“OK, so maybe I don’t have Netflix and, maybe, I thought Twitter was a porn site. And, maybe, I haven’t owned or played a video game in two decades or watched my beloved Yankees whip the Red Sox in over five years. And, maybe, the reason is that I don’t watch TV (or have one). So what if I like to sit around with my old man and talk about the Battle of Franklin? What if I like to have my breakfast at 4:30 every morning? And, so what if it’s currently 4 am right now? Maybe I have gray in my beard. Maybe I have gray in my pubes. That doesn’t make me fucking old. It’s not my fault I’m way more mature and far busier than the rest of you. You want old? Go find Huck, Steel, and Rage.”Silver and olde, silver and olde.
Reviews
Nexul – Paradigm of Chaos Review
“There is something surprisingly comforting, dare I say nostalgic, in Nexul’s punishing full-length début Paradigm of Chaos. Perhaps it’s the wistfulness attached to the band’s raw, hissy black/death metal approach and over-the-top Luciferian imagery. Their music today appears as an echo of a homicidal time and place which the genre occupied during its infancy. As if a splinter of the heartfelt occult hatefulness of the early Norwegian black metal scene somehow made its way to El Paso, Texas.” Morbid tourist.
Urn – The Burning Review
“From Beethoven to Brian Eno, mankind has toiled for centuries to compose the greatest music human minds can fathom. Alas it was not until the mid-90s that music finally attained its supreme form, when two metal genres miraculously fused in the unholy union known as ‘blackened thrash.’” It was the best of times, it was the the blast of times.
Adagio – Life Review
“Unlike other genres, power metal isn’t one that I can freely delve into – I need a little consideration before I lunge into that fray of fromage. Having spent most of my adult life in front of a classroom full of students with inevitably big ideas, patience is not a virtue I was born with but one I have since earned by iron and blood. The kind of patience that allows me to sit in wait for an album with a little more crunch; a little more progression à la Symphony X, Borealis or Kamelot.” Patience is a virtuoso.
Byzantine – The Cicada Tree Review
“The Cicada Tree finds the DIY experts on a major label, joining the Metal Blade juggernaut, and embracing their progressive tendencies more than ever before. Hints of their prominent influences, including nods to Pantera, Testament and Meshuggah, are still present, but as usual Byzantine discover innovative ways to transcend their influences into a crackling melting pot of creativity and powerhouse hooks.” Bitten by the prog bug.
Absolva – Defiance Review
“Whilst scanning the vastness of the AMG promo dumpster for something intriguing, I came across an unknown English act named Absolva who appeared to be set to release a double album of classic 80s metal with hard rock influences. Being Steel, I had to investigate further and in the process I discovered several things.” The truth is out there.
Sun of the Sleepless – To the Elements Review
“It took me three full listens of one-man German black metal project Sun of the Sleepless’ debut while thinking “gee, this guy sure likes The Vision Bleak!” before I realized “that guy” is actually The Vision Bleak’s Ulf Theodor Schwadorf.” Blackened and bleak.
Afterbirth – The Time Traveler’s Dilemma
“Ever since zombies killed his dog in 2007, Will Smith has been dealing with his grief in the healthy way: by gurgling, screaming, and howling his way across New York’s underground metal scene. Many will be familiar with his work in Buckshot Facelift and Artificial Brain, and his talents are just as well displayed in Afterbirth.” Rage therapy.
Integrity – Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume Review
“If you’ve followed the band’s thirty year career at all, you may think you have an idea of what you’re in for; but Howling demonstrates a disregard for convention as flagrant as my indifference for sentence length.” Run-on with the pack.
Prong – Zero Days Review
“Tommy Victor’s Prong have been cranking out music at a furious rate lately, with 4 studio albums in the past 5 years. While this work ethic is admirable (and rivaled only by Creedence Clearwater Revival circa 1969-70), we all know quantity does not always equal quality.” Assembly line metal?