Mark Z. and L. Saunders have their moment in the blackened sun to proclaim their Top Ten(ish) preferences for 2019. Fear the words.
Shadow of Intent
Brand of Sacrifice – God Hand Review
“If you’ve read any of my reviews, you know that my taste in music is highly suspect, so it should come as no surprise by now that a deathcore album has a decent chance to impress me. In fact, when I heard “Divinity,” the first single from God Hand, I initially thought that I might have stumbled upon a gem.” God smacked.
The Odious – Vesica Piscis Review
“I didn’t know this album was coming. I thought The Odious had faded out of existence long ago, trapped behind an ever-thickening glass of ‘what-if’s’ that both magnifies and distorts the legacy of bands that disappear just as they reach their creative zenith. You’ve heard swansongs before, but never from as fluffy and yolk-drenched a cygnet as The Odious were, releasing a career’s worth of great ideas over the course of two years and two releases – 2012’s Joint Ventures LP preceded by the That Night a Forest Grew EP in 2011. Now reaching for an altogether opposite avian metaphor, the band have reformed.” From swansong to phoenix.
Stormlord – Far Review
“Every once a while we at AMG hack and slash each other for promos. In this case, I slice-and-diced one Very Messy Individual™ (Holdeneye) in the name of a symphonic death metal band by the name of Stormlord. You see, symphonic death and symphonic black metal seem to be on the upswing this year.” Storming with malice.
Ominous Eclipse – Sinister Review
“Sinister operates around a core of speedy, technical death metal. This tech style is tinged with streaks of melodicism and thrashy grooves such that sheer technical ability at their respective instruments is not the sole focus, as is often the case in the sub-genre. The vocals are split between slam-inflected lower pitches and higher-pitched growls so are somewhat varied. The band evoked to me is Shadow of Intent although Ominous Eclipse features far less of the faux-symphonics and core-style breakdowns.” Total eclipse of the tech-death?
Krosis – Solem Vatem Review
“It seems as if the late-2000s progressive deathcore scene is still strong, with stalwarts like Born of Osiris still putting out albums while newcomers like Shadow of Intent drop new and exciting explorations of the style. Perhaps it’s the years lost to the flash-in-the-pan djent experiments or the people playing the music simply growing older, but the oft-maligned microgenre seems to have become a bit more self-aware in the decade since its inception. And while gauged earlobes and squeaky-clean production die hard, good songwriting lasts forever. Do Krosis have what it takes to keep it moving forward?” Death and songcraft.
Grymm’s and Kronos’ Top Ten(ish) of 2017
The Lord of Brvtality and the Immortal Mancat have deigned to deliver Top Ten(ish) lists for the masses. Let them eat metal cake.
Dr Wvrm and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten(ish) of 2017
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages: Jørn proudly brings to you the hall door swingin’, poser metal slingin’, the not brvtal enough, not even once, the Great Old Weenie, Eldritch Elitist, the Basic Bitch, Dr. Wvrm, the Shame of Angry Metal Guy.” Yeah, that’s about right.
![Shadow of Intent – Reclaimer [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shadow-of-Intent-Reclaimer-Cover-768x768.jpg)
Shadow of Intent – Reclaimer [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]
“Shadow of Intent have a lot in common with your typical power metal band. Florid guitar lines, cheesy orchestration, slick production, and ridiculous space fantasy lyrics (pulled straight from the Halo video games) are elements you’d expect for a band of central European hair-conditioner-connoisseurs.” Brvtal power!
