Oct20

Necrophobic – Dawn of the Damned Review

By Holdeneye on October 11, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 66 comments

“I’m not exactly sure how responsibility for this review survived its fall down the AMG Seniority Ladder™ to find its way to little old me, but I’m certainly glad it did. Necrophobic holds a special place in my heart. Not only did my enjoyment of the band’s previous release Mark of the Necrogram begin my quest to discover and love black metal, but I still remember reading Al Kikuras‘ incredible review of said album. It was the first time that I seriously considered how cool it might be to write reviews for AMG.” Necro 4 eva.

Hellripper – The Affair of the Poisons Review

By El Cuervo on October 10, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, 62 comments

“Despite enjoying metal my whole life, I used to struggle with thrash beyond the biggest names. I found it bland, chugging and neanderthalic. 2017 was a watershed time for my enjoyment of the thrashing style, and part of that watershed was Coagulating Darkness by Hellripper. Bridging black, speed and thrash, James McBain’s solo project did what so many others (including the ‘classics’) previously had not and opened the doors to the genre. Though I never got round to a write-up, it’s one of the premium speedy albums of the 2010s and Hellripper shot up my list of favorite bands.” Return of the Ripper.

Gorephilia – In the Eye of Nothing Review

By Ferrous Beuller on October 9, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 22 comments

“In 2017 I covered Gorephilia’s Severed Monolith and awarded the album a mixed score. While many disagreed, I couldn’t shake the notion that the gaps in the writing eclipsed the album’s better elements. Although I have found myself returning to Severed Monolith more than expected, I stand by my criticisms. Then, in 2018 vocalist Henri Emil Kuula sadly passed away. As is often the case, the band’s future seemed uncertain. Three years later and Gorephilia have returned with another platter of occult hemophagic horror.” Where the eyes live.

Neck Cemetery – Born in a Coffin Review

By Holdeneye on October 9, 2020 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 67 comments

“Hello, neighbor. Would you like to play a game with me? Yes? How about the “guess the genre” game. You know, the one where you look at an album’s cover to see if you can predict what it will sound like? How about we start with the band name? Neck Cemetery. Yikes. That’s a bad name.” Wreckin’ necks.

Invernoir – The Void and the Unbearable Loss Review

By Cherd on October 8, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 27 comments

“We all have styles of metal so squarely in our wheelhouse it’s hard to tell where the wheel ends and the house begins. Weird phrasing? OK, I’ll try again: we all have styles that fit so well, they’re like slipping into a second skin made from stitched-together skins of bands that make the styles we—nope. How about we’re all like a bed-bound shut-in with sores down one side because we never shift position, and each of us has a style of metal that’s the corresponding depression in the mattress and rotting bed linens that perfectly mirrors our moribund—know what? Let’s forget similes. We all have styles that are our jam. Now, rising from Rome, Italy, comes Invernoir and their Cherd-bait debut The Void and the Unbearable Loss with the explicit “…desire to resurrect the sound of doom music from the 90s.”” Void rage.

Somnus Throne – Somnus Throne Review

By Steel Druhm on October 8, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 5 comments

“The mysterious and unidentified crew that make up Somnus Throne are said to hail from New Orleans, Texas and L.A., and on their eponymous debut they are content to allow their music to make the introductions for them. Listeners can expect to be greeted by psychedelic stoner doom in the vein of Sleep, High on Fire, and Mastodon, heavy on the massive riffage and song-lengths and light on innovation or originality.” Thronesmoker.

Yatra – All is Lost Review

By GardensTale on October 8, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Sludge, Stoner Metal, 10 comments

“I reviewed Yatra’s debut early last year to a mixed result. Death Ritual was not without promise, but the stoner doom with blackened snarls didn’t quite live up to what it could have been with slightly tepid songwriting. Naturally, I was curious about how their second album, All is Lost, would fare. A year and a half in current conditions is a pretty fast turnaround; the dangers of rushing lurked in the shadows. And that’s when I found out that All is Lost is, in fact, their third album, after releasing Blood of the Night under a different label in January. 8 months gestation, in 2020?! Who do they think they are, Vardan?” Enjoy ov deep stoner sludge.

Neànder – eremit Review

By Doom_et_Al on October 7, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, 16 comments

“Any old fool can say, “The sea is beautiful.” Using music to evoke the feelings inspired by that beauty is far, far harder. To some extent, that’s something all instrumental bands have to do: since there are no lyrics to tell you what to feel or think, the music has to inspire emotion and sensation all on its own. Instrumental music is both brave and dangerous In this respect – there is simply nowhere to hide. Berlin’s Neànder aims to achieve this lofty goal by combining the density of doom, the introspective melancholy of post-rock, and the fury of black metal, all with the focus solely on their instruments.” eremit the fog.

Rise to the Sky – Death Will Not Keep Us Apart

By Twelve on October 6, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 13 comments

“It was a warm day in June when I first came across the Chilean one-man doom project that is Rise to the Sky. In the Grave of a Forgotten Soul piqued my interest enough that when I learned that they’d been signed to GS Productions and had a full-length coming out later this year, I immediately set up a fiendish trap in the Promo Pit to ensure that I would be the only one to reach that record alive. At last, here it is.” Rise to die.

Scaphoid – Absent Passages Review

By Kenstrosity on October 6, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 43 comments

“Somehow, a disproportionate number of the promos I selected so far are debut records. I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or if I have some kind of n00b magnet in my brain somewhere, but one way or another fresh meat keeps passing through. The latest cut of which comes from Austin, Texas, and he calls himself Scaphoid. That’s right, this is a one-man project, courtesy of Matt Hobart. But it’s not raw atmo-black, no. This guy specializes in a post-rock prog-metal hybrid. With only a short EP under his belt, how fares his new, hour-long debut Absent Passages?” Scap metal.