#opeth — Public Fediverse posts

Since releasing Magnum Opus four years ago, Philadelphia’s IATT has refined their songwriting toolkit to incorporate an even wider array of ideas and sounds. New platter Etheric Realms of the Night demonstrates a compositional leap as IATT weaves a grandiose concept into music—specifically, exploring the deconstruction of consciousness as wakeful awareness decays amongst the capricious environs of the subliminal. This abstract notion is rife with potential, offering boundless possibilities for artistic exploration. Broadly speaking, IATT follows a fascinating trajectory, covering a lot of ground with each release and honing their craft remarkably since their debut. With their latest offering, can IATT send us into Etheric Realms of delight?

Etheric Realms of the Night surges with ideas and instrumentation, entwining ephemeral beauty and scathing dissonance into a fugue-like fever dream. Prior albums Nomenclature and Magnum Opus reference stalwarts Opeth, Enslaved, and Dissection, melding melody with brutality to wondrous effect. Etheric Realms of the Night retains the core of IATT’s sound while expanding it even further into flamboyantly progressive territory à la Ihsahn and Thy Catafalque, and it’s this pivot that unites Etheric Realms’ music and concept so cohesively. The flute, performed by Didier Malherbe, sets the tone at the beginning of lead track “Drift Away.” Light, airy, and flitting, its inclusion is a masterstroke in evoking dreams’ fleeting substance. Piano lines weave in and out of the compositions, enriching the gorgeously textured cascades of IATT’s dense soundscape with vague impressions of a lullaby. Yet no matter how busy any particular moment is, each facet plays in service to the whole, engendering an astonishing coherence through Etheric Realms despite the diversity of components.

The overarching narrative on Etheric Realms of the Night follows the mind’s state of consciousness as sleep erodes the physics of reality, sending us deep into the impenetrable murk of unfiltered inputs and perceptions. “Drift Away” begins with a tandem of acoustic strumming played under a lilting flute, leading to a VoiceOver thought exercise that establishes a loose framework for Etheric Realms.1 From there, the track launches into harsh vocals alongside soaring strings that give way to heartfelt cleans, a groovy drum shuffle, punchy bass countermelodies, and sprightly piano flourishes. It’s the perfect introduction for what IATT accomplishes throughout Etheric Realms, as atmospheres consistently dart and lurch in unexpected directions. This approach synchronizes perfectly with the ephemeral temperament of dreams, where paradigms are kaleidoscopic, and no foothold lasts longer than a breath. So, too, does IATT’s songwriting shift and evolve throughout Etheric Realms’ runtime, with themes and motifs fading and reemerging in altered forms.

Etheric Realms’ success hinges on performances that can support the concept IATT sets in motion, and here, too, they deliver in spades. The guitars feature prominently on Magnum Opus, frequently stepping out to deliver showy licks and sure-fingered solos. On Etheric Realms, guitarists Joe Cantamessa and Alec Pezzano are no less capable and still deliver electrifying leads and riffs. Yet it’s their restraint that works best, giving room for other parts to dazzle. Paul Cole’s drumming hypnotizes as he adopts different styles throughout, including a dance-ready samba pattern on “Pavor Nocturnus” and a Portnoyesque rumble toward the back end of “Somniphobia.” Meanwhile, bassist/vocalist Jay Briscoe unleashes the best performance of his career so far, issuing a variety of black metal rasps and lower register roars along with effective cleans. Briscoe’s stately bass lines deserve praise as well, sauntering into the spotlight or supporting with gravelly grooves as needed. Also, the saxophone on “Walk Amongst,” played by Jørgen Munkeby (Emperor, Shining), wails with such emotion and moxie that I get goosebumps every time I listen. Every moment on Etheric Realms feels well-considered and expertly crafted, and the way it all fits together is transcendent.

Etheric Realms of the Night is an unabashed triumph. In my time at AMG, this is the only review I’ve tarried on because I didn’t want to stop listening to the album. IATT supplies an arresting three-quarters of an hour that sets my dopamine release valve to ‘GUSH,’ and Etheric Realms claims a residency in my gray matter that haunts me day and night. Every time “Hypnos” concludes, I’m left mesmerized and enamored with IATT’s swirling moods and seamless conglomeration of ideas. While it’s too early for me to think about list season,2 the subconscious pull Etheric Realms possesses only grows stronger with each visit, and I dare to dream of writing about it again.

Rating: Excellent!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Black Lion Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026

Leading up to the release of The Harvest, Ashen Horde finds themselves pushing against the boundaries of the identity they’ve honed since forming in 2013. Conceived by Los Angeles-based Trevor Portz, the sole contributor through the band’s first two albums,1 Ashen Horde stands as a studio-only project, blurring the lines between black and death metal with progressive tendencies while telling unified stories through each album’s runtime. On third album Fallen Cathedrals, Ashen Horde enlisted the talents of powerhouse vocalist Stevie Boiser (Inferi, Equipoise) to tremendous effect. Portz and Boiser delivered another gem on follow-up Antimony, joined by drummer Robin Stone (Chestcrush) and bassist Igor Panasewicz (NightWraith). On fifth album The Harvest: newcomer Karl Chamberlain (Putrefier) replaces Boiser and leans heavily into melodic cleans, Panasewicz exits the fold, the narrative element has been replaced with a looser theme,2 and Ashen Horde begins rehearsals for their first-ever live performances later this year. Do all these changes result in an effective crop rotation, keeping The Harvest’s yield fresh and rich, or do the white-hot flames of slash-and-burn songwriting blaze too brightly, leaving only a bumper crop of ash?

Where Boiser’s vocals amplified Ashen Horde’s ferocity within the confines of black and death metal, Chamberlain’s stylings push the band’s sound into a more melodic arena. Clean vocals sparsely populated Ashen Horde’s Boiser era, but The Harvest sees them co-headline, prominently featuring Chamberlain’s versatile melodic phrasing. Prior releases’ touchstones Opeth and Enslaved continue to be relevant, yet the emphasis on cleans skews heavily towards Trivium and, to a lesser extent, Killswitch Engage.3 The shift is broader than the vocals, though, as the instrumentation diversifies as well. Frantic trems and knotty compositions previously grounded Ashen Horde’s sound in progressive black metal akin to Ihsahn, but The Harvest evolves to bring a distinctly Voivoidian essence to the guitar work (the riffing after the solo on “Backward Momentum” is classic Piggy). Performance-wise, Ashen Horde delivers first-rate moments that ground returning listeners in a familiar setting, with Portz laying down his usual impressive stringed attack and Stone supplying nuanced exhibitions throughout. In total, these changes evince a band at a crossroads, uncontent to rest on its laurels while a new outlook is forged.

The maturation of Ashen Horde’s sound amounts to more than an inflated list of references, though. For starters, the underlying genres require reevaluation. Fallen Cathedrals and Antimony classify as black metal, death metal, and progressive metal, yet The Harvest adds a healthy dose of melodic death metal and a dash of thrash. Specifically, “Remnant” evokes a slightly proggier take on 90s In Flames while “Apparition” recalls a less rabid The Black Dahlia Murder. Besides Voivod, The Harvest taps into thrash via the jazzy grooves heard on Species’ latest (“Entropy and Ecstasy”) and the whirring, dissonant refrains endemic to Coroner (“Autumnal,” “A Place in the Rot”). With so many moving pieces, it’s a wonder that Ashen Horde retains as much of their core identity as they do.

Given the dramatic musical pivot, The Harvest feels like a snapshot of a band mid-flight rather than one reaching their final destination. With Ashen Horde stacking so many elements on top of one another, I’m not sure how well they gel into a unified album. The vocals in particular give me the biggest pause—not because of Chamberlain’s performance, which is potent across harsh and clean deliveries. I’m just not convinced how well they work in concert, given the even split between them. On previous albums, cleans were sparingly used as accents, but their expanded involvement on The Harvest conjures disparate moods that flit back and forth in a way that occasionally feels jarring (“Autumnal”). The end result is a compromise that lands between the familiar and the bold.

Despite Ashen Horde exploring a new identity on The Harvest, plenty of earwatering fruit awaits a good reaping. As the band calls out in their promo materials, even though the central theme is about endings, The Harvest is a new beginning. I expect opinions will be split on the new direction, but Ashen Horde is a project that teems with ideas and new frontiers, and I’ll take that every time over a band that’s content to remake the same album over and over. Now go check out this week’s Harvest and sample its tasty Ashen Hordeuvres.

Rating: Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 1st, 2026

For #bcf, I'm going to buy the album Floodgate by #ImminentSonicDestruction.
While I don't exactly like the sound of the singer's voice, some of the music that's happening feels intriguing. The music is in that general #ProgMetal area that I tend to enjoy. I can't really compare it to other bands for #ffo, but the page tags this release as:

#DevinTownsend #DreamTheater #Haken #Leprous #Opeth etc.

https://imminentsonicdestruction.bandcamp.com/album/floodgate

#BandcampFriday #Bandcamp

For progressive death metal acts, the shadow of the masters, Opeth, looms large. Yet some recent progressive death acts, like Iotunn, Tómarúm, and Dvne, have carved their own paths in the genre. When Dyed in Grey released their debut, The Abandoned Part, in 2013, Opeth was charting a course into pure prog sans death metal. I only mention Opeth because Dyed in Grey’s brand of prog death sees clear influences in the titans of the genre, though with a more technical, improvisational imprint. Harbinger marks only their third full-length album in thirteen years. These years have seen inconsistency in the lineup, with 2018’s Anguish and Ardor losing the vocalist and going full instrumental. Now with a new vocalist, Harbinger sees a return to Dyed in Grey’s roots with a more honed vision from founder Adam Edgemont.

Unlike Soen’s cleaner approach to prog, Dyed in Grey is much rawer and rougher around the edges, utilizing plenty of off-key notes. There’s a greater sense of urgency and authenticity in this approach, and songs are carefully crafted to sound improvisational rather than intentional and overly polished. At times, Dyed in Grey plays it light and breezy, such as on the intro track “Sunbird” and the first few minutes of “Ascent,” where you could almost mistake them for a happy-go-lucky Weezer. At other times, they play a rough and tumble of ’90s grunge, with “Silent Symmetry” taking on an Alice in Chains-esque gruffness. Yet behind each arpeggio and light strum lurks an Opethian turn, which can rear its head suddenly with an eruption of heavy guitars and monstrous death growls. These turns prove an effectively cathartic release of emotion; “Mirrored Ruins” in particular takes a brilliant turn with some of the coolest riffs on Harbinger. While Opeth is a clear influence, Dyed in Grey take a novel enough approach to avoid being a mere clone.

Descent by Dyed In Grey

Dyed in Grey cite jazz as one of their musical styles, and this is most apparent in the improvisational turns that songs take. Unlike Opeth’s more developed passages of death metal or prog, Dyed in Grey can flip on a dime. “Static Tides” best demonstrates this as it transitions from growls to cleans, arpeggios to blasting riffs, all within short spans of time. Similarly, “Descent” plays off-tune riffs one moment and a sudden melodic lead the next before erupting into death metal with some impressive technical fretwork. I don’t mean to make this sound like a random jumble of song parts. Harbinger still has enough structure for it to contain well-defined tracks. Riffs from the beginning of a tune return at the end (“Ascent,” “Silent Symmetry”) and catchier passages, such as the chorus of “Tempest,” repeat throughout the course of each song. The unpredictable nature of the music keeps you on your toes and provides new surprises with each spin.

As much as there is to enjoy, there’s plenty on Harbinger that makes it a confounding listen. The angular, sometimes atonal, music is certainly off-putting and proves an obstacle to appreciating Dyed in Grey’s strengths. The vocal performances, particularly the cleans, also leave something to be desired.1 The cleans have a gruffer, grungier resonance that fits what Dyed in Grey is going for, but the vocalist struggles with his pitch at times. Despite the strong production values, another issue is that the death metal riffs sound flat and lack the muscular punch needed to truly make these portions pop. The growls, however, deliver enough power to offset this shortcoming. The rougher elements of the band’s sound fit in with their rugged character, yet there’s a fine line in the atonal approach between enjoyable and cringe-worthy music, and fortunately, Dyed in Grey fall on the enjoyable side more often than not.

What started off for me on initial spins as disappointing has since turned into something more interesting, rewarding, and even catchy with repeat and closer listens. Dyed in Grey don’t quite stand with the bands listed in my opening paragraph, but for fans of prog death, Harbinger is a worthy exploration. It also represents a growth in Edgemont’s songwriting. This proves to be a pretty cool amalgamation of styles that doesn’t play it safe yet feels assured in its performances and compositions.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

For progressive death metal acts, the shadow of the masters, Opeth, looms large. Yet some recent progressive death acts, like Iotunn, Tómarúm, and Dvne, have carved their own paths in the genre. When Dyed in Grey released their debut, The Abandoned Part, in 2013, Opeth was charting a course into pure prog sans death metal. I only mention Opeth because Dyed in Grey’s brand of prog death sees clear influences in the titans of the genre, though with a more technical, improvisational imprint. Harbinger marks only their third full-length album in thirteen years. These years have seen inconsistency in the lineup, with 2018’s Anguish and Ardor losing the vocalist and going full instrumental. Now with a new vocalist, Harbinger sees a return to Dyed in Grey’s roots with a more honed vision from founder Adam Edgemont.

Unlike Soen’s cleaner approach to prog, Dyed in Grey is much rawer and rougher around the edges, utilizing plenty of off-key notes. There’s a greater sense of urgency and authenticity in this approach, and songs are carefully crafted to sound improvisational rather than intentional and overly polished. At times, Dyed in Grey plays it light and breezy, such as on the intro track “Sunbird” and the first few minutes of “Ascent,” where you could almost mistake them for a happy-go-lucky Weezer. At other times, they play a rough and tumble of ’90s grunge, with “Silent Symmetry” taking on an Alice in Chains-esque gruffness. Yet behind each arpeggio and light strum lurks an Opethian turn, which can rear its head suddenly with an eruption of heavy guitars and monstrous death growls. These turns prove an effectively cathartic release of emotion; “Mirrored Ruins” in particular takes a brilliant turn with some of the coolest riffs on Harbinger. While Opeth is a clear influence, Dyed in Grey take a novel enough approach to avoid being a mere clone.

Descent by Dyed In Grey

Dyed in Grey cite jazz as one of their musical styles, and this is most apparent in the improvisational turns that songs take. Unlike Opeth’s more developed passages of death metal or prog, Dyed in Grey can flip on a dime. “Static Tides” best demonstrates this as it transitions from growls to cleans, arpeggios to blasting riffs, all within short spans of time. Similarly, “Descent” plays off-tune riffs one moment and a sudden melodic lead the next before erupting into death metal with some impressive technical fretwork. I don’t mean to make this sound like a random jumble of song parts. Harbinger still has enough structure for it to contain well-defined tracks. Riffs from the beginning of a tune return at the end (“Ascent,” “Silent Symmetry”) and catchier passages, such as the chorus of “Tempest,” repeat throughout the course of each song. The unpredictable nature of the music keeps you on your toes and provides new surprises with each spin.

As much as there is to enjoy, there’s plenty on Harbinger that makes it a confounding listen. The angular, sometimes atonal, music is certainly off-putting and proves an obstacle to appreciating Dyed in Grey’s strengths. The vocal performances, particularly the cleans, also leave something to be desired.1 The cleans have a gruffer, grungier resonance that fits what Dyed in Grey is going for, but the vocalist struggles with his pitch at times. Despite the strong production values, another issue is that the death metal riffs sound flat and lack the muscular punch needed to truly make these portions pop. The growls, however, deliver enough power to offset this shortcoming. The rougher elements of the band’s sound fit in with their rugged character, yet there’s a fine line in the atonal approach between enjoyable and cringe-worthy music, and fortunately, Dyed in Grey fall on the enjoyable side more often than not.

What started off for me on initial spins as disappointing has since turned into something more interesting, rewarding, and even catchy with repeat and closer listens. Dyed in Grey don’t quite stand with the bands listed in my opening paragraph, but for fans of prog death, Harbinger is a worthy exploration. It also represents a growth in Edgemont’s songwriting. This proves to be a pretty cool amalgamation of styles that doesn’t play it safe yet feels assured in its performances and compositions.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

For progressive death metal acts, the shadow of the masters, Opeth, looms large. Yet some recent progressive death acts, like Iotunn, Tómarúm, and Dvne, have carved their own paths in the genre. When Dyed in Grey released their debut, The Abandoned Part, in 2013, Opeth was charting a course into pure prog sans death metal. I only mention Opeth because Dyed in Grey’s brand of prog death sees clear influences in the titans of the genre, though with a more technical, improvisational imprint. Harbinger marks only their third full-length album in thirteen years. These years have seen inconsistency in the lineup, with 2018’s Anguish and Ardor losing the vocalist and going full instrumental. Now with a new vocalist, Harbinger sees a return to Dyed in Grey’s roots with a more honed vision from founder Adam Edgemont.

Unlike Soen’s cleaner approach to prog, Dyed in Grey is much rawer and rougher around the edges, utilizing plenty of off-key notes. There’s a greater sense of urgency and authenticity in this approach, and songs are carefully crafted to sound improvisational rather than intentional and overly polished. At times, Dyed in Grey plays it light and breezy, such as on the intro track “Sunbird” and the first few minutes of “Ascent,” where you could almost mistake them for a happy-go-lucky Weezer. At other times, they play a rough and tumble of ’90s grunge, with “Silent Symmetry” taking on an Alice in Chains-esque gruffness. Yet behind each arpeggio and light strum lurks an Opethian turn, which can rear its head suddenly with an eruption of heavy guitars and monstrous death growls. These turns prove an effectively cathartic release of emotion; “Mirrored Ruins” in particular takes a brilliant turn with some of the coolest riffs on Harbinger. While Opeth is a clear influence, Dyed in Grey take a novel enough approach to avoid being a mere clone.

Descent by Dyed In Grey

Dyed in Grey cite jazz as one of their musical styles, and this is most apparent in the improvisational turns that songs take. Unlike Opeth’s more developed passages of death metal or prog, Dyed in Grey can flip on a dime. “Static Tides” best demonstrates this as it transitions from growls to cleans, arpeggios to blasting riffs, all within short spans of time. Similarly, “Descent” plays off-tune riffs one moment and a sudden melodic lead the next before erupting into death metal with some impressive technical fretwork. I don’t mean to make this sound like a random jumble of song parts. Harbinger still has enough structure for it to contain well-defined tracks. Riffs from the beginning of a tune return at the end (“Ascent,” “Silent Symmetry”) and catchier passages, such as the chorus of “Tempest,” repeat throughout the course of each song. The unpredictable nature of the music keeps you on your toes and provides new surprises with each spin.

As much as there is to enjoy, there’s plenty on Harbinger that makes it a confounding listen. The angular, sometimes atonal, music is certainly off-putting and proves an obstacle to appreciating Dyed in Grey’s strengths. The vocal performances, particularly the cleans, also leave something to be desired.1 The cleans have a gruffer, grungier resonance that fits what Dyed in Grey is going for, but the vocalist struggles with his pitch at times. Despite the strong production values, another issue is that the death metal riffs sound flat and lack the muscular punch needed to truly make these portions pop. The growls, however, deliver enough power to offset this shortcoming. The rougher elements of the band’s sound fit in with their rugged character, yet there’s a fine line in the atonal approach between enjoyable and cringe-worthy music, and fortunately, Dyed in Grey fall on the enjoyable side more often than not.

What started off for me on initial spins as disappointing has since turned into something more interesting, rewarding, and even catchy with repeat and closer listens. Dyed in Grey don’t quite stand with the bands listed in my opening paragraph, but for fans of prog death, Harbinger is a worthy exploration. It also represents a growth in Edgemont’s songwriting. This proves to be a pretty cool amalgamation of styles that doesn’t play it safe yet feels assured in its performances and compositions.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

For progressive death metal acts, the shadow of the masters, Opeth, looms large. Yet some recent progressive death acts, like Iotunn, Tómarúm, and Dvne, have carved their own paths in the genre. When Dyed in Grey released their debut, The Abandoned Part, in 2013, Opeth was charting a course into pure prog sans death metal. I only mention Opeth because Dyed in Grey’s brand of prog death sees clear influences in the titans of the genre, though with a more technical, improvisational imprint. Harbinger marks only their third full-length album in thirteen years. These years have seen inconsistency in the lineup, with 2018’s Anguish and Ardor losing the vocalist and going full instrumental. Now with a new vocalist, Harbinger sees a return to Dyed in Grey’s roots with a more honed vision from founder Adam Edgemont.

Unlike Soen’s cleaner approach to prog, Dyed in Grey is much rawer and rougher around the edges, utilizing plenty of off-key notes. There’s a greater sense of urgency and authenticity in this approach, and songs are carefully crafted to sound improvisational rather than intentional and overly polished. At times, Dyed in Grey plays it light and breezy, such as on the intro track “Sunbird” and the first few minutes of “Ascent,” where you could almost mistake them for a happy-go-lucky Weezer. At other times, they play a rough and tumble of ’90s grunge, with “Silent Symmetry” taking on an Alice in Chains-esque gruffness. Yet behind each arpeggio and light strum lurks an Opethian turn, which can rear its head suddenly with an eruption of heavy guitars and monstrous death growls. These turns prove an effectively cathartic release of emotion; “Mirrored Ruins” in particular takes a brilliant turn with some of the coolest riffs on Harbinger. While Opeth is a clear influence, Dyed in Grey take a novel enough approach to avoid being a mere clone.

Descent by Dyed In Grey

Dyed in Grey cite jazz as one of their musical styles, and this is most apparent in the improvisational turns that songs take. Unlike Opeth’s more developed passages of death metal or prog, Dyed in Grey can flip on a dime. “Static Tides” best demonstrates this as it transitions from growls to cleans, arpeggios to blasting riffs, all within short spans of time. Similarly, “Descent” plays off-tune riffs one moment and a sudden melodic lead the next before erupting into death metal with some impressive technical fretwork. I don’t mean to make this sound like a random jumble of song parts. Harbinger still has enough structure for it to contain well-defined tracks. Riffs from the beginning of a tune return at the end (“Ascent,” “Silent Symmetry”) and catchier passages, such as the chorus of “Tempest,” repeat throughout the course of each song. The unpredictable nature of the music keeps you on your toes and provides new surprises with each spin.

As much as there is to enjoy, there’s plenty on Harbinger that makes it a confounding listen. The angular, sometimes atonal, music is certainly off-putting and proves an obstacle to appreciating Dyed in Grey’s strengths. The vocal performances, particularly the cleans, also leave something to be desired.1 The cleans have a gruffer, grungier resonance that fits what Dyed in Grey is going for, but the vocalist struggles with his pitch at times. Despite the strong production values, another issue is that the death metal riffs sound flat and lack the muscular punch needed to truly make these portions pop. The growls, however, deliver enough power to offset this shortcoming. The rougher elements of the band’s sound fit in with their rugged character, yet there’s a fine line in the atonal approach between enjoyable and cringe-worthy music, and fortunately, Dyed in Grey fall on the enjoyable side more often than not.

What started off for me on initial spins as disappointing has since turned into something more interesting, rewarding, and even catchy with repeat and closer listens. Dyed in Grey don’t quite stand with the bands listed in my opening paragraph, but for fans of prog death, Harbinger is a worthy exploration. It also represents a growth in Edgemont’s songwriting. This proves to be a pretty cool amalgamation of styles that doesn’t play it safe yet feels assured in its performances and compositions.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

For progressive death metal acts, the shadow of the masters, Opeth, looms large. Yet some recent progressive death acts, like Iotunn, Tómarúm, and Dvne, have carved their own paths in the genre. When Dyed in Grey released their debut, The Abandoned Part, in 2013, Opeth was charting a course into pure prog sans death metal. I only mention Opeth because Dyed in Grey’s brand of prog death sees clear influences in the titans of the genre, though with a more technical, improvisational imprint. Harbinger marks only their third full-length album in thirteen years. These years have seen inconsistency in the lineup, with 2018’s Anguish and Ardor losing the vocalist and going full instrumental. Now with a new vocalist, Harbinger sees a return to Dyed in Grey’s roots with a more honed vision from founder Adam Edgemont.

Unlike Soen’s cleaner approach to prog, Dyed in Grey is much rawer and rougher around the edges, utilizing plenty of off-key notes. There’s a greater sense of urgency and authenticity in this approach, and songs are carefully crafted to sound improvisational rather than intentional and overly polished. At times, Dyed in Grey plays it light and breezy, such as on the intro track “Sunbird” and the first few minutes of “Ascent,” where you could almost mistake them for a happy-go-lucky Weezer. At other times, they play a rough and tumble of ’90s grunge, with “Silent Symmetry” taking on an Alice in Chains-esque gruffness. Yet behind each arpeggio and light strum lurks an Opethian turn, which can rear its head suddenly with an eruption of heavy guitars and monstrous death growls. These turns prove an effectively cathartic release of emotion; “Mirrored Ruins” in particular takes a brilliant turn with some of the coolest riffs on Harbinger. While Opeth is a clear influence, Dyed in Grey take a novel enough approach to avoid being a mere clone.

Descent by Dyed In Grey

Dyed in Grey cite jazz as one of their musical styles, and this is most apparent in the improvisational turns that songs take. Unlike Opeth’s more developed passages of death metal or prog, Dyed in Grey can flip on a dime. “Static Tides” best demonstrates this as it transitions from growls to cleans, arpeggios to blasting riffs, all within short spans of time. Similarly, “Descent” plays off-tune riffs one moment and a sudden melodic lead the next before erupting into death metal with some impressive technical fretwork. I don’t mean to make this sound like a random jumble of song parts. Harbinger still has enough structure for it to contain well-defined tracks. Riffs from the beginning of a tune return at the end (“Ascent,” “Silent Symmetry”) and catchier passages, such as the chorus of “Tempest,” repeat throughout the course of each song. The unpredictable nature of the music keeps you on your toes and provides new surprises with each spin.

As much as there is to enjoy, there’s plenty on Harbinger that makes it a confounding listen. The angular, sometimes atonal, music is certainly off-putting and proves an obstacle to appreciating Dyed in Grey’s strengths. The vocal performances, particularly the cleans, also leave something to be desired.1 The cleans have a gruffer, grungier resonance that fits what Dyed in Grey is going for, but the vocalist struggles with his pitch at times. Despite the strong production values, another issue is that the death metal riffs sound flat and lack the muscular punch needed to truly make these portions pop. The growls, however, deliver enough power to offset this shortcoming. The rougher elements of the band’s sound fit in with their rugged character, yet there’s a fine line in the atonal approach between enjoyable and cringe-worthy music, and fortunately, Dyed in Grey fall on the enjoyable side more often than not.

What started off for me on initial spins as disappointing has since turned into something more interesting, rewarding, and even catchy with repeat and closer listens. Dyed in Grey don’t quite stand with the bands listed in my opening paragraph, but for fans of prog death, Harbinger is a worthy exploration. It also represents a growth in Edgemont’s songwriting. This proves to be a pretty cool amalgamation of styles that doesn’t play it safe yet feels assured in its performances and compositions.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

Opeth anuncia concierto en Movistar Arena | vía #iRock

https://www.irock.cl/opeth-anuncia-concierto-en-movistar-arena/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=opeth-anuncia-concierto-en-movistar-arena

#conciertos #internacional #metal #movistararena #opeth #progjazz #thefanlab

Opeth anuncia concierto en Movistar Arena | vía #iRock

https://www.irock.cl/opeth-anuncia-concierto-en-movistar-arena/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=opeth-anuncia-concierto-en-movistar-arena

#conciertos #internacional #metal #movistararena #opeth #progjazz #thefanlab

At their very best, the Sweden-by-way-of-globetrotting Soen has produced music ranging from forlorn and mystical to organ-blaring and heart-wrenching. While we often talk about progressive music in terms of its tendency for extravagance and meticulous detail, we skip that many of these artists iterate around ideas that lean insular and lacking broad appeal. By its many definitions, this recontextualizing of rock music has sought to express even more directly the hopes of its creators at whatever cost. But in that pool, bands like Soen have attempted both to attack with this personal expression, in the frenetic footwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) and the lilting mic mastery of Joel Ekelöf, and lay barbed chorus with these same tools. However, the course of the progressive artist, no matter how light on genre checklist it may be, is one that belongs only to the artist.

Genre definition, of course, doesn’t matter in the face of potent music. On this iterative path toward simplicity—one carved first in large part by Lykaia’s jagged riffage over lockstep rhythm converging with Ekelöf’s growth as the focal point of all crescendos—Soen’s trajectory of snappy runtime, stadium-sized concoctions eschews definitive purity for incessant melody. Enlisting Tony Lindgren again on the board, Reliance mirrors the heavier guitar crunch from Memorial and cements itself with a dual-tone personality—one chunky, modern, a-djent-cent thump (“Discordia” in particular) and another bright, stadium harmonizing wail (“Mercenary,” “Axis,” “Unbound”). In both, Reliance wields immediacy and an ability to frame Ekelöf’s ascending runs in a package trimmed of distracting adornments. This does mean, unfortunately, that returning bassist Stefan Stenberg (last featured on Lotus) finds his spot in the roster less as a Tool-leaning jammer and more of a felt guitar-backing pulse.

Absent a warbling 4-stringer1, its svelte existence, Reliance lands self-similar at its heaviest moments, rendering these intensity climbs rather flat. To the seasoned Soen enjoyer, an air of familiarity surrounds the crawling bounce of “Mercenary” (or “Primal” or “Axis” or “Unbound” or “Draconian”).2 With Ekelöf falling in greater rhythm with the kick-riff patterns that adorn Soen’s compositions, Reliance slides from start to finish with an unsettling ease, these familiar flickers creating a near sense of déjà vu. From the intro whammy dive that explodes against alternate-picked strut to the delicate and multi-tracked vocal harmony that closes “Draconian,” a collage of fist-pumping anthems and lighter-waving crooners flood and fade and only threaten to tether to memory in their low differentiation presentation. Closer “Vellichor,” in that sense, feels awkward in its throwback to a more progressive attack, despite its Floydian guitar weeping and sonorous background accompaniment. Yet its ability to stand out in this presentation, along with other slower tracks like the arena-booming “Huntress” or the ode to angsty heartbreak “Indifferent,” gives Reliance a fighting chance for replayability.

Soen presenting unmistakably as Soen, however, allows Reliance to take chances on lower density arrangements with highlight details that will reward those who do latch on to its vision. Ekelöf himself sits central to many of these diversifying blips, with seconds-long tricks like letting out the gruffest ough in Soen history (“Primal”), pulling higher grit power punches with subtle underlying harmonies (“Discordia”), and finding a goofy smirk in an extra poppy pitch-shifted vocal doubling (“Drifter”). All of these techniques, to those old and new in Soen fandom, spell the potential for differentiation and attachment in a playing field that may appear uniform at first. And, of course, Soen continues to lean on the blaring talents of lead guitarist Cody Ford, whose varied bluesy aplomb never fails to tickle the “classic big solo” part of my listening brain.

Reliance continues to try to paint Soen as a gritty rock band with enough heart and lush detail to carve a unique spot in the popular realm. Soen’s energy still remains in this pursuit, even if the peak tracks of this outing don’t swing as hard as I’d hoped. This sort of comfort, though, keeps Reliance from ever firing a dud, which is an accomplishment now seven albums in. And with warmer and more expressive production than a major act like Alter Bridge3, and with more energy than a related act like Katatonia, Soen exists in a middle-ground identity primed for being a bridge to a wide rock-loving audience, even if Reliance leaves me just to the side nodding in appreciation and curiosity to see who crosses over.



Rating: Good.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Silver Lining Music
Websites: soenmusic.com | facebook.com/soenmusic
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2026

At their very best, the Sweden-by-way-of-globetrotting Soen has produced music ranging from forlorn and mystical to organ-blaring and heart-wrenching. While we often talk about progressive music in terms of its tendency for extravagance and meticulous detail, we skip that many of these artists iterate around ideas that lean insular and lacking broad appeal. By its many definitions, this recontextualizing of rock music has sought to express even more directly the hopes of its creators at whatever cost. But in that pool, bands like Soen have attempted both to attack with this personal expression, in the frenetic footwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) and the lilting mic mastery of Joel Ekelöf, and lay barbed chorus with these same tools. However, the course of the progressive artist, no matter how light on genre checklist it may be, is one that belongs only to the artist.

Genre definition, of course, doesn’t matter in the face of potent music. On this iterative path toward simplicity—one carved first in large part by Lykaia’s jagged riffage over lockstep rhythm converging with Ekelöf’s growth as the focal point of all crescendos—Soen’s trajectory of snappy runtime, stadium-sized concoctions eschews definitive purity for incessant melody. Enlisting Tony Lindgren again on the board, Reliance mirrors the heavier guitar crunch from Memorial and cements itself with a dual-tone personality—one chunky, modern, a-djent-cent thump (“Discordia” in particular) and another bright, stadium harmonizing wail (“Mercenary,” “Axis,” “Unbound”). In both, Reliance wields immediacy and an ability to frame Ekelöf’s ascending runs in a package trimmed of distracting adornments. This does mean, unfortunately, that returning bassist Stefan Stenberg (last featured on Lotus) finds his spot in the roster less as a Tool-leaning jammer and more of a felt guitar-backing pulse.

Absent a warbling 4-stringer1, its svelte existence, Reliance lands self-similar at its heaviest moments, rendering these intensity climbs rather flat. To the seasoned Soen enjoyer, an air of familiarity surrounds the crawling bounce of “Mercenary” (or “Primal” or “Axis” or “Unbound” or “Draconian”).2 With Ekelöf falling in greater rhythm with the kick-riff patterns that adorn Soen’s compositions, Reliance slides from start to finish with an unsettling ease, these familiar flickers creating a near sense of déjà vu. From the intro whammy dive that explodes against alternate-picked strut to the delicate and multi-tracked vocal harmony that closes “Draconian,” a collage of fist-pumping anthems and lighter-waving crooners flood and fade and only threaten to tether to memory in their low differentiation presentation. Closer “Vellichor,” in that sense, feels awkward in its throwback to a more progressive attack, despite its Floydian guitar weeping and sonorous background accompaniment. Yet its ability to stand out in this presentation, along with other slower tracks like the arena-booming “Huntress” or the ode to angsty heartbreak “Indifferent,” gives Reliance a fighting chance for replayability.

Soen presenting unmistakably as Soen, however, allows Reliance to take chances on lower density arrangements with highlight details that will reward those who do latch on to its vision. Ekelöf himself sits central to many of these diversifying blips, with seconds-long tricks like letting out the gruffest ough in Soen history (“Primal”), pulling higher grit power punches with subtle underlying harmonies (“Discordia”), and finding a goofy smirk in an extra poppy pitch-shifted vocal doubling (“Drifter”). All of these techniques, to those old and new in Soen fandom, spell the potential for differentiation and attachment in a playing field that may appear uniform at first. And, of course, Soen continues to lean on the blaring talents of lead guitarist Cody Ford, whose varied bluesy aplomb never fails to tickle the “classic big solo” part of my listening brain.

Reliance continues to try to paint Soen as a gritty rock band with enough heart and lush detail to carve a unique spot in the popular realm. Soen’s energy still remains in this pursuit, even if the peak tracks of this outing don’t swing as hard as I’d hoped. This sort of comfort, though, keeps Reliance from ever firing a dud, which is an accomplishment now seven albums in. And with warmer and more expressive production than a major act like Alter Bridge3, and with more energy than a related act like Katatonia, Soen exists in a middle-ground identity primed for being a bridge to a wide rock-loving audience, even if Reliance leaves me just to the side nodding in appreciation and curiosity to see who crosses over.



Rating: Good.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Silver Lining Music
Websites: soenmusic.com | facebook.com/soenmusic
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2026

At their very best, the Sweden-by-way-of-globetrotting Soen has produced music ranging from forlorn and mystical to organ-blaring and heart-wrenching. While we often talk about progressive music in terms of its tendency for extravagance and meticulous detail, we skip that many of these artists iterate around ideas that lean insular and lacking broad appeal. By its many definitions, this recontextualizing of rock music has sought to express even more directly the hopes of its creators at whatever cost. But in that pool, bands like Soen have attempted both to attack with this personal expression, in the frenetic footwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) and the lilting mic mastery of Joel Ekelöf, and lay barbed chorus with these same tools. However, the course of the progressive artist, no matter how light on genre checklist it may be, is one that belongs only to the artist.

Genre definition, of course, doesn’t matter in the face of potent music. On this iterative path toward simplicity—one carved first in large part by Lykaia’s jagged riffage over lockstep rhythm converging with Ekelöf’s growth as the focal point of all crescendos—Soen’s trajectory of snappy runtime, stadium-sized concoctions eschews definitive purity for incessant melody. Enlisting Tony Lindgren again on the board, Reliance mirrors the heavier guitar crunch from Memorial and cements itself with a dual-tone personality—one chunky, modern, a-djent-cent thump (“Discordia” in particular) and another bright, stadium harmonizing wail (“Mercenary,” “Axis,” “Unbound”). In both, Reliance wields immediacy and an ability to frame Ekelöf’s ascending runs in a package trimmed of distracting adornments. This does mean, unfortunately, that returning bassist Stefan Stenberg (last featured on Lotus) finds his spot in the roster less as a Tool-leaning jammer and more of a felt guitar-backing pulse.

Absent a warbling 4-stringer1, its svelte existence, Reliance lands self-similar at its heaviest moments, rendering these intensity climbs rather flat. To the seasoned Soen enjoyer, an air of familiarity surrounds the crawling bounce of “Mercenary” (or “Primal” or “Axis” or “Unbound” or “Draconian”).2 With Ekelöf falling in greater rhythm with the kick-riff patterns that adorn Soen’s compositions, Reliance slides from start to finish with an unsettling ease, these familiar flickers creating a near sense of déjà vu. From the intro whammy dive that explodes against alternate-picked strut to the delicate and multi-tracked vocal harmony that closes “Draconian,” a collage of fist-pumping anthems and lighter-waving crooners flood and fade and only threaten to tether to memory in their low differentiation presentation. Closer “Vellichor,” in that sense, feels awkward in its throwback to a more progressive attack, despite its Floydian guitar weeping and sonorous background accompaniment. Yet its ability to stand out in this presentation, along with other slower tracks like the arena-booming “Huntress” or the ode to angsty heartbreak “Indifferent,” gives Reliance a fighting chance for replayability.

Soen presenting unmistakably as Soen, however, allows Reliance to take chances on lower density arrangements with highlight details that will reward those who do latch on to its vision. Ekelöf himself sits central to many of these diversifying blips, with seconds-long tricks like letting out the gruffest ough in Soen history (“Primal”), pulling higher grit power punches with subtle underlying harmonies (“Discordia”), and finding a goofy smirk in an extra poppy pitch-shifted vocal doubling (“Drifter”). All of these techniques, to those old and new in Soen fandom, spell the potential for differentiation and attachment in a playing field that may appear uniform at first. And, of course, Soen continues to lean on the blaring talents of lead guitarist Cody Ford, whose varied bluesy aplomb never fails to tickle the “classic big solo” part of my listening brain.

Reliance continues to try to paint Soen as a gritty rock band with enough heart and lush detail to carve a unique spot in the popular realm. Soen’s energy still remains in this pursuit, even if the peak tracks of this outing don’t swing as hard as I’d hoped. This sort of comfort, though, keeps Reliance from ever firing a dud, which is an accomplishment now seven albums in. And with warmer and more expressive production than a major act like Alter Bridge3, and with more energy than a related act like Katatonia, Soen exists in a middle-ground identity primed for being a bridge to a wide rock-loving audience, even if Reliance leaves me just to the side nodding in appreciation and curiosity to see who crosses over.



Rating: Good.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Silver Lining Music
Websites: soenmusic.com | facebook.com/soenmusic
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2026

At their very best, the Sweden-by-way-of-globetrotting Soen has produced music ranging from forlorn and mystical to organ-blaring and heart-wrenching. While we often talk about progressive music in terms of its tendency for extravagance and meticulous detail, we skip that many of these artists iterate around ideas that lean insular and lacking broad appeal. By its many definitions, this recontextualizing of rock music has sought to express even more directly the hopes of its creators at whatever cost. But in that pool, bands like Soen have attempted both to attack with this personal expression, in the frenetic footwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) and the lilting mic mastery of Joel Ekelöf, and lay barbed chorus with these same tools. However, the course of the progressive artist, no matter how light on genre checklist it may be, is one that belongs only to the artist.

Genre definition, of course, doesn’t matter in the face of potent music. On this iterative path toward simplicity—one carved first in large part by Lykaia’s jagged riffage over lockstep rhythm converging with Ekelöf’s growth as the focal point of all crescendos—Soen’s trajectory of snappy runtime, stadium-sized concoctions eschews definitive purity for incessant melody. Enlisting Tony Lindgren again on the board, Reliance mirrors the heavier guitar crunch from Memorial and cements itself with a dual-tone personality—one chunky, modern, a-djent-cent thump (“Discordia” in particular) and another bright, stadium harmonizing wail (“Mercenary,” “Axis,” “Unbound”). In both, Reliance wields immediacy and an ability to frame Ekelöf’s ascending runs in a package trimmed of distracting adornments. This does mean, unfortunately, that returning bassist Stefan Stenberg (last featured on Lotus) finds his spot in the roster less as a Tool-leaning jammer and more of a felt guitar-backing pulse.

Absent a warbling 4-stringer1, its svelte existence, Reliance lands self-similar at its heaviest moments, rendering these intensity climbs rather flat. To the seasoned Soen enjoyer, an air of familiarity surrounds the crawling bounce of “Mercenary” (or “Primal” or “Axis” or “Unbound” or “Draconian”).2 With Ekelöf falling in greater rhythm with the kick-riff patterns that adorn Soen’s compositions, Reliance slides from start to finish with an unsettling ease, these familiar flickers creating a near sense of déjà vu. From the intro whammy dive that explodes against alternate-picked strut to the delicate and multi-tracked vocal harmony that closes “Draconian,” a collage of fist-pumping anthems and lighter-waving crooners flood and fade and only threaten to tether to memory in their low differentiation presentation. Closer “Vellichor,” in that sense, feels awkward in its throwback to a more progressive attack, despite its Floydian guitar weeping and sonorous background accompaniment. Yet its ability to stand out in this presentation, along with other slower tracks like the arena-booming “Huntress” or the ode to angsty heartbreak “Indifferent,” gives Reliance a fighting chance for replayability.

Soen presenting unmistakably as Soen, however, allows Reliance to take chances on lower density arrangements with highlight details that will reward those who do latch on to its vision. Ekelöf himself sits central to many of these diversifying blips, with seconds-long tricks like letting out the gruffest ough in Soen history (“Primal”), pulling higher grit power punches with subtle underlying harmonies (“Discordia”), and finding a goofy smirk in an extra poppy pitch-shifted vocal doubling (“Drifter”). All of these techniques, to those old and new in Soen fandom, spell the potential for differentiation and attachment in a playing field that may appear uniform at first. And, of course, Soen continues to lean on the blaring talents of lead guitarist Cody Ford, whose varied bluesy aplomb never fails to tickle the “classic big solo” part of my listening brain.

Reliance continues to try to paint Soen as a gritty rock band with enough heart and lush detail to carve a unique spot in the popular realm. Soen’s energy still remains in this pursuit, even if the peak tracks of this outing don’t swing as hard as I’d hoped. This sort of comfort, though, keeps Reliance from ever firing a dud, which is an accomplishment now seven albums in. And with warmer and more expressive production than a major act like Alter Bridge3, and with more energy than a related act like Katatonia, Soen exists in a middle-ground identity primed for being a bridge to a wide rock-loving audience, even if Reliance leaves me just to the side nodding in appreciation and curiosity to see who crosses over.



Rating: Good.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Silver Lining Music
Websites: soenmusic.com | facebook.com/soenmusic
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2026

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: 10,000 Posts

By Angry Metal Guy

There’s almost no good way to mark these anniversaries without getting a little self-referential, maybe a little maudlin… or without tooting your own horn until you’re red in the face and everyone’s embarrassed. Still, it has come to my attention that this is the 10,000th post of AngryMetalGuy.com. Actually, as of this writing, the number of posts in the entire system is supremely metal 10,666. Also, we have something like 600 drafts that never saw the light of day and 49 pending posts that have never been published.1 To say that we’ve been productive carries with it a drunk Bilbo Bagginsesque tone of bemusement.

“My, we have been productive.”

During the 16ish years of unbound fecundity that it took for us to reach this dubious landmark, many a writer or would-be writer (over 60, at this point) has spilled internet ink within these unhallowed halls. We have extolled the virtues and excoriated the shortcomings of wonderful records and forgettable platters. We’ve opined, and raged, and littered the page with so many puns and dad jokes that you’d think this website was the patriarch of a family of 10. The total result of this hard work has resulted in been 8,032,385 words that have been written.2 Divide that by 10,000, and that’s an average of about 803 words per post—53 more than our max review length.3 The Year of Our Angry Overlord, 2019, was our most productive year ever. It saw us jam through 983 posts—a mind-numbing number if you think about it for long enough. Our longest average posts to date were last year, in 2024, where our average post had 955 words. I can’t even imagine how that’s possible, but there you go.4

And what are the core bits of writing that really drive readership? Well, here’s where the horn tootin’ comes in. Of our Top 20(ish) posts, 10 are Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) Record(s) o’ the Year lists (with 2015 taking the cake for the most read post of all time). Three more of those are other lists: songs 50-41 of my Top 50 Heavy Metal Songs list; 10-1 of that same list; and my Top 15(ish) of the 2000s. The most viewed non-list was Steel Druhm‘s April Fool’s post from last year about Ripper Owens leaving KK’s Priest for BB’s Maiden. And then there’s the reviews. El Cuervo‘s review of Opeth The Last Will and Testament,5 my review of In Flames’ Foregone, Druhm‘s review of Megadeth’s The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, both Veil of Imagination and Epigone (landing very close to each other in terms of views and written by El Cuervo and myself), Batushka’s Litourgiya (TYMHM from 2015, penned by our dear [not actually] deceased Roquentin), and my review of Opeth’s Pale Communion round out the Top 20 posts.6

And even after all this time, we are still changing the world and keeping up with the times by spreading disinformation about incorrigible self-Googler Ripper Owens. That Ripper Owens post that was posted on April 1st, 2024, has moved from parody into objective fact, as it has been picked up by Google’s AI as the answer to the question: “Is Ripper Owens still in KK’s Priest?” The answer? “No, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens is not currently with KK’s Priest. He left the band in early 2024 to pursue a new project with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley.” A round of applause for both Druhm and the superiority and inevitability of AI!7

What do I take away from this list? Well, aside from pride at what I—nay, we—have wrought, it pays to review big bands’ records if you want a lot of views. I know that’s tough to imagine, but there we are. Better, however, than the super obvious thing is that I’m particularly proud of how we helped to spread the word about Wilderun and Batushka. But this list also brings with it some melancholy and nostalgia. Seeing Druhm and me as the only active writers on this list is a bit of a bummer. But as time moves on, we’ll make new memories with new exploited writers who will pen review after review without compensation, only to watch us feast ourselves even fatter on the spoils of our seniority.

And the raft of contributors who have come and gone deserve recognition. In the end, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to making Angry Metal Guy what it has become over the years—from the Potatoes Jim of the world to the Steels Druhm.8 Without you, this would never have happened. I appreciate the blood, sweat, and/or tears that you have put into carrying my boulder up that hill every day. And so even though your names aren’t at the top of this list, know that I tolerate each one of you with the same cold-hearted disinterest that I always have. Your service has been noted.

As for you readers? Without you, it would’ve taken a lot of refreshing my browser and switching between VPNs to get enough daily readers, so as to result in a desire to keep pushing on until we hit 10,000 posts. So, thank you for your loyalty over the years. We love (most) of your comments. We enjoy (most) of your opinions. And we are (entirely) happy that you spend your hard-earned money on the bands we love, and thank you for your trust. You reading, listening, and supporting the scene means we’re all making the world a better place one overwritten review or blog post at a time.

#2025 #AngryMetalGuySpeaks #Batushka #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Disillusion #InFlames #Landmarks #Megadeth #Opeth #Wilderun

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: 10,000 Posts

By Angry Metal Guy

There’s almost no good way to mark these anniversaries without getting a little self-referential, maybe a little maudlin… or without tooting your own horn until you’re red in the face and everyone’s embarrassed. Still, it has come to my attention that this is the 10,000th post of AngryMetalGuy.com. Actually, as of this writing, the number of posts in the entire system is supremely metal 10,666. Also, we have something like 600 drafts that never saw the light of day and 49 pending posts that have never been published.1 To say that we’ve been productive carries with it a drunk Bilbo Bagginsesque tone of bemusement.

“My, we have been productive.”

During the 16ish years of unbound fecundity that it took for us to reach this dubious landmark, many a writer or would-be writer (over 60, at this point) has spilled internet ink within these unhallowed halls. We have extolled the virtues and excoriated the shortcomings of wonderful records and forgettable platters. We’ve opined, and raged, and littered the page with so many puns and dad jokes that you’d think this website was the patriarch of a family of 10. The total result of this hard work has resulted in been 8,032,385 words that have been written.2 Divide that by 10,000, and that’s an average of about 803 words per post—53 more than our max review length.3 The Year of Our Angry Overlord, 2019, was our most productive year ever. It saw us jam through 983 posts—a mind-numbing number if you think about it for long enough. Our longest average posts to date were last year, in 2024, where our average post had 955 words. I can’t even imagine how that’s possible, but there you go.4

And what are the core bits of writing that really drive readership? Well, here’s where the horn tootin’ comes in. Of our Top 20(ish) posts, 10 are Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) Record(s) o’ the Year lists (with 2015 taking the cake for the most read post of all time). Three more of those are other lists: songs 50-41 of my Top 50 Heavy Metal Songs list; 10-1 of that same list; and my Top 15(ish) of the 2000s. The most viewed non-list was Steel Druhm‘s April Fool’s post from last year about Ripper Owens leaving KK’s Priest for BB’s Maiden. And then there’s the reviews. El Cuervo‘s review of Opeth The Last Will and Testament,5 my review of In Flames’ Foregone, Druhm‘s review of Megadeth’s The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, both Veil of Imagination and Epigone (landing very close to each other in terms of views and written by El Cuervo and myself), Batushka’s Litourgiya (TYMHM from 2015, penned by our dear [not actually] deceased Roquentin), and my review of Opeth’s Pale Communion round out the Top 20 posts.6

And even after all this time, we are still changing the world and keeping up with the times by spreading disinformation about incorrigible self-Googler Ripper Owens. That Ripper Owens post that was posted on April 1st, 2024, has moved from parody into objective fact, as it has been picked up by Google’s AI as the answer to the question: “Is Ripper Owens still in KK’s Priest?” The answer? “No, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens is not currently with KK’s Priest. He left the band in early 2024 to pursue a new project with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley.” A round of applause for both Druhm and the superiority and inevitability of AI!7

What do I take away from this list? Well, aside from pride at what I—nay, we—have wrought, it pays to review big bands’ records if you want a lot of views. I know that’s tough to imagine, but there we are. Better, however, than the super obvious thing is that I’m particularly proud of how we helped to spread the word about Wilderun and Batushka. But this list also brings with it some melancholy and nostalgia. Seeing Druhm and me as the only active writers on this list is a bit of a bummer. But as time moves on, we’ll make new memories with new exploited writers who will pen review after review without compensation, only to watch us feast ourselves even fatter on the spoils of our seniority.

And the raft of contributors who have come and gone deserve recognition. In the end, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to making Angry Metal Guy what it has become over the years—from the Potatoes Jim of the world to the Steels Druhm.8 Without you, this would never have happened. I appreciate the blood, sweat, and/or tears that you have put into carrying my boulder up that hill every day. And so even though your names aren’t at the top of this list, know that I tolerate each one of you with the same cold-hearted disinterest that I always have. Your service has been noted.

As for you readers? Without you, it would’ve taken a lot of refreshing my browser and switching between VPNs to get enough daily readers, so as to result in a desire to keep pushing on until we hit 10,000 posts. So, thank you for your loyalty over the years. We love (most) of your comments. We enjoy (most) of your opinions. And we are (entirely) happy that you spend your hard-earned money on the bands we love, and thank you for your trust. You reading, listening, and supporting the scene means we’re all making the world a better place one overwritten review or blog post at a time.

#2025 #AngryMetalGuySpeaks #Batushka #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Disillusion #InFlames #Landmarks #Megadeth #Opeth #Wilderun

Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Angry Metal Guy

Starting 2025 with a bang was always important, and I elected the “being 26 days late with your Record o’ the Year post” as the best possible way to give everyone that patented Angry Metal Guy feeling of waiting and waiting only to be smacked in the face with 5000 words that you disagree with entirely. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Executive Dysfunction! Let’s make a list!1

Fifteen years of Angry Metal Guy and year 15 will be remembered as a genuinely good year for metal. There were several excellent releases I was genuinely excited about and as the year went on, things got even better. For the first time in a while, I felt like I had a glut of options and felt guilty about what was and wasn’t making the list. In terms of total performance, year 15 at AMG stayed roughly on par with 2023. We wrote 691 posts (mostly reviews), which, in terms of raw numbers, dropped to lower than 2023 and was once again the lowest since 2015. We made up for it in girth, however, with the average post sporting a whopping 955 words! This might be a case of the self-fulfilling prophecy biting me in the ass for consistently yelling at everyone for being overwriters at which point they see themselves as overwriters and begin to overwrite. Or, maybe it’s because we had fewer reviews to balance out the longer posts. Regardless, we finished with a “big-boned” 660,024 total words in 2024. We averaged 38,617 views a day, leading us to our second-highest annual readership numbers ever at 14,129,320 total page views; a tick down from last year, but that’s not surprising when we’re writing fewer posts.

The readership of AMG is as global as ever, but the USA, UK, and Canada retained their spots as 1, 2, and 3 on our Top 10(ish) Biggest Readerships. Germans continued to flock here in droves, maintaining their position at number 4 on our list with Australia coming in at healthy 5. I’m a bit surprised at Australia for not taking umbrage at getting beat by the Germans last year, but when you live in constant fear of your absolutely frightening environs, I guess that’s the least of your worries.2 Spots 6-9 are the same as last year with Netherlands, Sweden, France, and Spain. But coming in at number 10 was Finland! Our strategy of lauding Finnish bands is finally paying off. “How” you ask? Well, if I can get to celebrity status in Finland, I intend to go there so I can be awkwardly ignored in social situations by an entirely new population of Scandinavians. I was happy to see Poland sneak up to the coveted “ish” spot on the list, but that means Brazil dropped out of the Top 10(ish) and that sucks.3 We were once again visited a single time by a mysterious robed reader from the Vatican City and I want to extend a warm Angry Metal Guy welcome to the lone citizen of Micronesia who found their way to our sacred halls.

The biggest, coolest thing that happened in 2024 (following one of the shittiest things to happen in 2024) was, of course, helping Kenstrosity deal with the catastrophe that was his life following Hurricane Helene. It was so cool and gratifying to see just how generous and amazing the fans of AMG were and we’ll never forget your generosity. We also added n00bs—welcoming Alekhines Gun, Tyme, and Killjoy as new blood for the Bloodgod (with more coming, we promise)—and saw the return of the illustrious Mark Z. We lost—at least for the time being—Ferox at the end of the year and that sucks for all of us. But losing him to a burgeoning career as a showrunner and movie director seems like the kind of thing that isn’t such a bitter pill to swallow. Personally, alas, 2024 was pretty much the worst year of my life. The reason I equivocate is because every time I think something like that I can only think of Homer Simpson saying: “So far! The worst year of your life so far!” But 2024 was marred by a breakup I did not want and struggles with both my physical health and the obvious consequences thereof. I re-read my Top 10(ish) of 2023 and was amused in that “oh, sweet summer child” kind of way when I read:

On a personal note, this year [2023] 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.

Alas, that ended up being quite a bit more prescient than I could’ve anticipated given that it was the 31st of March when the Behind the Music voiceover guy had to step in: “Then tragedy struck…”

So, 2024 turned out to be significantly worse for me than 2023. That said, I did, in fact, work a lot more on AMG than I have in previous years and it’s helped me to create a map of how that’s possible for the future. Furthermore, I’m finally starting to understand the things at the root of my BS—beyond unfortunate and frustrating life circumstances or the fact that I’m a big worthless loser4—and I hope that results in some real progress. Because, when all is said and done, Angry Metal Guy has stood the test of time for a reason and I’m proud of it and want to be involved in it. I like the music, I like most of the people, I like hazing n00bs, and I like arguing incessantly about opinions. Even if I feel a little out of lockstep with metal trends in recent years, I still think that my voice is important here and I want to have it here. And it’s thanks to everyone here, particularly Steel Druhm, Dr. Grier, and the other helpers, as well as the writers and of course, the readers, who have kept this all afloat while I am trying to solve the mystery that is my brain.

To moderate expectations for 2025! Here’s the Top 10(ish) of 2024.

#ish 2: Dawn Treader // Bloom & Decay [August 24th | Liminal Dread Productions | Bandcamp] — I’m relatively certain that if you had polled the writers and readers of AngryMetalGuy.com and asked them to predict this list, Dawn Treader’s Bloom & Decay would not have come even remotely close to placing on my Top 10(ish). And it makes sense. Dawn Treader traffics in a genre of black metal that I rail on at every chance. At this point, my personality is basically constructed of jokes about how calling something atmospheric just means they use a lot of reverb. And yeah, Bloom & Decay uses inordinate amounts of reverb, I can’t deny it. But better, Ross Connell subverts the ‘one-man black metal project’ tropes by being good, actually. The record is emotionally poignant, musically rich, and laden with pathos—causing that aching bloom in my chest while listening to what feels at times like sad songs playing in major keys. If there’s one reason I haven’t been back to this album as much as other things, it’s because it’s hard to listen to at times. The messages contained here and the way they are delivered can be challenging at times; long discursive samples that are hard to have repeated back at you time and again in a time of a lot of despair. Still, that’s hardly a knock against Dawn Treader’s work, there are a lot of people who would suggest that it’s exactly that which makes Bloom & Decay art. And there’s no question in my mind that Bloom & Decay is a work of art.

#ish 1: Verikalpa // Tuomio [April 19th, 2024 | Scarlet Records | Bandcamp] — But then again, who needs serious emotionally poignant works of art when you can listen to Finnish guys writing amazing blackened melodeath that heavily features faux accordion and lyrics, presumably, about drinking? I feel a bit guilty that these guys have yet to make a number on the list—having previously been relegated to an -ish—but they are getting better and better and Tuomio has been a joy to listen to in a year where almost nothing else brought me joy. In a way, Verikalpa’s sound is a form of nostalgiacore for me—with its 2004 production, its 2004 riffs, and my 2004 urge to drink beer and headbang. But, as Steel Druhm would argue out of pure self-interest, some things are timeless and change is bad, so this isn’t a critique. And while the metal-listening public lost its taste for folk metal after the glut that was released in the late 2000s, I find Verikalpa avoids the pitfalls of the sound, delivering only the highest quality riffs and blasts. Loaded with groove and chunky riffs, Verikalpa knows how to write solid, speedy, fun, and brutal metal that will make you want to drink a beer and lift some weights. And again, what more can we truly ask of any metal band? If you aren’t listening to and loving Verikalpa by now, you’re missing out. Of all the Finnish releases with dated sounds this year, Tuomio is the best.

#10: Grendel’s Sÿster // Katabasis into the Abaton [August 30th, 2024 | Sur Del Cruz Music | Bandcamp] — If there was a major “I did not see that coming” moment in 2024, it was that Grendel’s Sÿster never left my playlist once I heard it for the first time. An addictive record, I summed it up best when I wrote that “this German four-piece drops metal that reeks of patchouli and ‘Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!‘ to surprising effect. The core of Grendel’s Sÿster’s sound is the combination of fuzzy guitars, bubbly p-bass, and boxy drums into something that will undoubtedly call to mind the ’70s hard rock of your choice: Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy or nostalgia merchants like Gygax.” And that sound—not a sound that I spend my free time chasing down—could be directly shot into my veins and I couldn’t be happier. There’s something pure and honest and beautiful about this music. It is both poppy and niche, both pretentious and utterly not; it breaks down binaries and exists in the interstices. And goddammit, it’s what one roadie for Porcupine Tree once said of Blaze’s first three records, “it’s good, honest heavy metal.” And that’s it. The cream rises to the top; good songwriting always wins. And Katabasis into the Abaton is loaded with great songs, fun ideas, and idiosyncratic vocals. It’s surprising in all the right ways.

#9: Oceans of Slumber // Where Gods Fear to Speak [September 13th, 2024 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — Some experiences are unforgettable, and getting to see Oceans of Slumber in the summer of 2024 and really hear Cammie Beverly live was one such experience. There are few people in the world who truly have a Voice with a capital V and Cammie is one of them. The band’s performance was entrancing and her presence was commanding. It was literal goosebumps. I had been enjoying Where Gods Fear to Speak for a few weeks at that point, but seeing Oceans of Slumber live transformed my entire understanding of the unique strengths contained herein. Between her voice, genuinely progressive—and at times challenging—songwriting, and the fantastic performances, Where Gods Fear to Speak sounds like the culmination of the band’s career. Having learned from the past and meshed it all, listeners are left with something transcendent, beautiful, and the perfect balance of heavy and delicate. If there’s one knock on this record, it’s that people may struggle with a flowing relationship to song structure and hooks. But for the sophisticated listener, each song on Where Gods Fear to Speak is a beautiful step on an unforgettable journey.

#8: Iotunn // Kinship [October 25th, 2024 | Metal Blade Records | Bandcamp] — Hard truth time: I was never super enamored in Access All Worlds. While the blog and the commentariat were busy heaping praise upon the best band to come out of Denmark since Mercyful Fate, I held my tongue and gave them the spotlight they deserved because I was in a definite minority. But the record never inspired me. So, I approached Kinship with skepticism. I love Jón’s voice—this is no secret—but at 68 minutes long with 10-minute songs and one record in the bag I hadn’t felt… you know how it goes. I was happily surprised when Kinship hooked me hard. Jón’s voice brings everything together, but the blackened undercurrent spicing up the melodeath riffing (pretty sure Amon Amarth called their lawyers about a couple of the riffs in “The Anguished Ethereal”) matched with an epic scope that could be carried only by someone with the brass timbre and Grondesque vocal power of Aldará. I have been back to this again and again since I broke down and dropped it on the proverbial turntable. It is deep enough to keep me coming back, it’s hooky enough to kick that dopamine into high gear, and it’s beautiful and well-crafted with that aching Scandy melancholy that I crave. Bravo, Iotunn, this is a real first step towards me forgiving your spelling of ‘jotun’ and the Stockholm Bloodbath.

#7: Fellowship // The Skies above Eternity [November 22nd, 2024 | Scarlet Records | Bandcamp] — I am hardly the first person to note that it’s difficult to follow a beloved record. I think it’s even harder to follow a beloved debut. And I doubt there’s an album that’s been released in recent years that is as beloved as Fellowship’s debut, The Saberlight Chronicles. Putting the hopes and fate of the Europower scene in the hands of these tiny pastoral persons and sending them off to Mordor was never a good idea. But surprise, surprise, they survived!5 And they’re back with an album that has inspired the kind of dedication that only the rare band ever gets close to, landing super high on people’s lists despite being a late November release. And you can hear why. The Skies above Eternity is yet another 45ish minutes of fantastic, guitar-driven melodic power metal that simultaneously rules and takes itself seriously enough to have good, interesting, relatable, and at times inspiring lyrics while also embracing the fun and natural, inherent silliness of power metal. That’s a hard balance to strike and Fellowship nails it with aplomb. They say you don’t want to be the guy who follows The Guy, you want to be the guy who follows the guy who follows The Guy. I suspect The Skies above Eternity will always be slightly underrated because it isn’t The Saberlight Chronicles. But fuck me if it isn’t excellent.

#6: Devenial Verdict // Blessing of Despair [October 4th | Transcending Obscurity Records | Bandcamp] — I knew that these kids from Finland were alright when I jokingly called them “Morbid Angelcore” on Instagram and they took it with grace.6 Honestly, of all the stuff that the “No Fun, Only Reverb and Feels!” flank of AMG has dredged up and dumped hyperbolic praise on, Devenial Verdict is one of the bands to which I feel the most grateful to have been exposed. Often sold as either “dissodeath” or “atmospheric death metal,” because they’re both wildly popular subgenres of death metal, both feel like misnomers. Rather, Blessing of Despair is an album loaded with memorable moments and melodies, and while it does, indeed, employ a lot of “atmosphere,”7 I was not prepared for the elite-level Azagthoth-on-LSD riffs that litter Blessing of Despair. I wouldn’t say that Blessing of Despair is OSDM, but the riffing evokes the masters in ways both direct and subtle and it gives the record an impeccable vibe. Devenial Verdict has wrought a brilliant death metal album where riffs abound, the atmosphere is set on the “Cathedral” setting, and every song is better than the last. Maybe the best word to use to describe their x factor is gravitas. But whatever it is, Devenial Verdict’s got it in spades.

#5: Octoploid // Beyond the Aeons [July 5th, 2024 | Reigning Phoenix Music | Bandcamp] — The amount of love that Beyond the Aeons isn’t receiving is one of the scandals of 2024, in my opinion. This started with our own positive—but tepid, if I’m honest—review of Beyond the Aeons and has continued through Listurnalia. As a passive, but legitimate, autocrat of Angry Metal Guy, I have half a mind to shut this place down over this deep disrespect for Amorphiscore. Honestly, it pains me not to make Beyond the Aeons the #1 album,8 because I have listened to these 33 minutes of extreme metal—occasionally tremmy and black, but mostly just solid melodeath—more than almost anything else this year. Tracks like “Coast of the Drowned Sailors” feed my need for new Amorphis and my secret wish that they were heavier. And that’s one thing I’ll give Octoploid, unlike Barren Earth, Beyond the Aeons doesn’t dwell too long on anything. It kicks off and speeds along, hitting you with catchy leads in the key of Moomin and doubled with synth—as one does. Don’t sleep on Octoploid. Beyond the Aeons is energetic, fun, catchy, and worth at least a couple of spins a week six months after it was released.

#4: Opeth // The Last Will and Testament [November 22nd, 2024 | Moderbolaget] — What Opeth has accomplished on The Last Will and Testament is remarkable. Unlike so many bands, Opeth’s reimaginations of its sound still speak to me. The Last Will and Testament is a smart, coherent, and melodramatic record that does Mikael Åkerfeldt and crew credit. The reason that this record elevates itself above the ceiling that most Newpeth lived under, however, is that they are finally able to turn the music up to 11 again compositionally. After more than a decade without the emotional and compositional peak (and release) of a guttural growl released from the diaphragm over a particularly chunky riff or heavy drums, The Last Will and Testament continues the band’s development but gives them a release valve—”§4″ being the highlight for me, where they transition from Opethro Tull—a jazz flute solo—to Deathro Tull with some operatic, but dour, death metal. And it simply feels good to hear them doing both of these things simultaneously. Having gone through and relistened to the discography at length, it is striking how Opeth circa 2024 sounds very little like the band I fell in love with in the late-’90s/early aughts. To be able to both be markedly different and feel like the same band is a deeply underrated trait. This could have been higher if I’d had longer with it.

#3: Fleshgod Apocalypse // Opera [August 23rd, 2024 | Nuclear Blast Records | Bandcamp] — I knew almost immediately that Opera was going to be a controversial record. I was not prepared for the hyperbolic pushback that Opera garnered from fans of Italy’s death metal answer to [Luca (Turilli / Lione)’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] for being, as I wrote myself, “undeniably poppy.” Sometimes I think that we fans of the extreme metal scene have lost sight of what pop music really is. The fact that people have been heaping scorn on Fleshgod Apocalypse for writing operatic death metal because Veronica Bordacchini doesn’t only sing using proper operatic technique and the band simplified some of its compositional tendencies is, to put it lightly, patently absurd. Opera is fun! It’s energetic and well-crafted, and it has a better excuse for writing more palatable and less grandiose music that uses more traditional pop and rock compositional structures than Nightwish ever had,9 and it literally has dramatic choirs arpeggiating in Latin behind grinding blast beats and death metal growls as I’m writing this blurb! Fucking get over yourselves. Go enjoy the shit out of Opera. No one sounds like Fleshgod Apocalypse and when they hit, they fucking hit. And Opera hits! It is thematically interesting, deeply personal, and cohesive in the way that the best albums are while featuring a diverse and excellent performance from Bordacchini. Easily one of the best records of 2024.

#2: Kanonenfieber // Die Urkatastrophe [September 20th, 2024 | Century Media | Bandcamp] — One of the things that makes the work at Angry Metal Guy interesting after 15 years is editing other writers’ work. It’s a pleasure to get to talk to, work with, and help guide the brilliant writers that we have working here. And because I want to hear what I’m reading about at the same time, I listen to a lot of music I would not necessarily have chosen to listen to myself. Noise’s work—such as 2023’s #5 record Leiþa—has come to my attention because of the work that Carcharodon has done in covering his projects. So, when I went to edit Die Urkatastrophe, well aware of the impending 5.0, I was edified to read a well-argued analysis that highlighted for me exactly what it was that appealed to me so much about Kanonenfieber’s critically acclaimed10 platter. Die Urkatastrophe is a powerful album that walks the line between black and death metal, with surprisingly polished and smooth production and artfully crafted songs. Like so many of the best albums, it is both thematically coherent and full of standout moments. Arresting moments like the gunshot at the end of “Der Maulwurf,” the best-placed samples since Velvet Darkness They Fear, and a superb flow make Die Urkatastrophe a triumph that we’ll return to for years.

#1: Hamferð // Men Guðs hond er sterk [March 22nd, 2024 | Metal Blade Records | Bandcamp] — The best album of 2024 was an undeniably easy choice this year. Released the day after my life started falling to pieces, Hamferð’s third masterpiece is a tale of tragedy (with a smidgen of hope), driven by strong songwriting and stronger performances. There are plenty of things that one can point to that help to differentiate Men Guðs hond er sterk from the field this year: the band’s sound is expertly crafted, and with pristine production, and the band—who apparently records without a click track?!—carries the emotional weight of their music perfectly despite the largely opaque language in which it’s presented.11 Furthermore, enough cannot be said about the powerhouse of a vocalist that Hamferð is fortunate enough to have. Jón Aldará’s vocals carry the day with a brassy baritone that evokes the mourning that all doom peddlers are chasing but so few nail. Men Guðs hond er sterk is tight, it’s heavy—though not as heavy as its predecessor, which I missed—but more importantly it’s complete and brilliant and my Record o’ the Year for 2024.

Honorable Mentions:

In Vain // Solemn [April 19th, 2024 | Indie Recordings | Bandcamp] — Having been released when I was in the moment of absolute denial and despair as my life fell apart, you’ll forgive me for not having heard this album until the last couple months of 2024. And I suspect that if I had been able to spend more time with it, it would have worked its way onto the list proper (though, man, it’s hard to know what would go). Once again, In Vain does such an outstanding job of balancing all the different sounds and influences, and I will never get sick of any clean vocals from the brothers Nedland (RIP Solefald). These guys are great and Solemn keeps them batting 1.000.

Ulcerate // Cutting the Throat of God [June 14th | Debemur Morti Productions | Bandcamp] — Another album that should’ve been higher on my list (but where would I have put Verikalpa then, guys!?). Ulcerate has been awesome and it’s almost unremarkable that they continue to be awesome in new and different ways. The thing that I keep coming back to Cutting the Throat of God for is the fact that these are probably the band’s most addictive and hypnotic riffs. Their sound has always had a fluidity that made them unique, but there are times when I feel like a snake being charmed as I’m listening to Ulcerate pump out fascinating, liquid riffs that seem to morph in scope and feel without ever breaking stride. Another record that is getting the shaft on this list.

Sonata Arctica // Clear Cold Beyond [March 8th, 2024 | Atomic Fire Records] — I started out skeptical about Clear Cold Beyond, and then I ended up loving it. The problem is that this was another record caught up in the Great Dumping o’ 2024 and got lost in the mix. This album has the benefit of having some really fun “we’re sorry we wrote Talviyö and then released two fucking acoustic cover records in a row” moments, but it’s not just an apology tour.12 The strength of Clear Cold Beyond is watching Kakko do the things he’s best at: write about creepy dudes with seriously bad boundaries (“Dark Empath”); write awkward lyrics about social topics that are kind of funny but also maybe not (“California”); and most importantly is his transformation into Dad Rocker (“The Best Things”). This record didn’t ever threaten to be Top 10, but it also deserves a nod for bringing me a ton of joy, even if I can’t listen to “The Best Things” without getting choked up.

Anciients // Beyond the Reach of the Sun [August 30th, 2024 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — I have been a little back and forth with Anciients, but Beyond the Reach of the Sun was an absolute banger that got snubbed for a Record o’ the Month spot, despite receiving an excellently written, laudatory review from Saunders. And perpetual self-editing complaints aside, Anciients is one of those bands whose ability to craft Riffs is unmatched. Every single song on this album has one of those Riffs—not just riffs, gotta capitalize that R so everyone knows that we’re talking about iconic stuff here—and I am, frankly, jealous of the feel and groove that these guys seem to have as second nature. This album clicked for me when I put it in the cans on a flight and just sat and listened to it and man, we are spoiled with an absolute embarrassment of riches in metal. These guys are an honorable mention? It’s unfair.

Caligula’s Horse // Charcoal Grace [January 26th, 2024 | InsideOut Records | Bandcamp] — After it was summarily 3.0’d by the guy who brought you the Angra list everyone thought was absolute crap, I feel like everyone just forgot about Charcoal Grace. But I’m going to be honest with you, this record deserved a lot better than it got at the hands of the traitorous reviewer who poo-poohed it and then, allegedly, went on to kick his dog and demand his wife make him a sandwich. This is a more subtle Caligula’s Horse, I admit. How they seem to be swapping places with Haken becomes more manifest with every release. But this record is a true headphones album that deserves a hi-def version of the release, serious cans, and a dark room. It’s loaded with great riffs and fantastic songs and has a particularly poignant and powerful closing. Also, the level of detail here is unreal. Appreciate what you have while they are still putting out amazing albums.

Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System [June 28th, 2024 | Rotted Life Records | Bandcamp] — One of the surprises of the year is an album named after one of the funniest jabs at the anarchosyndicalists in our lives. Noxis’ brand of frantic, technical death metal—complete with my favorite snare of the year—has swept through the Angry Metal Guy staff for a reason. The reason? It’s fucking great. At 45 minutes, Violence Inherent in the System is a record with the energy and addictiveness of Gorod, even if the songwriting chops aren’t quite on that level yet. But you don’t have to be Gorod-good to be good and Noxis is good. I’m looking forward to their sophomore release Scimitars Thrown in Farcical Aquatic Ceremonies, due Q4 2025/Q1 2026.

Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart [January 26th, 2024 | Dark Essence Records | Bandcamp] — In my Record o’ the Month blurb for Old Eyes, New Heart, I wrote “What Old Eyes, New Heart does is show Madder Mortem as alive and creative as ever, showcasing a more vulnerable, introspective side of themselves. Tracks like ‘Here and Now’ and ‘Cold Hard Rain’ weep with power and raw emotion, giving fans all the feelz they yearn for, and there’s simmering anger girding the material as well. As GardensTale noted, regarding the very personal, intense feeling of the new music: ‘Old Eyes, New Heart will stand as one of the most intimate and therapeutic albums we’re bound to get this year.’ And who isn’t going to need a little bit of therapy in 2024?” Yeah, I found myself listening to this album a lot this year because it expresses what I couldn’t. Again, prescient.

Blood Incantation // Absolute Elsewhere [October 4th, 2024 | Century Media Records | Bandcamp] — Yeah, it’s fine I guess. A little overhyped in the comment section, though. Remember that time when it got released and everyone who hadn’t heard it yet was like “RECORD OF THE YEAR!!!!!!1!” five minutes later? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

Top 10(ish) Songs o’ the Year:

#ish: Karol G // “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” — Fuck you.

#10: Sonata Arctica // “The Best Things” — Fans of the band and this album are going to laugh, but this song kills me. Dad rock. I love it.

#9: Wintersun // “Storm” — When I saw everyone sporting “Silver Leaves” as the highlight of Time II, I had to do a double-take. As I covered at length in my review, the one song that I felt lived up to Jaari’s potential as a player and composer was “Storm,” and this track is a fucking doozy. This track perfectly executes both the blend of blackened death metal and power metal that makes Wintersun’s inability to produce something truly epic frustrating. If I had only heard “Ominous Clouds” and “Storm,” Time II would’ve gotten a 4.5. This is the only memorable thing he wrote on the entire album.

#8: Oceans of Slumber // “Wish” — It’s weird the tracks that call to you on an album. I love this whole record for a bunch of different reasons, but on “Wish” there are little melodic things that Cammie does here that make my heart ache. The lyrics, too. I feel ’em. Deeply underrated record.

#7: Fellowship // “Victim” — “I swear, I won’t always feel like a victim! I won’t always fight on my own! So, forgive me these transgressions as I live a life of lessons and I grow to overshadow darker thrones! This king is king alone!”

#6: Opeth // “§4” — No more perfect encapsulation of why Opeth is impressive than how hard they nailed this song. Love the porn beat with the Ian Anderson flute solo (Deathro Tull, lol) that gives way to stadium rock that gives way to grindy death metal. Just inject that fucking shit straight into my fucking veins. Unff.

#5: Grendel’s Sÿster // “Cosmogony” — This song is metal as fuck. I love the fun little extra beat they drop in to make it feel like a slightly lopsided wheel rolling along. But there’s nothing about this that doesn’t live up to what I wrote above: good, honest heavy metal. Catchy, riffy, and fun to listen to. Top it off with a bass-heavy section and a gallop carried on the guitar and you’ve got yourself a recipe for an epic, addictive track. More of this, plz.

#4: Fleshgod Apocalypse // “Morphine Waltz” — This song fucking rules. From the opening strains with the horn section in the orchestra to the 3/4 time signature (y’know, ’cause it’s actually a waltz), to the raw, punky performance from Bordacchini. Extra points for the fucking balls to the wall bridge with the huge choirs before the guitar solo. Like, how do you fucking people not think this is one of the best albums of the year? JFC.

#3: Caligula’s Horse // “Mute” — One of Caligula’s Horse’s strongest traits is their ability to write epic conclusions to their albums. “Mute” is up there with “Graves” in terms of the sheer weightiness of the whole thing—though this time it’s more delicate. Beautiful.

#2: Anciients // “Despoiled” — Riff of the year at 3:57. Gives me involuntary metal face. Love the vocal melodies, too. Great stuff.

#1: Madder Mortem // “Things I’ll Never Do” — This song fucking kills me. Has anyone checked on their lyricist recently?

Show 12 footnotes

1. This joke is fucking hilarious but only a few of you are going to get it. ↩
2. I kid because I’m scared shitless of your country and will never visit it. – AMG ↩
3. Wondering where you are? 11. Poland; 12. Brazil; 13. Norway; 14. Belgium; 15. Italy; 16. Greece; 17. Denmark; 18. Czechia; 19. Austria; 20. Russia; 21: Mexico; 22. Portugal; 23. Switzerland; 24. Romania; 25. Hungary. ↩
4. Not that I’m *not* a big worthless loser, just that there’s more to it. ↩
5. They suffered unduly and cast a lot of longing stares at each other, but they survived! ↩
6. Because fucking Morbid Angel is the best, obviously. ↩
7. Read: reverb. ↩
8. Tell you what, guys, how ’bout Jón Aldará joins Octoploid and y’all start writing 15-minute songs? Then you can both be #1! ↩
9. And don’t get me started Steven Wilson. “Ooh, I should be famous, why haven’t I had a number one record when Nick Beggs has had one?!” 🙄 ↩
10. This is true because I am busy acclaiming it. ↩
11. Obviously, largely opaque for most of us. People from the Faroe Islands do, indeed, speak the language in which this album is sung. My AI translator does not. ↩
12. And if it is, it is obviously their best-executed one to date. ↩

#2024 #Anciients #AngryMetalGuy #AngryMetalGuySRecordSOTheYear #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish_ #BeyondTheAeons #BlessingOfDespair #BloodIncantation #BloomDecay #CaligulaSHorse #DawnTreader #DevenialVerdict #DieUrkatastrophe #Fellowship #FleshgodApocalypse #GrendelSSÿster #Hamferð #InVain #Iotunn #Kanonenfieber #KarolG #KatabasisIntoTheAbaton #Kinship #Listurnalia2024 #MadderMortem #MenGuðsHondErSterk #Noxis #OceansOfSlumber #Octoploid #Opera #Opeth #SonataArctica #TheLastWillAndTestament #TheSkiesAboveEternity #TimeII #Tuomio #Ulcerate #Verikalpa #WhereGodsFearToSpeak #Wintersun

Ankor, Conquer Divide
07.02.2025 Köln / Club Volta

Opeth, Grand Magus
17.02.2025 Köln / Palladium

#Ankor #ClubVolta #Koln #Opeth #Palladium #SteelFeed

Saunders and Felagund’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Dr. A.N. Grier

Saunders

Rather than delve into the not-so-good parts of a rollercoaster 2024, which had its share of rough circumstances, I’m using this rare soapbox moment to focus on the positives of another action-packed year of metal. Celebrating ten years of writing at Angry Metal Guy was an achievement that crept up. All these years later I remain beyond stoked and privileged to still be contributing in a small way as the blog has snowballed into the juggernaut it is today.

Unfortunately, I haven’t quite fulfilled my writing productivity goals in 2024. However, even when motivation slips, it still gives me great satisfaction to have a platform to share my thoughts and opinions on the music I love. I cannot match the writing chops or word smithery of our most esteemed scribes. However, honing my craft within my own abilities and drawing inspiration from the excellence of my fellow writers continues to motivate me and hopefully steer listeners toward some great music.

While it may not compete with some of the top-shelf individual years over the past decade, 2024 featured a lot of top-shelf stuff across a multitude of genres sprawled over the heavy spectrum. As per usual, the plethora of releases was overwhelming and again I stumble into the end-of-year chaos with a hefty list of stuff I need to check out or spend more time with. Nevertheless, from the numerous albums, I spent quality time with throughout the year, I eventually arrived at the releases that mattered the most to me, with many gems to no doubt uncover in the end-of-year wash-up. This is probably one of the more eclectic lists I’ve cultivated during my time here. Not sure exactly why that was the case, but a year of fluctuating, uneasy shifts on personal and professional fronts perhaps contributed to the more diverse listening rotation.

To wrap up, a heartfelt thank you to our beloved readership for making this all worthwhile and to all my colleagues/writing buddies and general crew of awesome people comprising the ever-expanding blog. Also shout-out to my list buddy Felagund, here’s hoping our combined powers partially align or otherwise complement and provide some listening inspiration. Lastly, a special heads-up to Angry Metal Guy, Steel Druhm, and the rest of the AMG editors and brains trust for whipping us all into order and doing the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting to keep this great thing chugging along. Cheers.

#ish: Anciients // Beyond the Reach of the Sun – Personal dramas, line-up shuffles, and an extended stint away from the studio failed to hamper the triumphant return of Canada’s progressive-stoner-sludge heavyweights Anciients. Beyond the Reach of the Sun marks a strong return that expands the band’s songwriting vision through a standout collection of ambitious, heavily prog-leaning cuts. Loaded with dazzling guitar work and gripping songwriting, Beyond the Reach of the Sun finds the band recalibrating and hitting their songwriting straps without compromising the genre-splicing traits and character they formed across their first couple of albums. It is not a perfect album by any means, with some niggling elements rearing their head, mostly via the way of some bloat, sequencing issues, and a flat production job. But with songs of the outstanding quality of “Despoiled,” “Is it Your God,” and “The Torch” leading the way, the album’s issues fail to extinguish my overall enthusiasm.

#10. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes New Heart – I came to veteran Norwegian progressive metal outfit Madder Mortem late in the game, just as they appeared to be hitting modern-era career peaks via Red in Tooth and Claw, and most recent album, 2018’s Marrow. Six long years in the wilderness and Madder Mortem return without missing a beat, continuing to pump out expressive, powerfully composed jams of their trademark mix of Goth-tinged progressive/alt metal. Although I enjoyed the album from the outset, if anything it has grown in stature since its early year release. The album’s subtleties and bevy of emotion-charged hooks bury deeper into the brain upon repeat doses. The tough period the band endured prior to the unleashing of Old Eyes New Heart is reflected in the album’s raw, potent swell of emotions and overall depth. This is further reflected in the diverse nature of the colorful songwriting, swinging from bluesy, melancholic restraint (“Cold Hard Rain”), pop-infected prog (‘Here and Now”) to urgent, dramatic, and infectious rock powerhouses (“The Head That Wears the Crown,” “Towers”).

#9. Opeth // The Last Will and Testament – As a longtime Opeth fanboy, it is a cool feeling to be genuinely enthused about a new LP, nearly three decades since their underrated Orchid debut. All the pre-release buzz centered on the return of Åkerfeldt’s famed death growls. While certainly a cool and unexpected touch, the fourteenth album The Last Will and Testament is not merely a nostalgic throwback to the band’s glory days. Instead, Opeth fuses those quirky, vintage prog tools from their modern-era material and fuses them into an intricate concept album that is a significant step up from the past couple of uneven efforts and easily their best work since at least 2014’s Pale Communion. Dazzling musicianship, jazzy licks, and inventively crafted, yet notably more focused and concise writing marked an album that features better production and tighter, punchier songs than the band has written in a while. It is also Opeth’s heaviest, most riff-centric release in many moons. Despite the trademark melancholic moods and darker shades, it also sounds as if the band is having real fun, reinforced by the abundance of bouncy, infectious riffs, shreddy solos, and boisterous grooves littering the album. Likely would have earned higher honors with time, as I still feel there is much more to discover.

#8. Oceans of Slumber // Where Gods Fear to Speak – Previously enjoyed the idea of Texan progressive metal powerhouse Oceans of Slumber, more than the execution and finished product. In particular, 2016’s Winter has grown in stature over the years. Yet for much of their career, it has felt like a case of incredible talent and potential not fully realized. That changed on Where Gods Fear to Speak, arguably the band’s most complete, consistent, and hook-laden release. When I felt the prog itch throughout 2024, Where Gods Fear to Speak was often the go-to. An album of lush, moody, drama-filled compositions, deftly contrasting soaring melodies, and skyscraping hooks with muscular riffage and heftier bouts of aggression, the writing is tighter and more compelling than previous efforts. Cammie Beverly’s scene-stealing vocals may take center stage, but this is very much a complete effort, where the rich soundscapes, brooding atmospheres, and technical musicianship shine brightly. Loaded with killer jams, including stirring highlights, “Don’t Come Back from Hell Empty Handed,” “Wish,” and “Poem of Ecstasy,” Where Gods Fear to Speak finally finds Oceans of Slumber firing on all cylinders.

#7. Pyrrhon // Exhaust – In theory, Pyrrhon should be one of my favorite bands. I used to eat up all manner of skronky, dissonant, and abrasive extreme metal. Perhaps my thirst for the weirder, experimental forms of death metal and dissonance has softened over the years. However, while largely enjoying Pyrrhon’s career up to this point, Exhaust feels like the album I have been waiting for the band to deliver. Exhaust dropped unexpectedly and that element of surprise flowed through another oddball, deranged platter of wildly inventive, chaotic, yet oddly accessible (in Pyrrhon terms) extreme metal. From cautious, challenging early listens, I found myself increasingly compelled to revisit Exhaust on a regular basis, marveling at its flexible, fractured songwriting, nimble musicianship, and raw hardcore punk edge infiltrating the dissonant, experimental death metal at the core of the Pyrrhon experience. Gritty production, perfectly unhinged vocal performance from Doug Moore, and occasional burst of groove and shred of accessibility punctuating the chaos (“First as Tragedy, Then as Farce,” “Strange Pains,” “Stress Fractures”) lend the album a refreshingly addictive edge to counterbalance its abrasive, challenging angles.

#6. Replicant // Infinite Mortality – New Jersey’s Replicant previously exhibited their brawny, yet brainy mix of gnarled dissonance, technicality, and knuckle-dragging street grooves to powerful effect. However, third album Infinite Mortality levelled the playing field as the band upped their game to elite levels of controlled chaos, while the writing remained challenging yet strangely accessible and memorable. In spirit, the ugly mix of harshness, discordance, and headbangable blockbuster grooves reminds me of the great Ion Dissonance. Meanwhile, the contrasting blend of unorthodox melody, jagged dissonance, and stuttering, complex song structures come together with cohesion and blunt force, punctuated by the occasional warped solo. Like a harsh, harrowing soundtrack to a bleak dystopian future, Infinite Mortality is a mean, chunky, technical, and deliciously primal slab of advanced disso-tech-death excellence.

#5. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – Notably death metal in 2024 was dominated by brutal, dissonant varieties, designed to scramble brains and challenge minds while battering the listener into submission. Refreshingly, unheralded surprise packet Noxis unloaded a killer debut LP to savor. Drawing from an array of old-school influences and ’90s touchstones without ever aping one particular band or style, Noxis unleashed a nostalgic yet unique death metal platter. Managing to at once sound raw and unclean, technical and brutal, thrashy and proggy, sharp and refined, Noxis blaze their way craftily through memorable, riff-infested wastelands with unbridled aggression, speed, and finesse, rubber-stamped by some exceptional bass work. Remnants of the classic Floridian scene mingle with powerful influences, including early Cryptopsy, later-era Death, Atheist, and Cannibal Corpse, resulting in a finished product that sounds fresh and vital, while containing an endearing, workmanlike old-school charm. It works a treat, and the top-notch and frequently inventive writing reveals impressive depth and character that rewards repeat listens.

#4. Dissimulator // Lower Form Resistance – There are some serviceable, enjoyable thrash-aligned albums in 2024, but one stood head and shoulders above the competition. Comprised of a grizzled bunch of underground Canadian musicians hellbent on fusing advanced technical thrash assaults with sick old-school death-thrash, a fuckton of killer riffs, quirky vocoder action, and razor-sharp hooks, Lower Form Resistance has consistently provided an adrenaline-filled shot of thrash when needing that specific fix. Dissimulator rewires thrash in intricate and intriguing ways, giving me the same giddy rush as past experiences with the likes of Capharnaum, Vhol, and Revocation. Excited to hear what these dudes conjure up next. In the meantime, Lower Form Resistance will continue to keep my thrash cogs oiled through potent bangers like “Warped,” “Automoil & Robotoil,” and “Hyperline Underflow.”

#3. Huntsmen // The Dry Land – After somehow sleeping on 2018 debut American Scrap and subsequently their apparent sophomore slumping second album, I finally righted my wrongs by delving into the strange and wildly unique woodlands of Chicago metal troupe Huntsmen and their phenomenal third LP, The Dry Land. A raw, rustic, and emotionally striking explosion of genre-bending excellence, where blackened sludge, doom, post, prog, folk, and Americana influences coalesce into an intoxicating and frequently thrilling musical formula, rich in detail and emotion. The skilled genre mashing is cohesive and genuine, loaded with surprises, structural twists, dramatic ebbs and flows, deep burrowing hooks, and contrasting vocal trade-offs to seal the deal on a remarkable album. Despite only a small handful of songs comprising the album (six in total), Huntsmen make every moment count, from blazing longer numbers with stunning contrasts and peaks (“This, Our Gospel,” “In Time, All things”) to plaintive folk dusted rock (“Lean Times”), through to the stunningly moving, compact power of “Rain.” Huntsmen occupy a unique space in the metalverse.

#2. Borknagar // Fall – I have a slightly odd history with Norwegian legends Borknagar. I recall being taken by their excellent 2012 album Urd, yet oddly enough I didn’t extend my listening beyond that isolated release. Things changed with 2019’s True North, a typically solid offering that inspired my explorations of portions of their vast and consistently engaging catalog. The twelfth album Fall marks their first album since True North and again features an outstanding line-up of talents, including founding mastermind Øystein Brun, multi-talented keyboardist/clean vocalist Lars Nedland, and ace up their sleeve bass/vocal powerhouse ICS Vortex. Fall smacks of a veteran band not merely content to coast on their laurels but rather carve freshly creative trajectories for their now signature blend of epic prog, triumphant Viking, and icy black metal to thrive. An extra shot of old-school blackened aggression and fuller production boosted an album of consistently high quality. Fall became a true all-occasions album in 2024; often uplifting me when I felt down or giving me a punchy charge when the need arose. Wall-to-wall prime cuts feature, headlined by the storming “Summits,” moody earworm, “The Wild Lingers”, and the striking, epic shimmer of “Moon.” Stalwarts still operating at the top of their game.

#1. Counting Hours // The Wishing Tomb – Not since Fvneral Fvkk’s remarkable Carnal Confessions debut has a doom album struck as hard as the second platter of sadboi misery perpetrated by Finland’s excellent Counting Hours. While doom and its death-doom companion may not always dominate my listening habits, when an album does hit that sweet spot, it usually leaves a profound impact. Few forms of metal generate the emotional resonance of quality doom and Counting Hours tears at the heartstrings through a riveting collection of gorgeously played and executed death-doom ditties, spearheaded by former members of the hugely underrated Rapture. Ilpo Paasela backs up the stellar musicianship, superb guitar work, and tight, addictive songwriting with a stunning mix of emotively raw, stately cleans and rugged death growls. The whole package packs an emotional wallop, yet its soulful edge and hopelessly addictive hooks and sing-along moments prevent a drop too deeply into depressive waters, as such earwormy gems as “Timeless Ones,” “All That Blooms (Needs to Die),” and “Starlit / Lifeless” attest. The Wishing Tomb is an epic album to lose yourself in.

Honorable Mentions:

• Blood Incantation // Absolute Elsewhere – Did I overrate Absolute Elsewhere? Possibly. Is it overhyped? Absolutely. Yet Blood Incantation remains a brave, adventurous band and Absolute Elsewhere represents a welcome return to form from these gifted, star-gazing space cadets. A flawed but effective fusing of their death metal roots with an increased focus on ’70s-inspired progressive rock and trippy psych flourishes.
• 200 Stab Wounds // Manual Manic Procedures – I barely took notice of Cleveland’s 200 Stab Wounds debut LP, but sophomore album Manual Manic Procedures provided one of the real surprise packets in 2024. It very nearly cracked the main list sheerly through heavy rotation. A meaty, adrenaline-charged shot of muscular death into the veins.
• Ripped to Shreds // Sanshi – Another reliably awesome slab of old-school death from Andrew Lee and co. Increasingly shreddy, extravagant solo work and a grindier edge powered one of their best albums yet.
• Nails // Every Bridge Burning – Nails is back and that is a great thing. New line-up, the same mode of short, sharp, blast-your-skin-off aggression, head-caving grooves, and hate-filled energy.
• Unhallowed Deliverance // Of Spectre and Strife – A pleasant surprise and one of the best debut albums in 2024. German tech-slam-brutal death juggernaut Unhallowed Deliverance knocked it out of the park with limited subtlety but a heap of talent, creativity, and songwriting smarts.
• Wormed // Omegon – With Ulcerate’s latest release not quite hitting me on the intense level of others, and having run out of time to properly digest and rank the obvious high-quality new Defeated Sanity, Wormed’s long-awaited return gave me my fix of calculated brutality via futuristic, slammy, technical brutal death executed in typically warped, mind-blowing fashion.
• Khirki // Κυκεώνας – Following up an impressive, well-received debut LP is no easy feat. Kenstrosity steered many of us from the AMG community onto Greek band Khirki’s Κτηνωδία debut in 2021, so I eagerly anticipated Khirki’s return for the second go around. The resulting album met expectations through a fiery, passionate, and eclectic mix of metal, rock, and traditional Greek folk.
• Sergeant Thunderhoof // The Ghost of Badon Hill – A late-year list shaker, underappreciated UK psych-prog-stoner outfit Sergeant Thunderhoof unleased a more restrained, psych-enhanced, and introspective album, showing signs of being a genuine grower since its November release, despite not quite hitting the irresistible highs of 2022’s This Sceptred Veil.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

• Several highly anticipated albums did not quite land the killer blows I was hoping for. Respectable to very good albums, but I expected better from Vola (admittedly a grower), Caligula’s Horse, Ihsahn, and especially Zeal and Ardor.

Non-Metal Picks:

• St Vincent, SIR, Michael Kiwanuka, Allie X, MGMT

Song ‘o the Year:

• Counting Hours – “Timeless Ones”

There were any number of standouts and potential Song o’ the Year candidates that could have nabbed top honors, including several counterparts from Counting Hours’ spectacular sophomore album. In the end, I settled on the (proper) album opener of my album of the year, as the tune that really hooked me initially from an album that captivated my soul. A rich, emotive piece of dark, melodic death-doom with superlative guitar melodies and a chorus for the ages. Honorable mention to Huntsmen’s “Rain.”

Felgund

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of living in interesting times. But as that wizened sage, Gandalf so wisely reminds us: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

So what have I been doing with the time that has been given? A fair amount, as it turns out. 2024 has certainly been a tumultuous year for our small family. On the one hand, the business that I launched in 2023 has been chugging along for well over a year and a half now, and I think I’m far enough along in the process that I feel (at least somewhat) comfortable calling it a success. The baby that we brought home from the hospital is now, inexplicably, a whip-smart 7-year-old. My wife’s career continues to blossom as she continues to moonlight as my business manager. Things are good.

And yet 2024 also proved to be harder than I’d ever imagined. My dad died back in April, an experience that remains both devastating and surreal. He’d had multiple sclerosis for well over a decade, and as I’m sure many of you know, MS is a grasping, grinding petty little disease. But for as much as it stole, it proved incapable of taking away who my father was; it couldn’t quite make off with what made him him. He was my best friend before his diagnosis, and he remained my best friend up until that impossible evening in a hospital room in early April. Truth be told, he’s still my best friend, only now he’s free to walk wherever I see fit to imagine him.

Despite my best efforts, I realized pretty quickly you can’t capture a life in a few paragraphs. I couldn’t do it in his eulogy, and I certainly won’t attempt to do so on a heavy metal blog. But I will share this:

My dad was a carpenter by trade and an artist by choice; he was a fisherman and a cook; he was a handyman, a builder, a designer, and a writer; he taught himself how to play guitar, and he’s perhaps the singular reason why I’m writing for this website today. Because while he wasn’t a fan of metal himself, he instilled in me not only a love for music, but an interest in the process; in the people who create it, the minds that shape it, and the passion that births it.

He played in countless bands in his youth, and I can think of no better way to honor his memory than by sharing some of his music with you all. With Steel’s blessing, I’m embedding a two-song demo (“A Place in Time” and “Street Legal”) ripped from a cassette my old man recorded in the late 80s, so apologies in advance for the questionable quality. He composed both the music and lyrics, played guitar and bass, and sang on both tracks, which were devised when he was perhaps at his Rush fanboy peak. It’s been a delight and a balm hearing his voice again, captured as it was in a moment when he was young, vibrant, and doing what he loved.

So here we are. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, I managed to consume a fair amount of metal this year. And while I was far less productive as a writer than I’d hoped and I wasn’t able to listen to as much as I originally planned, I discovered a plethora of new music here on AMG that soothed what Neil Peart once referred to as his “baby soul.” And surprisingly, I found much of that solace in the discordant, the dissonant, and the off-kilter, as the list below probably reflects. But more importantly, I found compassion, support, and understanding amongst the writing staff here. And while they may not know it, I will be forever thankful for the folks who showed me such boundless kindness during a year that felt decidedly unkind. Thank you, my friends.

Now let’s get to to it. Here are my top ten(ish) albums of 2024.

#(ish). Beaten to Death // Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis – It almost feels like cheating to place an 18-minute album in my Top 10(ish), but here we are. 2024 proved to be a year where my interest in grind and grind-adjacent acts expanded, and this “ish” is the result. While I wasn’t aware of Beaten to Death prior to this release, I was quickly swept away by Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis’ ability to bludgeon its idiosyncratic way into my brain and coil there like the most glorious of infections. Beaten to Death has delivered a concise helping of grinding goodness, with crispy prog edges and a schmear of off-kilter humor. Back catalog, here I come!

#10. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum // Of the Last Human Being – Gardenstale’s gushing review of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s fourth album Of the Last Human Being was a tough endorsement to ignore, as was an invocation of Diablo Swing Orchestra. So I threw caution to the wind and leaped headlong into this experimental maelstrom. And I’m so happy I did. Don’t let the runtime dissuade you; Of the Last Human Being doesn’t feel nearly as long as it is, and over that relatively brief timespan, you’re provided with a front-row seat to the aural equivalent of perhaps the most fun kind of performance art. Hard-edged riffs, off-kilter instrumentation, ominous theatrics interlaced with beautiful, sparse melodies, and all capped off by the deranged croons of chief carnival barker Nils Frykdahl. If I’d spent more time with this record it may have placed higher, but as it is, I’m happy it’s making an appearance at the number 10 spot.

#9. Sur Austru // Datura Strǎhiarelor – Despite Twelve underrating this album, I suppose I should commend him for introducing me to Sur Austru in the first place. This Romanian outfit’s third full-length Datura Strǎhiarelor is a potent blend of rumbling, blackened fury, and melodic folk metal, with plenty of flute work, orchestration, choral elements, and plaintive keys thrown in. And, while the gruff, chanting growls might rub some listeners the wrong way, it was this aspect more than any other that first grabbed my attention, and proceeded to keep it. And while I haven’t a clue what the vocalists are shouting at me, the tone and placement in the mix feels just right, especially for this brand of folk-infused black metal. Such is the strength of Sur Austru that this album began as my “ish” before eventually working its way to ninth. Mightly bold of them.

#8. Necrowretch // Swords of Dajjal – Some of the entries on this list were either late discoveries or took some time before they got their dirty little hooks in me. Necrowretch’s Swords of Dajjal was not one of them. As soon as I spun it back in February, it was love at first listen. Swords of Dajjal focuses on the greater deceiver in Islamic mythology, and explores that tradition through the use of ferocious blackened death metal (with perhaps a dollop or two of thrash thrown in). Although, as Carcharodon rightly pointed out in his review, the “blackened” part is doing most of the heavy lifting here. And that’s not a bad thing, as Necrowretch is more than adept at crafting memorable hooks and an engaging atmosphere without sacrificing heft or freneticism. Swords of Dajjal is an unmitigated success, and my only real gripe is that Necrowretch dropped a new platter so early in the year that it may go overlooked on too many end-of-year lists.

#7. The Vision Bleak // Weird Tales – Grier and I may not see eye to eye on music, but what can I say? The man knows his way around gothic metal. So when he awarded a 4.0 to Weird Tales back in April, what was I to do? If you said wait several months before bothering to press play, you’re correct. But folks, I may have been late to the party, but it’s a rager nonetheless. The Vision Bleak has produced an emotive, memorable, downright heart-wrenching concept album; one that is both lush and harsh, both achingly melodic and morosely heavy. Weird Tales isn’t my usual cup of tea, but The Vision Bleak has rejected my assertion by doing what many similar acts appear incapable of doing: cohesively balancing “gothic” and “metal” without lessening the impact of either. A well-earned addition, indeed.

#6. Stenched // Purulence Gushing from the Coffin – While Rots-giving may have been tarnished by a less-than-stellar release from Rotpit back in November, I’ve moved on since then, and am now proudly celebrating Stenched-mas. The Manly n’ Mighty Steel reviewed this one-man grimy death outfit last month, and even though I was still smarting from my failed attempt to poach Purulence Gushing from the Coffin for myself, I can’t in good conscience deny how hard this globular mass of funerary muck rips. From the first track to the last, you’ll be rocking a near-permanent stank face, and you can’t blame that solely on the fungal miasma wafting from your speakers. The truth is, Stenched has delivered a masterclass in riff-heavy, moss-encrusted death metal; the kind that’s perfect to drag your knuckles to. Purulence Gushing from the Coffin is the exact kind of no-frills, all-guts death metal I needed in 2024, and that’s why it’s sitting pretty at 6.

#5. Aklash // Reincarnation – How are we already at the Top Five? And what better way to kick off this most treasured of positions than with the melodic black metal stylings of Aklash on their fourth album Reincarnation? Aklash received a solid write-up in June’s Stuck in the Filter by our very own Kenstrosity, and their most recent outing has continued to climb higher and higher on my list the more I’ve spun it. Part black metal, part progressive metal, part trad metal (epic choruses included), Reincarnation packs a wallop in just a short 37 minutes. overflowing with varied instrumentation and keen lyrical chops, grandiose in scope and medieval in tone, yet more personal than it has any right to be, Aklash is firing on all cylinders here, and, as such, is perfectly suited for anyone’s top 5.

#4. Devenial Verdict // Blessing of Despair – And, just like that, more death metal rears its ugly head. I’m still surprised at how high up Devenial Verdict’s sophomore album landed on my list, primarily because their 2022 debut Ash Blind failed to connect. But Blessing of Despair seems to have arrived just in time for my increasing flirtation with the cruel mistress that is dissodeath. As such, I found myself utterly taken with Devenial Verdict’s latest, overflowing as it is with equally heavy doses of discordant ferocity and mournful melodicism. And while Blessing of Despair is an undeniably heavy record, it makes sure to leave plenty of room for quieter moments, where slower sections and sparse instrumentation have room to bloom and breathe. This approach not only results in a wonderfully balanced album but ensures the bludgeoning that’s sure to follow is all the more impactful. Consider me reformed.

#3. Aborted // Vault of Horrors – I’m fairly certain that any death metal fan worth their salt is legally required to include the latest Aborted release on their end-of-year list. Over 25 years and 12 albums into their carnal career, these death metal titans need no introduction. Blood-drenched, gore-soaked, and happily grindy, Aborted are in a league all their own, and it shows on Vault of Horrors. The music remains tight and explosive, building a menacing atmosphere that pervades only the stickiest of grindhouse theaters. Besides, with songs dedicated to classics like Return of the Living Dead, Hellraiser, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, how could I do anything other than include this gem of an album in my top 3? I for one welcome our horror-themed overlords.

#2. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – What began as a random pick from the promo sump by one Kenstrosity quickly rose to become a favorite of the death metal maniacs (those with good taste, anyway) on the AMG staff. Now, more importantly, it’s nabbed the second-highest honor on my year-end list. Noxis’ first full-length album Violence Inherent in the System sounds like the product of a much more experienced band. The songwriting is top-notch, the performances are big and bold without being overwrought, and the sticky riffs stay wedged in your mind long after the album ends. And yet for all of its bombast, Noxis is still able to infuse their debut with oodles of atmosphere, not to mention a level of balance between death metal orthodoxy and fresh bells and whistles (and horns) that would make even Thanos grimace in jealousy. Special attention must also be paid to Joe Lowrie’s snare tone and Dave Kirsch’s godlike bass performance.

#1. Pyrrhon // Exhaust – I suppose I was always destined to end up here, I just didn’t know it right away. Pyrrhon’s fifth full-length Exhaust didn’t initially grab me the way some of my other entries did. However, on repeat spins, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into its frenetic, dissonant embrace, discovering both nuances and subtleties amidst the proggy cacophony. On an album that thoroughly explores the universal theme of exhaustion, be it physical, mental, social, or economic, Pyrrhon’s brand of noise-tinged death metal feels like the ideal tool with which to scrawl their livid manifesto. But what truly sets Exhaust apart is its unrelenting groove, stoked by Pyrrhon’s inventive capacity to not only feature but to uplift its unique brand of melodicism amidst the unrelenting maelstrom. It’s hard to overstate just how critical this aspect is to Exhaust’s success, especially since it would have been so easy to excise. But Exhaust’s manic ferocity, which swerves jerks, hops, and heaves, is all the better for it. And while its charms were initially lost on me, I found it easier and easier to finally succumb to its tremulous tendrils. Any record with that kind of staying power (not to mention a theme so applicable to my own experiences this past year) has more than earned my top spot for 2024.

Honorable Mentions:

• Defeated Sanity // Chronicles of Lunacy – Defeated Sanity is a brutal tech death stalwart at this point, and now seven albums in, Chronicles of Lunacy only further cements that status. Chronicles of Lunacy provides the listener with track after aggressively intricate track exploring lunacy in its many forms, but the real treat here is Lille Gruber’s masterful performance on the drums.
• Full of Hell // Coagulated Bliss – while I don’t think I’ve become a complete grind convert, albums like Full of Hell’s Coagulated Bliss and Beaten to Death’s Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis certainly set me on the path to one day become a proud proselytizer. You can’t deny Coagulated Bliss’ infectious groove and whirlwind pace, although I agree with the Dolphin’s rating adjustment.
• Undeath // More Insane – no, it’s not as good as It’s Time…to Rise from the Grave, and there’s no reason to pretend that it is. Nor does it need to be. While More Insane may not reach the lofty heights of its predecessor, it still showcases an Undeath doing what it does best, while also hinting at an undeniable ability to evolve into an even sharper, more fetid OSDM beast.
• 200 Stab Wounds // Manual Manic Procedures – while I wasn’t entirely kind in my review of 200 Stab Wounds’ debut, Mark Z suggested I take their follow-up Manual Manic Procedures for a spin, and I’m glad I did. It’s clear they’ve grown as artists, and their sophomore effort reflects that heightened maturity. Keep stabbing on, your crazy diamonds!
• Mamaleek // Vida Blue – I’m confident this album captures what it would sound like if Tom Waits listened to too much Ashenspire before leaving for the recording studio. Long, difficult, and bold, I found myself returning again and again to Vida Blue no matter how challenging I found the experience. While this album didn’t make my top 10, I’m convinced a future Mamaleek release will.

Song o’ the Year:

• Noxis – ”Skullcrushing Defilement”

This song goes hard. Exceptionally hard. In truth, there are any number of tunes from Violence Inherent in the System that fit the “Song o’ the Year” bill, but I had to give the edge to “Skullcrushing Defilement.” Not only does it begin with an absolutely searing bass solo, but it sets the stage for the four-string onslaught that’s to come. There’s a noticeable Cannibal Corpse influence that I can’t help but love here, alongside heaping doses of maniacal melodicism, turbocharged technicality, and an earworm chorus to boot. Abandon all cervical spines, ye who enter here.

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Today In Metal History 🤘 April 6th, 2024 🤘 U.D.O., PLASMATICS, ANDY JOHNS, DORO, SUFFOCATION, OPETH, THE CULT
TALENT WE LOST R.I.P. Wendy Orlean Williams (aka Wendy O. Williams) (PLASMATICS) - 1949 – 1998 (aged 48) On 1998, Wendy O. Williams was found in a wooded area near her home, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. She was...

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