Spanish Metal

Atavismo – Desintergracion EP Review

By Lord Doom on June 24, 2015 in 2015, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Temple of Tortorous Records, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic Rock, 25 comments

“Truth is, I envy the good people of Spain. Even if they didn’t host those big metal festivals and benefit from constant visits by artists who would never think of coming to my native México, their concert-goer logistical advantages are undeniably desirable. For example, they can jump on a train for a few hours for the chance to, say, attend one of the Altar of Plagues farewell tour dates (fuck, that hurt more than it should’ve), whereas, if I want to catch a train to the US, it would have to be “La Bestia.” Yes that’s Spanish for “The Beast,” also un-ironically known as, “The Death Train.”” And don’t try to use that as excuse to work from home either, son!

Ered – Night of Eternal Doom Review

By Grymm on June 3, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Thrash Metal, War Anthem Records, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 25 comments

“TV Tropes is a website that talks about tropes, idioms, and cliches in various forms of media. Whether it’s television, movies, or even video games, the website does an incredible job of educating would-be writers as to what pitfalls to avoid or what “crazy plot twists” have been done to beyond death. It makes one wonder if there’s such a thing for black metal and its various offshoots.” And there isnt, so we at AMG must act as the Anti-Trope Troopers.

Dantalion – Where Fear is Born Review

By Steel Druhm on December 2, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sleaszy Rider Records, Spanish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 7 comments

“The Spaniards in Dantalion have been knocking around for quite some time in Iberian obscurity. Having never heard of them, it was the cover for their fifth album, Where Fear is Born that grabbed my steely eye and got me to listen, and I’m quite thankful I did. Though their older albums feature a blend of depressive black metal and melancholic doom, they abandoned the blackened aspect of their sound in favor of melodic, goth-tinged doom death, and from what I’ve heard of their older style, they’re all the better for the switch.” Don’t you just love a surprise? Steel Druhm does. He also loves arts and crafts and long walks in the woods.

Distance – I Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on November 8, 2014 in 2014, Mighty Music, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 5 comments

“Here’s a free top tip for all you kids looking to break into the music business: name your band something easily googleable. Distance have been kicking around for almost ten years now – forming in 2005, releasing a demo in 2006 and several singles at the end of the last decade – but presumably escaped any significant interest because no-one could bloody find them.” Marketing is for the market wonks, but you have to give them a little help.

Autumnal – The End of the Third Day Review

By Steel Druhm on October 17, 2014 in 2014, Cyclone Empire, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Doom Metal, 24 comments

“Kindly overlook the album cover you see to the left. Not only does it lack the good grace to include some kind of cool spherical object, but it also resembles something from a Christian new age rock group (the kind they play at inoffensive volumes in Christian, new age-y coffee joints). Worse still, it doesn’t give the slightest indication that Autumnal is a winningly morose, melodic doom act from Spain, or that The End of the Third Day is destined to be one of the sleeper hits of 2014.” Are you ready to feel those gloriously sad feels?

As Light Dies – The Love Album – Volume I Review

By Lord Doom on September 26, 2014 in 2014, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Gothic Metal, MAA Productions, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Black Metal, Gothic Metal, 5 comments

“I’m gonna cut the crap: The Love Album – Volume I will rip off all your skin and plunge everything else you’ve got into a vacuous void of nothingness. And you’re gonna like it. Madrid’s As Light Dies successfully takes the atmosphere of gothic metal bands and the ferocity of black metal, only to add a controlled, yet savage and intelligent portioning of avant-garde, resulting in something entirely unique and all their own.” Love songs in the medium of black metal, eh? Well, that’s probably not getting anyone laid.

Noctem – Exilium Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 19, 2014 in 2014, 3.5, Art Gates Records, Black Metal, Death Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 10 comments

“I’ve been listening to a LOT of Blackened Death Metal lately and I have to say the whole “symphonic black/death” style is really sinking its teeth into the genre. I’m not condemning it, but sometimes these symphonic elements can easily be overdone. Septicflesh is a good example of the sort of over-the-top delivery to be had with their dark, symphonic landscapes. Though I’ve become quite a fan of theirs, their shit is literally dripping with orchestration. As expected, a clear line was been drawn between those that dig these metal movie soundtracks and those that don’t.” Is Noctem the new Septicflesh? Is Septicflesh the new black? All things will be revealed after you listen to your free U2 album.

Teitanblood – Death Review

By JF Williams on May 17, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Spanish Metal, The Ajna Offensive, Black Metal, Death Metal, 9 comments

“It’s hard to know exactly what to say about a record when the band itself provides a more succinct – and honest – characterization of it in their own promo language than I ever could have: “The second Teitanblood album corrects the misconception about death metal being music. Mortui vivos docent.” Well, there you have it. Clearly, intellectualization is completely redundant when writing about a band like the Spanish death/black duo Teitanblood. You either get it, or you don’t.” There you have it indeed.

Exorcism – I Am God Review

By Madam X on April 14, 2014 in 2014, 3.5, American Metal, Doom Metal, French Metal, GoldenCore Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Sludge, ZYX Music, Doom Metal, Sludge, 3 comments

“Super-groups are an odd breed of duck. They either end up a bunch of egos, ball-busting for attention (a fight nobody wins) or they end up something along the lines of Down’s NOLA – chilled out, soaked in beer, raw and dirty and probably totally fucking stoned. This little collective I happened upon most recently via Rock n Growl Promotion, hail from a range of countries including, unsurprisingly, the USA and more surprisingly Spain, Italy and France.” An international doom rock supergroup starring the likes of Joe Stump? Intriguing!

Wormed – Exodromos Review

By Alex Franquelli on March 21, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Death Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Willowtip, Technical Death Metal, 3 comments

“It is brutal, rather technical and it has its roots in death metal. But is Exodromos a pure brutal technical death metal album? A lazy, complacent answer would be: yes. A more elaborate response – and one you would expect to read on these respected pages – is: not quite.” Alex Franquelli reviews the new Wormed record, in all its brutal, technical glory and asks “What next?”