Skeletonwitch

The EP, Demo, and Oddity Post [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By El Cuervo on January 2, 2019 in 2018, American Metal, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Speed Metal, Swedish Metal, Technical Death Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Ukrainian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Electronic Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Speed Metal, Technical Death Metal, 146 comments

“As a younger man I had no concept of the “EP,” nor the “demo,” nor the “split.” When was the last time Iron Maiden had to curb their excesses by squashing ideas into half an hour? When were Judas Priest not able to afford a professional recording studio and production job? And when’s that Metallica/Megadeth split due again? Such formats are reserved for the underdogs of the metal world, those bubbling beneath the surface of popularity who write music for the sheer creative expression and who will never see monetary reward for their time and effort.” Short is sweet.

Dr. Wvrm’s Top Ten(ish) Records of 2018

By Dr. Wvrm on December 26, 2018 in 2018, Blog Posts, Lists, 128 comments

Christmas is over, but the lists are still lurking! Next up is Dr. Wvrm and his highly important opinions on what ten albums you should hear in 2018.

Huck N’ Roll’s and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten of 2018

By Steel Druhm on December 21, 2018 in 2018, Blog Posts, Lists, 147 comments

The top tens are marching, and Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch are ready to spread the gospel of good metal across the land. You wanted lists, you got lists!

Third Storm – The Grand Manifestation Review

By Carcharodon on November 7, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Dark Descent Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 36 comments

“Despite originally forming in 1986, The Grand Manifestation is the first full-length offering from Swedish five-piece Third Storm. After just two years and a handful of shows, Third Storm’s original line-up disbanded. It was not until 2014 that founding member, Heval Bozarslan, gathered a new band around him, releasing the Taritiya Me EP a year later. “Despite its Mayhem-inspired cover and the howling winds and distant siren that open the EP, it is not a black metal offering. Some promising-sounding death groove is short-lived and gives way to medium-paced, funeral doom, which dominates most of the 25-minute runtime. Which Third Stormwould be on display on The Grand Manifestation—the anticipated black metal, the groove-laden death that made a brief cameo or the sludgy doom that predominated?” Precious metals sampler.

Antiverse – Under the Regolith Review

By Ferrous Beuller on November 2, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Seeing Red Records, Thrash Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 108 comments

“Of all the adages that exist to roll my eyes to the back of my head, “expect the unexpected” might be the worst. I hate that kind of axiomatically incorrect, cryptic bullshit. But, in a roundabout way, it does hold true. During even the most lean of musical years, a small part of me always perseveres in the hope that, just maybe, an album will come along, entirely off-radar, and take me by surprise. Sometimes, I even wonder if these records exist in abundance in some kind of alternate reality – an Antiverse, if you will.” Bizarro metal.

Skeletonwitch – Devouring Radiant Light Review

By Dr. Wvrm on July 17, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Avalon, Black Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 131 comments

“With vocalist Chance Garnette’s unceremonious departure and nowhere to go but sideways, all signs pointed to a long surrender to Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™. Devouring Radiant Light, in this context, makes perfect sense. Good luck explaining that to their rabid fanbase.”Which Witch is which?

Antipeewee – Infected by Evil Review

By Eldritch Elitist on July 7, 2018 in 2018, German Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, 68 comments

“Our resident Gungan evangelist recently posited a view in the AMG Slack group that has had me thinking a lot about why I don’t listen to a lot of straight thrash metal anymore. His view that the genre feels invalidated by Metallica’s best records, though initially seeming blasphemous, eventually became gospel to my ears. I’d personally swap Metallica for Kreator, but in essence, I’m completely in agreement with this stance; beyond notable experimental exceptions like Skeletonwitch or Vektor, modern thrash metal in its base form is inherently shallow, with bands failing almost universally to validate their existence among the classic acts. But sometimes – sometimes – everything just falls into place.” Thrash infection.

Filii Nigrantium Infernalium – Hóstia Review

By GardensTale on June 9, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Osmose Productions, Portuguese Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 82 comments

“Italian artist Paolo Girardi has supplied over 6 dozen bands with his infernal artwork, and that number now includes Portuguese blackened weirdos Filii Nigrantium Infernalium for their new album Hóstia. With all this religious symbolism, what do you think: will we be praising the Lord today, or shall we drown the Christian God in a pool of infernal blasphemy?” Rise to offend.

Vallendusk – Fortress of Primal Grace Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 11, 2018 in 2018, Indonesian Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Northern Silence Productions, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 85 comments

“I like to think that I’m one of the more omnivorous consumers of metal on the AMG staff, but sometimes while perusing the promo sump, I’m overcome with a strong urge to say “fuck it” and dump nothing but atmospheric black metal onto my upcoming review schedule. There are so many submissions to choose from in this style, and I’ve had such consistent luck in reviewing the genre, that I would probably be content with pigeonholing myself as the blog’s go-to atmo-black guy for an extended tenure. Of course, “atmospheric black metal” is an especially broad classification in today’s metal climate, and perhaps no other album I’ve encountered plays with the term as loosely as Vallendusk’s third LP, Fortress of Primal Grace.” Emo the masses.

Gravehill – The Unchaste, the Profane, & the Wicked Review

By Mark Z. on March 18, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Dark Descent Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 145 comments

“Formed in 2001, this California quintet have made a career out of scorching assholes and taking names, with works like 2011’s When All Roads Lead to Hell and 2014’s Death Curse being particularly hard-hitting. Gravehill occupy that perfect niche between black, death, and thrash metal, that general “extreme metal” breed which is more about delivering killer riffs than being grimmer than thou.” Evil art, foul censorship.