It’s the Record O the Month for December and now the beloved Madam X is here to give you the down n’ dirty on it. She seems pretty excited about it.
Swallow the Sun
Aoria – The Constant Review
We finally found Steel Druhm’s secret hiding place located deep below the Earth’s crust and served him with a CEASE-AND-DESIST order banning all power metal reviews for a period to be determined. This made him sad, so now we get this review of the mega-gloomy, doom rock stylings of Aoria. Composed of members of Katatonia and October Tide, don’t expect a lot of sunshine here, but Steel seems to like it quite a bit.
Wintersun – Time I Review
For a few years now, the proverbial white whale of the heavy metal scene has been a new Wintersun record. After the band’s initial, highly acclaimed (some would say overrated), self-titled debut from 2004 former Ensiferum frontman Jari Mäenpää essentially fell off the face of the earth. Now, I’m not a die-hard fan, so I have not kept up with the ridiculous, neurotic, Axl Rose-like kabuki theater that apparently drove fans nuts, but the fact that 8 years later we’re getting record number two should probably tell you the torture that Jari put his fans through. Teaming up with Kai Hanto of Swallow the Sun on drums, Jukka Koskinen of Amberian Dawn and Cain’s Offering on bass and Teemu Mäntysaari of the short-lived Imperanon on guitar, Jari’s new record, what we now know to be 2012’s Time I, has teased fans for years and has ruffled some feathers. So the question is at it always is: can this record possibly live up to the sky-high expectations that the fans have.
Hooded Menace – Effigies of Evil Review
Ah, what could be better than nasty, heavy-as-hell Finnish doom-death to ease the transition from summer to fall. In case you haven’t heard, winter is coming…
The Chant – A Healing Place Review
Finland’s penchant for downy frowny metal is pretty well known. Sporting doom, melodeath and atmospheric black metal acts the like of Swallow the Sun, Insomnium and October Falls and being known for long, dark, vodka-soaked, winters speckled with knife fights and rumors of sunlight somewhere south, it’s actually a surprise that Finland hasn’t produced a lot of more music consisting of both downies and frownies. Indeed, post-metallers The Chant are really the first in their particular idiom. What is their particular idiom, you ask? Well, you know, the kind of music you write when the sun hasn’t risen for a three months: depressive post-rock.
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 […]
Be’lakor – Of Breath and Bone Review
Be’lakor has a new record and we’re finally reviewing it. Saad, are you happy now? ARE YOU HAPPY?
Ahab – The Giant Review
Funeral doom is about as niche a market as you’ll ever find anywhere. It’s slow as hell, heavy as fuck and requires more concentration than a quantum psychics exam given at a strip club.
In Mourning – The Weight of Oceans Review
There are fans of the blog who are still mad at me that Monolith wasn’t 2010’s Record o’ the Year—but for some reason the record left me cold after the initial release. So here I am, reviewing the newest record… this can only end in tears.
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.