Morbid Angel

Belphegor – Conjuring the Dead Review

By Steel Druhm on July 30, 2014 in 2014, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 16 comments

“Hey look, everybody’s favorite necromantically inclined, goat bondage enthusiasts are back from the latex boutique to unleash another wave of blackened death on the tied and naked masses. Austria’s Belphegor are one of the leading voices in mega-extreme music and 2011s Blood Magick Necromance left quiet an impression on my steely cranium, ending up one of my best albums of the year. While these fetish freaks don’t do anything all that different from contemporaries like Behemoth, their simple, utterly savage blend of Morbid Angel pummeling and Marduk like blitzkrieging blackness really resonates with me in a way even the Polish Demigods do not.” Steel doesn’t always listen to blackened death, but when he does, he prefers Belphegor.

Angry Metal-Fi: Just Cause – The Whys Behind the Loudness Wars

By Steel Druhm on July 11, 2014 in Angry Metal-Fi, Blog Posts, 30 comments

“Let’s pretend for the sake of argument that you’ve read all of our articles and are now a true believer: The overzealous use of dynamic range compression coupled with brickwall limiting yields lifeless, dull sounding records. But if this is indeed all true, then why does the industry continue to approve of (and even insist on) this insanity in the first place?” Now that’s a good question, and the Metal-Fi guys have answers you might not like.

Vader – Tibi Et Igni Review

By Steel Druhm on May 31, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Polish Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 34 comments

“Vader has more albums than I have old socks. They’re an institution in Polish death metal and they pretty much put their homeland on the map of extreme metal (Behemoth helped a little too). Tibi Et Igni is their twelfth opus of raging death metal and much like 2011s Welcome to the Morbid Reich, it’s a fast, furious and largely unhinged affair written by old time death metal purists, for old time death metal purists while also mixing in copious thrash influences as well.” Were you worried if this would be good or not? I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Vainaja – Kadotetut Review

By Grymm on May 20, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 20 comments

“Finnish folklore tells the tale of a small rabid cult in the 19th century, performing blasphemous actions on followers of old Finnish religions, including ritual sacrifice and burying innocent townsfolk alive. This small cult was discovered, and sentenced to die by fire on the altar in their own mansion, burned alive with most of their scriptures, save for one book which was left miraculously intact. Such is the story of Kadotetut, told by relative newcomers Vainaja. Svart Records labeled this as “one of the heaviest records ever made in the Finnish language,” and I’ll be hard pressed to disagree.” Really heavy shit about creepy Finnish murder cults. That my friends, is metal.

Aurora Borealis – World Shapers Review

By Madam X on March 15, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, MDD Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 4 comments

“From palpable obscurity, tumultuous streams of glory gushed, ten thousand thousand rainbows rushed and reveled through the boundless sky, in jousting, flashing radiancy.” That was David Vedder’s description the Aurora Borealis back around the 1800s, and today it remains a fitting description of these Maryland-based blackened death metallers that deliver a brand of bludgeoning melodicism reminiscent of Carcass and Morbid Angel.” Madam X shakes off the oppressive yoke of black metal to review…blackened death metal. No wonder she’s so dark of demeanor!

Corpsessed – Abysmal Thresholds Review

By Steel Druhm on February 12, 2014 in 2014, Dark Descent Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 12 comments

“Steel Druhm loves his old school death metal, but I get tired of comparing every band’s sound to Entombed, Dismember and/or Grave. Thankfully, Corpsessed arrived in my queue with a terrific moniker and a sound that doesn’t require the standard comparisons. That’s because these sick Finnish death mongers deliver a crusty, ugly style that sounds like a mix of Demigod, Onward to Golgotha era Incantation, Autopsy, primitive low-fi blackness and sludgy doom.” They say nothing cleans the palate like sewage spewing death metal. Well then, take a big slurp of this nastiness.

Warfather – Orchestrating the Apocalypse Review

By Kronos on January 15, 2014 in 2.0, 2014, American Metal, Death Metal, Greyhaze Records, Reviews, 1 comment

“Other than being a young blood on the review team here, I’m a young blood in general, meaning that I popped onto this rock just around the time death metal was in its youthful heyday, and was introduced to it late, more or less in its modern form, without any experience with its gritty adolescent years. For the most part, the 90s sound is a relic for me, fossil evidence of the gradual evolution of death metal. Warfather seems determined to re-educate me. The throwback quartet, headed by ex-Morbid Angel bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker, has crept onto my radar with a name too ridiculous to pass by and a sound 90s enough to warrant a presidential apology to the American people.” Kronos is young and in need of guidance. Can Warfather provide the parental authority he needs or are they just a bad influence?

Legion of the Damned – Ravenous Plague Review

By Steel Druhm on January 10, 2014 in 2013, Dutch Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 16 comments

“2014 is here and it’s time for the Metal Show to begin anew! And what better way to raise the curtain on the sixth year of AMG than with… retread thrash! Yes, yes, you’ve all had your fill of thrash, re-thrash, retro-thrash and frash, but as long as bands keep spitting this stuff out, we in the reviewing biz have a duty to review it… and it’s a BIG duty!” When the call of duty is heard, Steel Druhm jumps in the skull tank and reviews thrash metal from the Netherlands. Thank him for his service.

Things You Might Have Missed 2013: Trials – In the Shadow of Swords

By Angry Metal Guy on December 8, 2013 in 2013, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2013, Thrash Metal, Unsigned Bands, 12 comments

Thrash ain’t doin’ well in 2013. I mean, if you’re really into retro-thrash, there are a bevy of bands that have been producing records that will make your tight pants and oversized shoes excited, but that’s getting pretty stale For the most part, modern thrash metal has basically gone the way of the dodo—serious attempts at thrashing our socks off with groove and cranky screams have fallen deep underground. I blame metalcore. One of the things that’s started happening is that every time someone hears a thrash band that has a slightly screamy vocalist, they say “wow, that’s pretty corey,” which leads to bands that probably don’t deserve it getting called core, especially if there are clean vocals. There are major examples of this (God Forbid) and minor ones, too. Some might be fair, but many are not.

Deicide – In the Minds of Evil Review

By Steel Druhm on November 16, 2013 in 2013, American Metal, Century Media, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 9 comments

It’s time for some Double Deicide!! Yes, I know that sounds like a professional high dive maneuver, but here it’s Steel Druhm and Madam X weighing in on the new opus from those infamous Floridian demon lords. Is In the Minds of Evil a return to the glory days or another safe and stale dose of by-the-numbers death? Opinions may differ, even in this here post!