Reviews

Earth – Primitive and Deadly Review

Earth – Primitive and Deadly Review

“Wait, wait, Earth? Dylan Carlson’s music child that went from pioneering drone doom to dabbling in experimental psychedelic-country-drone-whatnot? How long has it been since they released anything even remotely attached to metal? Nine years, eighteen years? Surely this review has no place here. This is, after all, Angry METAL Guy: trve, kvlt, ov the underground and all that.” Are you shocked to see an Earth review here? We are too.

The Order of Israfel – Wisdom Review

The Order of Israfel – Wisdom Review

“In a month where Pallbearer dropped an irresistible doom monstrosity on us, an unheralded act is quietly sneaking out a release that could easily slip through the cracks and escape notice unfairly. The Order of Israfel is a project put together by Tom Sutton (Church of Misery) and Patrik Andersson Winberg (Doomdogs) and their Wisdom debut is a surprisingly addictive fusion of classic Sabbathian doom, 70s hard rock, The Obsessed and the Cathedral school of mega heavy riffs.” Hey, Pallbearer isn’t the only doom crew out there. Sheesh!

Opeth – Pale Communion Review

Opeth – Pale Communion Review

“Twenty-fourteen brings us the answer to this question in the form of Pale Communion. The record is Opeth’s follow-up to the (apparently) love-it-or-hate-it Heritage, and the second record in the style that is maybe best described as “post-Opeth.” While the band continues to be recognizable in tone and melody construction, they are not the band they were. They are not a death metal band with some prog elements—”death metal with feeling” as Peter Lindgren once said to me in a discussion about whether the band fit the genre “progressive death metal”—they’re just a progressive rock band.” So, where does Pale Communion fall on the scale from “got its groove back” to “meh”? Find out by reading this here review.

YOB – Clearing the Path to Ascend Review

YOB – Clearing the Path to Ascend Review

“Eugene, Oregon’s YOB have come a long way since their beginnings way back into the nineties. They started their career on a high note by churning out a pretty unique beast of an album, Elaborations of Carbon, whose mad, gigantic sound would become the band’s trademark. By 2005, albums like The Unreal Never Lived ensured them the status of one of the frontrunners of the sludge/doom scene and following that record, the band went on a two-year hiatus which looked like a permanent disbandment at the time. When they came back from the dead, fuelled by the perseverance of mastermind Mike Scheidt, it was clear that YOB underwent some kind of transformation, which was reflected on the following two albums. Taking that into account, the expectations and fears for their first new material in three years were running high through a mist of uncertainties and worries about the direction the band would take.” YOB is love, but is YOB still YOB? YOB!

The Haunted – Exit Wounds Review

The Haunted – Exit Wounds Review

“I’m a crabby old thrash metal fanatic. No bones about it. I’ve never really been into the new wave of thrash metal like As I Lay Dying and Suicide Silence, or the retro thrash metal bands like Municipal Waste and Bonded By Blood, who prance about in their tight jeans and high top sneakers, probably because I was there in the trenches during the first wave (though I never got into the skinny jeans). When Sweden’s The Haunted first rose from the ashes of At The Gates with their self-tiled debut in ’98, I wasn’t all that big of a fan. Compared to the originators of the genre and the legacy of At The Gates, The Haunted, frankly, was a letdown.” We’ve said some mighty unflattering things about The Haunted over the years, but we might have to stop the abuse…for now.

Hammerfall – (r)Evolution Review

Hammerfall – (r)Evolution Review

“Life may be good, but it also subjects us to those unavoidable bitches like death, taxes, hangovers and back hair. One of the very worst of said bitches is the dreaded Law of Diminishing Returns. Few bands better exemplify the havoc this truism can create than Hammerfall. When they fired the opening salvo of the retro metal crusade back in 1997 with their Glory to the Brave debut, their fusion of Euro-power and traditional metal felt familiar, but somehow new and exciting and the song craft was above reproach. Follow up Legacy of Kings was less impactful but still fun, exuberant and catchy as crabs. Then, tragedy struck. Each successive album was weaker, less interesting and less credible, with only a few scattered winners to remind the listener how great things started out. This culminated with the very non-infectious slog of 2011s Infected and it looked as if Hammerfall was in free fall. Don thy plastic helmets and grab thy Nerf swords, for once more into the breach we must fall!

Blood of Kingu – Dark Star on the Right Horn of the Crescent Moon Review

Blood of Kingu – Dark Star on the Right Horn of the Crescent Moon Review

“Babylonian mythology has provided inspiration for a good few metal band names – Marduk, Tiamat, Absu, erm, Ereshkigal (cheers Wiki) and of course the subject of today’s scrutiny. Blood of Kingu kicked off in 2005 after the dissolution of Hate Forest, and contains the former members of that black metal entity along with two of their colleagues from Ukrainian nature-worshippers Drudkh. Debut album De Occulta Philosophia sounded just as you would expect given this pedigree, with the added novelty of throat singing. Sophomore Sun in the House of the Scorpion brought back metal growls to complement the glottal chants while improving on the songwriting and adding variety. Would they continue this upward trajectory on latest album Dark Star on the Right Horn of the Crescent Moon?” Bablyon isn’t just a town on Long Island, you know!

Columbian Necktie – Twilight Upon Us Review

Columbian Necktie – Twilight Upon Us Review

“Colombian Necktie: A slit across the neck under the jawline that makes the tongue fall out of said slit. That’s pretty metal, right? Totally. And before you get any ideas, Los Angeles’s Colombian Necktie have already secured that band name. You may be quick to say “Obvious death metal band is obvious,” but you’ll be happy to know that Colombian Necktie are a self-described sludgecore band, which sees them combining sludge riffs and progressions with hardcore songwriting styles.” Terrible name, but an interesting hybrid style. You can’t win all the time.

Provocator –  Antikristus Review

Provocator – Antikristus Review

“These days it seems difficult to find the black metal of old; the kind that Hellscream, the sole member of Slovenia’s Provocator claims to play. Even the originators of the dark, raw, and minimalistic style have chosen to delve into experimental, avant-garde, symphonic and punk-driven crust that take the primitive and simplistic foundation of the 90s to bigger and (sometimes) cleaner heights. That being said, these new hybrids have created some incredible material and the old walls of Scandinavian black metal have burned down along with several churches.” Yet another newbie reviewer tackles yet another black metal band. Give Dr. A.N. Grier a warm welcome as he tells of church burnings and old school yearnings.