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Abhorrent Expanse – Enter the Misanthropocene Review

Abhorrent Expanse – Enter the Misanthropocene Review

“How experimental is too experimental? That’s the question Chicago’s Abhorrent Expanse posits. It’s clear from the title: Enter the Misanthropocene enters to play jazz and fuck shit up, and “Bitches Brew” is on its final notes. When the Lord of the Promo Pit designated the quartet as “death-drone,” I was intrigued and gobbled up rights. It was clear from the jump that Abhorrent Expanse was not the death metal act with a mammoth guitar tone I had hoped, but an improvisational free jazz quartet that decides to do extreme metal sometimes, with death metal, grindcore, and, yes, drone metal making short-lived appearances.” Expansive ambitions.

Tommy Concrete – Unrelapsed Review

Tommy Concrete – Unrelapsed Review

“Scottish solo artist Tommy Concrete (aka Tomas Pattison) has a proclivity for creating music that is experimental, rebellious, and seldom boring. Since 2001, the avant-garde musician has self-produced a surplus of releases dipping into punk, progressive metal, doom, black metal, hardcore, industrial, and almost everything in between. 2021’s Hexenzirkel found the Scot experimenting with epic long-winded prog compositions á la Devin Townsend. It was received negatively by AMG’s resident Frog. Fast forward three years and Tommy is back to give it another go with his tenth full-length Unrelapsed, and this time he’s using blackened hardcore as a therapeutic means to cope with his struggles with addiction.” Paving the way to obscurity.

Oscillotron – Oblivion Review

Oscillotron – Oblivion Review

Oscillotron is the project of David Johansson, frontman of Kongh and live guitarist for Cult of Luna since 2013. If you’re expecting doom rock influences, aside from thick heaviness, you’ll be disappointed. Oblivion leans more toward drone than the atmospheric doom and electronics of 2016’s Cataclysm or 2012’s Eclipse. Oblivion delivers a continuous wall of noise—a relentless, hour-long track filled with droning guitars and Moog synthesizers.” Music with a bad case of the Mondays.

Corpsefucking Art – Tomatized Review

Corpsefucking Art – Tomatized Review

“There are albums that choose you, and Corpsefucking Art chose me. Even for a band known for their comedy, Tomatized surprised me. There are certain subjects you cover for a brutal death/slam/goregrind band, with plenty of gore and torment populating its lyric sheets – even if the pig-squealed “EEEEEEEE” is the only thing you hear. Tomatized has all that and a Lovecraftian vibe: “Earth shall be ruled by a new breed of sentient beings!” the promo proudly proclaims. Okay, sentient beings dethroning humanity isn’t too odd for death metal. “Behold the kingdom of cyclopic tomatoes!” Wait, what?” Face the sauce boss.

Mushroomhead – Call the Devil Review

Mushroomhead – Call the Devil Review

“The problem with nu-metal is that the aesthetics overpower the music. Taking the machismo of rap and combining it with metal’s most knuckle-dragging moments, its “hard as fuck” image has combined with adrenaline and testosterone in some sort of raging divorced dad Frankenstein’s monster with Red Bull in hand. While the likes of Powerman 5000 or Static-X have toyed with its mania in a silly vibe, others have embraced the style’s over-the-top aesthetic. Cleveland’s Mushroomhead, in line with the “dark” theatrics and special effects of Slipknot, Mudvayne, or Insane Clown Posse, has juiced this style dry with even more over-the-top themes and costumes, amplified by industrial, symphonic, and more straightforward hip-hop influences.” Fungus is back among us.

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings may have claim to the most interesting premise in metal, at least in 2023. Based on recordings from hired session musicians, the project is a work of purely AI-generated power metal. The Orcish Eclipse is the project’s debut full-length release, and heralds itself as “the world’s first AI-generated heavy metal album.”” Orc in the machine.

Megaton Leviathan – Magick Helmet Review

Megaton Leviathan – Magick Helmet Review

“Look, I love drone. I love getting lost in the swaths of noise and soundscapes that pervade its classics, as albums like Earth’s Earth 2, Sunn O)))’s Black One, and BorisFlood offer otherworldly and mammoth wilderness to explore. Riffs don’t offer adrenaline, but mountains instead, while vocals and percussion, if there are any, are the last semblance of humanity amid the utter saturation of sound. Its utter overwhelm of sound makes it controversial, its void of relatability offers little reprieve, and its slow depiction of devastation is hypnotic. All that to say, while I was maybe hoping for the next Holy Fawn with Megaton Leviathan’s talk of shoegaze, drone, and doom, I don’t know what the fuck to make of Magick Helmet.” All noise, no sword.

Silent Tiger – Twist of Fate Review

Silent Tiger – Twist of Fate Review

“As we’ve established, Silent Tiger are a band that excels at album cover artwork. Their 2020 debut, Ready for Attack, saw their feline mascot stealthily emerging from the chilled, blue haze of a Bob Ross painting. Not to rest on the laurels of that bar-setting accomplishment, Silent Tiger crushed all other comers with the artwork to Twist of Fate.” Crouching tiger, hidden schmaltz.

Of Virtue – Omen Review

Of Virtue – Omen Review

“If I’m being brutally honest, I follow Michigan collective Of Virtue in the vain hopes they reclaim their former glory, and to express my disappointment whenever they fail to reach that. I get that it’s not fair to have low expectations, but as the saying goes, how the mighty have fallen. While they used to be aligned with a progressive edge and heart-wrenching melodic hardcore foundation not unlike Misery Signals or Counterparts, 2019’s What Defines You featured a sound that can only be defined by its devolution. What can we expect from Omen? Realistic expectations are a virtue.