Sumerlands

Magic Circle – Departed Souls Review

Magic Circle – Departed Souls Review

“There’s no shortage of bands tunneling their way back to the past for inspiration. Magic Circle is among the pit crew delving deep into the 70s for influences, with their sound straddling the line between early Black Sabbath and rock royalty like Deep Purple. Featuring members of ,b>Sumerlands, Pagan Altar, and Doomriders, this is a bit of a super project, and on third album Departed Souls they do their best to defile all the right crypts of doom lore to arrive at something that smells fresh enough to wear about town without shame.”

Heir Apparent – The View From Below Review

Heir Apparent – The View From Below Review

“Okay kiddies, gather around Uncle Steel, Witchfinder General and Keeper of the Sacred Banhammer. It’s time for another metal history lesson. Once upon a time there was a little band called Heir Apparent. They played what we now might call prog-power and they were heavily influenced by the early works of Queensrÿche and Fates Warning. Their 1986 debut, Graceful Inheritance is a forgotten gem, featuring a dated but highly impressive take on proggy melodic metal, full of hooks and overflowing with talent.” Out of thin Heir!

Death Keepers – Rock This World Review

Death Keepers – Rock This World Review

“Of all metal subgenres, heavy metal is the one with the honor of regularly being used as a synonym for metal at large. Considering it’s arguably the oldest of the bunch, this should come as little surprise, but one could also argue the case for doom metal, which no one outside of the scene ever heard about. Is it then due to age, exposure, or just my own warped view that heavy metal seems to be the most stagnant of metal subgenres? I won’t say nothing fresh ever arises from its corner (Sumerlands is a fine example) but by and large, heavy metal bands today all seem like pale imitations of the golden boys from the 1980’s. Death Keepers don’t do much to change that impression with debut Rock This World.” Remember the old, those days were gold.

Steel Druhm’s Top Ten(ish) of 2016

Steel Druhm’s Top Ten(ish) of 2016

“Well, it looks like we made it to the end of another year of music, mayhem and interweb tomfoolery! And while 2016 kicked most of our asses in unpleasant ways, it was an outstanding year for metal music. In fact, I think it was the best overall since I joined the AMG meat grinder way back in 2010.” Don’t shoot the messenger gorilla.

Dr. Fisting’s Top Ten(ish) of 2016

Dr. Fisting’s Top Ten(ish) of 2016

“Scientists all agree that 2016 is the worst year of anyone’s life who has ever lived, including mine. We lost a lot of musical heroes this year (both metal and otherwise), and the current political climate has brought unprecedented levels of stupidity to my doorstep. Worse yet, I am often surrounded by terrible music made by dickheads.” Read this and don’t be a dickhead.

Eternal Champion – The Armor of Ire [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

Eternal Champion – The Armor of Ire [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

“How did I miss an album with that cover, you ask? We didn’t get the damn promo, that’s how. If we did, I’d have seen the title (the same as a much beloved Sega Genesis brawler from my youth), taken notice of the art and the rest would be history. Now that I’m way late to the raiding party, I’m finding this thing the near-perfect companion piece to the awesome Sumerlands debut of earlier this year.” Obtain the Sword of Groupon and come with us!

Record(s) o’ the Month – September 2016

Record(s) o’ the Month – September 2016

“They say it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. AMG Industries and Unihorn Distribution Inc., have wholeheartedly adopted this adage, especially when it comes to the Record(s) o’ the Month. In other words; you may get them late, but at least you get them, so pipe down about it! Now that we have the proper mindset established, we can proceed productively.” Yadda-yadda-yadda, here it is!

Sumerlands – Sumerlands Review

Sumerlands – Sumerlands Review

“As always, I’m dating myself with my taste in music, but so be it. Sumerlands is an unheralded act set to explode on the nostalgia-core scene with their self-titled release and let’s just say, I’m fully on board. Featuring Phil Swanson (Hour of 13, Briton Rites, et al) on vocals, Sumerlands plays exactly the kind of music I couldn’t get enough of in the late 80s/early 90s. It’s dark, brooding, traditional American metal with traces of prog and doom around the edges.” The boys of summer never sounded so olde!