Oct17

Vaultwraith – Death Is Proof of Satan’s Power Review

By Mark Z. on November 2, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, 78 comments

“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?

Sacrocurse – Gnostic Holocaust Review

By Saunders on November 2, 2017 in 2017, Black Metal, Death Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Mexican Metal, Reviews, Turkish Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 37 comments

“Sacrocurse’s 2014 debut Unholier Master holds a special place in my heart, but not for obvious reasons. If you’ll allow me to indulge in some selfish personal reflection. Unholier Master represented my first published piece here at Angry Metal Guy, so naturally, it has conjured up pleasant feelings of nostalgia as I prepare to sink my teeth into the band’s sophomore LP, Gnostic Holocaust.” And the AMG bathrooms have sparkled ever since.

War Possession – Doomed to Chaos Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on November 1, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Greek Metal, Memento Mori, Reviews, Death Metal, 66 comments

“The extreme genres of metal are utterly obsessed with war, death, and violence, suggesting the view that the human experience is one of cruelty largely restrained, with all of us united by the cold embrace of death. Extreme metal seems to explore these ideas intently, attempting to find a certain beauty or, at the very least, excitement in the worst impulses of man. Art, at its core, seems to try and explore and express a particular facet of the human experience and imbue it with some sort of message or worldview. We’re naturally repulsed by death and destruction, but, like the story of Leonitus looking at corpses in Plato’s Republic, we’re also fascinated by it: ‘Look for yourselves, you evil wretches! Take your fill of the beautiful sight!'” Man Unkind.

Affliktor – Affliktor Review

By Treble Yell on November 1, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Transcending Obscurity, 26 comments

“Delving between sofa cushions, peering into cupboards, kicking over rocks — we music scribes are always searching for the next band that that can bring joy into our pitiful existence. Doing so involves wading through the primordial soup of unknown metal acts, straining to spy a wolf among the bleating of listless mutton. This often plays out as a feedback loop that begins with the hope of discovering something special, followed by despair when our expectations are dashed and, finally, hope again when we give in to the gambler’s fallacy and convince ourselves that the next promo will be the one.” Onward, Toby, onward.

Cursed Moon – Rite of Darkness Review

By Ferrous Beuller on October 31, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Gothic Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Retro Metal, Reviews, 38 comments

“I’m often a little cautious when introduced to new bands who seem to be born aloft on a draught of novelty furore. I feel the same familiar shiver when I see the “retro” tag scratching around in the promo bin, but even I can admit that, sometimes, retro does not negate relevancy. Enter Cursed Moon. This one man entity hailing from L.A, combines the 80’s melodrama of darkwave (new wave and post punk combined with gothic rock) with the feral nature of early black metal to spawn debut album Rite of Darkness.” A blaze in the L.A. sky.

All Pigs Must Die – Hostage Animal Review

By Mark Z. on October 31, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Crust Punk, Hardcore, Reviews, Southern Lord, Hardcore, 41 comments

“The metal world is far different than it was just seven years ago. Agalloch was still a band, people still took Wintersun seriously, and this new beast called “metallic hardcore” was first rearing its HM2-powered head. Spearheaded by groups like Black Breath, Enabler, and (arguably) Nails, the style rejected the Gothenburg-inspired metalcore of the mid-00s by instead delivering a violent combination of frenetic metal riffing and pummeling hardcore fury. It was a sound that Massachusetts’s All Pigs Must Die embraced with open arms.” Long story snort; they’re back.

Siinai – Sykli Review

By Huck N Roll on October 31, 2017 in 2017, Ambient Metal, Finnish Metal, Instrumental Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Reviews, Svart Records, Ambient Metal, Instrumental Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, 37 comments

“One of the best quotes of the year comes from the promo blurb for Siinai’s new album, Sykli: “…this album burst out of us, like when a ketchup bottle loses its cap when you are violently shaking it.” This from a band that in the past has also released an instrumental concept album about supermarkets.Yes, Siinai are a strange Finnish act that do odd things. This album’s concept isn’t as weird as “music to shop to.” Instead, Skyli professes to be about the cyclical nature of life. Considering that this is an instrumental album, figuring out how well it conveys a concept can be tough, but that’s why we get the big bucks, right?” Clean up in aisle Life.

Wobbler – From Silence to Somewhere Review

By Huck N Roll on October 30, 2017 in 2017, Karisma Records, Norwegian Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Progressive Rock, 57 comments

“I have a confession: I’ve always wanted to listen to progressive rockers Wobbler, but haven’t. Their 2011 album Rites at Dawn has been sitting in my iTunes wish list folder for six years now, but life/time/priorities kept me from ever clicking on “Buy.” So naturally when I saw them pop up on our feed as having a new album coming out, I grabbed it. And then I had to go back and listen to their older stuff as well. All of which is a good thing if you’re into 70s prog rock done right.” Wobbler at the gates of dawn.

Cannibal Corpse – Red Before Black Review

By Ferrous Beuller on October 30, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 76 comments

“I fucking love Cannibal Corpse. They represent a definition of that unbridled commodity requisite in death metal: sonic and conceptual brutality, boundary blasting lyricism and acute controversy. Now, in today’s landscape of ever-evolving extreme criterion, at a glance, their modus operandi may seem somewhat passé, but, frankly, you’re wrong.” Don’t know how to quit loving the Corpse.

Procession – Doom Decimation Review

By Steel Druhm on October 30, 2017 in 2017, Chilean Metal, Doom Metal, High Roller Records, Reviews, Doom Metal, 22 comments

“Chilean doom metal act, Procession came out of left field and surprised me with 2013s To Reap Heavens Apart. It was an intriguing mixture of Candlemass, Primordial and trve metal acts like Visigoth and Argus, brought to us by members of such diverse acts as Destroyer 666 and the late, great In Solitude. It worked well despite being rough around the edges, gritty and unpolished, and made me eager to hear more. It’s been quite the wait, but late 2017 finally brings us their third album, Doom Decimation.” Chilean-fried doom.