“Intensity and drama unify my musical palette. As unalike as Count Bassie and Ulcerate are, they’re both able to serve up a shitton of excitement, albeit in quite different ways. But the differences between dramatic genres are still immense, which makes a Mono record quite the refresher in between this year’s big tech-death releases.” Here’s something a little bit different.
“I know embarrassingly little about the Russian metal scene, so the opportunity to review Tantal’s latest album was particularly… tantalizing. Formed in Pushkino in 2004, Tantal released their debut The Beginning of the End (is that really the best name for a first album?) in 2009. This flew completely under my radar, so I had no idea what to expect from Expectancy – a post-Soviet critique of the motivational theories of Victor Vroom in the style of In Flames, perhaps?” Can a Russian version of Arch Enemy properly motivate you?
“There was a time before the Internet when musicians were scary. Glen Benton was an animal killing, Satan-worshipping maniac instead of an angry divorcee. Slayer were about to slit open a woman’s throat, all in spikes and leather instead of looking like they are on line at Chuck E. Cheese’s in a Spongebob t-shirt. The only scary person left in extreme music now that GG Allin is dead is Gaahl from Gorgoroth/God Seed and I’ve been too out touch to not know if he’s considered frightening these days.” Out of touch and scared of Sponge Bob is no way to go through life, Al.
“It’s no surprise death is such a common theme in metal. Whether through global religious institutions or personal musings on mortality, it’s something we struggle with both individually and as a society, a looming black unknown that begs questions about what happens when we pass on. Encoffination, however, do not ponder questions of life and death. Instead, the duo work within the mausoleum of extreme doom metal to embrace death head-on….” Death is as death does.
“Bloodshot Dawn appeared in 2012 brandishing a sword whose fiery arc emblazoned their thrash-influenced melodic death metal into the skies. Their self-titled debut impressed many and was hailed as a unique and creative offering in a genre that’s been riddled with Soilwork clones for the last decade. Now, they’re returning with their second-most creatively named album Demons, and with a moniker that inventive, one has to wonder if they’re falling victim to the much maligned ‘sophomore slump.’” Well, that’s an original album title.
“Kindly overlook the album cover you see to the left. Not only does it lack the good grace to include some kind of cool spherical object, but it also resembles something from a Christian new age rock group (the kind they play at inoffensive volumes in Christian, new age-y coffee joints). Worse still, it doesn’t give the slightest indication that Autumnal is a winningly morose, melodic doom act from Spain, or that The End of the Third Day is destined to be one of the sleeper hits of 2014.” Are you ready to feel those gloriously sad feels?
“Citing likenesses to Isis, Converge and Tool, Indianapolis’s Burn The Army drew me with its promo blurb promising technical and progressive post-metal. Someone notify The Official Metal Categorisation Agency™ because it’s taken twenty years, but technical and progressive post-metal has officially been redefined! Unfortunately, what you’ll find on The Tide to Sink the Summit, their first EP, is fantastically average metalcore.” Once there was a time when Steel Druhm had to review all the metalcore. Now, we have people who do that for him.
“American Horror Story: Freak Show puts faces to the monsters that walk among us, case in point Twisty the Clown! Lords of chaos and insanity, Orion (Behemoth), Daray (Dimmu Borgir, ex-Vader) and Heinrich (ex-Decapitated) of Vesania, give these monsters a soundtrack.” I hate clowns. All of them.
“It’s easy to forget that at the time of it’s release, Zlitoid The Omniscient was something of a reboot for Devin Townsend’s career. Having disbanded both his solo group and the long-running Strapping Young Lad in 2007, Townsend decided to return home, get healthy, and focus on family life. Ziltoid was his first release after that self-imposed exile. The record was charmingly low-budget, recorded solely by Townsend and a drum machine, and there was no tour to promote it.” The long awaited Ziltoid sequel has finally arrived. Pray it doesn’t suffer from Jar Jar Syndrome.
“As many AMG readers know, production quality plays a major role in the reviews posted on this site. Love it or hate it, care about it or don’t give a fuck about it, awareness of the “Loudness War” and the desire for quality metal is real. And with a new Angry Metal-Fi article out on dynamic range, I found it timely that I would be reviewing Deserted Fear’s sophomore release, Kingdom of Worms. Why, you ask? Well, Dan “The Man” Swanö himself handled the mixing and mastering of the album.” Here Dan is to save the day!
