“Forgotten Tomb’s recent output has taken on a chunkier form – thick chord patterns becoming the prominent mode of expression. Their depressive black metal escapades of the early 2000s eradicated: the icy sheen of their stabbing tremolo making way for swampier humidity.” King of the Swamp or merely soggy?
“Never judge a book by its cover – unless that book is Nagual Sun, by outre Chicago band I Klatus. Because this album cover perfectly matches the oddities within. The brainchild of visual artist/guitarist/growler Tom Denney, at its best the music on Nagual Sun borders on sludgy, hard-charging post-metal like Neurosis on acid: at worst, it’s a cacophonous mess of fragmented ideas (just like that artwork, which honestly looks like Denney spent about two minutes in Photoshop. Some of our loyal readers do better copy/paste work than that, and I certainly hope to see some variations on the cover in the comments below).” Photoshop-core.
“In the Bible (or at least the New Testament version), Wormwood is the angel or star that falls from the sky, crashing into the waters of the Earth, and killing all living things with its inherent bitterness. Outside of the bible, wormwood is most known for being the key ingredient for absinthe, at one time regarded as a highly psychoactive and hallucinogenic (but still tasty) alcoholic beverage. Whatever the inspiration, Boston’s Wormwood, comprised of members of The Red Chord, Doomriders, and Phantom Glue, pull a little bit of both influences in their sound.” Worm power.
“A quick search of Neurosis on our wonderful website is quite revealing: of the first twenty reviews or mentions of those elder statesmen, Yours Truly is responsible for five of the links – more than any other reviewer. That means either I love that band more than other AMG thralls, or I dislike them the least. Which is interesting to me, as I’m certainly not the one here that’s into the heaviest music, for I am olde, and my ears are tender (when they aren’t ringing). So here I go again, getting suckered into a review where Neurosis, Helmet, and Isis are listed as similar acts.” Dead is as Neurosis does.
“When the trailblazing and difficult to classify Giant Squid went on indefinite hiatus in 2015, the heavy music world lost one of its great innovators and truly underappreciated acts. They signed off with their exceptional 2014 album Minoans before news eventually filtered through of their demise the following year. While all good things must end, thankfully the creative juices are still flowing for the Giant Squid band members. Vocalist/guitarist and mastermind Aaron Gregory has collaborated with the bulk of the Giant Squid crew to deliver the debut LP from Squalus.” Once squided, twice shy.
“Like labelmates Graves at Sea and Lycus, and fellow American’s Bell Witch and Samothrace, Usnea live life in the slow(er) lane. Their brand of doom features a rotating spit of tasty off-shoots: funeral doom, black metal, sludge, and progressive metal all permeate through the five dense and atmospheric tracks of Portals into Futility, the band’s third full-length. A vague and ethereal science-fiction concept runs through the album, too. I’ve deduced this not from the lyrics but from the reading list supplied by the band: the works of Gene Wolfe, Ursula Le Guin, Carl Sagan, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, and Frank Herbert are expected to be cosmically crumbled into this curious concoction.” Sci-ops.
“I’m fed up with wizards, dragons, and leather-cladded warriors in metal. I’m fed up with corpse paint, studs, and leather-cladded necromancers in metal. I’m fed up with groove, headbanging, and flannel-cladded bong wizards in metal. I’m fed up with melody and happiness in metal, that’s why Atriarch – with their fourth full-length Dead As Truth – have arrived at the perfect time.” Celebrate the sludge.
“As so many bands take themselves too seriously, it hurt a little more than usual to gingerly let B;ppdmit down and mark their score in the red. It must have put some fire in their gut, because the boys are back to bring peace and justice to Gingers, in less time than it takes Jari Mäenpää to make a sandwich.” Apes be escaping.
“Formed out of the ashes of post-hardcore/prog act Light Bearer, Poseidon drop the hardcore, keep a bit of the prog, and infuse it all with 70s metal, dollops of doom, and a hint of sludge. Sound enticing? It does to me.” Unleash the cracking.
“Before we begin, let’s take a moment and admire the cover art to your left, shall we? Here we have Steel Druhm and a fellow soldier buddy, waging intergalactic war against alien things while the logo for Cleveland’s Contra may or may not cause Konami’s lawyers to give them a phone call quicker than one can shout, “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start.”” Ape escape and stoner grapes.
