![Mad God – Tales of a Sightless City [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Mad-God-Tales-of-a-Sightless-City-cover-768x768.png)
“Due to either time constraints, tight deadlines, or this wonderful thing we all call life, I do miss an album or two to review in time. South Africa’s Mad God make a worthy addition to the year’s crop of doom with their self-released debut, Tales of a Sightless City.” God is mad, look sorry.
The Lord of Brvtality and the Immortal Mancat have deigned to deliver Top Ten(ish) lists for the masses. Let them eat metal cake.
“Making a successful and popular Top Ten list involves a series of complex calculations, comprised of, but not limited to the following: a tallying of recorded scores, estimated scene cred, a precise proportion of big and underground bands, a spot for that one record universally praised during the year, and a pathological need to seem like one has not missed anything.” Making a list, checking it thrice.
“One-man bands, once the exclusive domain of basement dwelling, meatloaf-consuming black metal denizens, are now becoming a trend in doom as well. Spirit Adrift impressed the AMG staff earlier this year and Via Vengeance is making a name for themselves (himself?) as well. Now make room for Nupraptor, the project of one Matt St. Our.” Doom is the loneliest number.
“After vocalist and guitarist, songwriter and mastermind Nate Garrett arranged the merch and order some fish tacos, he was kind enough to sit down for a chat on everything from doom in Arizona to his time in the Arkansas scene and his love and respect for Jimi Hendrix and Sanford Parker. With the help of my partner-in-crime, Grymm, I bring you a special night with one of this year’s most popular dudes in metal.” Spirits were had.
“Yes, I know what you are thinking, and no, this is NOT a Ghost spin-off act. Professor Emeritus is no one’s Papa I, II or III, and rather than getting their hands dirty with unwashed ghoul masks and slightly metallized Blue Oyster Cult ditties, these Chicago road scholars chose to major in epic trve metal at the olden learning institution, while also carrying a minor in doom.” The ivory tower is metal.
“Following the sudden death of former drummer Adrian Guerra, bassist Dylan Desmond and drummer/organist Jesse Shreibman wrestled with shock and despair, as well as doubt over the future of Bell Witch. Their conclusion that “if [they] were going to go on, it had to be something remarkable” is evident throughout Mirror Reaper. Pulling off an 84-minute single track opus is about as remarkable as it gets.” C’mon Mary….
“Arizona’s Spirit Adrift, a one-man doom machine featuring the talented voice, musicianship, and songwriting of one Nate Garrett, dropped a promising debut last year with Chained to Oblivion. Just a hair over a year later, Garrett returns with a fully fleshed-out band, a slightly altered sound, and a new album in Curse of Conception.” Those adrift are not always lost.
“Like labelmates Graves at Sea and Lycus, and fellow American’s Bell Witch and Samothrace, Usnea live life in the slow(er) lane. Their brand of doom features a rotating spit of tasty off-shoots: funeral doom, black metal, sludge, and progressive metal all permeate through the five dense and atmospheric tracks of Portals into Futility, the band’s third full-length. A vague and ethereal science-fiction concept runs through the album, too. I’ve deduced this not from the lyrics but from the reading list supplied by the band: the works of Gene Wolfe, Ursula Le Guin, Carl Sagan, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, and Frank Herbert are expected to be cosmically crumbled into this curious concoction.” Sci-ops.
“The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. Cascading promos, unreasonable deadlines, draconian editors and the unwashed metal mobs – it makes for a swirling maelstrom of music and madness. In all that tumult, errors are bound to happen and sometimes our initial impression of an album may not be completely accurate. With time and distance comes wisdom, and so we’ve decided to pull back the confessional curtain and reveal our biggest blunders, missteps, oversights and ratings face-plants. Consider this our sincere AMGea culpa. Redemption is retroactive, forgiveness is mandatory.” Grymm tidings.
