback zoo. All I know is their music usually avoids feeling old and excessively stale. Instead, it feels plenty putrid and rotten, and that I love.” Time to look at the entrails and see what is foretold.
“After a few decades in the music industry, Chris Barnes may have his share of enemies, but none can cause the mammoth career damage he regularly inflicts on himself. After what seems like a lifetime of sub par and outright terrible releases from his Six Feet Under project, he finally stumbled onto something decent with 2013s Unborn. Sure, it was still rudimentary, groove-heavy Neanderthal death, but the writing and playing was a big step forward and for once, things didn’t feel like a parody of the genre.” Cup thy hands and shout at the devil.
“I wasn’t aware how much I needed my ass kicked by some epic, trve metal of the olden style until said ass kicking was delivered by Utah’s Visigoth and their debut, The Revenant King. Their mega hefty, uber manly metal owes a lot to ancestors like Grand Magus, Argus, Sinister Realm and of course, Manila Road, and naturally, they specialize in long, bulky odes to swords, battle and honor (“Oathcore” for short).” The barbarians were at the gates and they left a giant wooden beer. Let’s go get it!
“Somewhere deep in the bowels of the Internet (right next to erotic Sonic the Hedgehog fan fiction, if I recall correctly), I uncovered Downfall of Gaia, and my dick has been crooked ever since.” Hedgehog porn is a big favorite at AMG, especially “Hedge Trimmers.”
“When I submitted last week’s Godflesh review for their awesome long-awaited comeback album, I had no idea that it would just be part one of a two-part special on British Two-Piece Bands Who Want To Watch The World Burn.” Will Anaal Nathrakh’s quick and cold Desideratum attack decimate or will it self-destruct? Read on!
“Formed from the ashes of the highly underrated and (AMG worshipped) Viking metal act Mithotyn, King of Asgard has more or less continued the mission statement of releasing odes to the northern winds, Viking valor and snowy landscapes, all heavily influenced by latter period Bathory as well as Einherjer, Ensiferum. Karg is their third such endeavor and it observes the traditions of its ancestors with all due reverence, while moving things in a darker, more stripped down direction.” Do you feel the need to plunder and pillage? If so, here’s your liege lord.
“Lizzy Borden was the charming tyke famous for chopping up her folks with an axe (allegedly). Lizzy Borden the band (and the man) are much less famous, and that’s why I’m casting the attention nets back through time to land their magnum opus for your consideration. As part of the wave of slightly glamy hair metal acts that spewed from L.A. in the 80s, Lizzy and W.A.S.P. were basically cut from the same animal print cloth. They wanted to be metal, but sought to incorporate lots of radio friendly hooks and glam, sleaze n’ trash theatrics.” Ready for a hair metal rock opera? Wait, come back, it’s really good!
“When last we checked in on Pilgrim, they were really fucking slow! Even by doom standards, these guys were the car in the right lane with flashers on and a “Wide Load” sign on the bumper. That’s because they specialize in unflinchingly minimalist, old school Sabbath riffs slowed down to a root’s pace, lightly seasoned with a hint of psychedelic fairy dust. Their Misery Wizard debut was heavily influenced by Reverend Bizarre and Cathedral and weighed down with insanely long, drawn out doom yarns so heavy, they made you feel like a Buick was parked on your chest. This presented an arduous test to one’s attention span, despite the overall quality of the riffs and writing.” Ready for some doom that’s slower than your grandma? Quick, it’s very slowly getting away!
“I get sad when bands don’t get their just due. I get sadder when I find out about that band after they had disbanded. One fateful night in 1993, I was watching MTV’s Headbangers Ball and caught a video of “Sound the Alarm” by St. Louis, Missouri’s progressive thrashers, Anacrusis. From what I’ve read online, “Sound the Alarm” was played once and only once on that show, and it was after the band had called it quits earlier that year. I was fortunate enough to be floored by that song.” Join Grymm as he shines a light on a truly under-appreciated metal treasure.
