Reviews

Anima – Enter the Killzone Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 24, 2010 in 1.5, 2010, Deathcore, Metal Blade, Reviews, Deathcore, 2 comments

I am not a trend hater. While the whole world has been hating on Deathcore for its tight pants and swoopy hair, I’ve been defending the fact that bands don’t have to “look like metal dudes” to make good metal. While jackass elitists are purging the genre from Encyclopaedia Metallum because they don’t like the trend, bands like Suicide Silence and Job for a Cowboy have shown that these bands can write killer riffs and produce solid records, even if they’re not stylistically something I’m a big fan of. Anima, unfortunately, is not so easy to defend.

Wulfgar – Midgardian Metal Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 24, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Trollzorn/SMP Records, 0 comments

The guys from Wulfgar and I have something in common: we both really love Amon Amarth. I mean, I’ve been an Amon Amarth fan since I first heard “Victorious March” all those years ago and I’ve just never looked back. I’ve purchased every one of their records since I started listening to melodic death metal and, let’s face it, I’ll probably keep listening to them for years to come until I’m old, bitter and bored with everything that I used to like (it’ll happen: then I’ll become Angry 12 Tone Jazz Guy). The difference between my love of Amon Amarth and that of the guys from this Swedish quintet is that I didn’t start a band…

Borknagar – Universal Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 22, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Indie Recordings, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 1 comment

Borknagar is a class act and has been for a long time. Reaching all the way back to their first, self-titled release, this band has separated itself from the herd by being just plain more interesting and unique. Eventually they just separated themselves from the modern black metal scene altogether, heading towards more progressive pastures. Universal continues a trend away from the raw and simple towards the highly complex, dynamic and progressiveâ€”but the question is whether or not the band’s fans and general public will want to follow the band in this direction. Well, and whether or not where the band is leading is somewhere worth going. [Read the whole review here.]

Rotting Christ – Aealo Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 18, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, Black Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, 6 comments

There aren’t many bands that can claim something that Rotting Christ can claim: they have more buzz around the band now than they have ever had, and this is their 10th album. Now the hardcore, or the old school fans, will claim that they’re not nearly as good as they were “back in the day,” but I think the band has done a lot of development since the “old days” and really planted themselves firmly on the border of modern, mainstream metal. I mean, even their label is calling them just “dark metal” now, though I think there are some things that still hold them in the black metal category. Aealo is the follow up to the band’s 2007 masterpiece Theogonia, a record which lit their fanbase aflame and which saw the band broadening their appeal to new fans all over the world. It is fair to say that Rotting Christ has continued on the heels of Theogonia with Aealo, because the majority of the stylistic themes which ran through the previous album and made it great remain.

Petrychor – Dryad Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 16, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, American Metal, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Black Metal, 3 comments

I frequently complain about black metal these days. Partially this is because I think that a lot of post-black metal is fucking boring and partially ’cause the not-post-black metal is also fucking boring. In general, black metal is in a place where nothing really that interesting is going on. Sure, there are bands out there that are putting out good material, but for the most part the signed stuff is so-so and the classic bands are disappointing with new material and the state of the scene, in my opinion, is pretty sad. So I was pleasantly surprised to get turned onto this piece of art by the Californian do-it-yourselfer just called “T”. The project is called Petrychor and displays all of the things that I would hope to hear out of this budding scene sort of embodied in a single 3 song EP entitled Dryad.

Aeternam – Disciples of the Unseen Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 15, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Power Metal, Progressive Death, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 4 comments

Egyptian metal is apparently a genre now! I didn’t have any clue! I just thought it was kind of a thing that Nile did. And then it was Nile and Behemoth. And then it was Nile, Behemoth and SepticFlesh. And now it’s Nile, Behemoth, SepticFlesh and Aeternam! I think that counts as a genre! So, that’s pretty cool in and of itself. Oh, and it turns out that Aeternam is pretty cool themselves, leading to a generally all around happy feeling for a few fleeting moments before the general irritants that keep me so angry all the time come crashing back in.

Eluveitie – Everything Remains (As It Never Was) Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 15, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 0 comments

While not the first folk metal band to take the world by storm, Eluveitie has always been a bit of a unique thing in the folk metal scene. Really, the band has tremendous success when compared to other bands in the genre. After being picked up by Nuclear Blast, they’ve had three albums, big American tours (something that has only started recently for the genre) and become very well known and well loved among folk metal enthusiasts and just regular metal enthusiasts alike. Everything Remains (As it Never Was) is the band’s big third record from Nuclear Blast (5th total) and it is set to make a big metal splash.

Barn Burner – Bangers Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 11, 2010 in 1.5, 2010, American Metal, Canadian Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, 3 comments

I don’t know about you, but when I think about classic rock I think about vocalists. Guys like Steve Perry, Steven Tyler, Robert Plant, Geddy Lee. You know, big voices, amazing melodies, and sure while you might not like every single person there, you appreciate what they offered in the sense of their huge influence and their technical skill. Hell, even look at early metal vocalists, guys like Paul Di’Anno, Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson were all very different stylistically, but had gripping melodies, great presence and pushed forward with their sounds. So what fascinates me is that any band with sort of a classic rock influence and approach would ever select a vocalist with a 4 note range.. but I have now encountered it on Barn Burner’s Bangers.

Finntroll – Nifelvind Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 29, 2010 in 2010, 4.5, Black Metal, Century Media, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 4 comments

I remember the first time I ever got to hear Finntroll. It was shortly after Jaktens Tid had been released and it absolutely blew my mind. It was like the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard: oompah and metal, all tied up in one over-the-top packaging, complete with joik! Many have approached Finntroll as though they’re a joke band, but honestly since Nattfödd, they have been a very serious band in my mind. They took it to the next level with Ur Jordens Djup, which was as dark as anything the band had produced up until this point. And honestly, I don’t think a lot of fans were sure of what to expect next from these Swedish speaking Finns. The answer to that question is Nifelvind… which may be Finntroll’s finest record yet.

Blaze Bayley – Promise and Terror Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 27, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Power Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 1 comment

I must say that, if you don’t already know this, I have been anticipating this record since I heard of its release. Sure, things have been busy around here, but I even managed to slip in a few listens to the record in spite of the heavy schedule of listening that I’m forced to adhere. Written and recorded in the aftermath of one of the most terrible tragedies in Blaze’s life, and really in the life of a neophyte band trying to break its way into the music scene on the strength of independent promotion and raw, hard work, and non-fashionable music, Promise and Terror has the chance to show the medal of this band and to testify to the absolute spine of one Blaze Bayley. While The Man Who Would Not Die was a record that was written in the face of the adversity from the outside world and sounded, frankly, like a big aural “fuck you” to all uninterested parties, Promise and Terror has a different role to fill.