Listurnalia is almost over. But we can’t conclude it without a list from your favorite AMG writer, can we?
Second to Sun
Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2022
“You don’t know shit until you read this. It’s not opinion; it’s science.”
![Second to Sun – Nocturnal Philosophy [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Second-to-Sun-Nocturnal-Philosophy-01-768x768.jpeg)
Second to Sun – Nocturnal Philosophy [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]
“Of all the black metal names tossed around this site, Second to Sun is one of my favorites. Since giving their amazing record, The Walk, the top spot in 2018, StS have been regular listers for ole Grier. The combination of atmoblack, unsettling dissonance, and crushing riffs is like nothing I’ve ever heard before from a black metal outfit. The band has followed a standard format of digestible track lengths spread evenly over a forty-to-fifty-minute runtime for the last few years. But something dark is hovering over Vlad and co. Nocturnal Philosophy is something different.” Swallow this Sun?
Grima – Frostbitten Review
“Finally, I have wrested reviewing rights for Russia’s Grima from the grips of the dastardly Cherd of Doom. Not, it should be noted, because he accepts that he underrated the masked duo’s last two albums but because he has other pressing deadlines. Underrate them he did though, in my opinion at least. 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the 2021 follow up, Rotten Garden, were both 4.0s if you ask me (not that Cherd did ask me). Atmospheric black metal powered by the icy winds of the tundra and the exhaled air of a bayan or accordion, Grima is very much my cup of vodka.” Roll out the blizzard barrel.
Dimman – Songs and Tales of Grievance Review
“There’s something refreshing about looking at an album cover and not having any idea what you’re supposed to be seeing, but knowing exactly what you’re meant to feel. Bleak, muted despairing agony radiates from the succinctly-titled Songs and Tales of Grievance, and that was always going to be hard for me to pass up. The artist is Dimman, a Finnish sextet, and this is, as far as I can tell, their first release under this moniker. Peddling modern melodic death metal, the band’s approach is a familiar one, assured and confident despite the album’s debut status.” The airing of grievances will now commence.
Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020
Doc Grier has a Top Ten(ish) of 2020 worthy of fear. Grab a beer and peer into the unknown.
![Heathen – Empire of the Blind [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Heathen-Empire-of-the-Blind-01-768x768.jpg)
Heathen – Empire of the Blind [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]
“Heathen. I’ve got three shirts that say it and nine people that call me that. I liken it to a word like ‘dickhead.’ It’s got great pop and works in all situations. Though it’s maybe more fun to call my mom a ‘dickhead’ rather than a ‘heathen.’ But, I suppose it depends on the day. Speaking of fun, let’s talk about that other Heathen. The one that released Empire of the Blind, and we never got it.” Blind fury.
Second to Sun – Leviathan Review
“As I said in last year’s Legacy review, it’s always Christmas with the annual Second to Sun release. But unlike a yearly Vous Autres release, Second to Sun doesn’t send me spiraling down a black hole of despair. The Walk was the last one of their releases to come close to putting me over the edge. Since then, the band has ditched some of the mindfuckery to focus on heft and melody. Twenty-nineteen found Legacy to be the band’s heaviest creation. But, with a name like Leviathan, one can only expect something mammoth in this year’s release.” Big monster.
Dunwich – Tail-Tied Hearts Review
“Considering its size and influence on the world, Russia has provided the scene with precious few successful metal bands. Strange for a country that shares a border with Finland and is known for the biggest frostbitten tundra on the planet. From the top of my head came Second to Sun, Arkona and Tardigrade Inferno, and that’s about it (though I’m sure there’s more). Maybe Dunwich can muscle their way onto the stage. Hailing from Moscow, the trio has constructed this debut of theirs in a very independent spirit before being picked up by Caligari Records, who are calling it ‘one of the most unique and exciting bands [they]’ve come across in years.’” Hearts and horrors.
![Ars Moriendi – La solitude du pieux scélérat [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/627020-768x768.jpg)
Ars Moriendi – La solitude du pieux scélérat [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“I may drive like a twenty-year-old, dad-joke like a forty-year-old, but I’m as fit as a flabby sixty-year-old and as spry as a seventy-year-old. I have two cups of coffee and have diarrhea for the rest of the day and, two beers later, I’m drunk. Yet, with Angry Metal Age comes Angry Metal Wisdom. As well as a lot of annual visits from old friends to the old-people home. This year, visits came from Darkthrone, Kampfar, Rimfrost, Sorxe, Stormhammer, Via Vengeance, War Curse, Reign of Fury, Second to Sun, and others. One visit I was most excited about was from Ars Moriendi.” Olde habits.
