The year rolls on and we get closer and closer to being up to date with the Record(s) o’ the Month. And what did we learn from May? We learned that death metal can, and does, still rule the roost.
Vomitory
Vomitory – All Heads Are Gonna Roll Review
“It’s been a good, long time since we’ve heard from Swedish death metal royalty, Vomitory. From 1996 through 2011 they regularly assaulted the metalverse with high-quality material adroitly blending vintage Swedeath ideas with American death of the Floridian persuasion. It didn’t break barriers but it sure as hell busted skulls, and ghastly platters like Blood Rapture and Carnage Euphoria stand the test of time. Their last album, 2011s Opus Mortis VIII, was a great parting shot full of ripping riffs and bashing brutality, and they were sorely missed when the silence settled. Now 12 years later the beast arises.” Assume the hurling position.
Lik – Misanthropic Breed Review
“Critic-bait comes in two forms: pretension and novelty. Critics are often a special mixture of jaded and self-important, so something that appeals to an inflated sense of one’s own intelligence or to that jaded sensibility which dismisses the familiar reflexively, respectively, is what sets the critical heart aflutter. Lik is not critic-bait, but they’ve got this particular critic hook, line, and sinker.” Dismember tomorrow.
Cut Up – Wherever They May Rot Review
“Workmanlike is an adjective we can use to describe a whole host of things, some good and some bad. On the flip side Cut Up represent its positive usage well. When I say that Wherever They May Rot, the follow-up to their well-received debut Forensic Nightmares, is a very workmanlike record, then, it’s most assuredly a compliment.” Death is a dirty job.
Amon Amarth – Jomsviking Review
“The first man I killed was the earl’s right-hand man / When he came to take her away / I ran his own sword straight through his throat / And then I stood there, watching him fall!” Amon Amarth’s Jomsviking wastes no time reminding you to whom you are listening. Of the Swedish metal scene of the 1990s—a scene so legendary and influential that it became almost cliché after incessant imitation—Amon Amarth is one of the very few who has continued strong. While not every record has been a Lindesfarne, their discography is like a series of profitable raids that have raised their profile so high that Jomsviking isn’t being released on Metal Blade in Europe. Amon Amarth is officially a major label band now, having signed to Sony in the three years since Deceiver of the Gods was released in 2013.
Cut Up – Forensic Nightmares Review
“Just one look at the cover of Cut Up’s Forensic Nightmares will tell you pretty much everything there is to know about the music hidden beneath it. What else could a cool depiction of a disassembled human body represent other than some cool, old school death metal?” Cover o’ the Year? Maybe.
Torture Division – The Worship Review
Torture Division is what some would call a “supergroup,” made up of Lord K. Philipson (The Project Hate, ex-God Among Insects), Jörgen Sandström (Krux, The Project Hate, ex-Grave, ex-Putrefaction), and Tobias Gustafsson (Vomitory, The Project Hate). And let’s just say that these guys play a mean fiddle.
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!
Koldbrann – Vertigo Review
“I’ve noticed that the face of Norwegian black metal is a changing, it’s becoming more adventurous, more rock infused, more progressive and God forbid, more accessible [well, it can’t get LESS accessible — Steel Druhm]. I can confirm however, that while they’re not just all about the evil any longer, they definitely haven’t lost sight or forgotten about the mighty Dark Lord Satan! Breath people, all is still right in the world.” How does Koldbrann fit in to this new movement? Follow Madam X on her trend analysis.
Kamikabe – Aberration of Man Review
Tech death is a fickle mistress. Madam X is our less fickle mistress of evil, debasement and death. Join her as she examines the techy, deathy strew cooked up by Kamikabe. It doesn’t sound all that appetizing, does it?
