#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Exhorder
The Man That Never Was
The Man That Never Was

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Exhorder+The+Man+That+Never+Was+The+Man+That+Never+Was

Songwhip:
https://songwhip.com/Exhorder/The-Man-That-Never-Was

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Exhorder-the-man-that-never-was-lyrics

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Exhorder/_/The+Man+That+Never+Was

#metal #thrashmetal

New Artist announced for Alcatraz Metal Festival 2025

Exhorder

Added top 5 songs to the playlist Alcatraz Metal Festival 2025

Listen now on YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB5UNN-XlHr0qyFD1W3X4B-JCokWBZdh0

#Alcatraz_Metal_Festival_2025 #Exhorder #fyre_festivals #livemusic #youtube #music #2025 #musicfestivals

EXHORDER – Defectum Omnium
https://eternal-terror.com/?p=64693

RELEASE YEAR: 2024

BAND URL: https://www.exhorder.com/

And you will hear wars nearby and reports of wars far away. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must come to pass, but it is not yet the end. For group will rise against group, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains – […]

#Exhorder #grooveMetal #HardcorePunk #heavyMetal #LOUISIANA #NewOrleans #NuclearBlastRecords #RCRecords #RoadrunnerRecords #TheUnitedStates #thrashMetal

Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Dr. A.N. Grier

If I were to rate the year of our Lord 2024, I’d give it a solid 4.5/5.0. No, I joke. FUCK 2024. Good riddance, fuck off, goodfuckingbye. This year, the layoffs continued (even affected some of our writers here), the prices skyrocketed, the World Series was bullshit, and landfills across the States are twice their capacity thanks to useless election fliers. This year has resulted in practically zero time to work on AMG efforts, write reviews, or listen to music as I continue to try to keep my job. Yay. Cheers to you, 2024—you sack of horse shit. Let’s go, 2025, you sassy bitch who suggests great things to come but probably won’t deliver. If only you could promise me more time doing the things I love—listening to metal, writing about it, and pretending to edit the other writers’ reviews while completely hammered. If so, I’d kiss you as the ball drops, take you to the back alley during the after-party, and promise not to poison your coffee the next morning.

But we aren’t there yet. We are still stuck in the past, looking over a mediocre year of metal, regurgitating the same shit we already wrote for each album on our lists. That way, you all can praise, argue, and whine about each choice and its placement. Thankfully, my lists rarely overlap with anyone else’s and no one actually gives a fuck, so my sleep patterns remain the same. Having passed the ten-year mark at this amazing madland, my tastes remain the same, and no one will be surprised that most of the selections here are the items I alone reviewed. That changes occasionally but with no time to think about music this year, you’ll be treated to odd takes and albums that only scored a 3.0. Oh no!1

Thank you to the AMG staff for their lackluster productivity and overrating tendencies. To Dolph, Kenny, and Sharky for introducing new segments and keeping legacy ones alive. And to Cuervo and GardensTale for the additional year-end contributions they deliver. I also have to give a huge shoutout to the top bosses—AMG and Steel Daddy—for all they do2. I guess I should also thank all of you for your continued support. I guess. May this list find you well as we are thrust into 2025 and the potential nightmares that it’ll bring. Cheers.

#ish. I Am the Intimidator // I Am the Intimidator – What? You fucking knew this was coming. When Steel told me to review an album about NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt, I couldn’t not do it. I mean, this one-off, self-titled record from a one-off band was a perfect opportunity to unleash my rage. And then… wait, what the fuck? It’s actually kinda good? In a weird year where I reviewed two racing-related albums, I Am the Intimidator sports3 six wild tracks that combine Dio and Iron Maiden with Ministry. What the fuck? And, somehow, the lyrics would be fucking hilarious if they weren’t so passionate. OK, the lyrics of the surprisingly delicious and crushing “Gasoline” are fucking hilarious, and a regular, all-caps attack in the AMG channels. After all the chaos and wild influences that make up this tight, six-track album, the passion for “The Intimidator” is true, even if it’s weird. But, I can’t stop listening to this album any more than I can stop drinking beer.

#10. Dust Bolt // Sound & Fury – Like so many other Grier lists, there’s always an album that becomes the most frequented in my shit-filled ears. Yup, I know, you all fucking hate it, and I couldn’t care less. For the band (and style), Sound & Fury is a brave effort that I find addictive, fun, and hilarious trolling material when Steel talks shit. Is it thrash? No, but that didn’t stop me from proclaiming Load as Metallica’s best album. Shifting away from the overused thrash concept and mediocre record releases, Dust Bolt chose the unconventional route of cleaner vocals, smoother production, and catchier choruses to remove themselves from their past outings (and, some would argue, from thrash and metal in general). For you naysayers, there are plenty of headbangable moments on Sound & Fury, so you don’t have to feel like a poser singing these new songs in your mom’s shower.

#9. Midnight // Hellish Expectations – Perhaps one of the most prolific metal bands out there, what can I say about Midnight that I haven’t said already? Oh yeah, they’re badass and if you don’t like them, you’re shit. Also, fuck you. Like previous releases, Midnight continues to speed through riffs that bring to mind classic outfits like Darkthrone, Motörhead, Venom, and Celtic Frost at a relentless speed. While other Midnight records are better, Hellish Expectations joins its compatriots in a discog that can do no wrong. Unless, of course, you don’t like this band’s style. In that case, read above regarding that “fuck you” thing. What makes Hellish Expectations great in this frustrating year is that it caps at twenty-five wonderful minutes—which is the same amount of time it takes to shit out your morning coffee. So, this is a chance to correct your poserness. If you like this band, you already know Hellish Expectations is a fun ride that’ll keep your spikes sharp and your leather pants shit free.

#8. Bombus // Your Blood – Like another band on my list, this Swedish heavy metal, hard rock band has seen a lot of ups and downs in their career. And, for some reason, their co-founding vocalist and guitarist walked. But that didn’t stop Bombus. Not only did they find someone to fill those two slots, but they also added another guitarist to round it out to three. With these new additions, the skill displayed on Your Blood is superior to anything the band has ever done. There’re solos, harmonizing leads, and riffs up the fucking wazoo. I’m uncertain if it’s due to this new skillset or an increase in motivation with five years between albums, but Bombus held nothing back for Your Blood. While there are plenty of the bangers you would expect from a band of this caliber, like the addictive “Take You Down,” there are also other interesting inclusions that I should hate, yet love. For example, the weird, Spaghetti Western qualities of “Your Blood,” the Nick Cave-meets-The White Stripes musings of “The One,” and the bizarreness that is “Carmina.” With Your Blood, the band has found their groove and passion again, delivering their best album yet.

#7. Vanessa Funke // Void – This year brought a surprising new addition to my favorite bands of all time. In this case, it was the newest release from the multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa Funke. With a small but stellar catalog, Ms. Funke continuously dabbles in new influences and song approaches with each album and Void is no different. Coming off last year’s acoustic masterpiece Vanessa Funke rewinds to her debut record, Solitude, alternating between rasps and cleans, acoustic and distorted guitars, and her perfectly molded combination of folk, melodeath, and atmospheric black metal. The textures created by the vocals, guitars, keys, and piano take Void down into some incredible depths, engulfing its listeners in blankets that can be both soft and stabby. Albums like this are rare for me these days, so when they do completely submerse me to the point that I can’t think of anything else, there’s no doubt it’ll make it on my year-end list.

#6. Crystal Viper // The Silver Key – Maybe not everyone’s favorite Polish act,4 Crystal Viper’s founding vocalist and guitarist, Marta Gabriel, has been knocking around her blend of heavy and power metal for nearly two decades. But, it’s been a rocky road of great, mediocre, and rage-inducing records. Where Crimen Expecta shines like a bright star in the sky, Tales of Fire and Ice is a dumpster fire that topped my most disappointing album of 2019. When I approached this year’s The Silver Key, I was expecting another mid album (or worse) but was immediately engrossed—maybe even more than Crimen Expecta. Though many of you dislike the vocals, Gabriel is in top form. But, her vocal performance is only one aspect of the Crystal Viper sound. Her guitar work is some of the best of her career, lending new ideas to the song structures and album flow. While plenty of bands are—and are not better—than Crystal Viper, The Silver Key is undeniably one of the best albums of their career.

#5. Sidewinder // Talons – Most likely one of the only overlaps I’ll have with the cunts that work here,5 Sidewinder’s newest release, Talons, threw me for a loop. Not expecting anything from a band I’ve never heard about, Talons immediately got my noggin’ bobbin’ in the most pleasing way. I can’t pinpoint exactly why I like this style of heavy, bounding stoner metal, but every time I hear it, it clicks. And nothing is better than diving right into a record where one of the band’s best pieces is the opener. “Guardians” is a quintessential Sidewinder piece that personifies the band and everything they stand for. But that’s only the beginning, as the guitars cruise down the road and the bass rumbles through the gravel. Clocking in at a mere thirty-four minutes, this eight-track beauty never reaches beyond its means, ensuring the songs are straight and tight, allowing Jem’s powerful vocals to direct the varying moods. While the band resides in the lush and beautiful landscapes of New Zealand,6 if a sound could represent the harsh desert lands of my home, this would be it.

#4. Aborted // Vault of Horrors – As many know, death metal is not my cup o’ tea. Once upon a time, death metal was my life, but that ship sailed when my favorites grew old and repetitive, and what you all call death metal these days bores me to tears. But the one band that continues to make me salivate is Aborted.7 And, boy, did this year’s Vault of Horrors deliver. With tracks like “Dreadbringer,” “The Golgothan,” and “Malevolent Haze,” this new release offers some incredible depth and relentless brutality. Aborted has always delivered good-to-great albums but after nearly thirty years, how can these lads continue to improve and produce such quality releases? Vault of Horrors is a great record and arguably one of the band’s best. It’s been several months since this beauty was released, so if it passed by you, rectify your posersivity.

#3. The Vision Bleak // Weird Tales – I don’t know what it is about The Vision Bleak but they fucking hit me and hit me hard. On the surface, their style is quite simple, but it’s the layers, stories, mood, and damning vocal performances that draw me in like I’m viewing a Vincent Price horror marathon. Combining their Type O Negative vocal characteristics with atmospheric moods that can be depressive at one point and ethereal at another, The Vision Bleak took a massive leap by releasing Weird Tales as (technically) a one-song album. Eight years since their incredible The Unknown, Weird Tales doesn’t skip a beat, maintaining the duo’s title as one of the greatest bands in gothic metal. With magnificent builds, eerie transitions, mind-bending fluidity, and heart-wrenching passages, the haunting nature of Weird Tales leaves you contemplating your existence in a world controlled by the fate instilled in it by the late, great H.P. Lovecraft.

#2. Kingcrow // Hopium – For fucking months, our progressive cunt, Dolphin Whisper, tried desperately to steal Kingcrow’s Hopium from me—somehow thinking he’s better than me when it comes to describing the lushness of Kingcrow. The fuck. Even though Kingcrow hasn’t released an album in six years, there’s no way some flipper fucker would take this from me. Sure, I’m not a huge fan of progressive metal, but at least I know what’s good progressive metal instead of lazily making love to everything with the tag of “prog.” Anyway, Hopium continues to deliver gorgeous tapestries painted with soothing vocals, synthy atmospheres, and impressive performances for all involved. Though I consider Eidos their best, Hopium is not far behind. While tapping into common influences like Dream Theater and Spock’s Beard, this Italian outfit is very much on a level all its own. If you like prog, you’ll find Hopium—with such wildly varying tracks like “Vicous Circle,” “Parallel Lines,” and “White Rabit’s Hole”—to be the most diverse prog record of the year.

#1. Borknagar // Fall – Goddammit, I love Borknagar. Few bands have such high album scores for a career that spans thirty years and a dozen albums—especially with a constant rotation of players and vocalists. Though, how can you be pissed off about having any of the great vocalists Borknagar has employed throughout the years? Since the beginning, the band has continuously introduced more melody and keys in their music, but Fall is special compared to the output in the last twenty years. Though this new album hasn’t hung up that hat by any means, Øystein G. Brun, Lars A. Nedland, and crew dug through the ashes of the past to bring some of those old-school black metal moments back into the mix. From the blackened assault of “Summits” and the Dimmu Borgir-esque vibes of “Northward,” the band continues to shock and surprise, avoiding a repetition from a previous album. So, dive into the best album o’ the year in all its glory.8

Honorable Mentions

• Portrait // The Host – While I didn’t like the production of Portrait’s The Host, I’m still a slut for King Diamond and Meryful Fate-adjacent metal. Especially when it comes to Portrait, who continues to be less like a copycat and more like a pioneer of the style.
• Attic // Return of the Witchfinder – More King Diamond-core! Easily one of the best examples of the sound, Attic continues to keep me coming back with each release. As their predecessor, Return of the Witchfinder brings a new story, more twists, and those pleasing falsettos that trigger my “O” face.
• Sarke // Endo Feight – Sarke (the artist) and crew have had one hell of a busy couple of years. This year, in particular, sees not only a new Sarke release but also a new Khold record (see below). Endo Feight is a wonderful addition to the band’s catalog and, by god, it’s wonderful to see the man himself back behind the kit.
• Khold // Du dømmes til død – See? I told you it would be here. While 2022’s Svartsyn was better record than Du dømmes til død (and a fantastic comeback), Du dømmes til død still has those elements that make the band so unique and fun to listen to.
• Blood Red Throne // Nonagon – Three years ago, Blood Red Throne released not only one of their best albums but 2021’s best death metal record. Unsurprisingly, it’s difficult to follow something like Imperial Congregation without some hiccups. That said, Nonagon is still a brutal piece of work worthy of mentioning.

Disappointments o’ the Year

• Darkthrone // It Beckons Us All……. – Like Sarke, Nocturno Culto has also been busy this year. If that’s part of the reason for the utter bore that’s It Beckons Us All……., I don’t know. But, this new record feels like Darkthrone is going through the motions. While I respect that they don’t care what the fuck any of us think, this is one of their worst albums.
• Exhorder // Defectum Omnium – After Exhorder’s incredible comeback album, Mourn the Southern Skies, I was more than a little excited for this new one. Unfortunately, like Darkthrone’s newest, Defectum Omnium is a dreadfully boring record that lacks all the passion of Exhorder’s comeback, leaving me confused and pissed the fuck off.

Songs o’ the Year

• Kingcrow – “White Rabbit’s Hole” – With an album full of great songs, there’s just something about the energy of this track that makes me so happy.

• Sidewinder – “Guardians” – This song represents some of the best stoner metal of 2024, and I can’t stop listening to it.

• Bombus – “Take You Down” – This song is just badass. I couldn’t care less what you think. Die.

#2024 #Aborted #Attic #BlogPosts #BloodRedThrone #Bombus #Borknagar #CelticFrost #CrystalViper #Darkthrone #DimmuBorgir #Dio #DrANGrierSTopTenIshOf2024 #DreamTheater #DustBolt #Exhorder #IAmTheIntimidator #IronMaiden #Khold #KingDiamond #Kingcrow #Lists #MercyfulFate #Metallica #Midnight #Ministry #Motörhead #NickCave #Portrait #Sarke #Sidewinder #SpockSBeard #TheVisionBleak #TheWhiteStripes #TypeONegative #Vader #VanessaFunke #Venom

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
Today In Metal History 🤘 September 20th, 2024🤘
OZZY OSBOURNE, AC/DC, EXTREME, BULLETBOYS, YES, OPETH

https://bravewords.com/news/today-in-metal-history-september-20th-2024-ozzy-osbourne-ac-dc-extreme-bulletboys-yes-opeth

#OZZYOSBOURNE #ACDC #EXTREME #BULLETBOYS #YES #OPETH #STYX #CINDERELLA #BRITNYFOX #SABBAT #SKYCLAD #NELSON #SOUNDGARDEN #METALLICA #MOTÖRHEAD #BONJOVI #GODFORBID #HIRAX #STORMLORD #THEAGONIST #ASILAYDYING #BLUTAUSNORD #CULTOFLUNA #EXHORDER #KOBRAANDTHELOTUS #MICHAELSCHENKERFEST #THENUMBERTWELVELOOKSLIKEYOU

Exhorder to join Eyehategod on tour next month:

#Exhorder #Eyehategod #SummerTour #AugustTour

https://metalinsider.net/touring/exhorder-to-support-eyehategod-on-tour-next-month

Eyehategod announce summer tour with Exhorder & Hans Condor

https://metalnerd.net/eyehategod-announce-summer-tour-with-exhorder-hans-condor/

#Eyehategod #Exhorder #HansCondor #TurnTroubledTablesTour

Before @HailsandAles unleashes his #FletchsFridayReleases I need to catch up with some releases I missed so far.

@yourfutureex reminded me of this one:

💿 Defectum Omnium by #Exhorder
https://album.link/y/OLAK5uy_lRfWYmZwc-47f87FvlJ166kaLUNCswucs

And it ABSOLUTELY SHREDDS!!!!ALL!!CAPS!!!!!

🔥 EXHORDER is back with "Defectum Omnium," unleashed on March 08!

🤘 Thrash into the void & support us 👉 [https://amzn.to/3P3gw1E]

#metalreleases #Exhorder #ThrashMetal #MetalMusic

Get your thrash fix with the latest bangers - download our app 🤘https://www.metalreleases.com/

Exhorder solidifies their remarkable return with another smashing album, Defectum Omnium. Review at FFMB, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2024/03/05/exhorder-defectum-omnium-nuclear-blast-2024/ #metal #heavymetal #rock #hardrock #Exhorder #DefectumOmnium #NuclearBlastRecords #NOLA #NewOrleans #thrash #groove #groovethrash #thrashmetal

Exhorder – Defectum Omnium Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

After twenty-seven years of painful silence, Louisana’s Exhorder shocked the masses with 2019’s Mourn the Southern Skies. Though their comeback album shared very little with their classics, Slaughter in the Vatican and The Law, it found the band with a renewed invigoration and a stellar lineup to support founding vocalist, Kyle Thomas. That album saw them combine their Pantera-esque thrash style with even more Southern elements. Few noticed it in these halls probably because Exhorder sounds like Pantera and Down. Though, as I’ve argued before, check the dates. If anyone sounds like Exhorder, it’s Exhorder and not the other way around. Though, who’s been more successful with the sound is obvious. With this year’s Defectum Omnium, it’s clear Exhorder isn’t finished proving its relevance and reinventing itself in the eyes of its dedicated fanbase. But, with such a strong outing five years ago, will Defectum Omnium be a step forward for the band or will it be, well… a defectum?

Unlike Mourn the Southern Skies, Kyle Thomas has chosen to do double duty on Defectum Omnium, standing behind the mic with an axe. The rest of the band is rounded out by the mighty Pat O’Brien (ex-Cannibal Corpse) on guitars, bass extraordinaire Jason Viebrooks (ex-Grip Inc.), and Sasha Horn (former member of our very own Dr. Fisting‘s Trials) behind the kit. With no shortage of talent, Thomas fills this new record with more of his insane and absurd lyrics about the world turning to shit and how we should all just die. For nearly an hour, Exhorder is going to yell at you in languages that include punk, doom, thrash, and Southern metal. If you thought their last album was a slab of variety and diversity, you haven’t heard anything yet.

“Wrath of Prophecies” unleashes those familiar Panteraisms that one would expect with a Death Angel-esque vocal performance. It’s a decent track that conveys the aggression that will undoubtedly be present throughout the rest of the record. But, even for its short length, the entire warbly, dissonant final minute could have been cut. “Year of the Goat” is an interesting song to release as a single. It begins with a black metal introduction and has a new diversity in the vocals. Once the riff gets moving, I get massive vibes from the thrashier numbers on Symphony X’s Iconoclast. This influence is made even greater by the fact that Thomas wails a lot like Russell Allen. It’s a solid track but it’s made memorable mostly by the morphing from Exhorder’s traditional vocal approach to this one.

The oddest pieces on the album are the back-to-back “Defectum Omnium / Stolen Hope” and “Three Stages of Truth / Lacing the Well.” The first part of “Defectum Omnium / Stolen Hope” is nothing but Latin church chats that eventually give way to one of the better riffs on the album. The song alternates between builds and falls before erupting into one of the heaviest riffs of the band’s career. It continues to charge toward its successor as Thomas’ wails reach Iron Maiden/Judas Priest territories. When it transitions to “Three Stages of Truth / Lacing the Well,” it quiets to soothing acoustic guitars and soft bass. Then, the distortion kicks in with a bizarre stop-start riff that makes me cringe due to its similarities to Korn. After it transitions to more Pantera-isms, it fades away as if the band has no idea how to end this thing.

In general, the all-out thrashers, like “Divide and Conquer” and “Desensitized,” do a good job of focusing on killer riffs and memorable choruses. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to pull from these tracks as they follow the tired-and-true verse-chorus alternation. So, we have to settle with the tracks where the band tries something new. Sadly, many are far too long and meandering. Then, there’s “Sedition.” This absolute nightmare uses a punkish attitude with a popping, upbeat character that sounds like Exhorder is trying to write a Gwar song. But, way less funny. While nothing can touch the band’s classic records, Defectum Omnium still doesn’t come close to Mourn the Southern Skies. Everything the band created for their successful comeback has been thrown to the wayside in favor of expanding beyond their comfort zone. I don’t blame them for it, and the performances are solid. But it doesn’t work.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: exhorder.bandcamp.com | exhorder.com | facebook.com/exhorderofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 8th, 2024

#20 #2024 #AmericanMetal #CannibalCorpse #DeathAngel #DefectumOmnium #Down #Exhorder #GripInc_ #Gwar #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Mar24 #NuclearBlastRecords #Pantera #Review #Reviews #SymphonyX #ThrashMetal #Trials

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
EXHORDER's KYLE THOMAS Thinks "It's Good For Hard Rock And Metal" That PANTERA Is Back
"The more, the merrier."

https://metalinjection.net/news/exhorders-kyle-thomas-thinks-its-good-for-hard-rock-and-metal-that-pantera-is-back

#Exhorder #KyleThomas #HardRock #Metal #Pantera #BackinAction #MusicIndustry #Reunion #Revival #Excitement #Legacy #Influence #Collaboration #Fans #NewMusic #TourDates

#Exhorder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tlYIhF14qk

.
Καινούριο Exhorder - Year of the goat
.
Κιμαδομηχανη / οδοστρωτήρας που απλώνει πίσσα πάνω σε κόκκαλα (παίρνω δουλειά στο χαμμερ τι λέτε;).

Pat O'Brien κιθάρες, Travis Smith (artwork)

https://youtu.be/0OeDu5VMC6w?si=Szg0AEOFC2dp6-c1
#ERIsNowPlaying
#ν(ι)άουπλέιιν
#exhorder
#metal

Exhorder clarifies Pat O’Brien’s (ex-Cannibal Corpse) status amid new album announcement:

#Exhorder #PatOBrien #CannibalCorpse #NewAlbum #MetalInsider

https://metalinsider.net/video/exhorder-clarifies-pat-obriens-ex-cannibal-corpse-status-amid-new-album-announcement

Exhorder Thrashes Into 2024 With New Album "Defectum Omnium" Out March 8TH Via Nuclear Blast. #exhorder @ExhorderNOLA

https://slrmagazine.com/2024/01/15/exhorder-thrashes-into-2024-with-new-album-defectum-omnium-out-march-8th-via-nuclear-blast/

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
EXHORDER Streams "Year Of The Goat", Announces New Album Defect Omnium
An absolute rager.

https://metalinjection.net/video/exhorder-streams-year-of-the-goat-announces-new-album-defect-omnium

#Exhorder #YearOfTheGoat #NewAlbum #DefectOmnium #MetalInjection #Streaming #Announcement #ImportantInfo #Article

Whew a solid new piece by New Orlean's own Exhorder. Bringing the brutal groove, sludge, in your face metal straight to your ear holes!

Love em', give em' a listen with me!

https://viciousshred.com/2024/01/12/some-words-reaction-to-exhorders-new-song-year-of-the-goat/

#heavymetal #groovemetal #exhorder

Vio-Lence announce April 2024 tour w/ Exhorder, Deceased & Mortal Wound:

#VioLence #TourAnnouncement #Exhorder #Deceased #MortalWound #MetalTour #LiveMusic #MetalInsider #MetalGigs #MetalConcert

https://metalinsider.net/touring/vio-lence-announce-april-2024-tour-w-exhorder-deceased-mortal-wound

Stuck in the Filter – September’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

Fall is upon us at last. Here at my station, located far far away from AMG HQ due to my various injustices against the Score Counter, taste, and metal credibility over the past five years of writership, I monitor our minions’ progress scouring the headquarters’ overtaxed filtration system. As the leaves and cool mists infiltrate the guts of the machine to mingle with the stagnant refuse which lines the chutes and coats our poor, unfortunate laborers, I use my remote-controlled cattle-prod-equipped drone to motivate and maintain pace. We have a deadline to reach after all!

Ah, who am I kidding?! Deadlines are for poseurs, and we are well-known specialists of the late post. I just like torturing my subjects until they cough up the goods. And cough up they always do! So now, please, sit, and enjoy the spoils of not my labor, the best of the pretty good from September 2023!

Kenstrosity’s Mildewed Masses

King’s Rot // At the Gates of Adversarial Darkness [September 22nd, 2023 – Hypnotic Dirge Records]

It’s been a fairly mediocre year for standard black metal in the House ov Ken. Most of the time, the good stuff hybridized with other things like death metal (Úlfúð), psychedelia (DHG), or power metal (Moonlight Sorcery). Alberta, Canada’s King’s Rot doesn’t quite change that, but they make a valiant effort of it with their sophomore outing, At the Gates of Adversarial Darkness. Its production marks a good start, perfectly straddling the fence between murky rawness and sparkling clarity. This in turn bolsters the quality of the music, which straddles the fence between melodicism and wretchedness. I’m most engaged whenever King’s Rot kick into high gear, evoking bands like Vimur and Imperialist, except this material prefers to revel in the hellish flames of the underworld rather than the coronas of distant stars (“Blazing Winds of Torment,” “At the Gates of Adversarial Darkness,” “Last Dance for the Eternal Flame”). However, they could use more of that perilous verve and swagger in those areas where the band take their sweet time building up to a blistering fury (as with the Cloak-esque “Twilight Breath Incantation” and “Obscure Awakenings”) in order to keep my interest rabid from start to finish. In sum, you could do much worse than At the Gates of Adversarial Darkness for your fiery, but chilling black metal fix.

Aortha // Monolit [September 8th, 2023 – Self Release]

How many vocalists is too many vocalists? International supergroup Aortha bring a new scope and scale to the question with their groovy heavy/thrash/power metal project by employing six individuals for mic duty (Exhorder‘s Kyle Thomas, Adamantia’s Diego Valdez, Voivod‘s Denis Belanger Snake, ex-Temperance’s Alessia Scolletti, Laurenne/Louhimo’s Netta Laurenne, ex-Scar Symmetry‘s Christian Älvestam). Supported by Jacob Umansky on bass, Hannes Grossman on drums, and Predrag Glogovac on guitars, Aortha’s debut LP Monolit boasts insane levels of groove, hook, and swagger. Bangers like “Those That Should Not Exist,” “Last of Our Kind,” “Forging the Locus” and “Divine Future” are guaranteed to kick your ass and take your lunch money, while every vocalist gets their chance to spit in your face (although it can be difficult to pick out who is who with 100% accuracy). It’s nearly impossible not to bob my head along with these tunes, as transitions constantly reveal a new trick up the group’s sleeve, whether that be another ripping verse hook (“Keep the Dream”), a sharp riff that has no business being as fun or interesting as it is (“Last of Our Kind”), or some fancy percussive work that one would expect from the world’s most sought-after drummer. It might be cheesy in places, ESL is everywhere, and some songs can feel a little long after repeat spins (“When All Around You is Madness”), but Monolit remains one of my most fun, compelling, and deceivingly cohesive surprises this year. You owe it to yourselves to try it!

Dolphin Whisperer’s Trench Treasures

SATSURIKU ROBOT // NO THRASH METAL, NO LIFE! [September 8th, 2023 – WormHoleDeath]

No Thrash Metal, No Life!—demanding and straightforward. It’s easy to imagine that the untested Japanese act would have constructed this outing as an homage to the blue-collar hammer-on, hammer-off tunes we all love so dearly.1 And to a certain extent the opening riffs to the Slayer-touched “THRASH NEVER DIE” and the Sodom-grooving “MAD THRASHER” have a normalcy to them. However, that basic appearance dissolves rapidly against a cranked-out, clangy-ass snare and a vocalist who’s channeling both a cat in heat and a pig greased for the chase. Honestly, I have no idea what the fuck he’s doing. On tracks like “殺戮ロボット – SATSURIKU ROBOT ” and “CARRY ON” he drops character for brief moments while channeling a punky bellow akin to fellow countrymen SEX MACHINEGUNS, which gives a little respite to his madness. For the most part though, he squirts and squeals with a rabid conviction while his bandmates do their best to churn out solid sing-along gang shouts amidst mighty solos (“ROBOT IN THE PANDEMIC,” “NO THRASH METAL, NO LIFE!”). Similar to the out-of-place nature of the hokey, nursery rhyme infusions you hear in a Macabre album, much of what SATSURIKU ROBOT accomplishes throughout this thoughtful mess of a debut should not work, but it does and it’s catchy as hell. Though I don’t think these folks could pull it off twice with as much shock value, but that matters little when you can enjoy this sneakily not-thrash ode to thrash. So what’re you waiting for? NO THRASH METAL, NO LIFE!!!

Vibora // Zaldi Beltza [September 29th, 2023 – Zegema Beach Records]

Anthemic, throat-ripping, cathartic as a cold bath with the curtains drawn—Zaldi Beltza (The Black Horse) is the skramz you need in your life. With a bass overdriven for noise rock and a scrapped mic that reminds me of regionally-adjacent sadbois Tenue or ragers Crossed,2 Vibora’s brand of screeching metalcore comes with highlights that swing effortlessly between tough guy throw-downs and major swing crescendos (“Eraikin Zurie,” “Le Fleur”). Though Vibora drops tempo for a few melancholy post-hardcore romps (“DANA,” “La Casa, 20”), the burn through Zaldi Beltza’s nine tracks in twenty-three minutes never feels too long drawn on its less aggressive elements. Appropriate levels of hissing amp feedback and nut-shaking bass (“La Casa, 8,” “Ez Ziguten Maitatzen Irakatsi”) ensure that these Basque core-kiddies never stray too far from a forward-moving path. I gotta level with you though, this is true screamo, and if you’re not accustomed to the fuzz-filtered, nasally, digging yelp that typically accompanies this world, Vibora doesn’t do anything to change that. But Zaldi Beltza, in its close-to-roots expression of bright-chord Daïtro-flavored post-hardcore with extra hardcore delivers a modern sad-ggression that’s building a movement of its own.

Thus Spoke’s Tarnished Trinkets

Ash Prison // Future Torn [September 22nd 2023 – Sentient Ruin Laboratories]

Ash Prison are basically everything you want blackened industrial music to be—or at least they’re everything I want it to be. This weird, warpy, wacky work sees resonant, electrified bass wrap around jittery tempos, accompanied by echoing, snarling croaks, and a plethora of other strange sounds. You’ve taken the pill the shifty guy by the club toilets gave you, that you probably shouldn’t have, and now the gothic electronica is warping around you, and the walls are starting to melt. The come up was a bit aggressive (“Archangel”), but at the same time, incredibly, weirdly danceable, in a jagged sort of way, as is much of Future Torn. And the way groovy, boppy beats slide in out of the noise (“Death Reborn,” “No Return,” “Collapse”) is almost as unsettling as the heavier, actually scary stuff. This mood swing happens whiplash from song to song, “Voidhead,” “Black Horizon,” and “Weep in my Shadow” each smash onto the scene with fast, clipped tempos and a lot of static and distortion. And then there’s “Scorn,” whose skipping, echoing voice sample and scarily low hum create a spine-chillingly powerful sense of dread before the beat picks up to turn it into a mad, unhinged bop. This album terrifies me, and I love it. Why not give it a try?

Steel Druhm’s Seasonal Slashing:

Lord of Shadows // Echoes of Yore [September 1st, 2023 – Meuse Music Records]

Lord of Shadows is the work of one Mike Lamb, and on the debut full-length Echoes of Yore, the multi-instrumentalist tackles the Peaceville sound made famous in the 90s by My Dying Bride and Anathema. And to make sure you know he’s deadly serious about his passion project, he recruited none other than My Dying Bride’s Aaron Stainthorpe to handle vocals for him, alongside Heike Langhans (Remina, Light Field Reverie, ex-Draconian). Over 42 minutes, Lamb and guests paint the night pitch black with effective Gothic doom loaded with drama, pathos, and despondency. The man knows his chosen genre well and appoints it with a captivating array of forlorn riffs, weeping pianos, ethereal female vocals, and booming death croaks. The songsmithing is above average and the lengthy compositions keep you in thrall as they suck all the joy from your downtrodden soul. Cuts like “Faith of Thy Beloved” and “At the End of Our Eclipse” will win you over to the morose cause, and the nine-minute “Through Memories, I Gave Her Life” will carry you off to sadboi glory. Is it derivative of its source material? Naturally, but the adroit blend of My Dying Bride and female-forward Gothic doom like Draconian works well. With Winter banging at the door, this is the optimal time of year for what Lord of Shadows are selling, so stock up now! DOOM!

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