Paradise Lost

Lacuna Coil – Broken Crown Halo Review

By Grymm on March 23, 2014 in 2014, Century Media, Gothic Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Gothic Metal, 19 comments

“When a band hits a certain level of fame, usually it gives them free reign to do whatever their innermost muse guides them to create without fear of their label dropping them. They can craft new masterpieces to guide the listener to unknown lands, and hold them there for the duration of the album’s captivating length. They can also lull the unsuspecting fan into a false sense of security before bludgeoning them to a wet, slushy pulp. In other words, no matter what the band does, it’s guaranteed that their label will back them up, as they are proven to sell like virtual gang-busters.” Which approach will Lacuna Coil take? Are you sure?

Shores of Null – Quiescence Review

By Grymm on March 16, 2014 in 2014, Candlelight, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, 6 comments

“Swimming among an overcrowded sea of retro-thrashers, tech-death wankers, and sweepy-haired shoegazers playing post-whatever-the-fuck-the-flavor-is-this-week, there’s a band from Italy that’s looking to Finland and Seattle for the inspiration behind their début, Quiescence. Shores of Null may be a brand-spankin’-new band, but they are looking to capture your attention in pretty interesting ways. And they succeed to a degree.” Grymm just might have stumbled on something interesting here.

The Isolation Process – The Isolation Process Review

By Steel Druhm on January 10, 2014 in 2014, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Version Studio Records, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 10 comments

“Are you one of those people who wish Paradise Lost never strayed from the sound of Draconian Times? If so, The Isolation Process has a belated Christmas/Festivus gift with your name on it. The eponymous debut from this Swedish three-piece made up of members of Lingua and Come Sleep (neither of which I ever heard of) features a style strikingly similar to that classic album, while adding select elements of Tool, Sinamore and To Die For. As gothic-tinged doom metal goes, that makes for quite the heady stew in which to dunk your biscuits of despair and oyster crackers of unresolved childhood issues.” Do you like Paradise Lost? If so, hug this album to your breast and sing it a sweet love song.

Eye of Solitude – Canto III Review

By Grymm on November 17, 2013 in 2013, Doom Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 8 comments

“Its been a long time since I’ve been impressed by a doom metal record. You would figure it would be a pretty easy thing to get the hang of, if you think about it: create an atmosphere of (circle one: sorrow, solitude, deep introspection) utilizing well-timed (female vocals, violin, acoustic guitar) passages before (crushing ruthlessly, lamenting sadly, turning loose some swans). Yet somehow, at best, recent doom releases have given me a feeling of “meh,” and at worst, eliciting some unintentional chuckles. Eye of Solitude have a few things going for them: they’re young (only been around since 2010), they’re UK-based (and they KNOW their doom metal over there), and they’re hungry. Canto III, their third album, not only has given me hope for the genre once more, but they also have a serious contender for a Best of 2013 record.” Grymm is notoriously difficult to impress when it comes to doom/death, but that’s exactly what Eye of Solitude did.

Bloody Hammers – Spiritual Relics Review

By Steel Druhm on September 17, 2013 in 2013, American Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Soulseller Records, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 3 comments

Well, this is a bit of a surprise. I never heard of Bloody Hammers until I reviewed their self-titled debut in February, and now they’re back with a follow-up a mere seven months later! Talk about productivity! While I liked aspects of the debut and their Hour of 13 and Witchfinder General meets Danzig approach to retro “occult rock,” things felt a bit underwhelming as a whole and suffered from inconsistent songwriting.” With so little time between releases, is it realistic to expect big improvement on Spiritual Relics? Steel Druhm is here to prep your expectations accordingly.

Ancient Crypts – Devoured by Serpents Review

By Dr. Fisting on July 13, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, 0 comments

“It’s common knowledge that some of the most raging metal music today is coming from South America. Countries like Peru, Chilé and Colombia are producing what seems like hundreds of awesomely raw death and black metal bands. They are insanely passionate about old-school metal, their love for Satan is strong, and they release ridiculously obscure demos that are always fun to chase down. Case in point: Chilean death metal duo Ancient Crypts, who have released a cassette-only death metal monstrosity entitled Devoured by Serpents.” South American death metal is like a fine steak. It’s bloody, but delicious. Join Mr. Fisting as he takes us on a trip to the crypts!

Ecnephias – Necrogod Review

By Madam X on June 20, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Aural Music, Black Metal, Code666 Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, 2 comments

“Yup, I’ve been picking promo’s based on album art again, some say it’s no way to pick an album, that the two don’t correlate, I disagree. Don’t knock the system till you’ve tried it! What it boils down to is that I have no history with Ecnephias, I’ve not come across their dark melodies before and as mentioned it was graphic artist Pierre-Alain D. (3mmi Design) and his attractive album art that prompted me towards this review.” Madam X reviews some blackened death which may or may not sound like Septicflesh. You people love when we do that!

Dark Tranquillity – Construct Review

By Steel Druhm on May 21, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Century Media, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 22 comments

“I’ve been waiting for this one for some time. As a big Dark Tranquillity fan, I’ve weathered their style shifts and experiments with more commercial and more “modern” sounds. While 2010s We Are the Void was respectable with a few killer cuts, I ended up really liking the extended extras that were included on the limited edition release (which eventually became the Zero Distance EP). That group of songs encapsulated what modern-day DT does best: create melodic, but cold, sterile, modern death metal. I really wanted them to continue in that direction on Construct, but they thought otherwise.” Do the last of the Gothenburg titans finally fall victim to time and tide or can The Tranquil Ones keep the flame of melodic death alive?

My Dying Bride – The Manuscript Review

By Noctus on April 28, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Doom Metal, English Metal, Peaceville, Rating, Releases, 3 comments

“You really have to hand it to My Dying Bride. This 23 year old band have stuck to their guns unlike any other band of their kin – not only by staying true to their death-doom roots without much in the way of deviation, but by their sheer amount of unwavering activity. Especially when you consider the other British death-doom pioneers of their ilk, both Anathema and Paradise Lost, going down different paths to musical pastures so far detached from their roots, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re a completely different band than the gothic pessimists of they began life as. My Dying Bride, however, has had a core sound since their very first album and aside from minor experimentation here and there it’s remained very much the same.” While consistency is the hobogoblin of little minds, it seems to work for these UK doom-mongers. Noctus analyzes if consistency kills or thrills on their new EP.

Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Forlorn Path – Man’s Last Portrait

By Angry Metal Guy on April 17, 2013 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Blog Posts, 0 comments

In our new monthly feature, which will show up here on the 15th of every month and run over the next few days, I (Angry Metal Guy) will select 5 bands at random (usually those who have followed my directions and have bandcamp accounts) to get blurbed by every member of the AMG staff. The idea is to do at least a bit of our part to point out that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal. While we simply don’t have the manpower to produce regular reviews of unsigned bands, this is my attempt at a minor mea culpa if nothing else. So enjoy Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo and our third entry for April 2013: Forlorn Path!