Armagedda "The Final War Approaching"

    Bring on the end of humanity, the apocalyptic demise of society with the music of Sweden’s Armagedda playing in the background as our world is swallowed up into oblivion. To celebrate the band’s 20 years of blackened devastation, the band will be reissuing their debut album, “The Final War Approaching.”

    A blistering cut of black metal, the album is one of the most grim and abysmal sounding releases ever recorded by Armagedda and one all black metal fans might want to add to their collections. The Swedish based label, Nordvis, will be reissuing the album on CD, cassette and vinyl with a release date set for March 29th. “The Final War Approaching,” is an album that stays true to the raw black metal formula and conjures up some evil sounding atmospheres.

    “The Final War Approaching,” is a strong release containing a vicious selection of eight tracks. The buzzsaw sounding distorted guitar riffs, rapid skull crushing drum parts and hellish sounding vocals, construct blasphemous offerings of music that will send shivers down the spines of priests and summon total darkness. The first song off the album, “Deathminded,” is a raw cut of music featuring a blizzard of blackened fury and does a great job kicking off the album. The second track, “Sign of Evil,” slashes away with a terrifying main riff that may not be exactly technical, however, it lays the foundation for a pulverizing piece of extreme music.

    As the album progresses you hear the band maintain a tight sound that does not stray too far from how the beginning tracks sound. “Undergång” explodes through the speakers with distorted aggression and displays the band’s unforgiving attitude. I must point out how the production of this album compliments the band’s style of songwriting and you feel the music is written with true passion for black metal music to where the tracks to do not sound dual in the least sense. The final song on the album, “My Eternal Journey,” concludes the musical onslaught by hammering out a slower and extremely malevolent sounding riff. Once again, Armagedda hacks away in raw and grim fashion to give listeners a truly harsh sounding album.

    If you are a fan of pure unapologetic black metal, then this is a required listen in my opinion. Also, if you enjoy the album you have the option of getting it on CD, cassette and vinyl thanks to Nordvis. Now, I do want say that anyone who thinks that after watching, Lords of Chaos, they are a black metal expert, needs to go take a hike off a cliff and understand that there is more to black metal then guys burning churches, stabbing each other and shooting at McDonalds (Yes Varg claims he did that once). Armagedda reminds us that black metal should be about the music and not the controversies surrounding your band.


Armagedda "Sign of Evil" :

Pre-Order through Nordvis here:

https://nordvis.com/en/

Iron Griffin "Curse of the Sky"

    Following the success of Iron Griffin’s self-titled debut EP, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Oskari Räsänen returns with another strong release of classic sounding hard rock and heavy metal music. The songs on this new album, “Curse of the Sky,” shall open up gateways into a magnificent realm of epic sounding music where warriors fend off attacks from ravenous beasts.

    On the new album, Räsänen decided to seek out the talents of Maija Tiljander, who proves to be a phenomenal vocalist with an unbelievable range. Her ability to bring such emphasis to the fantasy based lyrical content makes each song very memorable and complements the instrumental compositions extremely well. I was a huge fan of the first EP and thought that the singer who handled the vocal parts on that album did a great job, however, the decision to change vocalists was a brilliant idea. Tiljander and Räsänen prove to be a solid team and the album’s overall production is simply amazing.

    The album opens with an acoustic instrumental composition with faint noises of thunder in the background to buildup anticipation for the song, “Reign of Thunder.” You feel as though you are being bombarded with thunderous explosions of guitar distortion, while the vocals provided by Tiljander confidently scream over the bombastic sounding noise. The next song, “Forgotten Steel,” maintains a triumphant attitude with medieval themed lyrics creating a world of fantasy and glorious sounding classic metal music. The vintage sound of the guitars and the fantasy themed lyrical content reminds me of bands like Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road.

    Track number four, “Lost Legion,” begins with a soothing introduction section that unfolds into a fierce battle like piece of valiant metal might. I find the dynamic songwriting abilities of Räsänen to really standout on this song and I like how he crafts such vivid melodic compositions that match the emotional tone of Tiljander’s voice. The songs, “Curse of the Sky” and “Dawn of Struggle,” both gallop away in a feverish fashion containing some truly blistering rhythms and verse sections. I personally like the raw attitude that, “Dawn Struggle,” seemed to convey in terms of the vocal delivery and the main guitar riff. The final song on the album, “To the Path of the Glory,” is quite possibly the most powerful and captivating song off of the album. Once again, listeners are treated to a piece of uplifting metal music to conclude a journey of epic and triumphant proportions.

    “Curse of the Sky,” was a very refreshing and overall enjoyable listening experience compared to a lot of your typical overproduced heavy metal releases where there seems to be a lack of true raw emotion. From start to finish, Iron Griffin embodies what making great rock and metal music is all about, which is putting passion into each song you write and not settling for subpar. Iron Griffin’s music reminds us that the power and glory of hard rock and heavy metal music does not die like most other modern styles of music, or fade in time. I highly recommend this album for fans of classic hard rock and heavy metal along with anyone looking for an escape into world of sheer heavy metal fantasy.




Iron Griffin's Bandcamp:
https://irongriffin.bandcamp.com/album/curse-of-the-sky

Iron Griffin's Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/irongriffinmetal/

Review: Traveler "Self-Titled Release"

    Screaming through the galaxy with a classic metal vengeance of super sonic metallic force, Canada’s Traveler offers a scorching full-length debut release looking to consume the heavy metal universe with glorious sounding riffs and triumphant sounding vocals.

    Speed metal and power metal fans will be rather pleased with this release, as the band demonstrates strong songwriting skills and skillful musicianship. The band’s singer, Jean-Pierre Abboud, also known for his work in the band Gatekeeper, does a tremendous job presenting the lyrics with a high soaring vocal delivery. Along with Jean-Pierre’s amazing vocal abilities, the twin guitar attack of Matt Ries and Toryin Schadlich proves to be a lightening fast force of riff making fury. I also thought the rhythm section comprising of bassist Dave Arnold and drummer Chad Vallier, packed a mighty punch on each track to help establish a bold and bombastic sound.

    The album’s production and overall sound is full of relentless heavy metal energy which is very consistent on each song. You know you’re in for a ripping heavy metal experience when the opening track, “Starbreaker,” bursts out of your speakers like a starship screaming through the cosmos fueled by an atomic sounding main guitar riff. The vocals add an extra emphasis of epic heavy metal attitude and Jean-Pierre has an unbelievable range that does not sound forced and seems to come natural when he hits those high notes. After the opening track ended I liked the transition into the next song, “Street Machine,” because the music maintained such a passionate and fierce edge. Traveler does a great job not settling for generic and simplistic riffs and comes up with these arrangements that convey a high level of profound energy.

    Track three off of the album, “Behind the Iron,” is a very Maiden-esque type song that utilizes the two guitar attack extremely well. The way that the vocals compliment the melodic guitar compositions is perfectly executed and keeps delivering until the song ends. Other songs worth mentioning are, “Fallen Heroes,” “Mindless Maze” and “Speed Queen” with probably “Mindless Maze” being my overall favorite song off of the album. From the soothing intro guitar arrangement to the epic chorus section to the mind being lead guitar parts, I felt like the song was extremely well written from start to finish. Traveler combined all the elements needed to write a stellar heavy metal song that does not disappoint in the least bit, or sounds poorly slapped together like what you hear from most classic metal worship bands who spend more time on their album artwork than their songwriting skills.

    Traveler is yet another great example of a band paying homage to classic heavy metal, while forging their own path by writing some exciting and powerful pieces of music. The band’s self-titled debut release is a recommended listen for fans of classic heavy metal, speed metal, power metal or people who want something to bang their head along to while raising their fists in the air. Better not pass this release up, because the way Traveler is going right now, these guys are going to be coming at the heavy metal world faster than the speed of light and you don’t want to miss out!



Traveler "Behind the Iron" :

Traveler Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/travelerheavymetal/

Archangel A.D. "Warband"

    Bursting out the abyss like an unstoppable demonic force without remorse, Archangel A.D. is group that is ready to strike. The Edinburg, Texas based band unleashes a fist full of thrash metal madness on their upcoming album, “Warband.”

    Taking the fierce and skull crushing spirit of 80’s thrash metal, Archangel A.D. constructs brutal headbanging riffs while composing some blitzkrieg like pieces of music. I hear a very classic thrash vibe in their songs and the songwriting is rather impressive for a young bunch of dudes. There are so many bands who try and look “thrash metal” to where the songs come out sounding incomplete, or are just poorly recycled riffs taken from Slayer songs. I think Archangel A.D. is going about writing their songs in the right manner to where they are not just hitting the repeat button on each track.

    The album opens with an explosive song called, “Unto the Evil,” containing a crushing main riff section. I thought the music was very reminiscent to that of early Testament and Megadeth where the riffs contain some strong and thoughtful chord progressions accompanied by catchy verse sections. The drumming is solid along with the overall guitar and bass work, but I felt like the vocal presentation during the song was where the band really excelled. The band’s singer delivers a strong performance and the recording quality of the vocals helped give the songs that extra emphasis of aggression. Track number two, “Blighting,” is yet another classic thrash worshipping slice of galloping fury. There is no hesitation as the band feverishly hammers out a blizzard of notes and sounds to construct a sinister song.

    The album’s title track, “Warband,” is strong piece of music and the musicianship from each member really stands out. Archangel A.D. does not settle for simplicity, however, they do not try and complicate their music with unnecessary technicality. That also goes for the instrumental track, “Enter the Temple,” which is a decent composition that is heavy and features some monstrous riffs. The final two tracks, “Evil Dreams” and “Metal Horde,” are dark pieces of music that both contain some haunting arrangements. I think the intro to, “Evil Dreams,” was down right terrifying and I really liked the bells ringing in the background. The band did a great job creating a very ominous and doom like atmosphere which was an enjoyable change of tempo.

    In a sea of countless thrash bands around the world, I think Archangel A.D. did a tremendous job showing what they are capable of doing on, “Warband.” I want to hear them continue to focus on coming up with dynamic song structures, because I think that is where they will excel the most and separate them from the usual suspects. Also, the recording quality of the songs on this release was fairly decent, so I hope they build off of how this album sounded and find ways to produce some impactful thrash records. Thrash is still alive and kicking, especially when you have young bands like Archangel A.D. showing they have the potential and talent to conjure up some wicked sounding tunes.


Archangel A.D. "Blighting"

Archangel A.D. Facebook Page:
 https://www.facebook.com/ArchangelA.D

Laceration "Remnants"

  The Bay Area metal scene is thriving right now with numerous up and coming bands recording some really impressive material. Laceration is band taking old school death metal and thrash metal and unleashing blistering tracks of extreme metal chaos.

  Formed in 2006, Laceration has gained a strong following over the years amongst the Bay Area metal scene and keeps building momentum. Working with Unspeakable Axe Records, a label that seems to produce devastating releases from some of the most ravenous bands around, Laceration will be putting out a release featuring songs from a couple EPs, demos and songs that were part of their 2013 split with Tinnitus. I think fans will be pleased to hear a sinister array of material on the upcoming release, which I believe will help build anticipation for more new material from Laceration.

  “Remnants,” features a strong dose of tracks that shall appease any extreme metal maniac looking for some high quality headbanging. The opening song, “Realms of the Unconscious,” is a dynamic assault of brutality and technical prowess. I felt like the track was a great introduction for people who may have never heard of Laceration, because the song really touches upon what this band is about musically and demonstrates their style of songwriting. The following tracks continue to maintain a vicious edge while constantly leaving carnage in their wake. Track number two, “Self Deprivation,” is a bombastic slaughter of sound and molds such ferocity from various influences that range from old school death metal to 80’s thrash. Laceration does a good job maintaining a balance of death metal and thrash metal to where the band is able to utilize the combination to their advantage when writing their songs.

  Other songs to mention off this release would be, “Exhausted in Form,” “Bred to Consume” and “Hobo with a Shotgun.” I personally enjoyed, “Hobo with the Shotgun,” the most since I am fan of the movie which the song is named after and I also thought the music sounded just as brutal as the film. Laceration’s vocalist is a strong singer and he does a tremendous job presenting the lyrics throughout the song in a bold unapologetic nature. Another killer piece of music off this album is, “Shadows of Existence,” which begins with a massive wall of distorted chaos that comes destructively crashing down along with the hellish sounding drum parts. The riff sections are harsh and convey such raw energy to where you feel consumed by this malicious force of extreme sounding horror.

  Overall I believe, “Remnants,” is a well put together release featuring songs that demonstrate solid musicianship and creative songwriting which seems to have evolved since the band’s inception. The band does not just simply slap together recycled death and thrash riffs, and I find there is a bit more thought in their instrumental compositions compared to most other death/thrash bands. I think if Laceration keeps up this type of songwriting and musicianship on future releases, we are going to be getting treated to some killer sounding extreme metal releases. Th future looks brutal people, so keep an eye out for Laceration!


Laceration "Exhausted in Form" :

Laceration Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/LACERATION-Bay-Area-106524719409624/

Top Ten Albums of 2018 / Rob "The Metal Guy Awards"

If someone was to tell me that 2018 was a poor year for hard rock and heavy metal music I would consider tying them to one of Elon Musks' SpaceX rockets and sending them off into space. In reality 2018 was another strong year for rock and metal music with plenty of impressive sounding releases. I know that moron from Maroon 5 says rock is "nowhere" but then again, his music is equal to that of horse manure, so what does he really know. I was pleased with the albums that came out this year and I do not think rock and metal are going "nowhere." People just need to pull their heads out of their asses, or do more goddamn research before opening their douche crusted hipster mouths. Here are my top ten picks of 2018 from some exceptional artists in the rock and metal world...

10. Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality

Skeletal Remains is a death metal band that knows how to craft some bombastic sounding old school death metal music, while also providing some solid elements of technicality. I feel like, “Devouring Mortality,” was definitely a step into more of a technical world compared to their previous releases, and I think the musicianship is becoming really impressive. Skeletal Remains is a strong act with more left to offer, so I am looking forward to how they can top this album.

9. Exmortus - The Sound of Steel

The shredding assault of Exmortus is still going strong and their new album. “The Sound of Steel,” does not disappoint. Exmortus is a band full of talented musicians and the guitar playing always stands out on each release. Their mixture of neoclassical shredding with thrash and death metal make for some epic and exciting cuts of metal. Plus, I always enjoy hearing battle themed lyrics accompanied by blistering lead guitar playing.

8. Petrification - Hollow of the Void

Gruesome, terrifying and paying homage too old school death metal, Petrification delivered a sinister sounding release this year with “Hollow of the Void.” These Portland, Oregon death metal musicians are exceptional players and wrote some really vicious tracks. I think they are definitely one of the strongest up and coming death metal acts to come out within the last couple years and a force to be reckoned with in the future.

7. Summoning - With Doom We Come

One of the most important bands in the world of atmospheric black metal, Summoning, is such an iconic force that when news of their new album came out fans were highly anticipating this new album. The bands 1995 release, “Minus Morgul,” is quite possibly the blue-print for atmospheric black metal and is an album that has inspired so many current artists within the sub-genre. “With Doom We Come,” features long epic pieces with lyrical content inspired by the works of Tolkien that pulls you into a world of cinematic musical fantasy. I think fans will be pleased to hear the band maintain a very epic atmospheric black metal sound.

6. Vargrav - Netherstorm

When I first heard Vargrav I was quickly reminded of Emperor and all those black metal bands who are able to successfully incorporate keyboards into their black metal sound. “Netherstorm,” is stellar blizzard of raw black metal, yet has these moments of cosmic melodic atmosphere. You can’t write this band off as another typical black metal band, because the riffs and song structures are very well crafted. There are no recycled riffs, or poorly written compositions. Each song flows with great synergy on this album, so you never lose interest when listening to it.

5. Abstracter - Cinereous Incarnate 

Another band from the Sentient Ruin roster, Abstracter did a tremendous job creating what could possibly be the soundtrack for the apocalyptic demise of humanity. The music is unbelievably heavy to where seismic shocks are sent out each time a chord is struck, or a cymbal smashed. Overall, these musicians are a solid unit and keep offering some wicked sounding tunes of destructive blackened sludge. 

4. Barren Altar - Entrenched in the Faults of the Earth 

I have seen Barren Altar a fair amount of times over the last few years and have interviewed the band on a couple occasions. To finally hear this Sonoma County based band release a devastating full-length album really made 2018 a solid year for extreme music. The dynamics and unique blend of black metal, death metal and doom metal sends chills down your spine, while also obliterating your speakers. The vocals on this album present tales of pure agony and inner anguish, which compliments the abysmal sounding instrumental compositions. 

3. Atrament - Scum Sect 

One of the most brutal sounding releases to come out this year, Atrament’s “Scum Sect” is a pulverizing assault of blackened death crust spewing hatred from the dark depths of the Bay Area. I thought the songwriting on this album was extremely well done and there were no throw away tracks throughout the album. Plus the overall production quality added a malevolent punch of musical insanity to your ears. When pertaining to underground extreme music, Atrament is one of the top up and coming acts around.

2. Cauldron - New Gods

Cauldron’s last album, “In Ruin,” was an impressive release from top to bottom in my opinion. The production and songwriting was flawless, so I looked forward to what they would do on their next album. “New Gods,” definitely maintains that same essence which can be heard on “In Ruin,” while taking a more melodic hard rock/classic metal approach at times. There are plenty of catchy riffs on this album along with very melodic song structures. The lyrics are well written and can get stuck in your head for hours. What is it about Canada and great rock and metal power trios? They just seem to know how to make them. 

1. Old Tower - Stellary Wisdom 

Old Tower, “Stellary Wisdom,” was without a doubt one of the most fascinating and most brilliant sounding releases to come out this year, hence why I have it as my number one pick of 2018. The artist behind this project known only as, The Specter, continues to demonstrate amazing composition skills by taking dungeon synth music and creating worlds of tranquil sounding darkness. The overall atmosphere on, “Stellary Wisdom,” is truly phenomenal and the consideration to detail and recording quality is so well done. For those who are looking for a great dungeon synth release I can tell you “Stellary Wisdom” is the album you should be checking out. 

Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards :

Best EP of the Year: Mournful Cries “Vices” 

Best Split Release of the Year: Putrid and Pathetic “Devorando Carne Divina” 

Best Live Album: Night Demon “Live Darkness” 

Label of the Year: Sentient Ruin

Best Live Performance: Trecelence (March 23 at the Phoenix Theater / Opening for Act of Defiance)

Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Blood Star

Most Metal Movie of 2018: Terrifier (First premiered in 2016 but I saw it in 2018)

Most Metal WWE Wrestler: Becky Lynch 

Most Obnoxious Group of People on the Planet: ANTIFA (For cancelling the Taake tour. Hoping they don't cancel any shows or tours in 2019...fucking dicks)

Biggest Douche Award: The dumbass from Maroon 5 with Gene Simmons as runner up (Surprisingly Gene wasn't as big of a douche this year as the previous year.) 

Atrament "Scum Sect"

    Taking D-beat crust punk and adding a pulverizing helping of backend death brutality, Atrament summons forth an abysmal sounding world of eternal chaos. Each track on the Oakland, CA based band’s new album, “Scum Sect,” is a sinister attack of pure blackened hatred sure enough to drain the happiness right out of your inner soul.

    Their debut album, “Eternal Downfall,” was an impressive and utterly extreme sounding release and was one of my favorite releases for that year. Somehow the band takes the music into even more blasphemous and dark directions with their sophomore album, “Scum Sect,” by writing more down right unapologetic lyrics and unleashing some devastating riffs. Also, the overall musicianship on this new album is rather solid and as a whole the band is able to produce some strong tracks. Out of the ten songs on this release I don’t think you will find one track that does not fit, because the songwriting and musicianship is unbelievably consistent. Once the band hammers out the first offering of merciless sounding terror you can’t run away and are sucked into this endless nightmare of pure destruction.

    The song, “Plague Upheaval,” kicks off the album with a thunderous punch of distortion and malevolent sounding vocals. The drumming is crushing is overall sound and maintains a killer groove which you hear throughout the album. I felt like the sound engineer did an awesome job with the drum and guitar levels to where every extreme sound flows in perfect synergy. The next song, “Chains of Terror,” feverishly strikes away at a ghastly sounding blackened death riff while the drumming keeps the music moving forward in blistering fashion. Another area to point out is the vocals and Atrament’s singer provides one monstrous sounding vocal delivery on this album. Songs like, “Boiling Blood,” and “Spit on Mankind,” are given an extra boost of gruesome and harsh sounding attitude by the band’s lead singer.

    Other songs I want to mention are “Craven” and the last track on the album, “This Night Shall See No End.” Both tracks continue to display this bands vicious musical talents with even more sickening vocal lines and bombastic humanity destroying riff compositions. “This Night Shall See No End,” is probably my favorite song off the album, because I like how the band combined all the different elements of black metal, death metal and crust punk to create one massive sounding extreme assault on the ears.

    I think Atrament’s, “Scum Sect,” is yet another great release from this band and the album continues to build upon their vicious legacy as one of the Bay Area's strongest up and coming acts. Easily one of the most profound and intense sounding recordings to come this year in my opinion. If they sound this extreme and apocalyptic on their recordings, just imagine what these guys sound like live…the venue would probably collapse and a portal into a black and endless abyss would open up sucking everyone in, besides the promoter of course who would take all the money and get out of their faster than a blast beat.



Atrament "This Night Shall See No End"

Atrament Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/blackatrament/