Sonus Mortis – Synapse the Hivemind Review

By Grymm

Ever since I was awoken by the editorial staff here rap-tap-tapping on my coffin lid earlier this year, I’ve been 3 for 3 in terms of albums by one-person bands. Completing the hat trick this time around is Sonus Mortis, a prolific death/doom act navigated by one Kevin Byrne, who was originally the bassist for Irish upstarts Valediction before splitting off on his own. His eighth album in 12 years,1 Synapse the Hivemind sees Byrne tackling personal privacy in a world that’s continuously being overrun by A.I. and the all-seeing eye of the camera. But what interested me was that, despite the output, I’d never heard of Sonus Mortis before, or his claims that Byrne’s band is a mix of death/doom with symphonic black metal elements. So what does that even sound like, both on a musical and conceptual level?

Melodeath. It sounds like melodeath. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing at all, especially considering that it sounds a great deal like Andy Gillion-era Mors Principium Est in many ways, right down to the incredible guitar and keyboard leads that Byrne lays down throughout the album. His screams also recall Matt Moss of the dormant-but-much-missed Slugdge, hissing about drones (“Eyes in the Sky”) and the modern working wage (the title track) with venomous intent. Byrne’s got the musical chops to carry his vision to fruition, raging against literal machines and reigniting the passion to win one’s humanity back against technological oligarchies and the need for systemic control.

I just wish the same could be said for the songwriting. One of the complaints I have against modern melodeath rests in the fact that if you’ve heard one song on an average melodeath album, you’ve pretty much heard the whole damn thing. Sadly, it applies here, as Synapse suffers from the songs almost using identical tempos, motifs, and patterns from each other. Listening to the whole album in one sitting just feels like a well-practiced and impressively-performed blur of leads and atmosphere, making it hard to differentiate from one song to the next without making a lasting impact. Due to this familiarity and extreme deja vu, 50% of the album’s problems exist here.

The other 50% rests in Byrne’s singing voice, which can best be described as an acquired taste. His screams and growls are on-point, and get the blood pumping just right. His cleans, however, do not fit the music at all, either trying for James Hetfield-esque melodrama, complete with Hetfield’s “YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!” inflections that pull me out of the game entirely (opener “Biomechanical Horrors”), or aiming to dethrone Mikael Stanne’s haunting croons but whiffing it (the title track and “The Perfect Host”)2 they act as a stark reminder that if you can’t perform a certain way, you can always seek help from the outside. There’s no shame in doing so.

One final bit of advice, and I experienced this personally all-too-recently: the grind mindset. I respect the hustle, I really do. Eight albums in twelve years sounds impressive (and it is), but the factory-like churning of albums causes a negative impact on your art. Slow it down a bit, take time away from what you’re working on (if you can manage), and let your piece breathe a bit. Assess what can be added. What can be taken away? What can be improved upon? Because all these things will benefit not only your music, but you personally. Because while Synapse the Hivemind has some cool ideas and amazing musicianship trapped behind okayish songwriting, I know Byrne and Sonus Mortis are capable of much, much more.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2025

#25 #2025 #IndependentUnsigned #IrishMetal #Mar25 #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #Review #Reviews #Slugdge #SonusMortis #SynapseTheHivemind #Valediction

Cantu Ignis – The Fathomless Dominion Review

By Twelve

When I recently commented that I miss Eternal Tears of Sorrow, the universe must have heard me. Or, at least, Steel Druhm did, as he spied from our vast promo pit The Fathomless Dominion, the sophomore full-length from US-based Cantu Ignis, an album allegedly recommended for fans of Eternal Tears of Sorrow (among others). Now, I’ll admit, lately I’ve been a bit picky with my review promos, but that simple reference was enough for me to cheerfully go in blind. Cantu Ignis base their sound off of quite a few legends of the melodic death metal scene, which is a great way to get some attention (hey, it worked on me), but also a good way to raise expectations. How do Cantu Ignis stack up to their idols?

The symphonic/melodic death metal tag Cantu Ignis placed on The Fathomless Dominion is an apt one, with some elements of black metal in the mix. Evoking the aforementioned Mors Principium Est, Kalmah, and, yes, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, the music here is vicious, thunderous, and often beautiful, equally likely to pummel blast beats and heavy riffs as to let synths dance across the arena. The skill and variety of each player build a balance that keeps things lively. Guitars and keys are equally likely to maintain melody, but the melody is always there, whether in the form of the sweeping leads that adorn the breakneck title track or the twinkling keys that decorate the comparatively mid-paced “Buried Planet.” The Fathomless Dominion is a good example of leads-led melodeath that shies away from neither heavy, angry moments (“Survey the Sun”), nor heavy keys used to make a melody stick (“The Fathomless Dominion”). This is a great setup for an album in this genre.

I get the sense that Cantu Ignis wanted each song on The Fathomless Dominion to showcase a different side of their style. “Survey the Sun” is the only song to use October Falls-esque acoustic interludes, for example, while “Within the Mind of Hell” takes a sweeping, epic approach largely absent from the rest of the album. Of course, with only six songs spanning thirty-seven minutes, it isn’t surprising that each one does something different. What is a bit surprising is just how many ideas Cantu Ignis fit into that fairly small timeframe—keys solos and guitar solos, heavy bass, and so many riffs. Perhaps the most consistent things on the album are the snarling vocals and speedy drums, which consistently take the complex route to get to where they’re going. In essence, there is a lot going on across The Fathomless Dominion, and the majority of it is very strong melodeath magic.

If there’s any issue with The Fathomless Dominion, it’s the same as its strength—a lot of stuff happening at once. Most songs have distinct structures and all repeat themes, but it often doesn’t feel that way; “Buried Planet,” for example, definitely has a chorus but by the time I get to the end of the album I can’t remember anything about it. It’s strong in the moment—a mid-paced burner, as I mentioned earlier, and a great break after the wildness of “Survey the Sun”—but with so much going on, it struggles to maintain an identity. Similarly, “A Reality Deceased” reminds me of Symbolik, in that it has some awesome, sweeping passages that evoke terrifying heights with intensity. Unfortunately, those passages are all I really take away from it. On the bright side, most everything sounds good; all instruments are clear-sounding and strong (with the exception of the snare drum, which sounds too click-y for my tastes). It allows me to hear pretty much everything going on—Cantu Ignis’s greatest strength but also a potential setback for The Fathomless Dominion.

I love the sound that Cantu Ignis have here; I love the way The Fathomless Dominion makes me feel. There are many great moments throughout a mere thirty-seven minutes, and a rock-solid foundation of modern melodeath goodness. The Fathomless Dominion is a great example of art that shows a little too much of a good thing. The good news is that all of it is good—I can only imagine that the next one will be even better.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 1,441 kbps WAV
Label: Self-release
Websites: cantuignis.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Cantu-Ignis
Releases Worldwide: February 14th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #CantuIgnis #EternalTearsOfSorrow #Feb25 #Kalmah #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #OctoberFalls #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Symbolik #SymphonicBlackMetal #TheFathomlessDominion

Andy Gillion – Exilium Review

By Maddog

While underground solo albums can be a scary prospect, Exilium is an exception. Andy Gillion served as lead guitarist and primary songwriter for Mors Principium Est in their heyday, from 2012’s …And Death Said Live through 2020’s Seven. This has earned him a permanent spot in both melodeath royalty and my heart, and got me thrilled to review Exilium. Gillion’s prolific solo career has spanned video game soundtracks, melodeath, and chiptune-infused metal. However, Exilium goes out on no limbs, opting instead for a synthy, rifftastic style that will please fans of Mors Principium Est. It doesn’t rewrite the playbook, but it’s a damn good specimen nonetheless.

If we crudely divide melodeath along the axes of sad-energetic and simple-techy, Exilium falls squarely in the energetic/techy quadrant. Foremost a guitarist’s album, its chugging riffs carry on the melodeath tradition without dulling their fury, punctuated by soaring climactic guitar solos. Gillion’s signature bleeds through most clearly in the album’s techiest sections, which blend simple rhythms with light-speed fretboard gymnastics (“As the Kingdom Burns”). Just as MPE-evocative are the symphonic sections, which flow seamlessly with the guitar parts to create a thrilling interplay (“Prophecy,” “Avenging the Fallen”). Outside of a fantastic guest spot from Unleash the Archers’ Brittney Slayes, Gillion handles lead vocals for the first time in his solo career. Ranging from emotive growls to clean metalcore screams, the vocals are cookie-cutter but get the job done. Similarly, Dave Haley’s (Psycroptic) session drums are standard fare with occasional shining spots (“Acceptance”). Simply put, Andy Gillion’s newest record sounds like the Andy Gillion era of Mors Principium Est, tinged with metalcore from the aughts.

Accordingly, Exilium takes few risks. Textbook melodeath is fun, but it tarnishes over time. As a result, the album’s simpler tracks come off as kneecapped imitations of the highlights. This worsens as the album progresses; the latecomer “Call to Arms” is conspicuously inconspicuous, fading into the background on every listen. An over-reliance on simple poppy song structures dulls even the bangerest tracks, like “A New Path.” While Mors Principium Est’s best work excelled in both its creativity and its heft, Exilium shirks one for the other. Still, the highlights that bookend the album are a refreshing exception. The opener “Prophecy” nails its back-and-forth between keys and guitars, while the title track’s evolving dual-guitar assault is both unique and gorgeous. Exilium would benefit from more of this.

But as they say in Finland: riffity riff riff, motherfucker. Exilium ventures across the complexity spectrum and hits across the board. On one end, “A New Path” isn’t in contention for a Fields Medal, but its opening meloriff is irresistible nevertheless. On the other end, “The Haunting” drags me in with its noodly technicality. In the middle sits “Avenging the Fallen,” whose keyboard shenanigans and soaring melodies provide a vivid reminder of why metalcore was such a seductive temptress. However, these all pale in comparison to the closer “Acceptance.” Combining an unforgettable drum performance, a frenetic main melody that recalls …And Death Said Live’s closer “Dead Wings of Hope,” and unrestrained vocals, Exilium’s closer colonized my brain so hard that it delayed my progress on both a critical work assignment and my editing of Nameless N00b 89’s drivel.12 While AMG has vowed to murderize anyone who writes a track-by-track review, Exilium’s highlight is its highlights. Despite the album’s big-picture flaws, it’s got barnburner melodies.

Just listen to this album. It’s impressive, it’s fun as hell, and it’s a fantastic use of 35 minutes. Exilium is the archetypal 3.0; it doesn’t break new ground, but it showcases a formidable artist who’s mastered a style, with no air of pretension.3 Every human being should adore Mors Principium Est’s best records, which provide iconic examples of riffs with both sharp teeth and a strong unifying jaw. And anyone who loves MPE should give Exilium a shot. So whoever you are, just listen to this album.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Websites: andygillion.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/andygillionmusic
Releases Worldwide: October 11th, 2024

#AndDeathSaidLive #2024 #30 #AndyGillion #BritishMetal #Exilium #MorsPrincipiumEst #Oct24 #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased

Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals Review

By Steel Druhm

Dark Tranquillity have long held a special place in my heart since I first heard The Gallery back in 1995. They’re the indisputable champions of the “Gothenburg Sound” and the only original purveyor that aged well.1 While they’ve had distinct phases and dabbled in different approaches over their lengthy run, their core sound always resonated deeply with me. That said, they’ve had some sizeable ups and downs through the years with several albums falling short. 2020s Moment in particular was a standard-issue release that felt too safe and phoned in. It lacked the creative energy and highs of 2016s Atoma and made me wonder if the band was running out of creative steam. This made me approach Endtime Signals cautiously, hoping for better. After a bunch of time lashed to the stream of Endtime Signals, I’m happy to report that the heart of Dark Tranquillity still beats strongly and the long-term prognosis may not be as dire as Moment suggested.

Endtime Signals opens mightily with “Shivers and Voids,” which is the archetypal Dark Tranquillity song. It has their proprietary blend of sharp melodeath riffs and cold, sterile keyboards topped with Mikael Stanne’s excellent death metal rasps and a touch of his clean crooning for extra spice. It’s moody and aggressive at once and has a chorus that sticks on first contact. It’s exactly what I want from DT and it kills. This vitality and enthusiasm extend into follow-up “Unforgivable,” which packs fury and aggression, its blackened edges used to good effect. This sounds like something coughed up during the Fiction era and that’s a compliment. “Neuronal Fire” also surprises with its bright energy and urgency, making me wonder if I slipped into some earlier era of the band’s extensive catalog. The chorus is hooky and all the pieces work in unison to get the blood pumping. Song after song delivers the goods that DT fans want with way more enthusiasm than the last time. I found my hope growing with each successive track that brought the hammer down on my grey matter. Maybe Moment was an aberration after all. Maybe.

“Drowned Out Voices” is an angry thrasher with nostalgic bits of Projector in its DNA, and “One of Us is Gone” is the classic DT emo/Goth ballad draped in grey hues and decorated with Stanne’s plaintive sadboi crooning. It works well and offers a nice change-up from the impressive melodeath onslaught. It isn’t until eighth track “Enforced Perspective” that something a bit less toothsome arrives, though it’s not bad. “Our Disconnect” is around the same level, okay but not super ear-grabbing. Things course correct after this slightly flabby section, with a strong run to the finish carried by the extra heavy “A Bleaker Sun,” which reeks of the Damage Done / Character days, and the effectively Gothy mood piece “False Reflection.” The album feels a bit too long, but by keeping most songs in the 3-4 minute window, the pace is plenty lively. The end result is a DT album with real bite and heft.

With a new drummer and bassist on board, this still sounds like classic DT. The album even functions as an effective tour through the band’s various eras, with certain songs strongly reminiscent of classic albums. It goes without saying at this point that Mikael Stanne kills it vocally. He’s one of the best extreme metal vocalists and he never disappoints. His raspy death metal vocals are as good as ever and his Goth-tinged crooning is smoother than Doc Grier‘s baby-like brain.2 He owns these songs and shines on the ballad-y cuts like “One of Us is Gone” and “False Reflection.” New-ish axe Johan Reinholdz does a significantly better job this time than on Moment, delivering plenty of razor-sharp riffs and moody harmonies that pierce the ear and embiggen the heart. His playing on tracks like “Shivers and Voids” and “Unforgivable” is alternately in-your-face and understated, and on several tracks, he successfully borrows the stadium melodeath aesthetic from Omnium Gatherum. Longtime keyboardist Martin Brändström does his best to put a gothy, melancholic sheen over the material and he nails it. The material feels cold and a wee bit forlorn.

While Endtime Signals doesn’t quite reach the heights of Atoma, it’s a sizeable step up from Moment. The things I love about Dark Tranquillity are back front and center and the writing is much more memorable. Fans will be pleased and newcomers should be impressed. It’s nice to hear these guys back in the groove again giving the people some proper melodeath. Tranquillity now!

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Century Media
Websites: darktranquillity.com | facebook.com/dtofficial
Releases Worldwide: August 16th, 2024

Dr. A.N. Grier

Like many writers and readers, Dark Tranquillity has long been part of my life. I think I first explored these Swedes back in the days of The Gallery and never looked back. And that was a mighty time for the band, releasing incredible releases from then on—the unique Projector, crushing Damage Done, and almost flawless Character. Then, the band went through several lulls before and after 2016’s Atoma, so there was a bit of hesitation going into Endtime Signals.3 Mikael Stanne and Martin Brändström continue to keep this ship rolling, bringing in new blood to hammer out twelve tracks of melodeath that combine the heaviness and somber beauty the band has been producing for thirty fucking years. And I’m happy they have not slowed down with this new effort. OK, that’s a lie, there are some slow songs.

While the band will never touch their greatest moments again, Dark Tranquillity continues to be relevant in their way. While plenty of Dark Tranquillity wannabes exist, these gents always emerge above the pack. Their style is distinctive and emotional compared to the rest. Few bands can batter you with massive riffs as powerful as fellow melodeath legends, Mors Principium Est while making you want to cry with those beautiful guitar leads and clean vocals. Dark Tranquillity has always had an addictive character4 regardless of the quality of their output. With so many damn albums under their belts, never venturing far from what they do, and constantly adjusting lineups, their catalog is impressive. And Endtime Signals is another pleasant addition to their catalog. It won’t trump their best work but it’s good to see an uptick in quality following 2020’s Moment.

“Shivers and Voids” gets the album going on a good foot with swimming chords, building energy, and that classic Dark Tranquillity combination of heaviness and melody. The chorus is one of the stronger on the album with Stanne’s rasps spitting at the sky. The follow-up track, “Unforgivable,” keeps things moving similarly, mixing a touch of At the Gates into the riffage before another powerful chorus comes into play. But the biggest difference is the crushing thrash licks on the album’s back half, adding a touch of diversity to the album only two songs in. But of all the melodic hard-hitters, “The Last Imagination” is one of the more memorable pieces on the record. Starting with a soft introduction, it finally erupts into an Evergrey-esque stop-start chug before climbing to the key-backed chorus. It also sports one of the best solos on the record before swinging into the strongest iteration of the song’s chorus.

As with most great Dark Tranquillity albums, Endtime Signals also contains sad, passionate clean vocals. Sometimes in combination with the harsher stuff, other times completely alone. “Not Nothing” is of the former caliber and one of the album standouts. After opening with some sad, soft guitar work, those signature clean vocals arrive, shrouded in fitting effects. Then, the rasps charge forth with the dissonant riffage before blossoming into a chorus so Dark Tranquillity that it feels like being reunited with your baby blanket. For nearly five minutes, this song alternates between powerful builds and sad interludes before closing with a hopeless outro. “One of Us Is Gone” and the closer, “False Reflection,” are tracks that exclusively use clean vocals. After beginning with some damning strings and piano, Stanne’s clean vocals provide some hope for a brighter future in “One of Us Is Gone.” When the distortion finally arrives, the strings, orchestration, and keys build with great intensity, pushing this song to its utmost conclusion. “False Reflection” is a fitting close to the journey taken on Endtime Signals. Using a simple piano-driven approach, Stanne settles into his clean-vocal element, providing support for a simply gorgeous song with a chorus that delivers the passion seamlessly.

Endtime Signals is the proper next step after coming off the lackluster Moment, delivering a combination of old-school Dark Tranquillity, modern-day seasonings, and everything in between. While petty, the two songs that do very little for me are “Neuronal Fire” and “A Bleaker Sun.” The first is for its weird Amon Amarth subtleties and its mediocre chorus. In the same vein, but with an olden Dark Tranquillity nature, the bonus track, “Zero Sum,” would have been a better addition. “A Bleaker Sun,” on the other hand, is so out of place with its speed guitar work and sinister key atmosphere. Neither song is particularly bad but they aren’t as strong as others. This criticism aside, Endtime Signals is a strong release from these melodeath legends and one I will continue to return to for the rest of the year.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

#2024 #35 #AmonAmarth #AtTheGates #Aug24 #CenturyMediaRecords #DarkTranquillity #EndtimeSignals #Evergrey #MelodicDeathMetal #Moment #MorsPrincipiumEst #Review #Reviews #SwedishMetal

Nightmare – Encrypted Review

By Iceberg

France’s Nightmare are no strangers to the metal scene (having started in the late ‘70s) nor these halls (garnering two write-ups from His Trvness Steel and one from Holden The Heavy). Starting out life as a classic heavy metal act, they reformed in the late ‘90s sporting a new Euro-power veneer. The addition of a rotating lineup of female vocalists in recent years has given the band a more modern, melodic direction, and Encrypted continues the path away from the Grotto of Gouda to the Cathedral of Corset. New vocalist Barbara Mogore aside, veteran bassist Yves Campion has led a mostly stable band lineup during Nightmare’s modern period, and if 2020’s Aeternam was any indication, these Frenchmen have a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to the RIFF. Promising to expand their sound even further to include nods to symphonic black and melodic death metal, I was happy to snag the band’s latest and see what fire may be left in these bones.

Encrypted proves the axiom that an old dog can, indeed, learn new tricks. Much of the music contained herein is of the fist-pumping variety; an 80/20 blend of riff and melody. There are razor-wire waves of Mors Principium Est-style melodeath (“Nexus Inferi,” “Borderlands”) and the anthemic modern power we should have heard more frequently on the latest Unleash the Archers (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Wake The Night”). Mogore’s vocals provide moments reminiscent of Eleine and the aforementioned Brittney Slayes, though the band wisely keep the synth orchestrals to a minimum, never fully committing to Corsetcore™. Although Campion is the only remaining member of the original Nightmare lineup, the band sound like a seasoned metal outfit. All the tracks here hover at or under 5 minutes, an economy of material showing a band fully in control of their compositional instincts.

For a band that’s been through three vocalists in as many albums, the microscope will always focus most intensely on Nightmare’s frontwoman. Replacing Madie from the Aeternam cycle, Mogore goes for a grittier approach to the microphone, spending much of the album in a low, tough-gal raspy style (“Nexus Inferi,” “Saviours of The Damned”). While the finished product sounds a bit forced, almost a parody of “metal” vocals—especially with how clear and forward it is in the mix—Barbara makes up for it with other tools in her kit. Breaking into her upper register reveals clear, powerful cleans (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Eternal Winter”) and she has an impressive, menacing harsh growl à la Aephanemer (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Borderlands”). The band—who rarely misstep—provide rock-solid support, comfortably setting up a dependable heavy power foundation before unleashing jaw-dropping melo-riffs in cuts like “Wake The Night” and “Encrypted.” With the exception of a dip towards more radio-friendly tracks at the back end (“White Lines,” “Incandescent”) this is an album jam-packed with material for head-banging and horn-raising.

Where Nightmare do misfire—and this is a big one given the style—is on the consistency of the choruses. Many of the metal styles making up Nightmare’s DNA—power, symphonic, heavy— rest on a bedrock of catchy, soaring choruses. For every ear-worm sing-along (“Nexus Inferi,” “Saviours of the Damned,” “Encrypted”) there are uninspiring offerings taking up space between superior riff pools (“Voices From The Other Side,” “Wake The Night,” “Incandescent”). Matters are made worse when Mogore employs her weakest weapon—that low vocal-fry growl—as opposed to her superior cleans and death snarls. As the album progresses, and especially with repeat listens, the gap in quality between the elite-level riffs and the more utilitarian verse/chorus patterns becomes wider, making me wonder if the band is withholding the best bits from us in service of a more digestible form.

Nevertheless, Nightmare has produced a pleasant—and at times revelatory—platter of hard-hitting heavy metal with Encrypted. And despite my criticisms, I hope Barbara sticks around more than a single album to gel even further with the band; she has enviable versatility and a ton of potential in those vocal chords. If you’re looking for some sharp, riffy, melodic fun without all the frippery of symphonic metal you could do worse than spinning Nightmare’s latest. I look forward to monitoring the progress of the French quintet, and will return often to Encrypted’s title track, especially its bridge section; quietly hiding a candidate for Riff o’ The Year.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s
Label: AFM
Website: facebook.com
Releases Worldwide: June 7th, 2024

#2024 #30 #Aephanemer #AFM #Eleine #Encrypted #FrenchMetal #HeavyMetal #Jun24 #Melodeath #MorsPrincipiumEst #Nightmare #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #SymphonicMetal #UnleashTheArchers

AMG Turns 15: C-Suite Speaks

By Carcharodon

15 years ago, on May 19, 2009, Angry Metal Guy spoke. For the very first time as AMG. And he had opinions: Very Important Opinions™. The post attracted relatively little attention at the time, but times change and, over the decade and a half since then, AMG Industries has grown into the blog you know today. Now with a staff of around 25 overrating overwriters (and an entirely non-suspicious graveyard for writers on permanent, all-expenses-paid sabbaticals), we have written more than 9,100 posts, comprising over seven million words. Over the site’s lifetime, we’ve had more than 107 million visits and now achieve well over a million hits each and every month. Through this, we’ve built up a fantastic community of readers drawn from every corner of the globe, whom we have (mostly) loved getting to know in the more than 360,000 comments posted on the site.

We have done this under the careful (if sternly authoritarian) stewardship of our eponymous leader Angry Metal Guy and his iron enforcer, Steel Druhm, while adhering to strict editorial policies and principles. We have done this by simply offering honest (and occasionally brutal) takes, and without running a single advert or taking a single cent from anyone. Ever. Mistakes have undoubtedly been made and we may be a laughing stock in the eyes of music intellectuals, socialites and critics everywhere but we are incredibly proud of what AMG Industries represents. In fact, we believe it may be the best metal blog, with the best community of readers, on the internet.

Now join us as the people responsible for making AMG a reality reflect on what the site means to them and why they would willingly work for a blog that pays in the currency of deadlines, abuse, and hobo wine. Welcome to the 15th Birthdaynalia.

Thou Shalt Have No Other Blogs!

Steel Druhm

AMG and me

I stumbled into the world of AMG Inc. by chance, one day in early 2010 and just never got around to leaving. To put a finer point on it, I’ve been slaving in the AMG salt mines so long, even the extremely sabbaticalized Happy Metal Guy thinks my mind is gone. Over time, I’ve evolved from unpaid assistant to the Founding Overlord Himself to become site overseer and brvtal enforcer of deadlines, and morale (still unpaid). The journey has been a wild one, full of moments I’ll always cherish. It’s also introduced me to a collection of loveable oddballs I care about, even though I want to murderize them most of the time (you would too if you had to deal with their outrageous bullshit daily).1

The site and the extensive work that goes into it have provided me with a satisfaction that my real job often lacks, and even helped me find my soulmate. In short, AMG means the world to me and that’s why I’ve given so much of myself to this little blog these last 14 years. Looking back, I regret nothing (except the staff’s penchant for wildly overrating complete garbage) and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Thank you to the writers past and present who helped make the site possible, and thanks to the readers who make it worth the effort, even though most of you are woefully deficient in the good taste department. Here’s to 15 more years of this burning shitshow of a trainwreck!

AMG gave to me

As I’ve been a part of AMG since the early days, it’s nearly impossible to come up with just three albums the site gave me because it’s given me so many. Instead, I’ll enumerate the biggest non-musical gifts AMG has bestowed upon me over the years.2

Madam X // Be My (Pri)Mate / Down with the Steelness – The best thing AMG gave me by far was the chance to meet my best friend, soulmate and life partner, Madam X. She had read some of my early reviews for AMG and by chance, we happened to run into each other on a now-defunct Facebook metal fan page. She reached out to discuss my reviews and get some recommendations, we started chatting, and the rest, as they say, is history. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have her and, since she lived in South Africa and I in New York, I highly doubt we ever would have found one another were it not for AMG. For this reason alone, I’ll cherish this little blog until my rusty metal heart explodes in my hairy ape chest. Fun fact: I never had a girlfriend that liked metal, and now I have a wife who listens to stuff that’s so extreme and out there, I end up sounding like my parents and saying shit like “This isn’t music, it’s just crazy noise!” Life is funny sometimes.

The Sadistic Pleasure that Comes from Unicorning Kvlt Strangeo Bands // You Axed for It – One cold, gloomy day back in February 2015, I was reviewing a cold, gloomy release by Danish doom/death act Dwell. Their Vermin and Ashes album didn’t especially thrill me, and I was annoyed that they had opted not to include a band photo in the promo materials. Sure, I get it. They wanted to be dark and mysterious. Who doesn’t? I searched online for a suitable image of them but there were none to be found. I became quite vexed. Where the inspiration came from I cannot say but I decided to bestow upon them a bright, mega-cheesy unicorn image, in place of the non-existent band shot. As I contemplated how the vomit of rainbow colors clashed with the murky gray malaise of the album cover, it looked so wrong that it felt so right! And so a blog protocol was born. Send band photos or face extreme unicorn judgment!

The Joys of Initiating Unsuspecting n00bs into the AMG Meatgrinder // Taste the Skull Pit, Poser – When I joined AMG back in its embryonic, protoplasmic stage, there was no probationary period or brutal abuse (aside from assigning me metalcore albums). Things changed as the blog grew and we started bringing on new writers. Soon, a system of impressment, indoctrination and re-education was put in place, and ruthlessly weaponized in service of internet “fame” and “glory.” Each carefully selected wannabe writer, eyes glistening with the ghosts of their past, would serve a tumultuous probationary term, working in complete isolation under the iron thumbs of AMG management. If they somehow survived this experiment in terror, they would be cast into the general population in the Skull Pit, with a besotted cadre of jaded, glassy-eyed veteran staffers. That’s when the real initiation would begin! Imagine Lord of the Flies mixed with The Hunger Games and The Devil’s Rejects, and you get the general idea. Through ritualized humiliation, unreasonable deadlines, and confrontational teaching methods, we slowly transform these sniveling amateurs into barely functional hack reviewers. Believe in the system or be buried by it me.

I wish I had written …

White Wizzard – The Devil’s Cut Review. Yes, the infamous review that’s hung around our necks like a rotting albatross ever since it saw the light of day in 2013. Had I been tasked with doing the review, I would have given it the rating it truly deserved, which is a big, fat, greasy 3.0. Just like the album that came before, and the one that followed. Now, I have nothing against White Wizzard and I enjoy the retro 80s metal style they play, but let’s face it, nothing they ever did came anywhere near a 5.0 (whether in its “Perfect” or “Iconic” guise). My common sense, real-world review would have spared us all a great deal of embarrassment, as well as saving the effort and bleach it took to scrub the office down after the First Grand Sabbaticaling. If only…

I wish I could do over …

Amon Amarth – Sutur Rising Review. As a relatively new reviewer, I got the unexpected chance to weigh in on a new Amon Amarth platter, while I was at the peak of my feverish AA fanboyism. This proved a deadly combination and, before my better angels could caution restraint and moderation, I stamped this thing with a 4.5, and got the album cover tattooed on my dog. With time (and much hobo wine), I realized that I let the moment get the better of me. Despite the presence of a few killer cuts like “War of the Gods” and “Destroyer of the Universe,” Sutur Rising is far from Amon Amarth’s best work. I dutifully submitted a groveling apology in a Contrite Metal Guy piece and tried to move on with my life. 13 years on, this one still stands as my biggest rating misadventure and a source of bitter regret. I blame society (AKA: you, the reader).

I wish more people had read …

Retro-spective Review: Hall Aflame – Guaranteed Forever. The side project of Metal Church’s Kurdt Vanderhoof, Hall Aflame saw but one release in 1991. But what a party this thing was and still is! Adopting a style somewhere between The Cult and The Four Horsemen, Hall Aflame roar through a collection of wildly catchy, burly rockers, making for a highly replay-able album, with only occasional reminders it’s made by the brain behind Metal Church. Cuts like “Shake the Pain,” Child of Medicine,” and “Money” are absolute monsters, and “Another Heartbeat” is one of my favorite songs of all time across all genres. The hugely ass-kicking vocals by completely unknown (then and now) frontman Ron Lowd alone are worth the effort it will take to track down this rare gem. The world continues to sleep on this killer, as evidenced by my retro-spective review scoring exactly ZERO comments. Don’t let this injustice continue. You need to hear this thing, especially with the recent news that Vanderhoof is releasing the long-awaited (by me at least) follow-up in May. You have my word as a Viking ape that satisfaction is Guaranteed Forever.

AMG is Now a Good Capitalist! In this gap-filler post from 2015, I posited the concept of AMG building a merch empire based upon goods of questionable quality (see our branded Uni-Friend and Sabbatical Sausage Maker pictured above). It got reads but, since I found the concept amusing, I wanted MOAR clicks. I credit this piece with motivating me to finally get a batch of actual AMG t-shirts printed up for the undeserving staff. If you see someone wearing one of these rare treasures and kill them, you take their place in the Skull Pit forevermore. It’s just like The Santa Clause, but much, much worse.

Dr. A.N. Grier

AMG and me

Back in the day, we’d be lucky to get two reviews a day at AMG. This led to me refreshing the site every few hours hoping for a bonus review for the day.3 I was obsessed with the writing and these gems I would never have found otherwise. Before I began writing here, I would do that regularly from 2010-2011. One morning I left the lab of my failing start-up and walked into my office to do some work. The post that morning wasn’t a review. Instead, it was instructions on how to apply to be an AMG writer. Without thinking—because I’d been up for roughly 40 straight hours—I submitted a review of 1349’s lackluster Demonoir. Weeks later, I was a n00b in these decrepit halls. And I’m still here regretting that decision, almost ten years to the day since I submitted my first review. It’s funny, now that I’ve gathered everything for this piece, that I found those early days the fondest of times. Those days when I still loved the writers, the readers, writing about metal, and well… music. Now I’m a broken soul, stalking the halls as a sex-depraved ghost,4 avoiding eye contact with Steel because his ape eyes make my pants tight.

But, in all seriousness, it’s been a wild ride and it’s odd to be one of the lucky few who have contributed to two-thirds of AMG’s existence. I’m proud to have kept the output so rounded, delivering correct scores and takes, and providing X-rated content for the younger generations. So, join me in celebrating AMG’s birthday, as I travel back to those early years when I became part of the family and discovered records that shaped the man known, for today at least, as Dr. All. Nostalgic. Grier.

AMG gave to me …

Mors Principium Est // Dawn of the 5th Era – As a n00b, Angry Metal Guy‘s review of Mors Principium Est’s Dawn of the 5th Era made me realize two things: I needed this band in my life and never release an album in December. Thankfully, AMG caught it (while everyone else was busting their asses to write their year-end lists) because it’s a stunning achievement. From that point on, I consider myself one of MPE’s biggest fans. That continuation of the At the Gates sound results in incredible performances and riff after massive riff. Not a single song on this album goes stale and I’ve been listening to it regularly for ten fucking years. I can never seem to find a melodeath group whose entire catalog I march through from beginning to end.5 But MPE is one of them. And, because you might be wondering, … And Death Said Live is their best album.

Voices // London – Back in 2014, I ranked an album I never reviewed. Weird, right? Not only was it a great album, but it was one of my favorite reviews from the illustrious Jean-Luc Ricard, who opened his thoughts with: “If you’re anything like me, you’re super awesome.” Still makes me laugh my ass off. Beyond that, Ricard conveyed the absolute nightmare that you experience when you listen to London. Though Akercocke has since reunited, Voices was an incredible substitute, which takes you through a journey that, somehow, Ricard was able to describe; because I sure as hell can’t. I was doing an oil change on my truck the first time I span it. Never have I taken so long to do that work but I constantly found myself staring off into space, literally frightened by the sounds erupting in my ears. The band has never been able to top London, but that’s OK. It’s one of the beautiful aspects of music—it’s permanent and will be there forever when you need it.

Trials // This Ruined World – When I joined AMG and worked side-by-side with Dr. Fisting, we hit it off. I love the guy and consider him a close friend (though he might not feel the same). When I found out that he started a band called Trials, I had to check it out. With two decent albums under his belt, 2014 saw the release of Trials’ best—and final—album, This Ruined World. I was hooked. And to imagine that without knowing about this band or this person, I might never have experienced his work in Bear Mace and the (to me, at least) incredible Black Sites. Though I don’t return to Trials often, mostly because I can’t pull myself away from Fisting‘s current work, I have a special place in my heart for This Ruined World. It introduced me to a fantastic musician and a good friend.

I wish I had written …

Origin – Omnipresent Review. When you join the crew, the hope is that you get to write that review for a big band. Those bands you grew up with, that released something at that point in your life, or which have such popularity that every other site overrates them. But, at AMG, you kinda have to earn that. Unless it’s, somehow, a popular dungeon synth group; you can just have that. So, when my most-anticipated album of 2014 dropped, I wanted it. But, there wasn’t a chance in hell I would get my hands on Origin’s Omnipresent. I bet you didn’t know I liked tech death, much less Origin. But, I do. I just know there are other, more qualified writers to cover that material. Thankfully, our wise and wonderful Kronos scored it correctly and wrote a fantastic review that describes it perfectly. Since then, I haven’t been as enamored with their material (mostly because this place has turned me into a hateful prick), but that album holds up and still gets many a spin.

I wish I could do over …

Resumed – Alienation Review. I remember when the review for Resumed’s Alienations was published. It was Thanksgiving 2014 and I was already six sheets to the wind when I realized what I was reading: the first double review in AMG history. It wasn’t a record that merited a double but Steel fucked up and double-booked it, thereby unintentionally beginning a trend. Though I couldn’t believe I wasted my time on this thing6 and subjected myself to uncalled-for ridicule, it started one of our most popular segments. Hell, it even led to our Unsigned Band Rodeö pieces. So, for better or worse (and by worse, I mean that year’s burned turkey), we can thank this worthless piece for contributing to AMG lore.

I wish more people had read …

Thine – The Dead City Blueprint [Things You Might Have Missed 2014]. In the process of writing the review for The Deathtrip’s stellar 2014 release, Deep Drone Master, Metal Archives led me to a release we never received. In walks Thine, a progressive rock outfit led by the same person who convinced Aldrahn to come back from retirement to front Deep Drone Master, not to mention drummer Dan Mullins, who returned for My Dying Bride’s newest release. Representing my first ever Things You Might Have Missed piece, I continue to return to this band’s swansong release: it’s beautiful and engaging, and is everything I ever wanted from an album of this caliber. My unpopularity as a n00b, combined with the new year beginning and everyone moving on to January releases, meant no one seemed to care. But I cared. I care so much, in fact, that I’m dropping Thine’s name again, in the hope that Bandcamp credits will be put to good use. You’re welcome.

Dr. Fisting

AMG and me

As a reader of the site’s earliest incarnation, the first thing that stood out to me was that AMG’s writers were clearly educated. Even back then, the reviews were extremely well-written. I don’t mean just in terms of spelling and grammar, but being able to express ideas coherently. If you’ve ever visited any other metal-related sites, you know that these qualities are rare. More importantly, AMG was clearly an independent operation, with no reliance on ad revenue or cozy relationships with record labels. This meant the site was free to post brutally honest reviews, which occasionally resulted in battles against the metal media’s narrative and even the fans themselves. I always enjoyed when some huge band would put out a half-assed album that got rave reviews everywhere else, and then the AMG writeup would take a well-deserved shit on it.

When I started writing for the site a couple of years later, I did my best to uphold those standards. Eventually, as my life and priorities changed, I chose to step back from reviewing to focus on other things. But it was an honor to ride with these guys for as long as I did. I got to review some fantastic records, talk shit about some terrible ones, and make some friends that I am still in contact with to this day.

AMG gave to me …

Pain of Salvation // Road Salt Pt. 1 – I don’t remember if I discovered this record from reading the site or from The Angry One Himself sending it to me (“here, you’ll like this”), but Road Salt Pt. 1 was a complete game-changer. At a time when I was completely bored of “modern metal” and its trappings, I related strongly to PoS’s new direction, in which chug riffs and rapping were replaced by analog ’70s tones and memorable songs. This record was in heavy rotation in the Fisting household, and became a significant influence on my own music.

Satan // Life Sentence – Having missed out on Satan’s original run, I was unaware of their comeback album until the AMG review heaped praise upon it. Lucky for me it did because Life Sentence is full of intelligent lyrics, clever riffs, and memorable hooks. The band has since made three more records, all of which have been varying degrees of excellent. More importantly, discovering Life Sentence sent me on a path to revisit the band’s earlier works, including the highly influential Court in the Act.

Anacrusis // Screams and Whispers – Anacrusis is another band I was completely oblivious to during their lifespan, but discovered much later via Grymm‘s excellent retrospective writeup. This album is incredibly ambitious for its time (1993), pushing thrash metal into new and more introspective territory. There are hints of industrial influence, occasional goth-y keyboards, and some very angular guitar work, even by 1990s standards. This is a classic record from metal’s lost years, and more people should hear it.

I wish I had written …

King’s X – Three Sides of One Review. Not to suggest that Huck didn’t do a fantastic job on the review, because he absolutely nailed it, but King’s X has held a special place in my cold black heart for many years. I should’ve been there for this. There is no good reason why I didn’t do this review (or the related Angry Metal Primer) other than my own laziness and poor time management. Life gets in the way sometimes. I wish I could do over … I regret nothing.

I wish more people had read …

Various reviews of Voivod and Failure albums. As several readers noticed, I made it a personal mission to preach the virtues of Voivod and Failure. I consider both bands to be absolutely brilliant and worthy of greater attention (particularly Failure, whom I suspect most AMG readers are unfamiliar with). I don’t know how many people read those reviews, but whatever that number is, it needed to be more.

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