“Whether it’s the mystifying hourglass of parenthood or a sudden collision of earth to brain, time erodes both in steady, unnoticeable stutters and blink-speed slides. I’m sure Coroner never quite planned to sit this long on new material, with its inception a decade ago sliding to present today in maturity. But after thirty-plus years, there’s little rush in releasing anything for the sake of the release itself.” Back to examine.
“Novelty in the metalsphere exists in many folds, whether it be the marrying of virtuosity and familiar structures or the exploration of foreign sounds and textures in a rock/metal context. Grayceon, for the better part of the past twenty years, has lingered in the latter path from 2007’s self-titled debut to this newest grand work, Then the Darkness, finding value in the riffy and amp-driven space between emotive, layered electric cello work.” Cello, friends.
“In the eyes of a legacy creator, novelty and personal excitement drive the continued pursuit of the release. Mark Zonder, esteemed drummer of Warlord and formerly of Fates Warning, lives by this mantra, using A-Z as an outlet for his frenetic rhythmic focus surrounded by the performances of trusted partners.” Prog letters by the numbers.
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Enter the Cyber Riff Arena!
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Get in the death groove.
“Whatever mood suits you—perhaps none at all if you prefer deathly excursions of the older and fetid variety—Fallujah’s alien guitar identity consistently earns them a notch on the altar atop many a post-The Faceless tech death connoisseur’s mantle. Yet, the path that Fallujah walks has not always been one of extreme innovation. Rather, in spindly idiosyncrasies and heavyweight melodic ripples, the California riffslingers have whipped their way from roots in crushing yet entrancing death metal, through increasing gazey atmospherics, and into a flexed, teched out expression of all their past lives.” Palette shifter.
“Sixteen years is all Jonas Renkse had to his name when he and Anders Nyström formed Katatonia back in 1991. A myriad of classic influences and the bravado of youth guided their fledgling minds down much rawer, doomier, and death-colored paths than Katatonia travels in 2025. But after thirty-plus years on the job—and a messy spat between old friends—nothing could possibly stay the same. The urge to find efficiencies in expression may overcome the urge to blaze an unknown path or revisit roots. What always remains in the Katatonia expression, though, is an unshakable and downtrodden atmosphere—time hasn’t rid the remaining Renkse of a bleak outlook on the world.” The bleak in review.
“Who needs two guitar players when you could have two master bass players at the helm? Quadvium seeks to answer this question with the fiery fingerwork of metal legends Steve DiGiorgio and Jeroen Paul Thesseling. DiGiorgio revolutionized bass playing in the metalsphere through radical death works with Autopsy, Death, and his own band, Sadus. Even if you don’t know his name, you may recognize these hallmarks of percussive and frenetic bass engineering, or any number of the thrashy, deathly, or progressive albums to which he has lent a wild, throbbing pulse. Likewise, Thesseling has weaved his way around celebrated releases, designing a style equally tricky but heavier in jazz-indebted fusion. Both Pestilence’s Spheres and Obscura’s breakout albums would not have seen the same light without his buttery and bleeping presence.” Bass on bass wiolence.
“The world seems to grow more hostile by the minute, so I feel like I need to be more “on guard” with the media around me. So, I’ve been seeing this guy for a while now. He was going to therapy pretty regularly with a Dr. Moshe Pitt as part of maintaining a healthy outlook on life—or so he told me. But when I was at his place the other day, I saw this little booklet on his nightstand called Spinct-Earth Society. I did a little research on it, and it turns out that it’s a self-help book by some organization from Belgium called Brutal Sphincter. I confronted him about it, and he confessed in full to using only this manual—not a therapist! But he seems happier than ever, and things are going great? Should I be worried? Can Brutal Sphincter be trusted?” The hole story.
“Are the ’90s played out yet? If you ask the metal world, or rather, the metal-leaning world of -cored and rocky sounds, we’re just getting started in the retro movement of three-decades past explorations. From the dreamy prog-leaning radioscapes of Lizzard to The Jesus Lizard-drenched grinding lurch of Full of Hell to the nostalgic Deftones-alt-castings of Bleed, the ’90s finds itself emblazoned in cut-n-scanned posters across guitar-led machinations in our current age. In a guise more Hole-y and riot grrrl, Michigan’s Tonguecutter wears close that AmRep, early Melvins, Unsane-y aesthetic with their quick-n-dirty debut Minnow.” Tongue chum.
