“Like Liam Neeson’s grizzled ex-CIA agent from Taken, Sweden’s Antichrist are possessed of a very particular set of skills, except their skills are focused on creating an authentic facsimile of the speed/thrash zeitgeist of the early eighties.” More 80s than Radio Shack!
“In the opening moments of the original Conan the Barbarian film, Conan’s father holds up a newly forged sword and solemnly instructs his son that in their world, you can trust no man, woman or beast, only cold steel. This wisdom is as applicable today as it was in the Hyborian Age, but allow your own friendly neighborhood Steel to attach a modern-day proviso. When a new Iced Earth album arrives, you can trust it will include three things: bombast, bravado and triplets. Many, many triplets.” Orc-fried Ice.
“The thorough and rigorous research process which all bands with whom I’m unfamiliar undergo relented one key piece of information for Seattle’s A Flourishing Scourge: they shared a bill with Rhine who I reviewed last year and who I noted for their unusual and disparate range of influences.” Woe to the easily influenced.
“Australia’s Cemetery Urn describe themselves as ‘barbaric Australian death metal,’ and one gets the feeling listening to their self-titled third record that they’d welcome ceaseless barbaric bloodshed.” Commence the hacking.
“I have a new rule. Whenever Jonas Källsbäck drums on an album, it’s going to be good. Last month’s Night Flight Orchestra was fantastic. From what I’ve heard, Gathering of Kings will rock. And there’s this Mean Streak album, Blind Faith. Not to be confused with the 80s girl band Meanstreak, this version is a Swedish traditional metal band, ostensibly named after the Y&T album and song of the same name (which saw heavy rotation on my turntable back in 1984, in the form of K-Tel’s Masters of Metal album).” Dads B Rockin’.
“Sometimes it’s all in a name. As Mark Z. accurately observed in his recent Soulskinner review, certain names can be almost conclusively attributed to a particular style of metal. I came across a similar scenario with Horrid, a name that immediately screams death metal devotion. What proved more surprising as I delved into the band’s background is that in one form or another the Italian veterans have been active since 1989. Basically they were old school before being old school became cool again.” Horrid is as horrid does.
“Strange, what albums take their time to grow. Long, complex albums are in the majority in this particular aspect of music appreciation, but it can happen just as easily with a short and simple set of songs. In the former case, it stands to reason that an 80-minute avant-garde jazz fusion progressive alternative black metal album from Kuala Lumpur will take time to digest, because there are fewer familiar elements to draw from and you keep bending your expectations to try and find the right frame of mind. But why are some easily digestible records birds of the same feather?” Birdbath and beyond.
“India’s Heathen Beast are a prolific, if obscure, bunch. Having formed in 2010, the trio pumped out an EP almost every year, detailing the atrocities committed by their local government, the nonstop pollution of their environment, and the violent hypocrisy of the various religions coexisting in India.” Grind for India.
“Dread, despair, and impending doom were forged when Tony Iommi dragged his world-weary, calloused, and disfigured hands over the steel of his signature Epiphone. What is doom metal, then, when the lead guitar is replaced by the dreamy and ethereal violin? How can dread and despair pass through the strings of a fragile violin?’ The new face of classic(al) doom.
“I’ve gotten a lot of shit from the AMG staff ever since I reviewed Unleash the Archers’ 2015 release, Time Stands Still. Though I had plenty of complaints about that record, I couldn’t put it down. And they all knew it. After the album released, I listened to it for the rest of the year… and the rest of 2016… and even to this day. I will be the first to admit I find the band’s songwriting a tad absurd and packed to the brim with nacho cheese. But, that never kept me from enjoying their music. And now the time has come for me to endure more punishment at the hands of the crew. But, this time, the staff will have accept that I’m right.” Restrain the Doctor.
