“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Void fractions.
“The ghost of Kronos past summarized on the previous word count abusing outing Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel that “the parts are all there, but they’re not strung together in a sensible way.” So the real question for VoidCeremony is what’s changed? Certainly, it’s not the adherence to the progressive death metal laid out by our forefathers of late Death, Domination-era Morbid Angel, or Pestilence—though the production here is spacious yet modern, but the sound is as dusty and indulgent as you would assume.” When you noodle into the void…
“India is now the world’s most populous country, but its metal output has remained embarrassingly small. Despite their millennia-old rich music traditions, these 1.4 billion strong have graced this site with just 24 records. Their quality varies wildly, from our first ever 0.0 to one of my favorite traditional heavy metal albums of the last decade. Mumbai’s The Demonstealer (Sahil Makhija) is one of the most prolific and talented members of this scene.” Gotta steal em’ all.
“Established in 2009, Maze of Sothoth toiled underground, swirling amongst eldritch soil devoid of all life, carefully awaiting their time to emerge. Emerge they did with a twisted debut, Soul Demise, in 2017. Reveling in a grimy, horrid tech death reminiscent of Origin and Kronos, Soul Demise showed great promise for the fledgling band, fast and vicious were its crooked tendrils. Six years later, Maze of Sothoth emerge again from the inky void with the even grimier Extirpated Light,” Tentacle whap, tendril slap.
“Foretoken take a particularly aggressive approach to melodic death metal, much like The Black Dahlia Murder do. Yet, this duo also share considerable affinity with more opulent acts such as Brymir, Mongol, Ephemerald, Stormlord and Aephanemer. Symphonics play a support role exclusively, however, as vicious riffing and ripping leads take charge and guide the record through battlefields of speedy tech-death percussion.” Wictory or death!
“Gorod’s assignment with The Orb is to figure out how to follow up 2018’s magnificent Æthra. This album’s predecessor, which followed on a string of excellent releases, is among the best albums that I have ever underrated. But Æthra brought change and continuing on this trajectory, The Orb is the band’s first fully independent release. And that raises the hackneyed, obvious question: is all this change good, actually?” Won’t somebody think of the riffs!?
“Animosity—a lesser-known early deathcore act—ripped wild through riff and breakdown alike, a different breed to the normally bass drop and breakdown-filled style. Not wanting for talent, Animosityߵs rhythm section would continue to pulse through other veins. Bassist Evan Brewer would lend his qualified thump to The Faceless, Fallujah, and more. Drummer Navene Koperweis briefly pounded tricky skins with Animals as Leaders and found other high-profile session gigs, including the most recent Machine Head album. Always reaching, though, the two reunited in 2015 to continue to progress their idea of rhythm-focused, technical death metal through Entheos.” Death goes on.
The “diabolical façade” continues, as February followed in January’s surprising footsteps, turning out to be a remarkable month for metal. Weirdly, though, all the best stuff was released on the same day. Isn’t that an unlikely coincidence?
“Bursting onto the extreme metal scene in the mid ’00s with a strong trio of albums, underrated Scottish band Man Must Die has long been a reliable death metal act, despite a decade-plus of sporadic output and questions over whether the band would remain active. 2019’s Gagging Order EP showed much-needed signs of life in the band’s revamped ranks, leading to their first LP in a decade, fifth album, The Pain Behind it All.” Man unkind.
“Listen to this album, and witness Carnosus use every part of the tech death buffalo to document the rise of a “totalityrannic empire” bent on repopulating the world with a race of “cadaverine-like beings.” You won’t be thinking about the concept much, though, not while these nine thrash-inflected songs scramble your central nervous system.” Carne asunder.
