“France has become quite the hub for memorable extreme music in recent times: Deathspell Omega front a dissonant black metal current; Blut Aus Nord fluctuate between various avant-garde stylings but have been a driving force in modern black metal; Cowards fiercely object to perceived façades of beauty and political correctness in their hardcore-influenced anger. Now Antropofago has stepped up to the mark, attempting to wrestle the tech-death reins from their compatriots Gorod, new material from which has been notably absent.” France wants to be the new Sweden.
Spawn of Possession
Alkaloid – The Malkuth Grimoire Review
“When guitarist Christian Muenzner (Spawn of Possession, ex-Necrophagist) and drummer Hannes Grossman (Blotted Science, ex-Necrophagist) departed Obscura last year, needless to say I was pretty bummed. The duo was an integral part of the band’s sparkling technical and progressive death metal formula that yielded back-to-back masterworks in Cosmogenesis and Omnivium. So while Obscura’s future looks uncertain, the gifted pair have forged ahead with a brand spankin’ new outfit called Alkaloid featuring an all-star line-up….” Dudes from the big names in tech-death coming together in a new super project? Are your slide rulers in a tangled knot of anticipation yet?
Benighted – Carnivore Sublime Review
When you’re talking about what makes a record engaging, responsibility usually falls in the drummer’s lap. A guitarist may come up with a given riff, but it doesn’t truly take shape unless sculpted by capable limbs.
Death metal bands—especially of the “brutal” variety—have an overkill problem. They’re too busy, too serious, too caught up in their over-the-top culture. That cool riff the rhythm guitarist turns in is usually in danger of being strangled by octopus-powered flashsizzle. (Remember We Are the Nightmare? Or any Spawn of Possession song ever?) The result of such overkill? Teflon. A scribble-logo’d sea of arms-clasped, black-clad, NO SMILING, GODDAMMIT Teflon.
But somehow, Benighted always manages to stick.
Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo: Infested – Obliterate
In our new monthly feature, which will show up here on the 15th of every month and run over the next few days, I (Angry Metal Guy) will select 5 bands at random (usually those who have followed my directions and have bandcamp accounts) to get blurbed by every member of the AMG staff. The idea is to do at least a bit of our part to point out that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal. While we simply don’t have the manpower to produce regular reviews of unsigned bands, this is my attempt at a minor mea culpa if nothing else. So enjoy Angry Metal Guy’s Unsigned Band Rodeo and our fourth entry for April 2013: Infested!
Sophicide – Perdition of the Sublime Review
Technical death metal was the darling of the death metal scene about 5 or 6 years ago, but since the ever-growing retro-death craze has begun to take over the number of quality technical death metal releases that I’ve gotten my hands on has dramatically decreased. Still, that didn’t stop the now 22 year-old Adam Sazslo from writing a bunch of pretty fucking sweet techy songs and getting himself a worldwide deal with Willowtip. Perdition of the Sublime is Sophicide’s debut record and one can see why this record – produced by someone who can’t tour to support it – is being released by a label of this quality: because it’s a truly elite technical death metal experience.
Angry Metal Guy’s Best Records o’ the Year 2012 – Halfway Point
We’re now into July! Impressive as it is, this year has been one hell of a year: like the year 2011 was supposed to have been but really, really wasn’t. On a personal note, I can say that I wasn’t expecting 2012 to be good at all. However, there haven’t even really been any major […]
Job For A Cowboy – Demonocracy Review
What is the Job For A Cowboy? Is it an euphemism for a mercenary mission taken on by rogue gunslingers? Is it an exaggeration of the daily routine for some scruffy farm boy? Or is the name perhaps a raunchy joke leaving out the word “blow” on purpose? Well, whichever it is, in the context of reviewing this album, it’s a job for a fanboy if you’re expecting adulation.
Gorod – A Perfect Absolution Review
So Gorod doesn’t suck.
Some Quick Hits
Alright, we’ve been out a while and need to maintain a strict publishing schedule, which means I’m going to nail some quick hits to the wall and then you’re not going to get to hear much more about these records.
Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Fallujah – The Harvest Wombs
There’s a band called Fallujah which put out a record called The Harvest Wounds. It’s awesome and you missed it. Shame on you.