Mid-month Metal Masterpiece
Metal-masterpiece 74: Manilla Road – Open the Gates
Manilla Road is the single most epic band in all of heavy metal-a quality that earned them an automatic back-patch honor (the greatest of all metal honors) on my classic metal patch vest. Now, I know that “most epic of all” is a bold claim, but it is the truth. Not even Bathory at their…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 73: Christian Mistress – Agony and Opium (2010)
Christian Mistress is another one of those throwback “retro” metal bands that is attempting to bring back the “classic” metal sound (along with a healthy dose of 1970s hard rock). I honestly like most of the New Wave of Retro Heavy Metal bands out there, the best of which actually do seem to capture a…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 72: Void Meditation Cult – Sulfurous Prayers (2011)
It’s another death metal month for MMMM, and this time we are going to take a look at one of those Incantation clones that seem to be everywhere these days. Not that I’m really complaining, for my money, if you are going to do death metal and don’t want to stick to the tried and true old-school sound,…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 71: Grausamkeit – Fucking Goat Horness (1996)
The early German black metal scene was about as underground as it got in the mid-nineties (at least until Lords of Chaos got published). And, one of that scenes best kept non-Absurd secrets is the prolific Grausamkeit. Lo-fi and juvenile, Grausamkeit’s sole member “Black Son of Darkness” had a real talent for finding a way…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 70: Heavy Load – Metal Conquest (1981)
Sweden is a land from which much metal hails. And, while they (or, more specifically, Bathory) invented black metal, their early 80s metallic history is not quite as deep or varied as England, the country that made metal what it is today. However, one band stood out as not only one of the earliest, but also…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 69: Vulcano – Bloody Vengeance (1986)
South American black/thrash/death is known for a few things. The music is incredibly fast and raw, the drumming sounds like someone kicked the drum kit down a flight of stairs, and, overall, it’s about as nasty as 2 Live Crew wishes they were. This of course leads to some bands of varying talent surviving the test…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 68: Urfaust – Geist ist Teufel (2004)
As my tastes in black metal have (de)evolved over the years, I have realized that there is definitely a certain sound that I have apparently been seeking this entire time. Its exact qualities are always just out of reach, but they most definitely involve some kind of combination of lo-fi folk buried beneath layer after layer of extremely oppressive…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 67: Metalucifer – Heavy Metal Chainsaw (2001)
Retro metal has been a thing for a while now, and, honestly, I’m just fine with bands mining the good ol’ days of 80s heavy and speed metal in an attempt to recapture even a tenth of the glory of that hallowed time. Japan’s Metalucifer (a side/passion-project of the almighty Sabbat’s frontman Gezol) is both…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 66: Depravity – Silence of the Centuries (1993)
I’ve been going around lately saying that about the only death metal I listen to any more is Incantation and the legion of bands they influenced with their focus on dark, evil, atmosphere over, like, actual songwriting. Well, that’s not entirely true, I guess I also still appreciate bands that mix old school aesthetics with a…
Read MoreMid-month Metal Masterpiece 65: Absurd – Death from the Forest (1993)
Aspersions have been cast, in my general direction, regarding the content of this feature. SOME have claimed that the word “masterpiece” is being used far to freely. After last month’s album, it was even suggested that this feature be renamed “Atrocious Production and Questionable Talent.” Well, if you thought that Deathslayer demo was shitty, you…
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