Reviews

Danzig – Black Laden Crown Review

Danzig – Black Laden Crown Review

“I remember being instantly taken with the sound of Danzig’s self-titled debut when I saw the video for “Twist of Cain” on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. Sure, I knew Mr. Danzig from The Misfits and Samhain, but this was a much different beast. Metal, meaty, manly and catchy as all get out. Thus began my fandom for the man’s solo career, which burned brightly from 1988 to 1996, at which time the biscuit wheels came off the gravy train to the sickening sounds of electronica.” Pec the halls with brows from Jersey!

DragonForce – Reaching into Infinity Review

DragonForce – Reaching into Infinity Review

“There was a period back in my early high school days where I listened to DragonForce almost exclusively. I learned guitar so I could (badly) play “Through the Fire and Flames,” I wore one of the most atrocious band tees I’ve ever seen with pride, and I even made an unbelievably embarrassing PowerPoint presentation on the band’s history for a class assignment. I’m pretty sure my obsession with them stemmed from misdirected teenage hormones, which, with me being a DragonForce fan, definitely weren’t being aimed where human biology intended.” Dragonfetish.

Harvestman – Music for Megaliths Review

Harvestman – Music for Megaliths Review

“Most musicians these days have multiple projects on the go. Whether because of diverse musical influences or the need to try and make a buck in this silly industry, we can expect members of our favorite bands to pop up in all sorts of places. Neurosis’ Steve Von Till is no different, playing in his main band along with solo outings, Tribes of Neurot, and his outdoorsy drone/ambient project, Harvestman.” Enjoy of deep Druid-core.

Morass of Molasses – These Paths We Tread Review

Morass of Molasses – These Paths We Tread Review

“Lust. Greed. Pride. Jealousy. Gluttony. Vengeance. Six emotions that I experience on my daily commute to and from work. What’s better than having a heavy-blues inspired stoner album, shaped by these sordid vices, to accompany me on my soulless journey into this sick and weary world? Hailing from my beloved Blighty, Morass of Molasses thrust sexy, groove-laden shock-waves that send old-biddies reeling, cups of tea a-spilling, rich-tea biccies mushing, and tea doilies dampening.” Sounds of a tea party fading.

Dødsengel – Interequinox Review

Dødsengel – Interequinox Review

“How much stock do you place in authenticity? Do you opt for subtitles over the dub? Will you only reach for your wallet if a suit was hand stitched by a broom closet-dwelling tailor in Milan? And even if you can’t believe it’s not butter, do you push it aside for the original, anyway? When it comes to music, when one hears the word “Norway” invariably the next words that follow are “black metal” so it may be comforting to know that Dødsengel — with their own brand of svart metall — hails from the land of frost and cod.” For cod and country.

Divine Element – Thaurachs of Borsu Review

Divine Element – Thaurachs of Borsu Review

“Based on my review stats thus far into my AMG career, I’ve got a 66 percent chance of snagging a record featuring Spectral Lore guitarist Ayloss whenever I pull an I, Voidhanger release from the promo bin. It’s easy to see why the label is so eager to back his work; he’s one of the few black metal guitarists I can recall who possesses a unique playing style, slapping an unmistakable stamp onto pretty much every product he touches. But before he staked his claim to black metal fame with Spectral Lore, he cut his teeth on Divine Element.” Sharp teeth, sharp riffs.

Sektarism – La Mort de L’Infidele Review

Sektarism – La Mort de L’Infidele Review

“As anyone who knows me well enough can attest, I function in strange ways. I enjoy my iced coffee in the wintertime. In the summertime, though, when everyone is either at the beach or cruising down the highway of their choice, I prefer to shutter myself in my house, grab a beer, and listen to either Kyuss or funeral doom. Strange, I know, but there’s something to be said about taking it easy on days where it’s overly sunny and hot as balls outside. So imagine my delight when I discovered La Mort de L’Infidele by France’s Sektarism in the promo bin, just waiting for me to engage in enough summertime sadness to make Lana Del Ray blush.” There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.

The Monolith Deathcult – Versvs 1 Review

The Monolith Deathcult – Versvs 1 Review

“Two years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing The Monolith Deathcult’s 2015 EP Bloodcvlts. And by ‘pleasure,’ I mean something else entirely. The band is everything Leave It to Beaver’s Eddie Haskell would be in reality. At first, the band seems like a serious, straight-laced Dutch death metal group. They seem polite and always outgoing, straight-to-the-point and never misleading. Then you discover the truth: that’s all bullshit.” Bloodcvlts, BS, Beaver.

Ardent Spirits – Mountain Howl Review

Ardent Spirits – Mountain Howl Review

“Music is a lot like food. Both are nourishing: food for the body and music for the spirit. There’re no accounting for taste, but there’s semi-predictable consensuses (consensi?), such as nu-metal and tofurkey are both hellspawn that should be scorched from the face of the Earth. Sometimes you feel in the mood for a big, luxury five-course meal, so you load up Ayreon, sometimes you crave the greasy slop of Vader, and sometimes you prefer a salad so you throw yourself out the sixth-floor window. With all this said, who’s ready for a medium-sized bag of popcorn?” Kernels of truth.

Sentient Ignition – Enthroned in Gray Review

Sentient Ignition – Enthroned in Gray Review

Sentient Ignition burst onto the death metal circuit one year ago, dropping a two-track demo that caught the ears of everyone from MetalSucks to Toilet Ov Hell. Mixing melody, technical skill, and progressive intent, the demo delivered a product equal parts surprise and success. Enthroned in Gray is now tasked with living up to expectations set dangerously high for a band whose career spans 15 minutes and 52 seconds.” The confidence of youth and the wankiness of tech-death.