Metalcore

Burn The Army – The Tide to Sink the Summit EP Review

By El Cuervo on October 17, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Metalcore, Post-metal, Reviews, Mathcore, Metalcore, 10 comments

“Citing likenesses to Isis, Converge and Tool, Indianapolis’s Burn The Army drew me with its promo blurb promising technical and progressive post-metal. Someone notify The Official Metal Categorisation Agency™ because it’s taken twenty years, but technical and progressive post-metal has officially been redefined! Unfortunately, what you’ll find on The Tide to Sink the Summit, their first EP, is fantastically average metalcore.” Once there was a time when Steel Druhm had to review all the metalcore. Now, we have people who do that for him.

Kronos Comments: On Sampling Bias and the Seedy Underbelly of the Australian Metal Scene

By Kronos on September 14, 2014 in Australian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Djent, Groove Metal, Metalcore, Post-Rock, Unsigned Bands, Death Metal, Deathcore, Djent, Metalcore, Post-Metal, Technical Death Metal, 25 comments

“Just about every day, Angry Metal Guy pushes out a review of an upcoming or recently released album, producing press for the album whether we love it or hate it. It exposes readers to a lot of material, but disadvantages artists who aren’t putting out music at any given time. Given a small temporal window, this creates a very biased sample of the music scene. I love reviewing albums, but a lot of great and criminally overlooked bands are in between releases right now, and it kills me to see their hard work go unseen. So in order to rectify their invisibility, they’re being talked about here, where my shitty opinions have the outsized soapbox needed to fling themselves out onto the populace like fetid water from a fire sprinkler.”

Illdisposed – With the Lost Souls on Our Side Review

By Madam X on June 23, 2014 in 2014, Danish Metal, Death Metal, Massacre Records, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Thrash Metal, 4 comments

“There’s Something Rotten… in the State of Denmark, I believe it’s the stench of death! Following on from Sense of Darkness, and still under the watchful eye of Germany’s dealers of hard and heavy (Massacre Records), Illdisposed are back with the 12th full-length installment in their mighty discography. And true to form it’s a mash-up of artfully used metalcore riffing and modern thrash with some head-bangs towards Legion of the Damned, bound together with a big Parasite Inc. melo-death colored ribbon that grasps furiously at melody while trying its utmost to give you a brutal Pantera-style wedgie.” If Pantera wants to give you a wedgie, you let them!

Insense – De:Evolution Review

By Kronos on May 19, 2014 in 2014, Mas-Kina Recordings, Metalcore, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Metalcore, 24 comments

“A few years ago, his majesty Steel Druhm reviewed Insense’s, Burn in Beautiful Fire, and hated the shit out of it, incensing many a fanboy. It was, according to him, “third-rate metalcore with all the emo/screamo pap that goes along with that craptastic style”, and by the end of the review he was ready to build a church out of copies of the album just to trick Varg Vikernes into beautifully turning them all to ash. Naturally, Steel never wants to hear a single chug out of these Norwegians again, so the task of reviewing De:Evolution has plummeted down the totem pole into my hopeful hands. “Hooray!” comes the cry of the fans, “Surely this new reviewer will bring justice to our beloved Insense, and right the wrongs of that petulant website which we shall not name.” Or will he…?” Judgment awaits!

Earth Crisis – Salvation of Innocents Review

By Happy Metal Guy on February 10, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Candlelight, Metalcore, Reviews, Metalcore, 10 comments

“Mother Earth’s favorite metalcore squad, Earth Crisis, has once again descended upon the meat-eatin’, leather-clad masses with their latest aural assault, Salvation of Innocents.” Those defenders of animal rights are back with a new, PETA approved album and it even features a thematic comic book! Although Happy Metal Guy is better with coloring books, we gave him a chance at social promotion by reviewing this thing. Be supportive!

Retro-Spective Review: The Autumn Offering – Embrace the Gutter

By Happy Metal Guy on January 23, 2014 in American Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Retro Reviews, Reviews, Victory Records, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, 7 comments

“The name “The Autumn Offering” evokes the mental image of a hooded cultist bent down on his knees, holding up a platter of orange, rotting leaves as a leafy sacrifice of some sort to some leaf-munchin’ goat demon. But as a band that was once signed to Jamey Jasta’s Stillborn Records, The Autumn Offering is hardly obsessed with the environment or the occult.” Happy Metal Guy goes back to 2006 to regale us with tales of quality metalcore. Fairy tales maybe? You make the call.

Beyond the Shore – Ghostwatcher Review

By Madam X on March 23, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, American Metal, Labels, Metal Blade, Metalcore, Rating, Releases, Reviews, Metalcore, 3 comments

“Madam X rarely wanders down the road of hardcore or metalcore since dealing with mallrats and emo’s is troublesome (where to hide the bodies and all…). Once in a while though, venturing out into the unknown pays off and you stumble across an album with a little more imagination and progression (cast your mind back if you will to 2011’s Digital Veil delivered by Travis Richter’s The Human Abstract). Now jump back to 2009 to the release of Lexington, Kentucky based Beyond the Shore’s first EP precursor (The Arctic Front). While the album bore some small resemblance to Parkway Drive, it sounded juvenile and lacked the intensity of say “Dark Days.” Four years later Beyond the Shore haven’t been working on a funeral doom album. No, instead they’ve been working on getting into Metal Blade Records (home to As I Lay Dying and a host of other big names) good graces, honing their sound and gathering some interesting elements to add to their music.” Is our Madam X warming up to metalcore?? Say it ain’t so, X!! Oops, there I go using genres as pejoratives…

Neaera – Ours Is the Storm Review

By Happy Metal Guy on March 10, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Death Metal, German Metal, Metal Blade, Metalcore, Reviews, Death Metal, Metalcore, 17 comments

“If you mow the lawn to Heaven Shall Burn like Happy Metal Guy—which is supposed to be a good thing—you would kinda do the job almost as well with Neaera. Ours Is the Storm is this band’s sixth studio album and it serves as nice filler for HSB fans to feast on until the next HSB album drops like a giant pile of bird poop all over the world from mid to late April (← also supposed to be a good thing).” Happy Metal Guy steps in to tell you all about the new Neaera record. Now with proper capitalization!

Hatebreed – The Divinity of Purpose Review

By Happy Metal Guy on January 5, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, American Metal, Hardcore, Metalcore, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Hardcore, Metalcore, 0 comments

Happy Metal Guy is concerned about your GPA and motivational issues. He thinks some Hatebreed might help, but only when your schedule allows it.

Cryptopsy – Cryptopsy Review

By Steel Druhm on September 5, 2012 in 2012, 3.0, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Death Metal, Metalcore, 6 comments

Alex is here with a review of the new Cryptopsy that poses many existential questions we here at AMG are simply not qualified to answer. Is it death metal? Is it a sell out? Why are we here? Humbug!