![Arthur Brown – Monster’s Ball [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Arthur-Brown_Monsters-Ball_01.jpg)
When I approached His Thiccness Lord Steel about writing up a TYMHM about the new album from shock rock godfather Arthur Brown, his response was much like one of his gorilla jabs: swift, accurate and painful (at least for Grier). “He’s the original Alice Cooper,” Steel said. “And by extension, the real King of Diamonds.” It was with these words of simian wisdom that I set out to dive deeper into this English octogenarian’s latest album Monster’s Ball. Of monsters and madmen.
![Record(s[es]) o’ the Month(s) – October & November 2022](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2211-Square_Splash_2x_NOTEXT.jpg.webp)
December is upon us. Smoke rises from the mountain of doom, Listurnalia™ is just around the corner and Steel Druhm rides to AMG HQ in a vain attempt to get the Record(s) o’ the Month back on track in 2023.
“On the evening of December 24th in the year 820 AD, Byzantine emperor, Leo Armenius – also known as Leo V – went to Christmas mass. Little did he know that several members of the chorus were assassins in disguise with swords hidden beneath their robes. Fortunately for Leo, in the dim candlelight of St Stephen’s chapel, the hit mob accidentally filleted a priest instead of the unpopular emperor. In the confusion, Leo ripped a large crucifix from the wall and used it to defend himself. He called for his guards, but the doors were barred. During the ensuing melee, Leo was eventually hacked to pieces and his body unceremoniously dumped into the snow outside. 1,202 years later, Ateiggar, a black metal duo from Switzerland, announce the debut of their first full-length LP, Tyrannemord.” Violent night.
“The band has been prolific since forming in 2016, and are already releasing their fourth album. I really enjoyed Fragment: Erhabenheit and its snarling black metal attack, so when its follow-up suddenly fell into my lap, it was a pleasant surprise indeed. Let’s see if Theotoxin’s new work can match up to the old.” Toxic blackulinity.
“Remember when Dimmu Borgir was one of the biggest bands in metal? For a while in the mid-aughts they shared the ‘sort of black metal but palatable to a wider audience’ throne with Cradle of Filth, and no gig could be found that wasn’t saturated with Dimmu and Cradle shirts. Whereas Cradle filed down the black metal barbs with gothic theatricality, though, Dimmu blunted them with bludgeoning symphonics and death-adjacent melodicism. Plenty of Dimmu-like acts have sprung up over the years, following in its footsteps to greater or lesser extent, drawing inspiration from the titan even as its own status diminished. Diabolical Raw, hailing from Türkiye, is one of these adherents.” Dimmu, Dimme.
“According to the Book of Isaiah, a Seraph is an angel that has “six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Seraphs are known as “the burning ones” and are recognized as the highest-ranking angels amongst the heavenly hosts. According to me, these winged warriors serve as a great inspiration for a death metal band name, especially if you’re referring to their tragic collapse. Enter Fall of Seraphs, a death metal quintet hailing from Bordeaux, France boasting a quality handle (as I overexplained above), and a keenly-honed, DM sound that also incorporates elements of tech, thrash and black metal.” Angel grinder.
“You know those people who you’re not exactly friends with, but who you’re happy to see whenever they enter a room? That’s been my experience with Swedish metallers, and spelling-mistake waiting to happen, Vananidr. First catching my eye with sophomore effort, Road North, it was the follow-up, Damnation that really put them on my radar. This was second-wave black metal with that something extra: in Damnation’s case, the ability to shift styles cohesively and compellingly. A murky production held it back, and, to be honest, it faded in my memory a bit. Nevertheless, when I saw Beneath the Mold lurking in the promo pit (alongside a predictable misspelling of the band’s name), I was intrigued.” Breaking the mold? Mould?
“Did you catch Reared Up in Spectral Predation last year? If not, you missed Universally Estrangedߵs startling debut, a cosmically competent slab of OSDM fury that dissolved slowly amongst the whirring of scattershot synth swooshes, robotic bleeps, and washed-out guitar heroism. Though it had its dips in quality and pacing, its unique presence and soundscape cemented a spot on my watchlist—a burst of potential that freed many from the inertia that OSDM often inspires. Drawing on sounds equally as earthy as extraterrestrial, this Texas-incepted act has brought forth its sophomore outing, Dimension of Deviant Clusters.” Estranged bedfellows.
“Unlike the treacherous triumvirate of necromancers up on the hill in Macbeth,Acid Witch are a silly, tongue-in-cheek entity and always have been. Their stoner doom-death style owes more to cheesy horror flicks from the 60s and 70s than it does to Black Sabbath or Autopsy and their typical fare feels like it could function as a soundtrack for Return of the Living Dead or Trick or Treat with the camp levels besting those seen around Crystal Lake. On fourth album Rot Among Us little has changed in their odd witch’s brew.” Come, come to the sabbWitch.
“As 2022 winds down and I retreat into my hiding spot to catch up on releases from this year that I haven’t listened to yet while working like crazy, my city is currently in flux in terms of the weather. Sure, autumn’s turning the leaves brown and the skies grey, but it’s far from California dreamin’ weather here in Florida. In fact, for the most part, it’s still downright toasty here compared to the rest of the States. And speaking of California and all things toasty, that’s the vibe I got while listening to House of Falling Ash, the third album from Roseville, California sludge/doom trio Chrome Ghost.” Falling to cold.
