“Didn’t get tickets for next year’s Mr. Bungle shows? Feeling olde because Faith No More’s The Real Thing turns 30 this year? Fear no more, for we have you covered here at Angry Metal Guy, with the latest from the always-restless Mike Patton. Content neither to rest on his FNM laurels, nor to simply rehearse for upcoming concerts, he has teamed up with French composer Jean-Claude Vannier for Corpse Flower, a collection of classically-tinged pop songs.” Smell that carcass.
“One of the big things I look for in music is a sense of being taken elsewhere, of stepping aside from the real. I work a stressful tech job, and the next best thing to ditching my desk and marching off into the woods is music that makes me feel like I’m adrift in an ancient forest. This means I’m a big fan of ethereal, folksy influences in my music. Esben and the Witch’s Older Terrors established itself as one of my favorite records ever, and I enjoyed Hexvessel’s first few releases for similar reasons.” Let treedom ring.
![Henry Derek Elis – The Devil is My Friend [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Henry-Derek-Elis_The-Devil-is-My-Friend-768x768.jpg)
“We don’t get many promos for dark Southern Gothic Americana, but The Devil is My Friend by Henry Derek Elis definitely qualifies as such. Over the years Mr. Elis has performed on various side projects with members of The Swans and Megadeth, as well as fronting his own thrash band called Act of Defiance. This is a very different kind of music however, mixing old timey southern music with modern interpretations thereof like the recent works of Tom Waits and Clutch. Add an ominous metallic sheen and a penchant for dark subject matter, and you wind up with something quite intriguing and entertaining.” Way South of Heaven.
“I rate low and hate high, I’m always unpleased and unsatisfied, and I have the tendency to review shit that no one wants. You know, like Fozzy and Wintersun. And you know the worst part about it? No matter how bad or ugly it gets, I hate to admit I kinda enjoy it. But, who in their right mind would grab the debut record from Priest—a band consisting of ex-Ghosts and as far back in leftfield as one can get? But, like that other Swedish band, they’re about as retro ’80s as it gets. It’s just that they play… ummm… synth-pop…” Somebody got your Ghost?
“I spent the summer searching and searching for the next great retro album. I never found it. In fact, all year I’ve only found a half-dozen albums I’ve really liked (as in a 3.5 or higher), and none of those since June. That’s piss-poor and depressing. It’s like owning a black and white television. Well, I’m hoping to upgrade to a color TV eventually this year, so what better time to start looking than right now?” Baby bible steps.
“Young Dionysos is that rare album which I feel almost incapable of reviewing. Not because it is boring, derivative, or unlistenable, but because it proves difficult to fit it into the ‘album’ category at all. A new addition to the impressive ouvre of Hungarian-Finnish artist Sándor Vály, the album Young Dionysos is itself only a small part of a larger body of works, including video, painting, decollage, and performance art, which constitute the entirety of ‘Young Dionysos.'” Art in strange spaces.
“We here at Angry Metal Guy Unlimited Turbo Duo Deluxe Enterprises take pride in bringing you timely reviews of all things metal. That said, sometimes our heroes will go off the beaten path and create something that’s neither metal nor angry. For instance, Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson, looking to branch out into different streams of musical consciousness, has put down his guitar in favor of a MacBook. Yes, something ambient has been brewing in his awesome beard, and with the help of Today is the Day’s Steve Austin on guitar and effects, we have the debut BardSpec album, Hydrogen.” Mac attack.
“April was a pretty jam packed month review-wise for yours truly and I had to pass on several albums I would have covered in less hectic times. Though my dance card was full, as soon as I heard a few seconds of Heathen Hymns by hitherto unknown to me Galley Beggar, I started clearing space. Galley Beggar may have a name that conjures images of the worst pirate-corish, Alestorm-wannabes, but they play what they dub “acid folk,” and freely admit to an obsession with old sounds and styles.” Magic, mushrooms, mandolins.
“The San Francisco music scene is nothing if not creative. With oddball acts like Hammers of Misfortune, Vhöl and Slough Feg calling the area home, creativity is in abundant supply. Worm Ouroboros is yet another off-kilter act providing local color to the Bay Area, lesser known but no less interesting. The brain-trust of Lorraine Rath and Jessica Way, the band’s unique blend of dark ambient goth-rock, doom and neo-folk is as interesting as it is offbeat.” Bay Area goth-waves are rising.
“Okay, let’s get this out-of-the-way right off the top. This album cover gives me the creeps. It also makes me think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. So I alternate between grimaces and laughter whenever I’m looking at this bizarre choice for sludgy avante garde collective Obake’s third album, Draugr.” Happy Halloween!
