“Imminent Sonic Destruction like to call themselves progressive super metal. The brainchild of sweater-vest lover (and songwriter/guitarist/vocalist) Tony Piccoli, this group of prog-loving pals could more accurately be referred to as playing kitchen sink metal. As in, everything-but-the. And with influences ranging from Pantera to Dream Theater to Meshuggah to Genesis, that’s a pretty apt term.” You never go full Dream Theater!
“Popular music has had a shadow looming over it for years: talent shows, where thousands of contenders come to have their hopes and dreams shattered, burned and the ashes spread to the winds. Apparently the practice has also come to unpopular music; in 2011, Century Media crowned proggers Oddland the winners of the Suomi Metal Star contest. Those last three words make me gag, but at least Oddland got a record deal out of it, with Dan “The Man” Swanö as their mix and mastering bonus.” It’s not every day you get to win a Swanö.
“Rest in hazy, gloomy peace, The Wounded Kings. A picture of a tombstone, a few words on Facebook, and we we’re left robbed of an illustrious specimen of progressive, psychedelic doom metal, condemned to finding solace in the five praiseworthy full-lengths and several smaller releases they recorded.” It’s with heavy hearts and a pocket full of doom that we wish The Wounded Kings farewell…
“The endless darkness, desolation, intriguing mystery and suffocating atmosphere of space pairs well with metal. Science fiction themes, dystopian futures and extra terrestrial shenanigans are all familiar sources of inspiration in the metal scene, however Colorado up and comers Blood Incantation do a particularly excellent job of nailing down the dense reality, claustrophobic atmosphere and otherworldly vibe of our mysterious universe on their hugely impressive full-length debut, Starspawn.” Space in your face.
“When first listening to Terminus by While Sun Ends I was on the train. In lieu of much exciting to say about the record itself, I will begin with this. It was on a Euro-trip where I visited a number of central European cities. I had the pleasure of making the journey between Munich (Germany) and Salzburg (Austria), a route which takes you through the beautiful Bavarian Alps. These travel days were substantially stop-gaps but this ride was a highlight of my trip, as we sped through a plethora of emerald hills, past azure lakes, observed grand mountains and stopped at quaint villages with lots of men whose names I presume to be Klaus. All of them. I paint this picture as that part of the world is extraordinary. The same cannot be said for Terminus. It is, indeed, extra-ordinary.” The home of trains is plain.
“We all have our dirty metal secrets that we selfishly keep to ourselves, only sharing with a select few close to us. Or alternatively, we incessantly talk up underground gems and spread the gospel to anyone that will listen, as we cherish our slice of underground cred. Into the Obscure aims to right the wrongs and unearth the artists/albums that for whatever unjust reason didn’t get the exposure or credit they sorely deserved the first time round.” Here be the hidden gems!
“A couple of years ago some noisy factions of the Angry Metal Guy readership kicked up a stink by our lack of coverage of the debut LP from promising Pennsylvanian deathsters Black Crown Initiate. Following the over-the-top acclaim for The Wreckage of Stars, a fine full-length debut loaded with potential, the boys return with the crucial and much anticipated follow-up, Selves We Cannot Forgive. Sophomore albums are often tricky propositions, especially in the wake of a well received debut.” Stop harassing us!
“The country of Sweden is home to 9.9 million people. Judging from the number of bands that come out of that land, 10 million of those individuals are musicians. And good ones, too. In this latest version of his band, Karmakanic founder and bassist Jonas Reingold (also of The Flower Kings) attempts to use as many of them as possible. No less than twelve artists get credited on Karmakanic’s fifth full-length release, DOT.” I once knew a Swede that wasn’t in a band. He was actually in 5 bands.
“Here at AMG, one of my biggest challenges (besides suppressing my gag reflex when cleaning out the office refrigerator) is trying to keep my reviews to a tidy length. Between describing a band’s sound and influences, elaborating on the various songs, bitching about the production, and writing shitty and superfluous opening paragraphs, it can be hard to squeeze all my thoughts into only 700 or so words. Fortunately Aktaion’s sophomore outing The Parade of Nature is the rare record which can be accurately described in a single term: Gojira-core.” That’s better than gorilla-core at least.
“Longtime AMG readers may recall my excessive worship of guitarist John Cobbett and his various projects. His main endeavor, Bay-area prog-metallers Hammers Of Misfortune, has been dormant since 2011’s 17th Street, and with good reason. Vocalist Joe Hutton was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident, Cobbett and wife/bandmate Sigrid Sheie welcomed their first child and released an album with Vhöl, and the Hammers themselves went through several lineup changes. Five years later, the band returns with the heavier, more direct Dead Revolution.” Let’s get hammered.
