Solstafir

Dynfari – Myrkurs er þörf Review

By Doom_et_Al on September 22, 2020 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 10 comments

“One of the countless awful consequences of COVID-19 has been music from artists having their releases delayed. Icelanders Dynfari were one of many victims of this. Their fifth album, Myrkurs er þörf (Darkness is Needed), originally slated for an April release, is only seeing the light of day now. For the uninitiated, Dynfari plays an organic blend of black metal and post-metal in the vein of Sólstafir and Agalloch. Their last LP, The Four Doors of the Mind, was a concept album chronicling the various human responses to profound mental trauma.” Therapy delayed.

Vinsta – Drei Deita Review

By Twelve on November 1, 2019 in 2019, Austrian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 37 comments

“Sometimes metal is addictive in its brutality. Sometimes it is so technically impressive that we come back to it time and time again. Other times, it’s catchy, burrowing its hooks into our helpless brains and infecting us from within. But, in my own opinion, the best metal is simply compelling; it has an abstract quality about it that draws you in and becomes increasingly rewarding with every subsequent listen. So it was with Drei Deita (Three Foreboders), the second full-length release from Vinsta, a solo project from Austria’s Christian Höll.” Resurgence intensifies.

Ashbringer – Absolution Review

By Carcharodon on June 26, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Experimental Metal, Post-metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Post-Metal, 36 comments

“When Grymm awarded Ashbringer‘s debut, Vacant, a deserved 3.5 back in 2015, he was writing about the self-released exploits of a one-man black metal project, delivered by someone then aged 18. Scroll forward four years and Nick Stanger, Mr. Ashbringer himself, has, presumably, reached the ripe old age of 20-something. He’s also released a second record (2016’s Yūgen, which we failed to review), gathered around him a group of three other musicians and signed a deal with Prosthetic Records. Now a four-person collective – or ‘band,’ if you will – Ashbringer are ready to drop their third album, Absolution.”

Helheim – Rignir Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Dark Essence Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Viking Metal, Black Metal, Viking Metal, 38 comments

“As I sit here with Helheim‘s newest album, Rignir, two things occur to me. First, Helheim is the most-consistent band I know. Not only are all their albums good or great but they’ve been releasing a new one every 2-3 years since 1995. Second, I’ve been at AMG far longer than I realized. Having first reviewed this black/Viking metal band back in 2015, Rignir is now the third time I’ve penned some words on their music.” The olde and the reliable.

Unreqvited – Mosaic I: L’Amour et L’Ardeur Review

By Carcharodon on November 19, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Northern Silence Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, 83 comments

“Time for a confession, dear reader, one that I hope will not cost me the “exalted” position of Nameless N00b_17: I am not a follower of the trve faith and, try as I might, cannot enjoy black metal. I know, I know, it’s all about the atmospherics, the stripped-back aggression, the chilling extremity… but, to be frank, I find myself unable to appreciate the, um, subtleties of Gorgoroth or Marduk. So it was with a certain sense of trepidation that I approached Mosaic I: L’Amour et L’Ardeur, the third album from Canada’s Unreqvited.” Northern sadness.

Clouds – Dor Review

By Steel Druhm on November 12, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Doom Metal, International Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 88 comments

“Life is pain. The human condition is one of brief, fleeting moments of joy hemmed in on all sides by the ever-present specter of death and loss. The loss of loved ones, the loss of safety and comfort as your aging body fails and falls to ruin, and ultimately, the frigid closure of death. Clouds writes every note of their music from this cold place at the edge of mortality, with the debilitating awareness of the darkness that hovers just past our tomorrows.” Cold, hard truths.

Vreid – Lifehunger Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 27, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 101 comments

“It was June 2006 and I was helping a friend move into a downtown apartment. It was hot and we were scrambling up and down two flights of stairs as fast as possible before a cop could ticket us for taking up half-a-lane of traffic with our truck. When it was finally over, we grabbed lunch and went to my favorite record store down the street. This place had the strangest collection of albums I’d ever seen and a surprisingly large metal section for a town full of hippies and reggae fans. The album I selected that day was something I had heard many things about. From a band that rose from the ashes of Windir.” Vreid it and weep.

Manes – Slow Motion Death Sequence Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on August 23, 2018 in 2018, Avante Garde, Debemur Morti, Electronica Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Electronica Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, 70 comments

“The first time I heard the Norwegian oddity known as Manes, I was in grad school. That fateful day, I was grading organic chemistry exams, locked away in that windowless closet of a grading room. With hours of work ahead of me, I took the time to find some new music to ease the pain. After getting caught in the rabbit’s hole of ‘similar artists’ and the ‘who-played-with-who’ links of Metal Archives, I emerged with Manes. And, I figured, this oughta do.” Music for destroying futures.

Skogen – Skuggorna Kallar Review

By Akerblogger on June 7, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Nordvis Produktion, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, 29 comments

“Skuggorna Kallar follows the dying of the light on a Nordic eve. Darkness encroaches and envelops as light fades. Previously, Skogen had crafted airier atmospheric and pagan epics. Earlier albums, especially their magisterial second platter Svitjod (one of my favorites in this subgenre), carry a lofty melodic sheen. The crunching mid-paced riff-craft of their debut was present but filtered in lighter dosages. Four years later and Skuggorna Keller — their fifth album — comes knocking at our door, draped in ash and frost. This is Skogen‘s darkest record yet.” Darkness and blackness.

Madam X’s Least Disliked Five(ish) of 2017

By Madam X on December 30, 2017 in 2017, Blog Posts, 102 comments

“And with a mighty cold flourish, twenty-seventeen makes her exit! While it’s not been a bad year by any means, it has been a more demanding year than I expected, with fewer opportunity for music listening and writing. Regulars to AMG may have noticed, going back a few months now, that I’ve pretty much been absent from the Reviews section of the site.” Come back or your creepy doll collection meets Mr. Shreddy.