“It’s that time of the year, folks! Time to unleash a torrent of lists loaded with non-objective, mega-subjective fanboy bias, questionable tastes and flat out idiocy (AMG and Steel Druhm’s lists are obviously the exceptions).” Prepare to be outraged, mortified and enlightened.
“When it comes to orthodox Swedish-style black metal (which I’ll call “orthodox black metal” for the rest of the review), explaining the general aesthetic is essentially pointless. I can call an album cold, frostbitten, grim, and evil until I turn blue in the face from hypothermia, but that won’t answer the one question readers have when they come to reviews: is this worth listening to?” Orthodox black metal for Christmas? I see what they did there.
“Pulverised Records sure know how to sell an album! Crucifyre’s promo pack is stacked up the wazoo with perfectly sharpened, shiny meat hooks that’ll slide with ease into that soft fleshy bit just under your chin. And just think, while you’re hanging around at attention, Crucifyre will assault you mercilessly with their second full length release, Black Magic Fire. Titbits like album art from computer-game graphic designer Stefan Hansson, that the band is made up of members from Morbid, Crematory and Repugnant and that Hank Shermann (Mercyful Fate, ex-Volbeat) contributed on “One And One Is One” all give that prickly feeling that you’re on the verge of something great.” Still using the “y” instead of the “i”, eh? What’s the point ov that?
“Just in time for the Record(s) o’ the Month for May, we proudly present the Record(s) o’ the Month for April! And here you thought that beige background would NEVER go away! April was an interesting month in music, with a whole bunch of quality “extreme” albums dropping. Even so, there was much less staff infighting this time to determine what the big burrito was.” You say burrito, we say this is a bit late.
“Tom G. Warrior has had a lot to prove since his blunders in the early 90’s. But it seems metalheads can finally put to rest any doubt that Tom knows what he’s doing, more than anyone, when it comes to punishing and dark recordings. The most startling thing is that even over 30 years into his career, he’s still getting better at it; his hybrid of black, doom, death and thrash metal never more convincing than in his latest effort, Melana Chasmata.” Noctus dons his Tom G. Warrior scarf and t-shirt for a hugely fanboyish salute to the man, the myth, the creator of Triptykon.
“The majesty and grandeur of the Finnish wilderness has been source material for a veritable fuckload of metal bands over the years, with Amorphis and Korpiklaani, being the better known examples. Those untamed forests and pristine lakes apparently beckoned to the folks in Kuolemanlaakso as well, since their sophomore album is a loose conceptual piece focused on the Finnish countryside and the national folklore that featured it so prominently.” Nature-themed doom death from Finland seems like an easy sell. Are you buying?
“With a career spanning a near lifetime (20-years to be exact), Kampfar refuse to sit squarely in any one particular niche. They shamelessly delivered their self-titled EP, Mellom Skogkledde Aaser and Fra Underverdenen as part of their first creative wave, hitting you up with old school black metal with the typical raw traditionalism you’ve come to expect of a two-man Norwegian act. When that didn’t translate into a particularly nifty live performance, more members were added and the the band forged ahead with with their second creative wave delivering Kvass and Heimgang….” Madam X surfs the waves of black metal as brought to you by Kampfar. But is their next wave worth catching?
Satan’s Wrath play necro-style blackened thrash with a thick coating of evil. Madam X loves all things necro. She’s a hopeless necromantic.
Israel is a weird scene. Actually, a lot like the South African scene that we’ve done quite a few reviews of here on Angry Metal Guy, it feels like the Israeli scene is another one of those scenes that lacks a cohesive sound. Having produced Orphaned Land and Winterhorde as well as the much darker Salem, the bands and music doesn’t seem to have coalesced around a specific regionalized ‘sound.’ Sonne Adam shows that this is definitely the case, as they produce dark, atmospheric doom and old school death metal. To be frank, I’m fucking astounded that this record is coming out on Century Media at all. There is nothing even remotely commercial about Sonne Adam. Though, I guess the same is true of label mates Triptykon.
There are some musicians that are capable of making a sound, no matter how simple, but always make it sound distinctive to the composer. In the same way, all of Thomas Gabriel Warrior’s creations have a distinct feeling and mark to them, which is why I’m so glad we have this new band on the scene. Warrior has teamed up with three young musicians to continue his creation through the new name, and judging by this record, Triptykon is a name we’ll he hearing more of in the not so distant future.
Warrior had stressed before that this CD would be Monotheist part two, which to me is a relief. After the brilliant Monotheist, I was left wanting much, much more. I’m not saying that Monotheist was too short or unsubstantial, Monotheist had the stamp of Warrior plastered over every sound that was put on the record. If you were in love with Monotheist, like me, you would have had nowhere else to turn to get a similar experience. The terrifyingly gripping feeling just couldn’t be found anywhere else in the metal scene.
