It’s becoming apparent that our filtering systems work quite well! The crew has done a fine job pulling filth from the workings and releasing the pressure to the system. A second too late and the toilets would have backed up.
Self Release
Decryptor – Imminent Ruin Review
“Part of the enduring thrill of this here reviewing game, is dipping into the toxic gunk of the promo sump to pull out a freshly untapped talent or obscure underground gem that knocks your socks off and gives reason to share the love with anyone who will listen. Of course, shit can go pear-shaped pretty quickly in a densely populated modern metal scene, where carving an impression and standing out from the overcrowded pack offers a stern challenge. Hailing from British Colombia, Decryptor formed as recently as 2020, plying their trade through underground dedication and refining their skills via a few demo releases. Imminent Ruin signals the band’s first foray into full-length territory. With minimal profile or web presence, let us see if these young upstarts have the songwriting goods and talents to stoke deeper interest.” Ambition and ruin.
Ember Belladonna – The Grove Review
“I was a clarinet player as a child, but I tried my absolute darndest to learn the flute for a time (5 minutes). I found the mouthpiece simply impossible to figure out, and I could only produce the sounds of pathetic, tinny flatulence. Moved on though I have, I’ve always loved the music of professional flute players. Thus was my interest piqued by Ember Belladonna, the moniker of one Emma Kramer-Rodger, a classically trained flutist from Saskatchewan, Canada.” Blowing in the wind.
Uncomfortable Knowledge – Lifeline Review
“I have a soft spot for young bands releasing records under their own steam. With the amount of time I’ve spent pooling money for too little studio time and going through sketchy post-production just to have a stack of records I end up giving away to friends and family, I feel a masochistic duty to tackle self-releases when the promo sump presents them. Today’s lucky candidates are the French quintet Uncomfortable Knowledge, with their second full-length Lifeline.” The burden of knowledge.
Blood Red Delusion – Ruthless Behaviour Review
“Riff-focused yet stuffed to the gills with exuberantly melodic leads, Blood Red Delusion’s second salvo strikes me as something fans of classic melodic death metal albums by In Flames and At the Gates—along with more modern records like Parasite Inc.’s Time Tears Down—might flock towards. Ruthless Behavior’s no-frills, no-nonsense, and aggressively death-metal-forward approach to the genre forgoes all traces of the sweeter and smoother caresses of lushly adorned modern melodic death metal records.” Blood and poor behavior.
Wandering Oak – Resilience Review
“Come, weary wanderer, join us around the fire here in the Folk Metal Corner of AMG. Look upon Resilience by Wandering Oak; does it not look at home here? Such indicators as the band’s name and logo, Resilience’s album art, and the big “folk metal” tag attached to the promo could only suggest the folksiest of metal. But wait, put down those lutes, I say, before you stumble into Wandering Oak’s trap!” Trapped and folked.
Stuck in the Filter – November/December’s Angry Misses
2023’s cleaning protocols are finally complete, and here comes the Filter scrappings from November and December. Taste them all, then consult a funeral director.
Knoll – As Spoken Review
“I got a chance to see Knoll live in 2022 shortly after the manic Metempiric dropped. All in all, only twenty people scattered about my favorite hometown venue—a homely bar with a solid stage attached to a bowling alley. This ragtag group of kids who looked to be no older than high school graduates gave the performance of a lifetime—gut-churning rhythms, sudden breakaways from ripping guitar phrases to crying trumpet blares, a vocalist whose life depended on the successful bleeding of the audience’s ears. Knoll represents the ideal of youthful ambition. As Spoken is the result.” Young horrors.
Cariosus – Will, Until Beauty Review
“Autopsying deathcore-inclined melodic death metal rarely turns up anything of note. The cause of death is obvious — a yawning void in the cranial cavity, with ink poisoning in the neck as a contributing factor. What reviewer could be blamed for assuming the obvious of Will, Until Beauty, the debut full-length from Chicago duo Cariosus? What a surprise then that further inspection has turned up a record that not only has grey matter intact, but has half a heartbeat too!” Heartcoreworks.
Distances – Abstruse Review
“In 2013, I attended a concert in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with hopes of seeing Intronaut and Scale the Summit. However, because I’m a good little Hollow, I decided to stop in for the openers. The youth center in which this was played was scrawled with graffiti in the dim lighting, and the stage was a makeshift affair about a foot or less off the ground, and a row of beaten couches comprised the seating. When I was welcomed into the concert area, Albuquerque quartet (at the time) Distances came up, a band whose numbers rivaled the audience members. There we stood, bobbing our heads to a post-metal sound whose colossal quality blew the roof off the shady little venue.” From youth center to center stage.