“Internal Bleeding helped to pioneer the much maligned (but somewhat loved) ‘slam’ death metal genre over 20 years ago, and are by most accounts the first band to use the term. As the premiere slam band alongside Suffocation, they’ve been divisive since day one.” Love em or hate em, they’re back to get all Strong Island on your ass.
“Doomy stoner metal seems to be creating a lot of buzz in the metal scene at the moment, so what better time than now for Season of Mist to re-release the back catalogue of self-proclaimed “weed metal” band Weedeater? Sixteen Tons was originally released in a cloud of smoke in 2002 via Crucial Blast, and has since gone out of print.” We hate when stuff goes out of print, so here’s an alert that this album is back.
“Odors – specifically bad ones – provide no end of inspiration for metal artists, so I was surprised to find that the simple name Stench hadn’t been taken some time back in the 80s when all these extreme metal shenanigans were kicking off (though I suppose this was also the time when metalheads collectively discovered adjectives, so we were treated to Pungent Stench instead). Containing two members of death metallers Tribulation, Stench released debut In Putrescence in 2010, mixing aggressive but melodic black metal with a good waft of Gardens of Grief to come up with a familiar but quite unique scent.” I love the smell of Swedish black / death in the morning. Smells like…Stench.
“Post-metal has had a lot going for it in the past year. If you count it, The Ocean’s Pelagial was a remarkable work of art, as beautiful as it was heavy. Cult of Luna returned with the monstrous Vertikal last year and even gave fans more music with Vertikal II, the companion EP. And to add to it, Rosetta gave The Anaesthete to the world via Bandcamp, essentially for free. It’s a great time for post-metal…” Can Beak keep the post-metal golden age rolling or are the good times all over?
“25 long years after their last recorded output (damn, that makes me feel old), four-fifths of the classic Sanctuary lineup reunite to write an album that sounds exactly like vintage…Nevermore. Yes, I suppose we could have seen that coming, being that lead man Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Shepard founded that particular power-prog act after leaving Sanctuary, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one hoping The Year the Sun Died would be a glorious return to the traditional American power metal of Refuge Denied rather than a retread of their better known project.” Some folks tabbed this as the most anticipated album of 2014. Steel Druhm wasn’t one of them because he’s not silly.
“After consuming my fill of thick gourmet stew from doom heavyweights YOB and Pallbearer over the past month, it’s refreshing to get back to some no-frills meat and potatoes metal, courtesy of unsigned Californian thrashers Madrost. Firstly, the fact the band is unsigned is a little baffling, especially when considering the subpar tripe that winds up on labels these days. Not that Madrost are a particularly game changing or innovative band ready to set the metal underground ablaze, but they certainly have the chops and enough of their own identity to warrant a record deal.” It has been said we only review thrash here at AMG (or was it death)? Either way, here’s some fucking thrash!
“Death-thrash is the ultimate extreme metal throwback, harkening to the days before death metal was death metal by re-investigating the genre’s roots and reinvigorating its gloominess and brutality through fast-paced, angry guitar abuse. It’s never going to push boundaries, but that’s not really the point – at this stage in its life, thrash has become ever more nostalgic for the days of yore, and what better way to tint one’s glasses rosy than to splatter them with blood. Memphis-based three-piece Shards of Humanity is ready to render those lenses opaque with their debut, Fractured Frequencies, a dirty, riff-obsessed tribute to the birth of death.” Man, old school tribute music really can hit the spot sometimes. But is this one of those times?
“The concept of outer space presented in the confines of black metal is nothing new. Samael’s 1996 classic, Passage, delivered the final frontier via programmed drum beats and symphonic grandeur, making the concept dark yet accessible. Yet, for as great as Passage was, it lacked a certain coldness and aura that goes hand-in-hand with black metal. Leave it to fellow Swiss aliens Darkspace to take the concept of outer space, with its unknown and potentially evil discoveries, and travel at warp speed with it over the course of three minimalist albums and one EP.” Creepy outer space black metal is creepy.
“Oh no, not another folk metal album! Time to sit through tales of drinking, paganistic pride, the majestic Scandinavian forests, and- Oh wait, that’s not the case here? Okay, false alarm. Jokes aside, I do enjoy a healthy dose of folk metal. Sure you’ve got your standards like Ensiferum and Korpiklaani that are among the bigger folk metal names, but deep down inside there’s some really well-hidden gems in the scene. Unfortunately, it seems that with every decent folk metal band you find, there’s at least five mediocre ones. South Yorkshire’s Northern Oak falls in the middle of the greats and the wannabes, and it leaves them in an interesting place, considering how small of a band they are judging by the Facebook likes.” We like judging musical talent by Facebook likes. It’s what we do.
“I’ve been listening to a LOT of Blackened Death Metal lately and I have to say the whole “symphonic black/death” style is really sinking its teeth into the genre. I’m not condemning it, but sometimes these symphonic elements can easily be overdone. Septicflesh is a good example of the sort of over-the-top delivery to be had with their dark, symphonic landscapes. Though I’ve become quite a fan of theirs, their shit is literally dripping with orchestration. As expected, a clear line was been drawn between those that dig these metal movie soundtracks and those that don’t.” Is Noctem the new Septicflesh? Is Septicflesh the new black? All things will be revealed after you listen to your free U2 album.
