Oct19

Record(s) o’ the Month – October 2019

By Angry Metal Guy on October 26, 2019 in 2019, Blog Posts, 135 comments

I’ve been known to throw the occasional curve ball, but I think three Record(s) o’ the Month(s) in one month is the first time I’ve ever pulled this particular caper. But Angry Metal Guy is never late. Nor is he early. He does what he’s doing precisely at the moment he intends to do it. For reasons that are his own (but are mostly fuck you). This month’s Record(s) o’ the Month is dedicated to all the people who like music for “atmosphere.” Of course, you might as well say that you “like whatever, so long as it has a good beat.” But the way you’re doing it is way more trve and garners you less friends and so much metal cred. I thought I’d help you all out by giving you a handful of bands that can write and (gasp) edit songs!

Dawn Ray’d – Behold Sedition Plainsong Review

By Roquentin on October 25, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, British Metal, English Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 86 comments

“Pyres become beacons as flames rise with a dangerously bright burn, lick the sky, and drape the green banks of the Sava river in a majestic red glow. It’s a transporting and defiant occasion: the roaring fires ignite our inner blaze and unite us in remembrance of Partisans like my grandfather that on May 8th, 1945 freed Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, from occupying Nazi (and collaborationist) forces. These memories of the Trnje bonfires flicker in my mind while I listen to Behold Sedition Plainsong, the second full-length of Liverpool black metal trio Dawn Ray’d. Because this is a music of awakening that sweeps away the waters of Lethe meant to make us forget what the liberation from occupation and similar historic moments stood for then and today.” Music with a cause.

Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches – Covenant Review

By Grymm on October 25, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, American Metal, Aural Music, Italian Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Ambient Metal, Sludge, 15 comments

“Over four years ago, Karyn Crisis released Salem’s Wounds, the debut album of her new project, Gospel of the Witches. While I found it to be an overly long, lopsided album, it was still awesome to see Crisis return to making heavy music again, and I was eager to hear more from this project. Fast-forward to 2019, and the Gospel are down to a tight three-person line-up, with Crisis once again teaming up with husband Davide Tiso, who handles the guitar, bass, and songwriting this go-’round, rounded out by Skinlab drummer Fabian Vestod. With four years between albums, are we looking at a stronger, more concise Gospel?” Out of the crisis, into the coven.

Ogre – Thrice as Strong Review

By Huck N Roll on October 25, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Cruz Del Sur, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“When you see an album cover like this (painted by the drummer, no less), and a slogan that goes “In a doomed world, they must remain Thrice as Strong,” well, who wouldn’t grab this from the promo sump? Everyone but me, it seems. I’d never heard of Ogre before, despite these Portland, Maine doomsters having been around for twenty years now. It’s a great name for a band, though, and I love their use of the word “Thrice.”” Thrice pudding.

Timelost – Don’t Remember Me for This Review

By Emya on October 24, 2019 in 2019, Golden Antenna Records, Not Metal, Reviews, Shoegaze, Not Metal, Shoegaze, 8 comments

“What do you get when two metalhead friends come together and begin a file-sharing effort from a thousand miles apart to explore their collective musical lusts? You get [drumroll please]…a shoegaze album? I was taken aback when I first played Timelost’s new album Don’t Remember Me for This and was quickly reminded of the modern shoegaze and dream pop sound of Brooklyn, New York band Beach Fossils.” Shoe’s on first.

Alcest – Spiritual Instinct Review

By Roquentin on October 24, 2019 in 2019, Avante Garde, Black Metal, French Metal, Nuclear Blast, Post-metal, Reviews, Shoegaze, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Post-Metal, Shoegaze, 59 comments

“Throughout their career as Alcest and helped by gradual fluctuations in style, French multi-instrumentalist Neige and drummer Winterhalter have been cultivating a deep sense of beauty and unfiltered sentiment. An exploration of sonic poetry in the vein of The Lake Poets, unmistakably filled with a romantic ache, a longing, and an expression of beauty and infatuation with the world so deep it hurts. Looking back at their previous work, Spiritual Instinct appears as one of the purest manifestations of this search.” Let the spirit guide.

Cloak – The Burning Dawn Review

By Kenstrosity on October 24, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Rock, Season of Mist, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Rock, 26 comments

“If you listened to Cloak’s debut back in 2017, you know exactly what to expect from The Burning Dawn. If you don’t already know of Cloak, they play an accessible brand of black metal that feels like it was written in a scenic wasteland, evocative of dust and dusk, the scent of clean air and the sight of bloodred sun (cue Adam Burke).” Controlled burn.

Savage Master – Myth, Magic & Steel Review

By Steel Druhm on October 23, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Heavy Metal, 24 comments

“Savage Master is a throwback super-retro metal act who seek to recreate the early 80s heavy metal sound, mixing classic NWoBHM ideas with Warlock and early American acts like Bitch. I was quite taken with their 2016 outing With Whips and Chains and admired their straightforward and catchy metal anthems. Fast forward to 2019 and the AMG routing protocols dumped their third album Myth, Magic and Steel on my desk ov…metal.” No plod, no masters.

Mayhem – Daemon Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 23, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Century Media, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 131 comments

“A new Mayhem release is the most exciting thing to happen in metal this year. Unlike most other bands who offer refinements and (ideally) improvements on their established sound with each release, Mayhem exhausts a sound on each full-length by exhausting a theme; as the sound’s purpose is to express the theme, the sound’s purpose is fulfilled once the theme is expressed. This means the lazy reviewer can’t merely compare the new Mayhem record to prior ones and base his analysis on that without completely missing the point of the record at hand — Mayhem’s career is an anthology, not an arc.” Mayhem’s Hell awaits.

Cathubodua – Continuum Review

By Master of Muppets on October 23, 2019 in 2019, Belgian Metal, Massacre Records, Power Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 33 comments

“Fucking fuck you fucking all, you fuck fucking fucks. I absolutely fucking hate everyone right now and I blame each and every one of you miserable shits. I suppose I could blame Steel, him having personally assigned me to the nightmare which I must shortly relive, but I blame you. You, ‘dear’ ‘read’-er, are why we do the over worded and under think-ed things that we do, and to the best of my knowledge I have never hurt any of you enough to owe anyone the undertaking that was Continuum, an album I’ll be dedicating my life and liver to erasing the memory of.” Powers.