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OMNIVORTEX Streams New Single 'Grave Upon Grave' Featuring XOTH's TYLER STURGILL

https://627e81c5fee2d202a5df846c.paas-p.smehost.net/video/omnivortex-streams-new-single-grave-upon-grave-featuring-xoths-tyler-sturgill

#OMNIVORTEX #XOTH #StreamsNewSingle #GraveUponGrave #single #EP #MetalInjection #metal #music

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#MetalInjection
OMNIVORTEX Streams New Single 'Grave Upon Grave' Featuring XOTH's TYLER STURGILL

https://metalinjection.net/video/omnivortex-streams-new-single-grave-upon-grave-featuring-xoths-tyler-sturgill

#OMNIVORTEX #XOTH #StreamsNewSingle #GraveUponGrave #single #EP #MetalInjection #metal #music

Vittra – Intense Indifference Review

By Angry Metal Guy

Two months ago, I saw a post on social media announcing Vittra’s sophomore album, Intense Indifference. The name struck me as funny. “A bit like a Radical Neutrality Party1 or my side-project Exaggerated Understatement,” I quipped quippily while jonesing for that sweet rush of dopamine that comes along with likes. But once my fix was had, I hastily forgot about them. As luck would have it, in this age when melodic death metal releases are few, far between, and often so drenched in reverb that it’s hard to remember that this band is playing death metal, Vittra was my only choice for a melodic death metal record this week. And so, the obvious, hacky hook for which I would shame a n00b needs to be asked: “Is it just a clever name?”

Vittra—hailing from Kolbäck, Sweden (population 2,108)—plays a very Swedish style of death metal. From the opening minutes, Vittra impresses with sticky hooks, thrashy energy, and the kind of melodic death that I associate with bands like Æther Realm, Mors Principium Est, or Xoth more than the stylings of the Insomnia or Omnia Gathera of the world. Vittra benefits from the sense that they are young, hungry, and probably deeply bored in the middle of nowhere in Västmanland. And so, in those long dark winter nights, they have sharpened their riffs, their hooks, and developed a manic energy. And Intense Indifference is 33 minutes of the sharpest riffs, the best harmonies, and a caged animal energy that reminds listeners that Kreator is better than Anthrax.2

Intense Indifference is a record with impeccable energy—unimpeachable vibes. Calling back to the legendary “GO!” on “Slaughter of the Soul,” opener “MOFO” kicks off with a not-yet-legendary, but pretty rad, “MOTHERFUCKER LET’S GO!” that sets the table. And these motherfuckers don’t let up once they get going. Each song on here oozes with the energy and hunger of a young band with a love of riffs and guitar-driven, thrashtastic death metal. From the Dark Tranquillity riffs of “Reign Supreme,” Soilwork’s slick sensibilities on “Burn(h)er,” or a bit of Carnosus/Black Dahlia Murder on “The Leap,” you can go through and pick out all the ways that they synthesize the best of what melodic death has given us over the last 30 years and cooked it down into something you want to freebase.

But Vittra’s vibe offers a unique flavor that works well here, while providing ample promise for the future. These guys seem to have a deep appreciation for Americana, classic rock ‘n’ roll, and blues. And while I struggle with that stuff myself, somehow these Swedish weirdos make it work. “Transylvanian Buffet” transports you to the honkytonk on the piano, while Johan Murmester and new guitarist Lars Elofsson genuinely impress with acoustic blues on “Soul Searcher.” And throughout, there are moments when hard turns toward blue notes or start-and-stop writing evoke the genre’s influence on Megadeth or AC/DC.3 These bits are few and far between, but they keep things creative and fresh, and you can bet your ass that there’s a lot of room for growth around them in the future.

The problem with Intense Indifference is that it flies by too quickly. At 33 minutes, 2:06 of which is spent on a cover of Slayer’s classic “Piece by Piece,” the record definitely fits within the 45-minute rule. But so little original music (covers don’t count, dudes) is a bit of a disappointment, given that the quality on here is stellar. Between the band’s two albums, they don’t even have a headlining set. And that’s a shame, because they have the kind of swagger we all love. And since the album sounds great, thanks to a Simon Johansson (Wolf, Memory Garden, now apparently Soilwork) recording, a Johan Murmester (Vittra) production, and a Lawrence Mackrory (FKÜ, Blackscape) mastering job, the listener wants more. And not just more bass.4 More great thrashy melodeath goodness!

Intense Indifference may be a kind of stupid name, but it’s also a better-than-kinda-good record, and the band is clearly better than this record. Right now, this slots easily into Listurnalia considerations and is one of the better melodic death metal records I’ve heard in a while. Sure, if you’re allergic to Slaughter of the Soul, you might call it tired.5 But I just call it very, very good.

LET’S FUCKIN’ GO!

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s CBR MP3
Label: Self-released
Websites: Vittra Official | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Out Worldwide: September 19th, 2025

#2025 #35 #ACDC #ÆtherRealm #Carnosus #DarkTranquillity #Insomnium #IntenseIndifference #Megadeth #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #OmniumGatherum #Review #Sep25 #Slayer #Soilwork #TheBlackDahliaMurder #ThrashMetal #Vittra #Xoth

Atomic Witch – Death Etiquette Review

By Tyme

Cleveland, Ohio’s death thrash quintet, Atomic Witch, began as Bulk & Skull in 2012—a nod to the comic relief duo from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers—before changing their moniker in 2016. After releasing a few singles and EPs, Atomic Witch partnered with Redefining Darkness Records and producer Dan “The Man” Swanö for their debut album, Crypt of Sleepless Malice, in 2022, which created a splash in the death thrash pool with its visceral riffs, horror-themed lyrics, and completely unhinged vocals. Three years of lessons learned later, Atomic Witch and new producer Noah Buchanan (Nunslaughter, Solipsist) at Cleveland’s Mercinary Studios have reopened the crypt to unleash sophomore effort, Death Etiquette, upon the phantasmic masses. Do these Midwest marauders have what it takes to infect a crowded scene even further, or should we stake this vampire’s heart now and slam the coffin door shut?

As Death Etiquette comes not only crashing through but completely mangling the gate, it’s clear Atomic Witch hasn’t tweaked their formula. In just over two minutes, album opener “Morgue Rat” packs everything Atomic Witch does well into one brief, bristling bruiser. Frenetically furious riffing melded with drummer Nick Amato’s (Axioma) rolls and fills hit you right between the beady eyes before the track settles into a nice, mid-paced chug-a-lug. Like Stallone turning his trucker hat around in Over the Top, when singer Nick Martinis pulls his neon green ski mask down over his face, shit’s about to get real, and when he delivers the very cheeky Drowning Pool-ish line “Let the bodies hit the morgue,” it’s also clear Atomic Witch don’t take themselves too seriously. New bassist David McJunkins’ low-end rumblings, in conjunction with Amato’s battery, keep the frantic riffs and twisted solos of Jesse Shattuck and Jonah Meister in check. Death Etiquette delivers short and sweet thrash first and foremost, falling somewhere amidst the sonic Bermuda triangle of Slayer, Forbidden, and Xoth. At the same time, there are sprinkles of Sentient Horror-like death (“Of Flesh and Chrome”) and a little bit of black metallicism (“Dream Rot”) boiling in Atomic Witch’s cauldron. Performances reign supreme here, and it’s the vocal pyrotechnics that take center stage.

Eschewing the punkier, more straightforward approach of fellow Midwest acts like Midnight and Wraith, Atomic Witch differentiate through the crazed vocal tandem of Martinis and Shattuck. Betwixt the two, Martinis carries the bulk of the responsibility, and his snarly screams—reminiscent of Havok’s David Sanchez—bring some extra lethality to the material and highlight the catchy choruses (“Morgue Rat,” “Worms and Dirt”). While the completely bonkers, high-pitched, full-throated power falsettos—landing within Rob Halford, King Diamond, and Mark Osegueda territory—and deep, guttural growls of Shattuck serve as an insane accompaniment to Martinis’ raspy delivery (“Death Edging (Come to the Light)”). Both coalesce perfectly on my favorite track, and album closer “Vicious Mistress,” a Venom song title if ever there was one. Carrying over from the debut’s “Love Curse,” the track features a swaggering groove composed of bendy chords and flirty riffs, the high-low vocal trade-offs accentuating the hectic solos and furious instrumentals with a romping effect.

Death Etiquette benefits from Noah Buchanan’s rawer production. As masterful as Swanö is, I found the mix on Crypt of Sleepless Malice too mutedly polished. And while Atomic Witch may have sacrificed some DR in the process, the slightly louder mix works for me with this material. A testament to cohesiveness, the songwriting on Death Etiquette is tighter and more focused too, as Shattuck and Meister continue to refine their ability to craft engaging music. And while even the shorter tracks feel fully resolved, despite their brevity, the twenty-seven-minute runtime did leave me wanting a little more meat on my plate.

Atomic Witch continue to make a name for themselves in the death thrash space, and Death Etiquette is another solid step forward. And while they’re not doing anything too groundbreaking or boundary-pushing, these two first noteworthy releases indicate a band embarking on a decently consistent career. I suppose only time will tell. Atomic Witch seems like a fun band, and I found Death Etiquette a fun listen. I’d certainly opt to catch them, and their ski-masked frontman, live should they make a stop anywhere near my stomping grounds. I’ll be spinning Death Etiquette more as this humid summer trudges on and will be keeping my eyes peeled for what Atomic Witch does next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 25th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #AtomicWitch #DeathEtiquette #DeathMetal #Forbidden #Jul25 #Midnight #RedefiningDarknessRecords #Review #SentientHorror #Slayer #ThrashMetal #Wraith #Xoth

Some flamencore for you:

#Impureza: Alcázares

https://album.link/i/1806381304

#DeathMetal

FFO #NarcoticWasteland #NearDeathCondition #Xoth

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords–WhereMusicLives
XOTH Announces Exogalactic Actuality U.S. Tour

https://bravewords.com/news/xoth-announces-exogalactic-actuality-u-s-tour/

#Xoth #ExogalacticActualityTour #Inoculation #Seattle #Cleveland #DeathThrash #FargoND #Midwest #EastCoast #USTour

Tyler from #Xoth (vocals/guitars) looks a lot like someone who wants to go get sushi and not pay! 🫢

#NWTerrorFest2025
Thursday band #4:

#Xoth from Seattle, I’d been looking forward to seeing their science fiction metal experience. Blackened death power metal?! Super fun!

#metalsky

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #SeekAndDestroy

Xoth:
🎵 Saga of the Blade

#Xoth

https://xoth.bandcamp.com/track/saga-of-the-blade

https://open.spotify.com/track/0bsvY0Fw4zamQIhSM1v1TW

For @sariash's #SymphonicMonday, an album from a band who sound "as if Alestorm had a baby with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Symphony X":

#Ethmebb: Allo Babar et les Caramboleurs

https://album.link/q2hwpf0gjwbvr

#ProgressiveMetal #SymphonicDeathMetal

FFO #ObsidianTide #OthersByNoOne #Xoth

Sorry but not sorry for posting whole albums recently.

Xoth Band US West Coast Tour 2025 Tour Dates Merch Two Sides Unisex T-Shirt
Buy Now: https://buff.ly/3QoxkjT
#Xoth

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Zakula – White Forest Reign Lullabies

By Dolphin Whisperer

“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.”

It takes a bit of effort to assemble the fickle tastes of the Rodeö gang, as distinguished and willing as they may be. Now, I won’t say that the lure of a unsigned gem requires trickery, but with a band like Zakula, explaining their style straight doesn’t stand as an option. These Athenian speed demons slap the simplest of tags across their Bandcamp page: death metal, black metal, thrash metal. And frustratingly, that’s the truth too! But what does it mean? Chunky riffs that dance about flailing tempos with a dramatic vocal character? Kind of. How about sneaky lead melodies that tumble against bright synth crashes into whiplash thrash and manic shrieks? White Forest Reign Lullabies doesn’t make explanation easy, but Zakula does play metal with lots of twists. This is the kind of challenge for which the Rodeö crew—now with the recently demoted n00b Tyme in the mix—lives! And, also proof that they too are capable of enjoyment. – Dolphin Whisperer

Zakula // White Forest Reign Lullabies [October 25th, 2024]

GardensTale: Zakula was initially sold to me as weirdo black metal. Foul! This is clearly weirdo tech thrash, a niche I seldom dabble in. As such, I find myself more unmoored than usual, with my frame of reference limited to Stam1na and my meager exposure to Vektor, whose frontman I disliked for his vocals and dislike more for his abuse. But while a few comparisons can be drawn from Zakula to either, this is a different beast altogether. White Forest Reign Lullabies is fast as hell, frequently discordant, and seems designed to keep you off-balance. The guitars throw me off the least, somehow, though their rapid tremolos and triplets and trips up and down the scales require close attention. More unsettling are the hoarse histrionics that make up the vocals, which sound ragged and desperate and are played backward on at least one occasion, and the erratic drums that go from maddeningly consistent to plain mad. But it’s the electronics that send me over the edge. The dissonant slides and squeaks and blips have a panic-inducing effect that reminds me of VAK at about nine times the speed. Somehow, though, the Greeks pull it all together with some excellent songwriting, mixing manic melodic riffs and staccato drums in opposition without letting it all descend into nonsensical noise. Some of the tracks do swerve a bit much from one extreme to another and lose the cohesion, but more often than not this one’s one heck of a ride, full of surprises, technical wizardry, and all the drugs that are not good for you. 3.5/5.0

Felagund: I enjoy the Rodeö feature much more when I have something positive to say about the album we’re reviewing. And truly, how could I hate on the off-kilter package that Zakula has delivered? White Forest Rain Lullabies is the band’s sophomore outing, and they’ve embraced the well-trod kitchen sink approach. Sure, Zakula might arrive on a wave of thrash, but stick around and you’ll be accosted by an undertow of industrial, prog, black metal, and noise. As you struggle against the deluge, you may hear dashes of Coroner, Voivod, and even Oingo Boingo. There’s plenty of synths, light orchestration, squealing guitars, and highly augmented, blackened vocals that’ll pull you even further out past the breakers. Yet somehow, these zany Greeks pull it off. Whether you’re looking for crunchy thrash riffs (“Olethros,” “Children of Haze,”) frenzied, cacophonous noise (“Melancholy,” “White Forest Rain Lullabies”) or spacy synths (“Remains,” “Children of Haze”) Zakula delivers the goods both cohesively and effectively, something even well-seasoned musicians struggle to do. Unfortunately, in their zeal to cram more genres, instrumentation, and ideas into each song, Zakula has inadvertently delivered a record in dire need of some editing. On a six-song album, there are three tracks that clock in at or over eight minutes, and each would have been leaner, meaner, and more impactful with just two to three minutes shaved off. This certainly isn’t a deal breaker, but it does stifle the momentum of an otherwise promising album. Still, I’d recommend White Forest Rain Lullabies, especially to all you little freaks out there. 3.0/5.0

Iceberg: While I tend to follow the Germanic school of thought that order and structure rule supreme, I have a soft spot for unpredictable, chaotic music. Dolph has zeroed in on this personal weakness, and continues to poke and prod me with insanity I can’t help but love. Zakula barely manages to control their chaos across an impressive forty minutes of music with White Forest Reign Lullabies, throwing so many genres against the wall that I’d waste word count listing them here. From the deliriously quick, heaving chromatic leads of “Όλεθρος” to the relentless, across-the-bar ostinati of “Remains,” Zakula sinks their hooks into the listener and refuses to let go. Mid-album heavyweight “Melancholy” is a twisting nine minutes that feels much shorter than that, and it’s middle section is straight from a Twilight Zone soundtrack, successfully blended with speed metal bookends. Every time I’ve come back to this record I’ve found a new corner to explore, a new chromatic tremolo, a new electronic underpinning. The title track and “Ton 618” don’t hit quite as hard as their album-mates, and there could be a case for some more editing, but the amount of fat amongst these tracks is pretty minimal. White Forest Reign Lullabies marks a triumph for the Athenians, and I can easily see it increasing in score as it continues to worm its way into my brainstem. An absolute must for fans of extreme music that blows right past anything resembling a boundary. 3.5/5.0

Alekhines Gun: If metal were a snack, White Forest Reign Lullabies would be the chunkiest of trail mix. Zakula assembles a brand of blackened thrash, piano, clean vocals, interludes, and electronica in an absurd, bizarrely effective middle finger to our stance at AMG Inc. that less is more. Do you love synth shreddage? Zakula pack in enough to make His Statue Falls blush and Fail Emotions suggest toning it down a bit. Do you love blackened thrash? White Forest Reign Lullabies pack in the spirit of Urn with pained vocals pulled straight from modern Asphyx, seeking to kick arse with beer and steel-toed boot. The sincerity behind the more metal riffs serves as a surprising counterpart to the instrumental excess on display here, keeping Zakula from being mistaken for a mere gimmick band. Look no further than the opening minute of “Melancholy” to realize this band is in no way here to mess around, even if it seems like they can’t commit to a style for long enough to do anything but. Some people will cry that this album lacks cohesion, identity, and focus, and those are people who don’t like fun. Your tolerance for this album will certainly depend on your joy for madcap zany ADHD (positive) song structures. But for those looking for a walk on the wild side, come enjoy some sweet Lullabies. Or as Zakula would ask, “How can less be more? That’s impossible!” 3.0/5.0

Thyme: Three years after their 2021 eponymous debut, Greek thrashers Zakula return with White Forest Reign Lullabies. From the first swift, surgically precise riff and chaotic keyboard run of opener, “Όλεθρος,” it’s clear Zakula is no straight-line descendant of the (some say tragically Overkill-less) Big Four — no sir. Zakula’s brand of blackened thrash has an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink quality to it that not only belies its genre tags but makes drawing valid comparisons difficult. If Mr. Bungle and Xoth paid Titan to Tachyons for a threesome, you’d at least be in the ballpark, as every second of this six-song, forty-minute tornado is engaging as fook. The songwriting, especially on the lengthier tracks (“Melancholy,” “Children of Haze”), showcases what Zakula does best. And that’s providing a wealth of melt-in-your-mouth goodness chock full of visceral riffs, Xothically spacy synths, and Schuldiner by way of Van Drunen1 vocals that imbue a particular deathly black menace to each of these thrashtastically jazzy (thrazzy? thrazztastic?)2 compositions. Full of twists, turns, and surprises designed to keep the listener guessing but never letting them get lost in the woods, White Forest Reign Lullabies is an album I strongly suggest you check out. At this rate, Zakula won’t stay Rodeö bait for much longer. 3.5/5.0

#AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo2024 #Asphyx #BlackMetal #Coroner #Death #GreekMetal #IndependentRelease #MrBungle #OingoBoingo #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Stam1na #TechnicalThrashMetal #ThrashMetal #TitanToTachyons #Vektor #Voivod #WhiteForestReignLullabies #Xoth #Zakula

AMG Goes Ranking – The Black Dahlia Murder

By Dolphin Whisperer

The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. The reviewing collective at AMG lurches from one new release to the next, errors and n00bs strewn in our wake. But what if, once in a while, the collective paused to take stock and consider the discography of those bands that shaped many a taste? What if multiple aspects of the AMG collective personality shared with the slavering masses their personal rankings of that discography, and what if the rest of the personality used a Google sheet nay, a Google FORM some kind of dark magic to produce an official guide to, and an all-around definitive aggregated ranking of, that band’s entire discography? Well, if that happened, we imagine it would look something like this…

The Black Dahlia Murder is a band I’ve had the honor of watching develop throughout its entire career. With its debut in 2003, an album that I think stands up much better than the chuckleheads below, the Michigan melodic death metal act has been with me for twenty years. I saw them opening for bands before anyone knew who they were, and I was buying each new release on release day. In 2024, The Black Dahlia Murder faces new challenges, moving on from the tragic loss of vocalist and scene giant Trevor Strnad and they will release Servitude on the 27th of September (that’s tomorrow, yes). So, before I unleash my Very Important Opinions™ on the world about the new full-length LP, we thought that a romp through the band’s discography seemed in order. Note that anyone who tells you that Ritual isn’t their best album is lying to you. – Angry Metal Guy

The Ranking(s)

Dr. Wvrm

#9. Unhallowed (2002). At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking Unhallowed is by a completely different band. This album is three kids standing on each other’s shoulders and wearing a trench coat next to the other records in this catalog. But despite how far TBDM still has to go from this point, Unhallowed has its positives. Its take on 90s Gothenburg is interesting, if not always good, and it certainly doesn’t lack energy. “Elder Misanthropy” is the first entry into the pantheon of all-time TBDM jams, even if it’s a messy one. It’s a long way up from here for the boys from Michigan, but you can clearly see the seeds of what’s to come in this debut.

#8. Verminous (2020). That Verminous is the low point of modern TBDM despite being pretty good says quite a lot about the level of output this band has maintained for the last 20 years. The album maintains the reflexive phase started by Abysmal (more on that in a bit), feeling more like a down-and-dirty expansion of their ideas on Everblack at times. The execution, however, falls further down than I’d like. For a band with bangers aplenty, Verminous never finds its bonafide hit and feels stuck in first gear.

#7. Abysmal (2015). Don’t get me wrong—Abysmal features some of the strongest fretwork in TBDM’s catalog (with Ryan Knight still on board at this point, who is surprised by this?). But coming at the tail of an incredible four-album run, Abysmal’s return to hyperkinetic hooks and solos begins a third phase in the band’s catalog. Instead of pushing onward and outward from the progressive attitude of Everblack, TBDM refocuses and uses the lessons learned throughout their years of experimentation to revitalize their core sound. As a result, Abysmal feels more like a transition record between eras than anything else. In theory, it’s not doing too much differently from Deflorate, and unfortunately feels a bit stale by comparison. TBDM would find a way around the all-been-done-before feel by their next album, but with Abysmal, the retread weighs a bit heavier than you’d like.

#6. Miasma (2005). Miasma demonstrates instant growth over TBDM’s debut. If Unhallowed was a rough attempt at mid-90s melodeath, Miasma surges forward to the turn-of-the-century fusion of melodic death metal and mainstream metalcore production.1 Though they wouldn’t stick with this sound for long, there’s so much across Miasma to like, from the cleaner production and maturing songwriting to the charisma that is now starting to bleed through every facet of the music. Strnad’s famous dual vocals really come into their own here, and the rest of the performances aren’t far behind. Though there’s still one piece of the puzzle remaining, you can see the full picture starting to resolve.

#5. Deflorate (2009). This album proved not only that TBDM wasn’t a one-album wonder, but that they also weren’t a one-trick pony. Ryan Knight joined the band from Arsis and overnight launched TBDM’s lead guitar capabilities into the stratosphere. But what looked like Nocturnal on nitro on its face sees, under the hood, Brian Eschbach’s songwriting quietly started to push the boundaries of the band’s imagination and capacity. Closer “I Will Return” veers hard left from everything to that point, touching on patient development and melodic progressions in a way that we could have only guessed TBDM was capable of (“Warborn”). It may lack the highs of some other records, but Deflorate is where TBDM started to show the depths of their abilities.

#4. Everblack (2013). Those of you who know I love TBDM know why I love TBDM,2 and what I want isn’t in steady supply on Everblack. What is, however, is perhaps the pinnacle of TBDM’s exploratory songwriting and certainly the heights of Knight’s solo abilities (“Into the Everblack”). Everblack is a grower in a catalog of showers, operating in many ways like a prog death album in its attention to detail and willingness to fiddle with genre conventions. It’s also Strnad at his most diverse, leading an excellent full-ensemble performance from melodeath to straight death to black metal and back again. My personal predilection for beeg boi melojams is the only reason this isn’t placing higher on this list; on an objective quality scale, Everblack is aces.

#3. Ritual (2011). Now we’re talking. Everything up to this point had something holding it back for me, be it concept, style, or execution. Ritual is the first record on this list where any quibbles I have are so minor as to be unmentionable. Delivering on the promise of “I Will Return,” Ritual ain’t afraid to get a little weird. Off-kilter takes like “Den of the Picquerist” are exotic curios from a faraway land next to two prior records that spent 95% of their runtime turning your ass into tenderized steak. Here, a more interesting weapon of choice filters into the core proceedings of the record, with offerings like “On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood” providing the perfect chaser to the moonshine shot of “Moonlight Equilibrium.” This is the band’s most complete offering, giving you a taste of everything TBDM has dreamt up over their career, and I venture that Ritual would be one (or two!) spot(s) on this list higher… if I weren’t such a weenie.3

#2. Nightbringers (2017). But I am such a weenie.4 Is Nightbringers effectively Nocturnal with the world’s greatest spit shine? Sure is, and cui gives a shit? It’s got the most polished bow on it you’ll ever see. If you like riffs, and if you like hooks, and if you like them at the same time and in copious quantities, Nightbringers is all you’ll ever need. TBDM poured fifteen years of hard-won lessons and honed songcraft into revitalizing one of the most well-loved and well-regarded (by people with taste) albums in the genre. As such, it feels fresh and new and worth every second of your time, rather than like a lazy nostalgia mine. Most bands would be so lucky as to ape a classic album half as well as this, let alone have it be their own classic album. Speaking of…

#1. Nocturnal (2007). Simply put, Nocturnal is TBDM. This record is the culmination of every moment before it, to where every moment traces back. It was an instant star-maker at the time and a bonafide classic in hindsight. At the core of the band, when you strip off the years of experience and experimentation, the one constant is this sound. Like no other band, TBDM reclaimed the ’90s Swedeath buzzsaw riff and forged it anew in a bloodbath of nitro, horror-movie worship, and unfailing self-seriousness. As Nocturnal unfurls, each track seems certain to be impossible to top, only for the very next entry to do just that. Trying to pick just one Nocturnal song for a playlist (like the one below) invites an hour of “Well wait, what about…” That might not be the best reason to put an album (or two!) ahead of what is an unquestionably more well-rounded entry in Ritual, but it’s certainly the best reason to consider it among your favorite albums more than fifteen years later.

Dolphin Murderer

I don’t typically consider myself a fan of melodeath at large. But select acts that rest on what I would consider the more intense and/or techy side, Intestine Baalism, Arsis, Quo Vadis, Neuraxis, Anata, really grease my grumpy gears. And, among those, naturally, rests the oft-imitated, not quite-matched American giant The Black Dahlia Murder. I didn’t explore their catalog as they were first coming to light as I wasn’t allowed to. You see, I fancied myself a metalhead and all the -core kiddies liked bad music like Darkest Hour, All That Remains, Trivium, and The Black Dahlia Murder. So it took until sometime in my early 20s, sometime around Ritual, to even consider hitting this hallowed act. All because a cute girl with a forked tongue happened to be in my college public speaking class and wearing a sick The Black Dahlia Murder tee. Turns out she wasn’t into dudes. But I lucked into a different partner out of it all, one with sick riffs and vocal prowess that causes newcomers to think that these Michigan boys have two vocalists.

Riff in peace, Trevor.

#9. Unhallowed (2002). Armed equally with the weight of Carcass low-end harmonies and At the Gates Björriffs, TBDM hit the ground running with a gluttonous, thrash-loaded, melodeath pittin’ spree. This debut Unhallowed couldn’t have been more emblematic of the consistency that TBDM would embody throughout their career. As the start of a sound that would become part of the heavy metal dialogue, it’s really almost there in terms of quality. Strnad may not sound as comfortable in his shriek ‘em high and rattle ‘em low vocal attack, but with riffs as nasty as the latchkey turndown of “Closed Casket Reqiuem” and “Hymn for the Wretched,” he doesn’t always need to be the focus.

#8. Verminous (2020). Despite this release being the most recent of the bunch, it is also the one I recalled the least going into this ranking. When Verminous came to be it landed on my ears as a disappointment, though not necessarily a bad record. Frankly, I don’t think TBDM is capable of that. However, Verminous takes risks that other albums haven’t taken, like turning the classical lower-tuned harmonic riffs and scooping them closer to true thrash tones. Simultaneously, this allows stringslinger Brandon Ellis’ treble-focused leads to play about in a fashion that tiptoes the line between power metal cheese and melodeath flamboyance (“Godlessly,” “Removal of the Oaken Stake”). Couple that with Strnad essentially rapping at a couple of points (primarily in the percussive bounce of “How Very Dead”), and you’ve got a solid album after all with a few new wrinkles.

#7. Abysmal (2015). Similarly to Verminous, Abysmal crawls about specific production choices that highlight lead guitarist Ryan Knight’s neoclassical, virtuosic warbling. Namely, it’s louder and thrashier. While the album that came before it, Everblack, never wanted for more shred, its rhythm-focused drive—a more death metal-focused TBDM stance—did not allow sonic space for Abysmal’s inclusion of additional instruments like cellos and violins to have a place amongst the assault. Furthermore, with the increased focus on Knight’s playful prowess, each song includes easy-to-recognize marks of differentiation, whether it be a snappy intro (“Receipt,” “Abysmal”), a wicked solo (every song), or a Strnad-led crusher (“Re-Faced,” “The Advent”). It’s hard to get too much of Knight, Strnad, or TBDM when they’re this fun and tight.

#6. Everblack (2013). If you’re approximately my age, then certainly you’ve heard cries of TBDM ”not being metal” or “being metalcore.” Did you know that Metal Archives doesn’t even list metalcore as a past iteration of their sound?5 Well, if nothing to this point had convinced you, then Everblack would be the one to listen to. Listen, I’m not going to sit here and say you should like TBDM, but with Morbid Angel riffs crushing through slower-than-blast pace numbers (“Into the Everblack,” “Phantom Limb Masturbation”), bass rattle that won’t quick, and Ryan Knight still doing that “is he Yngwie or Greg Howe” shred to fusion-y blues thing, Everblack gives plenty of reasons why you TBDM is a death metal act first. Though the album starts a touch slow and runs long for an experience that subsists almost solely on riffs, it’s very hard to say that anything should go away. Just carve a little more time if you’re gonna jam this one.

#5. Deflorate (2009). Representing the ultimate crystallization of the TBDM sound to this point in their history, Deflorate is an absolutely consistent experience. In different hands, hands that have trouble crafting good songs, that might be an issue. But sticking true to the TBDM formula of harmonic overload, At the Gates / early-Carcass riffs, and Strnad giving a performance that no vocalist could match in this lane, Deflorate is also an easy-to-enjoy success. Notably, this is Ryan Knight’s first appearance (fresh from a stint with melotech legends in their own right, Arsis) at the helm of lead shred duties, which allows Deflorate to have a quality of guitar heroism that no album prior quite had. That’s not to say that past leadwork was subpar by any stretch, but when you hear the elegance of play on tracks like “Necropolis” or “Christ Deformed” against any of the solo breaks that came before them, it’s a whole different ball game. Ryan Knight kills it and keeps Deflorate from being just another riff-rippin’ TBDM album.

#4. Miasma (2005). From a very base stance, Miasma isn’t all too different in attack from the debut. But having already done it once at full-length, and even more on the road, TBDM took huge steps in the polish and tightening of their identity. In particular, the man, the myth, the legend Trevor Strnad steps into his role as the intensifier of already heavy-handed riffs with rolled snarls, bestial lows, and off-the-rails shriek sermons. From the lift-off of “Flies” to the narrative froth of “Dave Goes to Hollywood” to the artistic crackling of “Spite Suicide,” not a moment rings through where Strnad isn’t threatening the mic with a barely held-together glottal assault. I’ve noted on later-era albums that the acquired talents provided an extra panache to an already solid formula. Miasma, in its rawer and younger character, succeeds not through being smart and tidy but by executing TBDM’s vision of melodic death metal to the scraped limits of their abilities at the time.

#3. Nightbringers (2017). If Miasma sold the young and tattered vision that TBDM had of At the Gates riffs with campy and horror-tinged vignettes, Nightbringers sells the wiser version of it kissed by the fresh virtuosity of then-fledgling shredmeister Brandon Ellis. No riff wastes any time launching songs into chunked harmony, barked fury, and blistering solo-land. And despite the number of Björriff-forward tunes that TBDM has cranked over the years, each song here lands with its own weighty identity. Part of that is through Ellis’ neoclassically-cranked excursions that carry as much energy as any melodeath groove (“Kings of the Nightworld,” “As Good as Dead”). And, as with any TBDM outing, Strnad rips maniacally through macabre narratives with a brutal ease that possesses a memorability all its own (“Of God and Serpent, of Spectre and Snake,” “Catacomb Hecatomb” in particular). Truth be told, I’ve also spent more time with this album than any other in the TBDM catalog. When I acquired it, I was on the road more than any other time in my life, and this collection of melodeath bangers was my go-to on a sunless morning commute,6 where my weary eyes needed adrenaline to persevere. Nightbringers gives a dose that doesn’t quit until the last note.

#2. Nocturnal (2007). As much as I (and all the others here) have said the name At the Gates or Björriff7—a fate inescapable from simply the opening classic chord crush of “Everything Went Black”—it’s really the sneaking, tremolo groove Morbid Angel influence that rolls my eyes back on these hardest-hitting early TBDM numbers. This hefty American influence on the hooky and nimble Swedish sound allows monsters like “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse” and “Of Darkness Spawned” to land with equal parts thrashy tumble and melodic sting. The addition of budding kit talent Shannon Lucas (ex-All That Remains) provides all the machine gun and tom-chattering rhythmic foundation for TBDM to excel in this realization of their early potential. Melodeath doesn’t get much more addictive than this…

#1. Ritual (2011). Well, at least melodeath doesn’t get more addictive than this until Ritual. But the craving that results from this crowning moment isn’t one of riff-indulgence, of fretboard mystery (okay, it is all of those things). Ritual has an atmosphere. The simple placement of dramatic cello lines at the onset signals a moodiness that continues through tones more bass-loaded and balanced than other efforts. I hate to praise engineer Jason Suecof for his work here as he ruined plenty of albums around this time.8 But everything here just works—the cut-ins to Knight’s wobbling and unpredictable axe action, the many layers of Strnad crisscrossing and connecting at group chants and shouts, the low-end weight which even propels the elevated basics d-beat ripping of “Den of the Picquerist.” Continuing to alternate between the Björriff, a churning groove, and a growing hyper-melodic attitude (“The Window”), TBDM finds more ways to hook with the same tools they’ve always had while adding subtle new elements. It’s eerie to listen to “Blood in the Ink” these days, though. Between the added tension of discordant violin lines, further swirling string accompaniment, and its all too real theme of ritual suicide, the foreboding closer is easily one of the best songs The Black Dahlia Murder ever penned. Ritual fades away in the closing echo of “Suicide is the only way out.” And it hurts. It hurt then because that kind of mental trap exists, and it hurts now because art and reality often reflect each other in the scariest and worst of ways. That intersection can breed great art though, and Ritual will live that truth so long as metalheads have ears.

Angry Metal Guy Staff Ranking

We’ve once again used our tallying magic to use a complex point system based on submitted rankings. Thank you to the staff who could offer opinions without words. You are treasured and valuable.9

#9. Verminous (2020)
#8. Unhallowed (2003)
#7. Abysmal (2015)
#6. Everblack (2013)
#3T. Deflorate (2009)
#3T. Miasma (2005)
#3T. Nightbringers (2017)
#2. Ritual (2011)
#1. Nocturnal (2007)

Angry Metal Discord Pile o’ Entitled Opinions

We did the same thing for our Discord users. They smell funny, but wouldn’t you know it, they like The Black Dahlia Murder too! Hopefully, you don’t agree more with this bunch though…

#9. Verminous (2020)
#8. Unhallowed (2003)
#7. Miasma (2005)
#6. Deflorate (2009)
#5. Abysmal (2015)
#4. Nightbringers (2017)
#3. Ritual (2011)
#2. Nocturnal (2007)
#1. Everblack (2013)

And what would this all be without a staff-curated playlist to accompany the celebra¬tion? Get to know The Black Dahlia Murder before their upcoming release Servitude, out September 27th, 2024 on Metal Blade Records.

#2003 #2005 #2007 #2009 #2011 #2013 #2015 #2017 #2020 #AmericanMetal #AMGGoesRanking #AMGRankings #Arsis #AtTheGates #Carcass #Carnosus #DeathMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #MorbidAngel #TheBlackDahliaMurder #TrevorStrnad #Xoth

New upload

Xoth full set at The Showbox (Seattle, WA) - June 7, 2024
#xoth #Deathmetal
https://youtu.be/CFu67_oCWF0

AMG Turns 15: Angry Metal Guy Himself Reflects on 15 Years of AngryMetalGuy.com

By Angry Metal Guy

In 2009, when I started AngryMetalGuy.com, I had absolutely no serious intentions for it. I had finished my senior year of university while abroad in Sweden, and I had met someone in the lovely city of Umeå.1 We had moved in together, but finding work was proving difficult given my degree in sociology and my lack of Swedish skills. And so, I had a lot of time on my hands and not a lot of money. Needless to say, access to new music was a matter of concern for me, because I couldn’t afford it. Domestically, the Swedish government was coming down hard on piracy—or trying to—and I got a bit spooked by the whole thing because I wasn’t even a permanent resident at the time.

Fortunately, I had a few things going for me. I had a rudimentary understanding of websites and web design because of the stuff I had done for my band (and others) in the early 2000s. I had a label contact at Napalm because of the work that I had done for Vintersorg. I had experience as a reviewer from years earlier, which was a pretty formative experience for me, and where I had cut my teeth on reviews with bands like Orphaned Land and Disillusion. I tended to write lengthy reviews and had a deep and abiding love of list-making. And, yes, being a young man, I had boatloads of unearned confidence.2

The most important of the things I had going for me, however, may have been that I had no more serious intentions for AngryMetalGuy.com than gaining access to the labels from whom I wanted to receive promotional materials. Some people might think that sounds bad, but I don’t think that this is something that should be taken as a negative. When I think back, I think it was key to the website’s success.3 This nonchalance gave me the freedom to quickly stop trying to imitate news websites like Blabbermouth. It gave me the latitude to write negative reviews without fear of losing advertising dollars. And it made it easier to do what I wanted; writing the occasional rant, doing the occasional interview, and writing long-form music reviews. While focusing on reviews was not a driver of traffic early on,4 I also had no desire to monetize AMG. And, in my estimation, it was that authenticity that attracted loyal readers and, eventually, loyal writers.

AngryMetalGuy.com became synonymous with authentic, high-quality reviews. The Angry branding, which had been rooted in a joke that had little to do with my actual personality at the time,5 seemed to grant me a certain bit of leeway for my initially naïve belief that the reviewing game was, in fact, about giving honest appraisals of music. And while such naïveté has cost us label access—here’s looking at you, Nuclear Blast—this helped to make AMG the website that it has become. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything, especially access. Additionally, as I added writers, worked hard to help people learn to write, and began thinking about music reviews as an editor, I began to refine my own style and a style that we teach to new writers. Over time—and with a metric ton of further education—I have become more like the writer that I had imagined myself to be when I started AMG.

My involvement in AngryMetalGuy.com has waned, to my frustration, and, of course, inevitably. The fact that my involvement is a bit of a punchline in recent years is funny like a tough guy nickname—you know, those guys who call you Simba because your uncle killed your dad or Univision because you’re blind in one eye—funny because it’s true, but also ouch. And this becomes clear when reading through the reflections of the staff; the newer a writer is, the less likely they are to mention my influence. And yet, as bittersweet as that is, I am so happy at the consistency—and consistently increasing quality—of the staff here over the years. We’ve been able to continually recruit impressive people and excellent writers whose tastes fill out the topography of the scene in ways that are necessary to keep AngryMetalGuy.com both relevant and diverse. And yet, we never skimp on quality. The group who writes here is deep and accomplished, and I am so proud that they represent AMG today.

Fifteen years later, here I still am. I’m still The Angry Metal Guy. I’ve wondered over the years, when I’ve been struggling with keeping up, why I’m unwilling to just let go of AMG. But it’s not a mystery. The reality is that AMG is me, and I am AMG. And yet, as you’ve seen over recent weeks, AMG isn’t just me. AMG is a community of writers and readers who have worked together to create the best reviewing site in the world. We have collectively given so much more to the scene than I could ever have imagined when I registered the website all those years ago. Of course, that’s due to the dedication of the staff, the editors, and my long-time partner in crime Steel Druhm.6 Our longevity and strength show that AMG will live on, because this site, this community, and all its readers—those who read every day and those who pass on through—get so much from it. And yet, there’s so much more to give.

Here’s to another 15 years!

AMG Gave to Me …

The thing that AMG has given to me that I doubt that I would have found my way to on my own has been unsigned bands. As a supporter of the scene and musician, I would like to believe that I would have been supportive of local bands, even if I weren’t involved here. Yet, the access to things I wouldn’t have heard—and the ability to raise them for others to hear and love them as I do—is something I wouldn’t have had without AMG. In recent years, I have taken all the more comfort in independent bands. While I am a believer in the importance—necessity, even—of labels for bands to have sustained success in the world of metal, the quality of independent releases has been very high during the last decade. And even when labels are passing on things that won’t sell, there’s still a wealth of great releases that have landed on my plate and my life is better for it.

Wilderun // Veil of Imagination [2019-11-19 | Self-release] — The most obvious example of this is Wilderun. While they ended up signed to Century Media eventually, their sophomore and junior releases were both independent and they were both excellent records, which demonstrated the kinds of chops that unsigned bands shouldn’t be expected to have. These records both made my life so much richer at times when I didn’t always feel like the metal scene, as represented in my promo inbox, was cutting it for me. And while my love for Wilderun has also become a punchline, the reality is that I am not ashamed of going to bat so hard for a band that I truly love.

Aeternam // Al Qassam [2020-03-27 | Self-release] — Like Wilderun, Aeternam has become a mainstay in my rotation. Unlike Wilderun, my initial exposure to them was their debut album, which had been optioned by Metal Blade, but the band was dropped following its release. While the band’s earliest material is not as strong as their later releases,7 it’s been fun to watch Aeternam develop through the years to become one of the best orchestral and melodic death bands active today. Their composition is fantastic and their records sound great. And Al Qassam also happened to be Record o’ the Month when we started with the new layout, so it also holds that special place in my heart. I’m happy to stan these guys for years to come.

Trials // This Ruined World [2015-07-24 | Self-release] — The first time I became aware of the Angry Metal Bump™ was when I was told by then-colleague Mark Sugar (AKA Dr. Fisting) that we had pushed Trials from the red into the black because of our coverage of This Ruined World. And, while I am a genuine fan of Black Sites, Sugar’s follow-up to his late-modern thrash attack known as Trials, This Ruined World holds such a special place in my heart. The album is raw and it’s weird, and endlessly hooky. It has a trashy production that’s charming as hell and which gives it a unique sound. But it wasn’t just the production that was charming. Sugar and guitarist Ryan Bruchert tag-teamed the solos throughout the album, naming them things like “Gremlins II” and “Tango and Thrash,” and these are some real highlights; creative, fun, and super memorable. There’s a vitality to Trials’ final record that, nearly 10 years on, makes it my favorite modern thrash record by a country mile.

The foregoing three albums are hardly alone. Absolutely killer bands, like Xoth, Lör, Dreamgrave, Dialith, and Carnosus, enriched my life before they signed record deals. And I would almost certainly never have heard of them without the promo bin at AMG or the other writers who are constantly delving into the depths to cover the very best that the scene has to offer—no matter where it’s from. And, on that note, there is so much music that I never would have discovered if not for the other writers. Part of the reason for expanding AngryMetalGuy.com over the years has been that we can’t keep up with all the promotional materials we receive. I just don’t have the ears or the time to listen to, never mind write about, everything I want or need to—now more than ever. But I frequently receive messages from the Angry Metal Persons telling me what to check out, and we have a community of commenters who are keeping us up to date with the things that even we miss. That is a great privilege that AMG has given me.

I Wish I Had Written …

There are two key answers to this one. First, I wish that I had written more. During recent years, I have been too far away from AMG as an entity and as a person. I reflect often upon the fact that I don’t have relationships with newer writers and readers that are similar to the ones I had in the past. That sucks. So, when I think about what I wish I had written, it’s hard not to answer: everything. I wish I had been the one to cover a critical mass of records and bands that I just haven’t had the time or the energy to cover. Not because we didn’t do it well, but because it would have been nice to be able to do it myself.8

More concretely, though, The Ocean Collective’s brilliant Pelagial. Noctus was a guy who wrote for us and who had taste I didn’t find that agreeable. He loved long, slow, and simplistic albums about which he could write long, slow, and baroque reviews. But it was good to have a countervailing opinion and diversity in the camp at the time, and we may very well not have covered Pelagial if he hadn’t snapped it up. This album stands as one of the testaments to the strength of iconic composition in the history of AMG. The fact that Pelagial hits so hard not once, but twice, because both versions of it—bevocalized and unbevocalized—are killer, makes it one of the best things I own to this day. And that’s without mentioning that the art is gorgeous and the packaging was next level. I wish I had been able to afford the vinyl they released at the time because it was truly a special boxed set. Pelagial got a 4.0 at the time. By the end of the year, I would have given it a 4.5. Today, I think it’s an unquestionable 5.0.

I Wish I Could Do Over …

If I could do it all again, I would get rid of scores.

I’m not sure how I would replace them. Either I would switch to a thumbs up/thumbs down kind of system, so that the lazy among us could still look at the thumb and decide what to read,9 or I would just get rid of them altogether. I see scores as a disservice to bands and fans alike. Scores are fundamentally subjective and yet promise objectivity. But, of course, it’s impossible to quantify something that doesn’t have quantifiable aspects and one’s impressions of music are often contextualized by one’s life context in ways that make scores variable for the person giving them over time. Yet, scoring implies that there should be intersubjectivity between reviewers and even review websites, but we all know that a M*tal T*mple 10/10 is an AMG 3.0/5.0. And sure, that 5.0 moment is great for bands.10 But every 3.0 that one writes where one is saying “Yeah, I like this! Check it out!” is interpreted by readers and bands alike as “This is fucking trash, throw it on the fire!” That’s a waste. Would AMG be the same without scores? I don’t know. Maybe Druhm would never have reached out to me to work at a place without them. Maybe the labels wouldn’t have taken me as seriously. What’s done is done. But the more I think about review scores, the dumber I think they are.

In terms of things I’ve written, I feel like I have few regrets. That said, having excised that stupid fucking Linkin Park apologetics post was one of the best moments of my life, and that thing should never have been written to begin with. Linkin Park sucks. Nostalgia is not quality; it’s nostalgia. I nostalgia early Biohazard records, but it doesn’t mean that they were good. We’ve reached the time when we’re getting a lot of “nü metal was good actually” nostalgia takes because people listened to it, and it was a gateway into better music. You don’t have to apologize for having listened to it—there are no guilty pleasures, and there are bands like System of a Down and other bands that have now been labeled ‘alternative metal’ that I think offered something different and fun—but neither do I need to accept the corporate board approved, major-label-A&R-guy-connected, darlings of MTV2 as having made a valuable contribution to the metal scene as covered by AngryMetalGuy.com. Because it didn’t.

I Wish More People Had Read …

I have wrestled with this question and I don’t have a great answer. I guess what I wish is that bigger labels would understand the nature and value of Angry Metal Guy. And so, I wish more industry people had read what is always my most popular post of the year: The End o’ Year List. In these, I discuss the growing nature of our reach, our stats, and how the things we review gain traction. I wish that these people understood the power of our staff and of you, the reader. The fact that you read so diligently and that you show up when we endorse stuff—and even when we don’t, often to tell us that we should have—is what makes this place so special. And yet, it seems like labels and PR firms have yet to truly take stock of this because we don’t play the same kind of commercial game that ‘proper’ magazines do.

Maybe it’s a question of math. As Friend o’ the Blog Matt Bacon has said, a PR company that gets you into Decibel isn’t always doing you a favor if you’re the smallest band there, because you’re competing with Iron Maiden and shitty nü metal retrospectives. Whereas, Angry Metal Guy readers and writers are operating at a different level of the scene and, as Matt has said, even our negative reviews are positives in terms of streams and purchases for bands.

And yet, it’s hard to believe that at 15 years, I still have to call out Nuclear Blast for treating us like we’re on Blogspot. I wrote a rant in 2012 called “On Things That Make Being Angry Metal Guy Hard” and I remember a PR intern at a Metal Major Label saying to me, basically, “Hey, I saw your post and I am pointedly not mentioning it to my bosses.” As streaming has proliferated, even the idea of getting individual promos for new albums has started to dwindle. There’s this idea that the compensation of free 320 kb/s mp3s of the thing we’re reviewing—and thus promoting—is too much to ask. In so many ways, the things I wrote then—which, I must admit, were very angry—are worse now than it was. Labels embargo us, in spite of our reach and quality, and they farm out work to others without concern for how it affects reviewers to be dealing with a new PR firm every six months. And then they can’t even bother to give us Yum Codes or higher quality downloads in good time for review.

I wish people would read the summaries of our statistics and sympathize a bit more with the plight of the independent reviewer. There’s no reason why we should have anything other than pretty much full access to the industry, given both our quality and reach, and your dedication to making us look awesome.

What I Wish for the Future of Angry Metal Guy …

A lot more Angry Metal Guy, in all senses.

#2024 #Aeternam #AMGTurns15 #BlackSites #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Carnosus #Dialith #Lör #TheOcean #Trials #Wilderun #Xoth

From Dying Suns – Calamity Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

Before I even laid eyes once on the glorious pixel art that adorns Calamity, From Dying Suns had sold me on their debut promise of progressive death metal. Hailing from the great French north of Quebec, and pulling performers whose live credentials include heavyweights like First Fragment, Augury, and Obliveon, this side-scrolling informed album, this full-length offering stood before itself with veteran swagger. It’d be amiss to call this a supergroup, though, as many of the associated acts that comprise this mostly untested group—a single EP from a while back under their banner—staked their claim separate from the contributions of the names on roster here. From Dying Suns, then, has something to prove in this fairly crowded field of high bombast, high-tech strain of noodle-strewn death arts. But have they enough quarters to see it all the way through?

Whatever From Dying Sun may lack in quarters, they make up for in sheer exuberance for their brand of bass-forward, rifftacular technical, and melodic death metal. At least, that’s what Calamity comes off as to me. Much in the same vein as thrash-tempo arpeggio-rippers like the early works of Revocation and Arsis, each track across this fret-exhausting offering—the sweep-and-slay of “Calamity” to the classic Gothenburg descent of “Undergrowth”—can’t stop delivering riffs. To prevent from being too exhausting, though, From Dying Suns rips a page out of their local scene, reminiscent of acts like the brutally elegant Neuraxis or the wailing-yet-churning Martyr, often leading with an upfront refrain or lead to signal fresh beginnings. And I know I already mentioned that From Dying Suns takes their low-end seriously, but I cannot stress enough how forward Christian Pacaud (Contemplator, Aeternum1 to avoid falling into a trap of their own multithread weaving. Tracks that deliver moments of skronky chord-based progressions (“Turn Undead,” “Ruination”) help to break the smattering of hyperspeed pull-offs and precision-tuned arpeggion runs serve as sugar-rush fodder for those with a wanky sweet tooth. And mid-album ambient segue “Respite” too lulls the ever-feeding fingers and picks that From Dying Suns fuels liberally.

Despite finding a rollicking home in the arrays of tablature challenges that Calamity carves, I often find my mind drifting toward what From Dying Suns channels rather than the unique theme for which the band aims. This work contains many elements that attack the genre from an angel that other bands don’t—the practiced and forceful bass rhythms, Mathieu Dhani’s (Killitorous, Épiphanie) wild and whipping shrieks and howls—and it’s impossible to ignore the level of skill on display. But at the moments where it aims to hook the hardest, namely with simpler chorus structures and vocal patterns, many of the most impressive moments across Calamity begin to blur amongst the most memorable moments among heavy hitters like Arsis or The Black Dahlia Murder. Granted, these bands command respect, and music that resembles theirs is often good music. But when the theme visually pops on the page, and the band reinforces that Calamity is a hero’s journey through a landscape inspired by their favorite video games, I’d rather find my way through a soundscape that resembles that rather than just good melotech.

Nevertheless, From Dying Suns can’t help but charm with their aesthetic and musical command. Tonally, Calamity has a strong enough presence on its own to steer toward its own lane from up-and-comers in the same competitive space, names you may have heard in these halls like Carnosus or Xoth. And, like those acts, From Dying Suns, despite not capturing strongly the specifics of their narrative, maintains a playfulness that owes to the digital lands that they’ve mused about with Calamity. I’ve got confidence that From Dying Suns is far from closing the cover on this swinging battlefield of fanciful death metal. So even if this debut full-length isn’t quite it, its future sequel surely lurks around the corner waiting to strike.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: PCM2
Label: Self Release
Websites: fromdyingsuns.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/fromdyingsuns
Releases Worldwide: May 3rd, 2024

#2024 #30 #Arsis #Calamity #CanadianMetal #Carnosus #DeathMetal #FromDyingSuns #IndependentRelease #martyr #May24 #MelodicDeathMetal #Neuraxis #Review #Reviews #Revocation #SelfRelease #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheBlackDahliaMurder #Xoth

One List to Debase Them All: AngryMetal Guy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 of 2023

By El Cuervo

This aggregation exercise represents my favorite article of the year. I enjoy identifying and highlighting those chosen few records worthy of additional recognition. But most of all I enjoy the sense of power derived from early access to other writers’ list data without the obligations flowing from being an editor. To my satisfaction, this list represents a diverse mix compared with certain previous years. Much ground is covered, from myriad metal sub-genres (death, black, doom, prog) to myriad tones (energetic, strange, historical, sadboi). I enjoy the variety, even if I don’t the specific choices. That said, we’re not helping our own argument against accusations that we despise all power and folk metal – with just one album from both sub-genres in the top 20 and an abundance selected by just a couple of people below this.

The most critical observation is that, compared with 2022, there are ~20% fewer unique records and voting points attributable to the top 10 albums is ~10% higher. This indicates greater alignment this year, with fewer albums chosen and stronger communal favorites. No doubt this is attributable to our loss of individuality and gradual morphing into one awful hivemind.

In a last ditch effort to save my own reputation at the cost of my colleagues, I want to emphasize that I personally had a distinct deviation from this aggregated list. As orchestrator of this article with early access to the data, I did attempt to identify why it was that some of these albums apparently had an impact on everyone else. The only conclusion I can draw following these attempts is that my faceless colleagues seek the average. They should try harder to be deliberately contrary next year; I expect that they’ll maliciously comply by picking the same 20 albums 20 times just to spite me.

–El Cuervo

#20. Crypta // Shades of Sorrow – “While Crypta is still fetid, OSDM adherents, Shades of Sorrow also amps both the black and thrash influences, resulting in a compelling sophomore effort that packs a significant, unforgettable punch” (Felagund).

#19. Onheil // In Black Ashes – “In Black Ashes is melodic black/death/speed/thrash at its finest. Onheil’s mastery of melody and songwriting elevates In Black Ashes into the stratosphere. Every track is a winner, and Onheil strikes an impossible balance between enthralling riffs and emotional heft” (Maddog).

#18. Ascension // Under the Veil of Madness – “There’s not one song on here that isn’t currently stuck in my head. Its huge choruses, hooky verses, and lightning fast shreddery have probably bonded with my DNA by this point” (Kenstrosity).

#17. Somnuri // Desiderirum – “The addition of (Soundgarden-esque) throwback radio alt-rock into their roiling pot of hardcore and progressive sludge makes Desiderium these Brooklynites’ strongest outing to date. It’s rare that an album this aggressive and energetic goes down this smooth” (Cherd).

#16. Warcrab // The Howling Silence – “Warcrab boasts fighting spirit, sharp claws, and a crustacean shell that’s fitted for turret combat. They’re obviously game for a scrap, but–as Cherd pointed out in his review–the band doesn’t have much competition in their death-sludge niche” (Ferox).

#15. Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – “With heavy doses of classic Candlemass and moments that recall the grim haunts of Fvneral Fvkk, Weight of Remembrance does so many things exceptionally well. There’s nothing I would change or trim on Weight of Remembrance, and if anything, I wish it was a little longer. Doom perfection” (Steel Druhm).

#14. Panopticon // The Rime of Memory – “Panopticon—particularly on more recent records—seems to have a unique ability to tug on my heartstrings and to blend the most ferocious of black metal with the most serene and evocative Appalachian folk. The Rime of Memory more than matched my lofty hopes” (Thus Spoke).

#13. Godthrymm // Distortions – “With meaty riffs, soaring leads, a fantastic rhythm section, and keyboardist Catherine Glencross’ angelic voice, this classic-doom-meets-classic-Pallbearer configuration landed my top spot as soon as I finished listening to it for the first time” (Grymm).

#12. Saturnus // The Storm Within – “The opening tracks comprise the best one-two punch of the year, while the back half of the album feels like an unraveling and stripping down. The Storm Within is a magnificently monolithic and aptly dreary return to form from Saturnus” (Dear Hollow).

#11. Night Crowned // Tales – “The intense blasting and no-holds-barred shrieking always hold a melodic thread that makes it more than a wall of noise, whether it be from extra vocal layers, subtly interweaved symphonics, or a goddamn hurdy-gurdy that works way better than it should” (GardensTale).

#10. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – [#1, #2, #8, #8, #9, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – Miracle of Death earns the dubious honor of winning more list mentions than the six records ahead of it, but only reaches this tenth spot due to generally low rankings. Undeterred, Steel Druhm highlights the band’s unusual combination of sounds, describing a “strange witch’s brew of genres and styles that is unique and enchanting… It’s doom, it’s goth rock, it’s 70s acid rock all wrapped into one enigmatic, ethereal burrito.” Despite the allusion to hot food, Twelve instead reckons that the album “takes me to a cold place. It’s emotional, but it feels like numbness; it’s quiet, but leaves a huge impression… any time I’ve felt low throughout the year, Vanishing Kids has been there.” This sense of something beyond easy description is mirrored by Carcharodon, who argues that the band “have that very rare something, that je ne sais quoi…. to create something truly unique requires genuine craft and these guys have it in spades.” Check out metal’s innovators.

#9. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – [#1, #4, #6, #7, #8, #ish, #HM, #HM] – Serving arguably the heaviest slot on this list1, Convocation and No Dawn for the Caliginous Night offered a mighty force of doom in 2023. Dear Hollow illustrates the heavier qualities of the release (“No Dawn for the Caliginous Night channels mammoth death-doom and despondent funeral doom to accomplish a weight both viciously devastating and patiently atmospheric”) while Kenstrosity instead prefers the counter-weight of both sides of the sound (“[their] deeply affecting use of orchestration and clean vocals to light up my nervous system while the heft of [their] tectonic death doom strives to end my life”). Bands like this remind us of our humanity and our finite nature; few records could be pitched as “a towering celebration of death’s enormity, packaged in the heaviest and most shimmering of vessels” but Convocation does this as Cherd‘s AotY. Step back, breathe deeply, and simply listen. No Dawn for the Caliginous Night exists in these moments.

#8. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – [#1, #1, #2, #3] – Inspiring a deep love among its few accolytes, Afterbirth reached this list through just a few list-topping selections. In But Not Of offers brutal death metal that isn’t just smart compared with its own – often blunt – sub-genre, but that is smart compared with anything. “For a band that traffics in slammy, knuckle-dragging brutal death, In But Not Of carries with it an undeniable progressive, cerebral quality, which feels like a logical outgrowth from their previous effort” (Felagund). Indeed, Doom et Al finds its progressive qualities its most compelling, describing that “while the first half of brutal, spacy, wacky death metal is great, the second half, with its explorations into post-metal and prog is where real greatness happens”. Nuanced, layered music invites exploration, and even our resident death metal enthusiasts concur: “Afterbirth crams an abundance of riches into a brutal death metal album that twists and transmutes… I continue to find surprises almost every time I revisit In But Not Of” (Ferox). This album exemplifies the power of invention and intrigue.

#7. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – [#1, #2, #4, #4, #9] – Boasting AMG.com’s prog o’ the year award, Of Golden Verse by Sermon is the sole album here also picked by yours truly. I found that “Sermon’s undulating song-writing style results in music that ebbs from steely, tense atmospheres and flows to passionate, cathartic explosions. Dramatic, sure. But exciting.” Saunders, awarding his album o’ the year, favors the record’s singularity, given that “Sermon boasts a unique sound they can call their own, where dark, eerie and deadly serious vibes and almost melodramatic flair flows through towering, intelligent, and emotive prog metal epics.” But even more than its dynamic songs and novelty, GardensTale underlines the most beguiling quality of Of Golden Verse: “What attracts me the most is the sense of threat. Sermon looms a great dark ominous wall that swallows the background and casts everything in shade. For an album to hold its breath even while beating you down is exquisite.” Few records are so powerful.

#6. Xoth // Exogalactic – [#1, #3, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #ish] – The first of three techy, deathy albums in a row, Exogalactic by Xoth consolidates the band as a bona fide site favorite. “Xoth’s brand of technical blackened death-thrash is a sci-fi spectacle. Exogalactic’s futuristic riffs, twisting melodies, and narrative arcs make it feel like reptilian aliens are indeed enslaving humans as gladiators… Every time I listen to Exogalactic, I can’t help but grin” (Maddog). More than simple smiles, Dr. Wvrm never hides his arousal around riffs. Of Exogalactic, he describes it as “prostrate before that holiest of holy, The Riff. So of course, the end product [is] impeccable, incredible, impossibly fucking good.” AMG Himself delights in “the consistently best thrashy melodic death metal this world has heard since the early-90s” and continues that “Xoth has started to cement themselves as one of my favorite bands.” This entire website has flown from His opinions so take heed; buy Xoth now.

#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – [#2, #4, #5, #5, #5, #9, #ish, #HM] – It takes a special kind of slam to breach the AMG aggregated list but Wormhole is a special sort of band. Having banged his drum about Almost Human almost all year, Kenstrosity surprisingly failed to AotY this album. But in doing so he was highly complimentary, noting that “Almost Human confirms that with the right songwriting, slam can be thoughtful, intentional, intricate, and enriching. Thanks to a healthy infusion of tech by way of tricky, but subtle maneuvers rather than straight-up wanking speed, Wormhole’s whimsically brutal metal suddenly transforms into something polished, elevated, and immersive.” Emphasizing the record’s heavier qualities, the ever-eloquent Saunders describes the release as a “visceral, ridiculously heavy, sci-fi-themed tech-slam assault.” And while we rightly review albums in their entirety rather than song-by-song, Dolphin Whisperer “repeatedly binged those first two singles as if they were a whole album to themselves.” It’s hard to deny songs so heavy but so gripping.2

#4. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – [#1, #2, #4, #4, #5, #7, #ish] – Visions of Infinihility offered some of 2023’s meatiest death metal. Angry Metal Guy was emphatic in His summary, penning that “the term tour de force was coined to describe albums like Visions of Infinihility. Sometimes an album simply rules and your record o’ the year choice is uncomplicated. Carnosus’ sophomore album is such an album.” As if this statement was insufficient, I’ll rely on Cherd to describe the thing: “a tech-death barn burner… tight, vicious, and catchy, this record also features [one of the] best harsh vocal performance of the year.”3 Some people – including me – are nonplussed by tech death, but Ferox has us poor bastards covered too: “every one of the nine tracks on Visions of Infinihility stands up to heavy listening… It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing four thousand dollar headphones or a bullet belt. Visions of Infinihility should appeal to wonks, diehards, and metalheads all across the spectrum.” You heard the man.

#3. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – [#1, #2, #2, #6, #8, #8, #8, #10, #HM] – Sporting 2023’s shitty band name o’ the year, Sodomisery pulled no punches with their new record called Mazzaroth. Dr A.N. Grier describes how “with Mazzaroth came a new approach, emphasizing the black, death, and melodeath with massive orchestration atmospheres.” Its size warranted comment from other writers too; Twelve highlights “the vocal performance, the orchestrations, the songwriting—everything on Mazzaroth is top-tier, larger-than-life, incredible black metal.” More than anything, great music orbits around great song-writing and nowhere is that more apparent than with Sodomisery. Winning his favorite record of the year, newbie Iceberg commends this aspect. “The 36 minutes of Mazzaroth are as lean and mean as you can get… In the age of endless bloat, Sodomisery sharpen their knives and kill all their babies Spartan-style, leaving only razor-sharp riffing and inescapable songwriting in their wake.” You heard it here first; these Swedes killed their babies in pursuit of The Riff.

#2. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – [#1, #3, #3, #4, #4, #5, #5, #7, #10] – Residing in the top half of 7 lists, Air Not Meant for Us represented the best of 2023’s death and doom metal. Grymm compares these Connecticutens to sadboi legends, articulating that “Fires in the Distance took what makes Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum and added their own unique embellishments to create a truly captivating album.” Thus Spoke highlights its “distinctive form of ethereal, key-accented melodeath/doom”, but favors most how it’s “elegantly composed, stirring, and effortlessly graceful.” She wasn’t the only person to bond with this record. Doom et Al agreed that there are clear influences but still bestowed his top prize: “It isn’t particularly original, but I don’t care. Art is about the connection it forges with the person engaging with it, and I feel every note of Air Not Meant for Us in my marrow. There’s a longing and a beauty here that I connected with immediately.” Who am I – and who are you – to deny his emotions?

#1. Wayfarer // American Gothic – [#1, #1, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #6, #7, #7, #7] – With 12 main list picks, 7 top 5s and 2 AotYs, there was little doubt that Wayfarer would take the aggregated top spot for 2023. Carcharodon posits that while its predecessor may have been “close to fulfilling the promise of their Wild West black metal, American Gothic is the album where everything that Wayfarer has struggled to bring together for years finally clicked into place.” Why is this? Awarding his AotY, Sentynel attributes it to “utterly seamless” genre blending. “This is the best of bleak country painted with the instrumentation of black metal. Electric guitars pick up melody lines from banjos with a twang. Distorted slide guitars get that pedal steel feeling. There’s even a honky-tonk piano.” Lesser bands have gimmicks; Wayfarer’s central synthesis is essential. “Black metal should not go well with the Old West. Wayfarer crafted not only their best album to date, but also an absorbing, engrossing classic that begs to be absorbed in full with your complete, utmost attention” (Grymm). If you miss this, we’ll see you at dawn. With pistols.

#2023 #Afterbirth #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish_ #Ascension #BlogPosts #Carnosus #Convocation #Crypta #FiresInTheDistance #Godthrymm #Lists #Listurnalia #NightCrowned #Onheil #Panopticon #Saturnus #Sermon #Sodomisery #Somnuri #Tribunal #VanishingKids #Warcrab #Wayfarer #Wormhole #Xoth

Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Angry Metal Guy

The Year of Our Angry Overlord 2023 saw an AngryMetalGuy.com that continues its upward trajectory. We produced 713 posts (mostly reviews), which, in terms of raw numbers, is the lowest since 2015 and can be improved upon, but the 890 word-per-post mark that we are at, is the highest average word count in our history. This means, we ended up with a hefty 634,674 words in 2023. We also averaged 39,539 views a day, leading us to our highest readership numbers ever at 14,420,637 total page views in 2023. The readership of AMG is also global, though the English-speaking world dominates our readership, with the USA, England and Canada taking up spots 1 to 3 on our highest views list. Happily, in my opinion, Germany has overtaken Australia as our fourth biggest readership and that means it’s only a matter of time before I’m asked to perform a live review writing at Wacken. Spots 6-10 are taken up by the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Spain and Brazil—a who’s who of excellent footballing nations (and an excellent Eurovision nation) that also love our brand of high quality, long form analytical reviews. So, thanks to all of you from all over the world for loving us almost as much as we love you! And to the one guy (literally) in Vatican City who visits our blog once a year, we appreciate you so much.

That we continue to outstrip our previous performance is entirely because of you, our readers, who are so loyal and open to new music that we can claim an Angry Metal Guy Bump™, because when we review stuff, you listen to it. I’ve received plenty of personal correspondence from bands and PR people reporting that AngryMetalGuy.com gives better numbers than Decibel in terms of listens and purchases. This means that Angry Metal Guy matters, and we intend to use that power to … do exactly the same thing we always do: listen to great music, promote music that we love and trash popular bands for all the engagement it brings us.1

The year 2023 also saw us welcoming in new writers, and despite some people fading away or stepping back (both Madam X and Grymm will be missed), I feel like we have as strong a profile for our writing as we ever had. Again, it makes me beyond happy that all my stupid little ideas about how a music blog should be run have turned into this bazaar of the bizarre, with writers whose taste in music I pretty much detest, as well as some good eggs who hold true to the AngryMetalGuy.com vision of giving everything from Scandinavia a 4.0 or better. Anyway, regardless of how bad your taste is, thanks to you all for your hard work and dedication. You’ll be especially fond of me—each and every one of you—when you read the footnotes to this post. It’s footnote 6 that’s of particular interest to you. I would also like to especially thank our dedicated editing staff, headed up by—but certainly not limited to—Steel Druhm as well as Sentynel, whose steadfast dedication to keeping the site running warms my heart.

On a personal note, this year was supposed to be one of the best of my life. It has been an unmitigated pile of shit, with only a few bright spots. As usual, I’ll try to make 2024 a better year, where I am Angry Metal Guy in practice, not just in spirit. A new year always brings unreasonable and unrealistic goals that get broken in shame by April, doesn’t it? Well, that’s mine.

I love you all. Except the Discord. You guys are terrible.

#ish: Fellowship // The Winterlight Chronicles [December 22nd, 2023 | Scarlet Records] — Oh man, they did piano versions of songs from The Saberlight Chronicles? RotY. <3

#ish: Riverside // ID.Entity [January 20th, 2023 | InsideOut Music] — Back and forth between the 10-spot and then the 9-spot and now an #ish, ID.Entity is a genuinely good album from a band that I am happy has regained some of its swagger. I didn’t need another morose, overly wet album full of painfully sad songs and a Great Plains style mastering job.2 I needed a record that was absolutely swimming in references to The Police and ’80s Yes, and Riverside obliged. At 53 minutes, I decided, that “The Place Where I Belong” just mars the whole a little too much to put it higher up the list. But color me excited for what’s next for Riverside, because ID.Entity definitely got my attention again.

#ish: Soen // Memorial [September 1st, 2023 | Silver Lining Music] — Once before I’ve missed a review for a Soen album, but that time I had our much missed Huckster to cover me. Memorial continues down the path the band started down on Imperial—well, on Lotus, in actuality—of making tight, poppy groove metal with an emotional edge. I particular enjoy Memorial’s fast paced tracks and the introduction of the Iron Maiden-style guitar harmonies that litter the album. There have been some gripes that Memorial hews too close to the arc of Imperial, but I think the album has both its own sound and is loaded with great songs. And unlike its predecessor, Memorial seems to genuinely peak in terms of the heaviness that these old guys are willing to put on (proverbial) tape, while still leaning into savvy pop choruses with Eklöf’s unique emotional cadence. We shouldn’t have missed it and neither should you.

#10: Vomitory // All Heads Are Gonna Roll [May 26th, 2023 | Metal Blade Records] — Vomitory is not trend. Vomitory is not kvlt. Vomitory makes death metal to mosh your brains out to. They are very good at it. And that’s why their first album since their deeply underrated Opus VIII was a happening in the Angry Metal Guy household. As time has worn on, I have become less and less excitable before a new release. But in this case, I was right to be excited. All Heads Are Gonna Roll—despite its Swenglish title3—delivers the kind of decapitating death metal that the world—by which I mean me—has missed in the 12 years that the pride of Karlstad has been missing in action. And weirdly few bands are living in the sphere that Vomitory runs in right now, meaning that All Heads Are Gonna Roll is an even more vital contribution to the propagation of good, grinding, groovy death metal that isn’t trying to be Gorguts or Ulcerate OR to relive the glory years of the Stockholm scene. Long live Vomitory!

#9: Crypta // Shades of Sorrow [August 4th, 2023 | Napalm Records] — Years ago, I remember reviewing Vomitory’s Opus VIII and thinking it was remarkable because it was direct and to the point and it just felt like “good, honest death metal.” I had a similar feeling hearing Crypta’s debut record, Echoes of the Soul, and I became enamored with the album. But, as with so many successful bands experiencing success,, Crypta lost a key member almost immediately; their glam-as-fuck guitarist who was, at least in part, responsible for the band’s strong melodic core. This gave rise to worry that Shades of Sorrow might suffer from Ye Olde Sophomore Slumpe. Fortunately, Brazil’s favorite daughters found an excellent replacement and are filled to the brim with riffs. Shades of Sorrow pumps out another 52 minutes of memorable, groovy death metal (albeit with a darker, more blackened vibe) and has been a constant companion since I first heard it. After what must have been an absolutely crazy year for them—having toured with Morbid Angel and lost their rented RV in the process—I hope that they’re leaning back and appreciating what they’ve accomplished in the last three years. Two Angry Metal Guy top 10s? Does it get better than that?

#8: Gorod // The Orb [March 10th, 2023 | Self-Release] — Gorod is my favorite active tech death band for a reason. To paraphrase myself: greatness is hard; consistent greatness is Gorod. That’s because these French death metallers are a breed apart, with a sound that’s truly special. The Orb, which dropped back in March, helped to re-solidify my admiration for the band’s dynamic, guitar-driven approach. Every time I put it in, I’m immersed in the most captivating riffs, the boldest ideas, the most intense rasps and growls, and a compositional variety that consistently engages. There are, of course, minor things that make it a little less my favorite than its predecessor, but The Orb exudes Gorod’s unique character and is so flawlessly executed that any criticisms seem trivial. The Orb shows Gorod being true to its essence, a spectacle we should be thankful to experience.

#7: Haken // Fauna [March 3rd, 2023 | InsideOut Music] — I have to be honest: I didn’t expect Fauna to get anywhere near this list during 95% of the year. The reality is that when I first got it, I couldn’t get into it. I have two different partially written drafts that I could never finish because it kept losing me. I wanted to like it. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. So, I ascribed it to me going through some stuff, since I wasn’t enjoying much of anything. Recently, it popped up and I gave it another chance. As these things can go, it clicked. And of course it did. Haken, a ridiculously good band despite going Full Djent™ a few years ago, has a history of throwing curveballs and exploring sounds. Fauna finds them working in the artistic tradition of writing music that’s meant to evoke other creatures—bulls, monkeys, elephants, etc.—and this artistic device helped them to diversify their sound on Fauna. The result is an album that is as diverse as it is expansive and—first and foremost—fun! Like the best albums, Fauna reveals new things every time I go back to it, and I can never quite decide what my favorite song is. It also serves as a reminder that Haken is one of the best active prog bands, honestly, the only limits they have are the ones they set for themselves.

#6: Isole // Anesidora — I’ve always respected Isole and enjoyed their material. But I’ve never been overly enamored with them and I’ve never considered myself “a big fan.” Anesidora has changed that. Isole’s newest opus hits that sweet spot between a classic Candlemass record and a classic My Dying Bride record that I didn’t even know I needed. The result of this unholy blending of sounds and feels is a doom metal that I love as much as nearly any doom in my collection. Anesidora sports all the best traits of great albums; memorable songs; a listening time that results in instant re-listens; and, first and foremost, addictive melodies and themes. After weeding its way into regular rotation, Anesidora has simply never left. It’s a combination of excellent songwriting, great performances and some of the most subtly sticky composition I’ve heard in years. It’s clear to me now why Isole is only second to the Christmas Goat on the list of “famous people and/or entities from Gävle, Sweden” on Wikipedia.4

#5: Leiþa // Reue [January 13th, 2023 | Noisebringer Records] — I’ll never recapture the feeling of sheer and utter wonder that I felt hearing Windir for the first time. Nor will I relive the naïveté of enjoying Halmstad without having heard of Kvarforth. But if I’m going to get close, Leiþa’s epic Reue would be the thing that did it. This may be the first time that a one-man black metal side project (this time from Kanonenfieber’s Noise) has graced one of my Top 10(ish) lists, and that should be enough to make you sit up and take note. Leiþa has wrought a masterful work of great—potentially even excellent—black metal that deftly balances the genre’s past and present. The album, which Carcharodon correctly diagnosed as both “rich and textured,” is uncompromising, cutting a unique path through the depressive black metal subgenre with aggressive riffing and production which is on the attack. Yet, despite being free of the bed of reverb endemic to anything ‘depressive,’ Reue exquisitely evokes the existential angst of remorse while evoking the melodic black metal chops reserved for Norway’s most underrated black metal band. I will not rue the day I heard Reue, because it helped to define 2023 for me.

#4: Anareta // Fear Not [April 8th, 2023 | Self-release] — One of the first revelations of 2023, Anareta’s particular approach to extreme metal surprised and enchanted me. Throughout the year, Fear Not has continued to show up on my playlist and every time, I’m just as impressed with it. One can criticize the production, but there’s something that feels genuine and authentic about Anareta’s not-that-great-sound and that simply works for me. But for me, there’s no point in rehashing a debate about production on the debut album from a self-released artist. The music—and that music’s impeccable vibes—speaks for itself. From start to finish, Fear Not regales listeners with an idiosyncratic take on orchestral metal that evokes some all time classics. But it’s not enough to hear potential in a band; there’s also something about Anareta that radiates agility and an oppenness for new ideas. In a field filled with rehashes, Anareta offer something meaningfully different, and that meaningful difference will keep getting spins for years to come.

#3: Xoth // Exogalatic [November 3rd, 2023 | Self-release] — I remember hearing Xoth for the first time: frenetic guitars; frantic vocals; blasts from hell bolstering ripping riffs made all the sharper with biting guitar tone. But aside from its intensity, Xoth sported great songs with slick hooks that made all the energy and enthusiasm feel genuine and justified. Exogalactic continues the band’s triumphant march across the universe to pillage and revel in the spoils of war.5 Sporting the consistently best thrashy melodic death metal this world has heard since the early-90s, Xoth has started to cement themselves as one of my favorite bands. If you aren’t listening to this album on repeat, do you even like metal?6 I’ll leave you to ponder that as you cry alone in the shower (I hear it gets great natural reverb). In the meantime, I’ll be over here, trying to figure out to make my Xoth, Carnosus, Gorod triple headlining tour happen and whether I can afford the subsequent neck surgery.

#2: Angra // Cycles of Pain [November 3, 2023 | Atomic Fire Records] — If you had told me that I would become a fast fan of Angra back in 2000s, when I was siding with the then-simply-monikered Rhapsody about whether Sascha Paeth wrote their music, I would have laughed in your face. Thus, there is a level of irony that I have come to really love Angra now, for the first time, when they have saved ex-[(Luca) Turilli(/Lione)’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] singer Fabio Lione from his old life. And, for my part, I think that Cycles of Pain is on par with previous end-of-year-list-gracers like Secret Garden and Ømni—yes, and even with the band’s classics like Temple of Shadows—with Fabio sounding better than he ever has in his career and with vital, engaging, energetic writing.7 Cycles of Pain was a late-year release, but it was one of my most anticipated for a reason. From start to finish, Cycles of Pain features truly great songs and performances and demonstrates that Angra is as vital as ever.8

#1: Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility [February 10th, 2023 | Self-release] — The term tour de force was coined to describe albums like Visions of Infinihility. Sometimes an album simply rules and your record o’ the year choice is uncomplicated. Carnosus’ sophomore album is such an album. The music is intense and techy, but there’s something that feels remarkably direct about an album that crushes this hard from start to finish. From the word go Visions of Infinihility oozes addictive riff after heart crushing riff and lodges itself in your headbanging muscle. It’s impossible to listen to Carnosus without wanting to fuck some shit up and that’s exactly how I—and I assume everyone reading a website named after me—wants their Record o’ the Year to sound. And unlike other years, where I spent a lot of time agonizing over the choice and regretted it later, this was easy.. Sure, there’s been plenty of competition throughout the year from awesome bands who make excellent music; see the foregoing list! But Visions of Infinihility stands out in its steadfast and stubborn place at the top of my playlist. And I know I’m not alone. Now that these guys have signed to Willowtip—which I’m taking as a win for us—I cannot wait to see what these guys do in the future.9

Honorable Mentions

Insomnium // Anno 1696 [February 24th, 2023 | Century Media Records] — Insomnium will never release another Winter’s Gate, I just have to get used to that. But 2023 saw Anno 1696, which was a good record that I have enjoyed a lot. The problem that I have is that Anno 1696 all too often has sent me packing to listen to Winter’s Gate, because I feel like it starts too damned slow and really peaks once I’m about a third of the way. Still, I’ve been listening to it a lot because the songwriting is great, the vibes are legit and Insomnium is a great band. Just missed the cut.

In Flames // Foregone [February 10th, 2023 | Nuclear Blast Records] — In Flames didn’t threaten to genuinely list, if I’m honest. But I need to bring this album up as one of the best surprises I had all year. I don’t care what you think, Foregone has some of the best material the band has put out since Colony and I am fucking here for it.

By Fire and Sword // Glory [September 22nd, 2023 | No Remorse Records] — This album has been threatening to make this list for a while now. I am creeped out by it and amused by it and I think the biggest problem I have with it is that the singer lacks that power metal edge that I like, but also doesn’t have the silky smooth delivery of a Tony Kakko. Still, the songwriting here is fantastic and funny and I suspect that I will regret not spending more time with this prior to Listurnalia. Though, what does it replace?

Sacred Outcry // Towers of Gold [May 19th, 2023 | No Remorse Records] — It ain’t “Sworn in the Metal Wind,” but after reading Metal Pigeon‘s rant about power metal not taking power metal seriously anymore, I checked out Sacred Outcry. And he was right, Towers of Gold is a fantastic record that shows what could be happening in power metal if fans of it weren’t so fucking embarrassed to like it.

Twilight Force // At the Heart of Wintervale [January 20th, 2023 | Nuclear Blast Records] — At the Heart of Wintervale is adventurous, epic, and surprisingly agile power metal from Dalarna in Sweden (+ a brilliant Italian singer). Throughout this epic romp through Wintervale, these (mostly) Swedes serve up “bombastic” and “flamboyant” songs that develop a diverse, more experimental sound than what Twilight Force trafficked in previously. The result is an extremely diverting record with only minor blemishes, and the future has never seemed brighter for Twilight Force.

Fellowship // The Saberlight Chronicles [July 13th, 2022 | Scarlet Records] — Okay, okay, this is a stupid stunt. But it is my second most listened to album in 2023 and it’s really hard to move on from it. Just great music, lyrics, and all around vibes. These dorks speak the language of intense angst and fantasy novels and, let’s face it, I’m fluent in that shit.

…and Oceans // As in Gardens, So in Tombs [January 27th, 2023 | Seasons of Mist] — Did everyone forget that …and Oceans released its second great ‘reunion’ record? Well, you shouldn’t have. It’s fucking good. It’s weird how this one kind of fell off the map for a lot of people.

Frozen Dawn // The Decline of the Enlightened Gods [February 10th, 2023 | Transcending Obscurity Records] — Spanish meloblack that cuts a path through the overly wet, overly repetitive atmoblack people with an ice pick and trem picked melodies. These guys have some growing to do in terms of writing, but The Decline of the Enlightened Gods is a great album and I look forward to hearing more from them in future.

Top 10(ish) Songs o’ the Year

#ish: Katatonia – “Impermanence” from Sky Void of Stars — I didn’t include “disappointments” on this list, but needless to say, I found Sky Void of Stars to be lacking. Still, when Katatonia hits, they really hit. “Impermanence” — which coincidentally also features Joel Eklöf from Soen — hits exactly the vibe I’m looking for from Katatonia. Give me 45 minutes of this, guys, and you’ll be printing your own Excellent reviews.

#10: In Flames – “Foregone, Pt. 1” from Foregone — My biggest surprise this year was that I liked an In Flames album for the first time in two decades. With the reintroduction of their classic sound and, in particular, that 6/8 counterpoint to the guitar solo at 2:36, these guys cemented in me a deep hope that the next one will be even better.

#9: Isole – “Monotonic Scream” from Anesidora — This whole record is filled with hooks and ideas that I adore, but “Monotonic Scream” is likely the song that brought me back to to Anesidora after hearing it the first couple times. Two things stand out about this track for me. First, I love the classic doom sound and that eighth note doom feel, but it’s the chorus that really gets me with its strong My Dying Bride vibe. Daniel Bryntse’s vocal performance here absolutely nails the exact vibe I crave in my doom metal. Everything fits perfectly and sounds great. The repetition of the riff and chorus that starts at 5:43 is powerful as hell.

#8: Soen – “Memorial” from Memorial — It’s actually hard to choose a song from Memorial because I think the music is very strong. What I love about “Memorial” is that it shows off what the album does well. The combination of huge poppy choruses with a genuinely heavy crunch and a scooped, American sound on the production with harmonized guitars and Eklöf’s emotive vocals just works. The dual lead at 3:19 helps to illustrate the way that Memorial has added a wrinkle to the band’s sound and it all builds into the kind of melodramatic outro that I can’t get enough of. These guys speak my musical language of love.

#7: Carnosus – “Towards Infinihilistic Purity” from Visions of Infinihility — Sometimes the only thing I need is a blast beat, a ska riff, and a weird fucking eBow guitar drone to get me to listen to a song 700 times in a row. This grinds super hard and feel is perfect. Shout out to the formerly tightly betrousered and hilariously beswooped Jonatan Karasiak for his totally wild performance throughout this whole record.

#6: Riverside – “Self Aware” from ID.Entity — If this were the style and vibe of all future Riverside material, I would take it. Bass-driven, The Police-referencing, awkward vaguely moralistic lyrics, but with that slight underlying sadness that shows up on everything these guys has ever done? Yeah, I’d take it. In particular, I love this main riff and the strong ’80s vibe. More of this, plz!

#5: Gorod – “We Are the Sun Gods” from The Orb — The interplay between the guitars here is pretty much the only thing I need in my life. In particular, listen to the harmonies in the pre-chorus. These fuckers are ridiculous and their style and sound make me so happy. Now, check that clean tapping section that starts at 2:16 and tell me that isn’t one of the coolest things you’ve heard all year. I especially love how the drums get more intense as the part goes on.

Gorod is better than humanity deserves.

#4: Haken – “Sempiternal Beings” from Fauna — This may be the best song Haken has written since The Mountain. Obviously, this still has a kind of djenty rhythmic approach, but the mix of sounds and feels—the clean, melancholic sounds and melody—culminates in an absolutely epic chorus. Here’s a special shout out to the section that starts around 5:20 that sounds like Radiohead as interpreted by Muse as interpreted by Haken before breaking into a ridiculous guitar solo.

#3: By Fire and Sword – “Leave a Little Room” from Glory — I’m going to be totally honest, the singer—Tom Newby—sounds a little bit like your buddy singing along with music in the car at times. But what makes Glory such a crazy, fun album is the songwriting. “Leave a Little Room” features a straightforward and memorable chorus (love those harmonies under the vocals). It has a direct, classic metal vibe that’s hard not to nod your head to. But it’s that moment at 3:46—”Leave a little room, leave a little room, leave little room, leave it…”—followed by Tom Newby’s fundy pastor impression that left me going “Wait, what?” and replaying the whole thing. Again. And again. And again. Honestly, I can’t get enough of this record, and this is the song that got me hooked.

#2: Xoth – “The Parasitic Orchestra” from Exogalactic — This whole album is fantastic, but I just can’t get past the totally majestic chorus in this song. Great riffs. Great vocals. Majestic-ass chorus. Also, love those harmonized solos at the end of the track. They remind me of The Black Dahlia Murder’s best work with Ryan Knight. I could listen to this on a loop for 24 hours and be okay with myself. Though the next six months “doo doo dooing” the guitar melody from the chorus might eventually drive me mad.

#1: Angra – “Tears of Blood” from Cycles of Pain — My hot take over recent years has been that Rafael Bittencourt should just take over the vocal duties in Angra. This was in part because every time they released a record, they would have a duet where it was Bittencourt who took on the vocal duties. These tracks features as my song of the year twice (that is, going 2 for 2 in the Fabio era) and I have to say that I love the man’s voice.

“Tears of Blood” may be the argument that what I love is Bittencourt’s writing, instead of his voice. Going 3-for-3, Cycles of Pain’s big culminating track is a duet that this time features Fabio and Amanda Somerville—just check her Metal Archives to figure out why you know her even though you don’t know that you know her—and it’s everything I’m looking for.10 Fabio sounds, again, as good as he’s ever sounded—keeping his vibrato in check, while flexing his opera muscles—and Somerville has a fantastic voice. These are bound up in the kind of operatic duet that you could imagine Italy sending to Eurovision. It’s all power and melodrama, orchestra swells and big ol’ voices. And it’s my favorite song of the year.

#AndOceans #2023 #AmandaSomerville #Anareta #Angra #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish_ #BlogPosts #ByFireAndSword #Carnosus #Crypta #FabioLione #Fellowship #FrozenDawn #Gorod #Haken #InFlames #Insomnium #Isole #Kanonenfieber #Katatonia #Leipa #Leitha #Lists #Listurnalia #MorbidAngel #Riverside #SacredOutcry #Soen #TwilightForce #Vomitory #Xoth

Kenstrosity’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Kenstrosity

Five years feels like an eternity in retrospect, and yet in real time it whizzed by in the blink of an eye. How I’ve managed to stick around this long without getting fired, sabbaticalized, decapitated, arrested for war crimes, and/or mulched is beyond me. Truth be told, I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of the AMG team. Even though it can be chaotic and stressful, this is one hobby that I don’t know how to live without anymore. I just love it too much to give it up, and I’m going to ride that wave for as long as I can. Like it or not, you goofy goobers are stuck with me, so get comfy!

2023 has been one helluva year for metal. It feels like I say that every year, because I like everything all the time, but I mean it. This year made my job curating this list a near impossible task. Agonizing over every placement, every adjustment, and every omission left me a mere desiccated spongelet, but that’s a great problem to have. It’s a good thing we have a crack team of writers to help make finalizing lists even fucking harder. They just won’t stop exposing me to countless awesome records that I may or may not have purposefully ignored for the sanctity of my existing lineup. But I guess I had that coming, didn’t I?

Anyway, I’d like to thank a few folks. Firstly, I’d like to thank Carcharodon for being an excellent list-buddy for the past three years. Our tastes might not align, but we always found some common ground and our disparate rankings often made for great discussion in the comments. I am going to miss that! I’d also like to thank AMG Himself and Steel Druhm for continuing to support me as I spearhead the Stuck in the Filter articles, and for upgrading the artwork and aesthetic of the piece to give it greater impact. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to them for approving my name change earlier this year, which was something I deemed necessary for personal reasons. Additionally, I wouldn’t be where I am without the continued support and friendship from an awesome team of excellent writers—too many to name individually now—whose prose routinely inspires me to progress and improve my own writing skills. You all rock! Lastly, Madam X and Sentynel deserve mad props for keeping this hunk of junk puttering along—Madam X for continuously updating and management of the promo sump; and Sentynel for his tireless maintenance and upkeep of the site and its various moving parts. This place owes both of you a perpetual debt!

Okay, enough babbling from me. Without further ado, please enjoy my Top Ten(ish) Records of 2023! YOMPS UP!

#ish. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – Before I start, you should know that the lines which separate my ishes and everything up to third place are practically nonexistent. Essentially, everything from here until my top three were worthy of a top five placement, but I just can’t fit twelve things into the last two remaining slots. Hence, Carnosus’ incredible Visions of Infinihility coming up at the rear. Arbitrary as this placement is, know that the sheer level of talent, awesome songwriting, and acrobatic performances make this ridiculously tight slab of tech death a blast, a joy, a revelation. It’s massively entertaining, memorable, infectious, and novel, all without even a shred of pretension. This is what metal is all about. Hammering, goofy, awe-inspiring fun. If you don’t like such things, then you should leave this place now, and read no further.

#10. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – Scuzzy sci-fi death metal doesn’t get better than this. Outer Heaven already made waves with debut record Realms of Eternal Decay back in 2018, but I didn’t take notice until later on. Once I did, however, there was no going back, and Infinite Psychic Depth only enamored me further. Unintelligible lyrics tell a surprisingly intricate tale of horror and devastation, disease, psychosis, and conquest all through the lens of a sci-fi gamer nerd. With such creativity at play on a conceptual level, I’d forgive them if there wasn’t as much energy left to dedicate to songwriting. Not the case here. Outer Heaven’s songwriting chops are on full display and in full bloom, making Infinite Psychic Depths one of the best death metal records of the year.

#9. Xoth // Exogalactic – Originally, this wasn’t even going to make my HMs. But, at the eleventh hour, Xoth pushed a new master to replace the original one, and suddenly Exogalactic transformed. Clearly, the songwriting here wasn’t the problem, as its tunes will entice and excite your every fiber. Powerful melodies and immense technical chops work together with hook-laden and compelling melodies, riffs, and noodles to craft a formidable contender in the crowded world of tech death. While it was a crime that I didn’t include predecessor Interdimensional Invocations on my 2019 list proper, I won’t allow myself to commit the same offense this year. Exogalactic solidifies Xoth as one of the best, if not the best, melodic tech death bands out there.

#8. Omnerod // The Amensal Rise – I have a difficult time falling in love with anything carrying the “prog” as its primary genre tag. Omnerod missed the memo, because they penned one of the coolest progressive metal records I’ve ever heard. Boasting ample drama but filtering it through a horror lens and burdening it with oodles of death metal heft, The Amensal Rise is as enigmatic and gently terrifying as its artwork. Tenderness in its softer sections only leads to progressively more devastating metallic rampages that challenge my skeleton’s structural integrity, meanwhile the vocal talent bleeds with emotion so expressively that you can’t help but venture on. At a continental seventy minutes of brutal prog, The Amensal Rise is not for the faint of heart or for the impatient. However, if you do choose to dedicate time and focus to it, you might not come out alive.

#7. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – I am extremely upset that this album only made it to number seven on my rankings. Melodic, ethereal, and crushing in equal measure, Fires in the Distance’s Air Not Meant for Us is quintessential Ken material. In fact, for most of the year, I reveled in how much this album felt like the product of a band that lived in my head rent-free and stole all of its trade secrets to make an album tailor-made to fit me like a wetsuit. Hooky riffs, excellent percussion, beautifully lush synths, and twinkling piano coalesce into one of the most gorgeous records I’ve heard in recent years. It’s immense sadness somehow enhances that beauty further and makes the record impossible to put down. If you missed it, you missed something special.

#6. Moonlight Sorcery // Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle – Every year, there seems to be at least one black metal album that burns the church barn down and leaves me to clean up the rubble. Despite the numerous times I’ve mentioned being picky about black metal, this phenomenon keeps occurring. This year, Moonlight Sorcery made the cut, being one of the most fun albums I’ve listened to out of the genre in forever. A powerful mix of melodic black metal rawness with symphonic power metal jubilance, Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle more than lives up to the potential hinted at in Moonlight Sorcery’s initial EPs. If this is the quality I should come to expect from this band, then this will not be the last time you see them on my Top Ten.

#5. Massen // Gentle Brutality – ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM, ENERGY SYSTEM, ENERGY SYSTEM. If this mantra ever leaves my brain, even for a moment, I might die of heartbreak. Easily the most potent opener of the year, “Energy System” launches what quickly becomes one of the coolest, most unexpected releases of 2023. Blending all manner of genres ranging from deathgrind to hardcore to folk metal, Massen’s Gentle Brutality promises an eclectic blunderbuss of extreme metal madness. With countless grooves, indelible hooks and just the right amount of bounce, Gentle Brutality grabs me, tosses me around like a toy, and leaves me giddy and wanting more by the end.

#4. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – You may not know this about me, but I have a very strict cutoff point for Top Ten consideration during Listurnalia, and that cutoff is Thanksgiving Day. Convocation dropped No Dawn for the Caliginous Night the day after Thanksgiving. Fuck you, Convocation. Fuck your deeply affecting use of orchestration and clean vocals to light up my nervous system while the heft of your tectonic death doom strives to end my life in the most merciless fashion. Fuck your desperate wails and ungodly roars. Fuck your immersive songwriting dynamics which worship lost, forlorn spirits. Most of all, fuck you for every new detail and embellishment I get to discover every time your siren call beckons me to wallow in sorrow once again. You’ve forced me to shift my rankings and to forsake my own restrictions. You will pay for this one day, Convocation. I swear it!

#3. Ascension // Under the Veil of Madness – Ascension made the world wait eleven fucking years for Under the Veil of Madness. Despite being an underground power metal act, anticipation for this follow-up exploded in the power metal community. I wasn’t a part of that hype then, but boy did I come around once I got to spinning this epic magnum opus. There’s not one song on here that isn’t currently stuck in my head. Its huge choruses, hooky verses, and lightning fast shreddery have probably bonded with my DNA by this point. I succumbed to the psychic, maniacal forces that emanate from this album so thickly they could drown me were I not so thirstily guzzling them. And with a climax like the title track, the theatrics of which test most metalheads’ patience as thoroughly as they thrill my senses, there was little doubt that Under the Veil of Madness would rank highly on my year and list. Lo and behold, here we are, at number three.

#2. Wormhole // Almost Human – I knew from the get-go that I would enjoy Wormhole’s latest. They have been at the forefront of my personal roster of techy slam bands to watch like a hawk. Of course, Wormhole validated my instincts, because Almost Human is a game-changer. A standout record in a field not renowned for innovation, Almost Human confirms that with the right songwriting, slam can be thoughtful, intentional, intricate, and enriching. Thanks to a healthy infusion of tech by way of tricky, but subtle maneuvers rather than straight-up wanking speed, Wormhole’s whimsically brutal metal suddenly transforms into something polished, elevated, and immersive. This is an album meant to be experienced with full focus and a curious spirit. With an open mind, whole universes open up before you as Almost Human transports you into regions unexplored. It is that adventurous character that defines Almost Human, and makes it one of the best records of the year.

#1. Nothingness // Supraliminal – Caveman death with a university degree. A Bachelor’s of Mad Science, to be exact. This is how I’ve come to appreciate Nothingness’ insane sophomore album, Supraliminal. Despite earning a meager “Mixed” score on this here blog, I knew that this massively accomplished record was special the moment it hit these ears. Twisted riffs, stomping rhythms, vicious freakouts, monstrous roars, and thoughtfully detailed compositions abound. Supraliminal checks all of my boxes and introduces new ones I never knew I wanted. Despite dropping way back in January—on my Mom’s birthday, no less—no other album this year came quite close enough to the throne to pluck Supraliminal’s crown off its head. With monumental bangers like “Horrendous Incantation,” “Catapulted into Hyperspace,” “Inviolate Viscera,” “Beacon of Loss,” and “Decimation Mechanism,” Nothingness’ gnarled constructs weave in and out of my consciousness like the ugliest of nightmares. Yet, every time I come back, my jaw drops in awe at how novel and meticulous each and every brutally injurious moment is, morphing what should be revolting into something of horrifying beauty. Truly, nothing was more grotesquely beautiful to me in 2023 than Nothingness.

Honorable Mentions

• Carnation // Cursed Mortality – One of the best Swedeath records of the year, and the best Carnation record yet!
• Crypta // Shades of Sorrow – It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed a thrashy death metal album as much as Shades of Sorrow. Don’t fucking miss it!
• Frozen Dawn // The Decline of Enlightened Gods – Rollicking, rocking black metal with the vim and vigor to stand the test of time.
• Omnivortex // Circulate – Were it not for Carnosus, Xoth, and Wormhole, this would be the best tech-death thing of the year.
• Rotpit // Let There Be Rot – Absolute filth, and it’s delicious. Eat up!
• Sulphur Aeon // Seven Crowns and Seven Seals – Even my least favorite album by my favorite band can do no wrong, and it’s been growing on me even more since I got it. IA, IA!
• Tardigrade Inferno // Burn the Circus – Sometimes I just wanna be silly. Tardigrade Inferno supports this desire and fulfills it with aplomb.
• Theocracy // Mosaic – As someone who is unreligious, I am perhaps not Theocracy’s core demographic. And yet, their tunes routinely earn them a full Kenuflection at the altar.
• Twilight Force // At the Heart of Wintervale – This record makes me want to go out and tame a draGONE. Can’t ask for more than that!
• Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – Mesmerizing, psychedelic doom with teeth. It will haunt you if you approach.

Non-Metal Albums o’ the Year

• Cam Girl // Untucked – Sex-celebrating, gender-affirming, fun-loving action that will keep you hard and raring to go all night long!
• Gunship // Unicorn – Cyberpunk synthwave with my man Tim on the saxophone. This is the best genre in the world!
• The Vagaband // Beautiful World – A gorgeous album that took me by surprise, but it was the right record at the right time. I’ll be spinning this for years to come.

Song o’ the Year

Mental Cruelty – “Zweilicht/Symphony of a Dying Star”

Disappointment o’ the Year: 殞煞 (Vengeful Spectre) // 殞煞 二 (Vengeful Spectre II) – This isn’t necessarily a bad album. It’s just not what I wanted from the band that blasted the ground into glass with their rabid self titled debut. Maybe next time!

#2023 #Ascension #BlogPost #CamGirl #Carnation #Carnosus #Convocation #Crypta #FiresInTheDistance #FrozenDawn #Gunship #KenstrositySTopTenIshOf2023 #Listurnalia #Massen #MoonlightSorcery #Nothingness #Omnerod #Omnivortex #OuterHeaven #Rotpit #SulphurAeon #TardigradeInferno #TheVagaband #Theocracy #TwilightForce #VanishingKids #Wormhole #Xoth #殞煞VengefulSpectre_

El Cuervo’s and GardensTale’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By El Cuervo

El Cuervo

This list represents business as usual in Casa Cuervo. Four albums by bands that have previously hit my Album o’ the Year list. Four albums more-or-less fall into my preferred progressive death metal sub-genre. And one 80s-worshiping retrowave release. Only the very top and very bottom of my list feature acts outside my bailiwick.

You might think this would result in a year that I rate highly for musical releases. Sadly the opposite is true. I found it surprisingly easy to narrow down my list and surprisingly difficult to pick a real number one—both because there too few outstanding options to choose from. It says a lot that I reviewed two of my top three albums but I ‘only’ awarded these a 4.0. I admire all that’s been achieved by the entrants here but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed as we reach the end of 2023. Granted, my 2022 list was topped by two records that would be multi-year winners so the comparison was rough.

And yet, hope springs eternal. While it’s unlikely that 2024 will boast a list fitting so comfortably in my wheelhouse, I remain optimistic for a year full of new musical discoveries. Between now and then, enjoy the holiday season!

#10. Grails // Anches en Maat – Anches en Maat was my favorite music of the year to disconnect from reality and lose myself in a weird and wonderful world. There’s little left from the comparatively direct instrumental rock of early Grails, but their cinematic spectacle makes their recent music all the more intriguing. This one can loosely be bundled into post-rock but its range of influences, from blues to electronica to ambient to TV soundtracks, establishes a sound you won’t hear anywhere else. High-octane, minute-to-minute, and bursting with energy it isn’t. But what you will find is something endlessly evocative and endlessly repeatable in its lilting, laid-back spirit. I’m not a big post-rock nerd but I find everything released by Grails utterly engrossing.

#9. Svalbard // The Weight of the Mask – Svalbard have become more expressive and more creative as their career has progressed. While still firmly rooted in post-hardcore, The Weight of the Mask toys with musical boundaries more than ever. It features more of everything that has previously been a part of the Svalbard sound; from post-metal to post-rock to black metal. But it’s not the musical compositions that make these Brits so good. The emotive weight of their music makes each listen a passion-fuelled journey and I find myself returning for the feels it invokes above anything else. I’m not sure if I like Weight of the Mask more than When I Die, Will I Get Better? But, for those on the fence, it’s at least as good.

#8. Lunar Chamber // Shambhallic Vibrations – Few records from 2023 seemed as custom-built for this Cuervo as Shambhallic Vibrations by Lunar Chamber. Progressive? Check. Death metal? Check. Short run-time? Check. Incredible dynamism? Check. Buddhism?1 Check. Shambhallic Vibrations forges a new path through progressive death metal, leaning heavily on contemplative synths, impressive technicality, and doomy passages, all of which counter-balance the pace and ferocity of its core deathly style. Though shockingly varied for a release just running for 30 minutes, the release is unfailingly cohesive. From the breathy interludes to the brutal blasting, Lunar Chamber harmonizes their sounds into a satisfying whole. It isn’t a prerequisite for progressive albums to run for an hour or more. Shambhallic Vibrations does so much more with so much less.

#7. fromjoy // fromjoy – If you want to hear the coolest thing released in 2023, look no further than the self-titled EP by Houston’s fromjoy. It bottles insanity; conjures madness; flips the musical table. They do this with a fusion of various types of -core (grind, math, break) but streak this with winding, vaporwave synths. If this sounds like an unholy aberration, it is. But this aberration delights and energizes in equal measure. I’ve extracted more joy this year from these 26 minutes than full albums over twice that length. Almost every one of these ten tracks has a unique quirk; from wretched grind to stomping breakdowns to dancing trip-hop to smooth saxophones. fromjoy is a testament to pure creative energy and doing a lot with a little.

#6. Ulthar // Anthronomicon – Though it forms one side of a coin completed by its sister album Helionomicon, it was Anthronomicon that impressed me most of the concurrent release by pan-US collective Ulthar. What strikes me most are the compelling contradictions that Ulthar creates. Anthronomicon’s music is crushingly heavy yet repeatably memorable, while the instrumentation is oppressively other-worldly yet somehow human-performed. Blackened death metal cannot count itself among metal’s most penetrable sub-genres, but something about these warped arrangements hooks me. Ulthar might make strange, atmospheric music but Anthronomicon’s laser focus on outstanding riffs leaves a release I haven’t stopped spinning in nearly a year. It’s one of 2023’s most challenging but most rewarding listens.

#5. Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – Why, after a run of critically acclaimed old-school death metal albums, is The Enduring Spirit the first Tomb Mold record to touch my AotY list? In short, because its music is far more inventive now. Switching out a cavernous aesthetic and unrelenting pace for tidier production and grandiose solos, The Enduring Spirit scratches that prog-death itch better than any other release from 2023. Though Tomb Mold has always been smarter-than-you-first-realize, this record represents a significant leap forward and feels like the next era of the band. Above all, it harmonizes Tomb Mold’s savage roots with newer, cerebral tendencies. While the immaculate transitions go some way to achieving this, the spacious soundstage and perfect instrumental tones ensure the release hangs together to my great satisfaction.

#4. Shadowrunner // Ocean of Time – Rebirth and Oblivion – For the first time, the Ocean of Time duo made me want to dislike a Shadowrunner release. Making the listener buy the same four songs twice in order to access the unique eight ruffled my feathers. But the music here is just so damn captivating that I can’t help but love the two sides nonetheless. Rebirth is as effortless and enchanting as any retrowave act from the last decade, while Oblivion is pure nostalgia bait. Warm synths, driving rhythms, smooth saxophones, and pleasant vocals; all are present and correct. Shameless pleasure and rose-tinted spectacles compel me to consistently choose something synthy for my AotY list and Shadowrunner made the best synth music of 2023. Do not sleep on one of the best acts in the scene.

#3. Sylosis // A Sign of Things to Come – I couldn’t be happier at my rediscovery of Sylosis since 2020’s Cycle of Suffering, and A Sign of Things to Come returns to deliver the goods once again. Despite the flack I took for describing Sylosis as how modern thrash should sound, I stand by that comment. 1986 already exists so go fucking listen to that again if you like. What this album will give you instead is music that fuses thrashy, melodic, technical, and hardcore influences into 10 super-charged tunes. They will fill you with rage, then re-energize you to exorcize that rage. For raw riff-craft, no other record was the match of this one. A sign of more things to come in the future? I fucking hope so.

#2. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Only one other record this year feels as complete as Of Golden Verse. It is a consummate album, expressing its music and thoughts in the exact amount of time it requires. Despite its poignance and emotive qualities, it feels incredibly precise; a work created by masters of their trade. Even with 4 tracks approaching or exceeding 7 minutes, there’s nary a wasted second. That’s a tough feat indeed in the world of prog, and Sermon exemplifies all that is great in the genre. Their undulating songwriting style results in music that ebbs from steely, tense atmospheres and flows to passionate, cathartic explosions. Dramatic, sure; maybe even melodramatic. But exciting and varied as Sermon dabbles in progressive, alternative, and doom metal. Of Golden Verse represents a huge step forward from their debut.

#1. Hasard // Malivore – Though Malivore wasn’t a clear winner, its complete singularity pushes it above everything else in 2023. Hasard paints stark, abstract images in shades of black; it’s an impenetrable, challenging release, obscuring its immense qualities behind oppressive heaviness and bewildering arrangements. Through the record’s black metal crust hides an accomplished orchestral core that’s just as disturbing—in some ways, more so—as its metal aspects. Purposefully deconstructing the screeching guitars, arhythmic drumming, ominous synths, and erratic counter-melodies delivers the year’s most thought-provoking music. Passively wallowing delivers the year’s most thought-crushing music. While it may not be the most enjoyable record of the year, it is certainly the most striking. No other 2023 record affected me like Malivore.

Honorable Mentions

• Myrkur // Spine – Spine is just as sonically varied—arguably inconsistent—as any Myrkur release2 but this time it’s all high quality. From the poppy chorus on “Like Humans,” to the blast beats on “Valkyriernes Sang,” to the gentle folk on “Menneskebarn,” I’m emotionally invested throughout.
• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – Ahab is an indomitable force of doom metal, and The Coral Tombs didn’t miss a step after eight years away. Judicious variety and grand arrangements ensure that this is the best doom of 2023.
• Ne Obliviscaris // Exul – Balancing poignant string sections with crunchy death and black metal, NeO remains a stellar progressive metal band. Exul proves that even a NeO producing their weakest album is better than most others.

Songs o’ the Year

1. Godthrymm – “As Titans”
2. fromjoy – “Helios” / “Icarus”
3. In Flames – “Meet Your Maker”
4. Theocracy – “Return to Dust”
5. Hasard – “Hypnocentrisme”
6. Sermon – “Golden”
7. Angus McSix – “Master of the Universe”
8. Saturnus – “The Calling”
9. Sylosis – “Poison for the Lost”
10. ADMO – “Always”

GardensTale

In previous years, I wrote at least one paragraph about how the year went for me. But for the last 3 years, those have been pretty depressing, so I’m just going to skip that. Let’s talk about the good stuff instead. It’s strange to think that black metal is one of the last genres I seriously got into, around 5 years ago or so. Beforehand, I always thought all black metal was akin to lo-fi second-wave shit that sounds like someone sucked up a marble with the vacuum cleaner. Years before, Belgian unknowns Axamenta3 laid some groundwork to prove my misconception wrong, and Mistur hammered it home. Now the conversion is complete, thanks to a year that’s been absolutely stuffed with quality black metal. I could have made a very respectable list of only black metal records, HMs included. But I still like other genres, too, so it was inevitable a couple of other-minded rascals snuck in for color. At least Doom_et_Al won’t hate my list as much as usual. Probably.

I gotta add though, whilst I’ve heard a lot of praise for this year in metal, I still feel like I am missing a true winner. The order of my top 6 or so feels entirely arbitrary, and I’m not sure an extra month of listening would bring the necessary clarity. I’ve had plenty to love (my shortlist reached 10 albums by March or so, partially thanks to an unusually strong January) but the only albums I have been truly ecstatic about are discoveries that were released before the pandemic and barely metal-adjacent4 But so it goes! Every year is so different, in both life and music. I already had a sneak peek of a likely lister for next year, so I know we’ll be off to a good start in that regard.

I must thank my colleagues and editors for putting up with my slacking ass.5 You are a good bunch and half the reason I’m still pouring my heart and soul into this site. The other half is the free promos. And what’s an end-of-year projectile vomit of thank yous and love yous without addressing the readers? If you’re still here and didn’t just skip through to the list, you have my thanks. If you did skip to the list, you still have my thanks, you just won’t know about it. Even those of you who just check the winners and move on. You are still part of the weird and lovely conglomeration of readers we’ve developed, so thank you as well. And I must give a shout-out to the Discord folks. Though I don’t pop in too often, you’ve made it a lovely and welcoming server, and uncommonly well-behaved! Now, who’s ready for the other half of the worst takes in AMG?

#ish. Xoth // Exogalactic – Xoth is back and thus back in my list, because Xoth remains every bit the cool as hell bunch of motherfuckers it’s always been. It’s a little bit more technical and a little bit less memorable compared to its predecessor, missing a “Mountain Machines” level riff, but I still have a really hard time sitting still in my chair when Exogalactic is playing. Too much bouncy fun and sick solos!

#10. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – I listened to an absolute ton of melodic death metal in my early metal years. I still have a soft spot for the genre, but it also needs to do something different to stand out for me these days. Fires in the Distance fully meets that criterium. The stern, strident tone, doom-adjacent pacing, and tasteful piano make Air an album of aching beauty. I’m reminded in part of Eternal Tears of Sorrow, but far more mature and with great emotional depth. The only reason it didn’t place higher is that it doesn’t keep me coming back somehow, and these lists are nothing if not places to go with my gut.

#9. Leiþa // Reue – Speaking of my gut, Reue was the first full-blown punch it received this year. It amuses me when people claim that all black metal screams sound the same because though the lyrics are as incomprehensible as ever, I feel every ounce of the bottomless pain and despair Noise conjures here. But on top of the throat-ripping gurgles of depression are some very sophisticated melodies and good use of dynamics between quiet passages and all-out raging desperation. Most one-man bands struggle to make one worthwhile project, meanwhile, this guy has Leiþa, Non Est Deus, and Kanonenfieber on his resume. I’d call it unfair if I didn’t love it so much.

#8. Megaton Sword // Might & Power – Traditional metal doesn’t often show up on my year-end list. Maybe Megaton Sword wouldn’t have either, although I do love me a batch of idiosyncratic vocals. But a medical situation in the family made the first half of the year an especially stressful affair, and Might & Power with its simple sense of fun was my main musical comfort in that time. But there’s more to it than that. So many strong melodies with few frills. So many fist-pumping horseback-riding sword-raising shield-carrying moments of triumph and awe. And all tied together by that uncommon voice, acerbically spraying dark heroism over the battlefield. The worst of the family situation is well behind us, but Might & Power still won’t leave my regular rotation.

#7. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – Is it unfair to say Xoth got out-Xoth’ed this year? It’s the obvious point of comparison, between the many-faceted vocals, high technical ability, tongue-in-cheek insanity, twisting multi-part riffs, and snaking bass. But if Xoth is the oblique unknowable architecture of cosmic horror, Carnosus is the fleshy depravity of body horror. It theatrically revels in its filth and cackles as the audience turns green around the cheeks. Most of the death metal highlights this year have been of the cavernous or slamarific variety, neither of which does much for me, but Carnosus has been an absolute delight that’s kept up my good cheers.

#6. Walg // III – The vast majority of my music recommendations originate here, but once in a blue moon, my partner will send me a link to something that popped up in her random music feeds and I just get blown away. That’s how I found this independent duo from Groningen, the Netherlands, who, without any black metal experience, started shitting out annual albums in the middle of the pandemic and manage to outdo most of their peers in the process. III is a furious album, with blast beats and histrionic screeching out the wazoo, but is tempered by a bevy of great melodic riffs and the occasional gothic chant. Because the lyrics are in Dutch, which really is not a good language for this kind of horrific imagery, there’s something endearing to the band as well. The combination makes for a very interesting, dark yet catchy experience and one I can well recommend.

#5. Wayfarer // American Gothic – Wayfarer was always one of those bands I kept hearing about and kept not hearing. No particular reason, either; I resolved to listen to them several times and it just didn’t happen. Then I finally heard them, by seeing them live at Roadburn. It was definitely a highlight of the festival, aside from an interlude that was far too long and not nearly interesting enough. Thankfully, American Gothic is more balanced, a perfectly tuned album that calls forth the man in black stalking the prairie on horseback. It’s an album redolent in atmosphere without forgoing a good hook, one that can carry tension on a single banjo string. In short, it has lived up to the hype and then some.

#4. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Pure prog metal often gets a reputation for being wussy and weenie. Sermon does it differently. What attracts me to this album the most is the sense of threat. Sermon looms a great dark ominous wall that swallows the background and casts everything in shade. For an album to hold its breath even while beating you down takes some exquisite songwriting, and Of Golden Verse is jam-packed with it. Closer “Departure” really opens the floodgates, too, for a satisfying and bombastic finale.

#3. VAK // The Islands – I called The Islands one of the flat-out coolest albums of the year and I stand by it. If anything, my appreciation for VAK’s latest has only grown since then. When you’ve listened to a million albums, the ones that really stand out and stick with you are the ones with the strongest personality. If you’d send me an unlabeled song that didn’t make the cut on The Islands I would recognize it as VAK immediately, guaranteed. While so much sludge tries and fails to get under my skin with a hammer, VAK succeeds by taking a shortcut as it pries off my fingernails with a rusty screwdriver. It’s deliciously uncomfortable and I love it.

#2. The Circle // Of Awakening – This was surely the most heinous underrating of the year. The opener alone should earn the band its 4.0, a perfectly tuned piece of proggy black/death. One thing that strikes me is how good The Circle is at finding the right dosages. Every time it feels like one thing has run its course, something replaces or enhances it, from the versatile vocals to the use of symphonics and from blast beats to breathing room. I’ve revisited this one a lot since the summer, and for a while, I thought it was gonna top my list…

#1. Night Crowned // Tales – …until Night Crowned bum-rushed the stage. Whereas many of my listening habits this year have been decidedly un-brutal, in the metal sphere I have found myself drawn to the combination of melodic and intense music, particularly in the second half of the year. Tales is an exemplary album in this regard. The intense blasting and no-holds-barred shrieking always hold a melodic thread that makes it more than a wall of noise, whether it be from extra vocal layers, subtly interweaved symphonics, or a goddamn hurdy-gurdy that works way better than it should. The track where the latter features most prominently, “She Comes at Night,” is what drew me in, but every track has its own face; its deviations make it stand out from the others, like the clean vocals on melodic mid-pacer “Loviatar” or the Dimmu influence on the grandiose closer “Old Tales.” While I would not rank it as highly as the winners of previous years, you owe it to yourself to grab Tales if you haven’t already.

Honorable Mentions

• Aetherian // At Storm’s Edge – Contrary to my point with VAK, this album doesn’t do much particularly new but it’s the embodiment of Finnish style epic melodeath done really, really well.
• Somnuri // Desiderium – Who knew Mastodon-style sludge could be improved with grunge?
• Mutoid Man // Mutants – Wild, reckless fun with more depth than a first glance betrays.
• Genus Ordinis Dei // The Beginning – Narrative albums aren’t easy, but Genus Ordinis Dei has that shit in the bag. Easy to listen to, easy to love, and feels like a complete, well-rounded movie in the guise of an epic metal album.
• Laster // Andermans Mijne – It’s deeply strange and gets at all the bits of my brain that have been gathering dust for years, but I can’t deny its continuous pull.

Disappointment o’ the Year

This is the first paragraph I’m writing this year because it’s the easiest. I always used to like Soen. With Lotus, I even loved them. Imperial was a clear step-down, branching out in the wrong directions, but it was still enjoyable in its own right, just not approaching list material. They put on some good live shows this year, too. But Memorial goes off the deep end like Thelma & Louise. The remaining semblances of progressive rock and metal are gone, replaced by refried alternative rock. Even Joel Ekelöf sounds downright bad, his buttery smooth croon awkwardly squished into a grungy mold that doesn’t suit him. It’s like the band members collectively decided to challenge themselves by trying to make an album without doing any of the things they’re actually good at. The experiment failed, boys.

Song o’ the Year

Last year I discovered Norwegian artsy prog rock outfit Major Parkinson and fell deeply in love with their quirky, bombastic, gloomy aesthetic and thoughtful, varied songwriting. Not long into this year, I found out that enigmatic vocalist Jon Ivar Kollbotn had suffered a massive heart attack in the middle of a concert in October. Though he managed to finish the set, he flatlined backstage. By some miracle, police officers happened to be just outside the building and they managed to restart Kollbotn’s ticker. When he was sufficiently recovered, the band re-wrote and recorded an old live track named “Take the Prescription” to commemorate his survival. The result is as addictive as prescription drugs, an upbeat and offbeat artful piece of prog-pop with an infectious whistled tune, beautiful smooth bass usage, and the band’s signature dark undertone. Kollbotn sounds as coarse and moody as ever, and new permanent member Peri Winkle offers an outside perspective to the frontman’s near-death experience. And even if the track hadn’t been one of the sweetest things I’ve heard this year, it’d still be my favorite track of 2023. If only because he was still around to record it.

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