“Abstracted have been a band since 2013, and their long-gestating debut record, 2022’s Atma Conflux, was an effective and varied slab of djenty progressive death metal, marred by tepid production and less-than-stellar clean vocals. More than anything, though, it showed potential as a record brimming with ideas that was so close to being great. With Hiraeth, can the Brazilian group finally unify their influences into something more than the sum of their parts?” Add and Abstract.
“Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, folk-death septet Cemican caught my attention way back in 2019 with their third record, In Ohtli Teoyohtica In Miquiztli. Boasting strong riffcraft and a penchant for chimeric songwriting, Cemican’s unique style and compelling subject matter challenged what I expected from the death metal scene at the time. Focused on bringing to the fore the sounds, rhythms, and even the language of pre-Mexican indigenous peoples (specifically, Mayan), Cemican’s mission serves a cultural spirit lost to time and colonialism.” Fallen empires and death.
“Melodeath is an old, reliable friend for many a metalhead. Ever since the In Flames and Arch Enemies of the World took an anthemic and accessible version of the Gothenburg sound to the masses throughout the ’90s and ’00s, countless acts and other regional sounds have emerged from rollicking riff and less-than-deathly vocal inclusions. But combined with the right personal flair—a modern melding of blackened, jazzned, and altned influences much like contemporary wildcards Dawn of Ouroboros or Vintersea—melodic extreme metal forms have a growing presence in the hands of those who came of age with this musical history as their guide. Imitation breeds iteration, and, combined with adoration, the heart hopes to find a path alongside its infatuations, not just in shadow. Aversed walks the walk and Erasure of Color talks the talk.” Color theory.
“Then, 2020 arrived with Covid and Hazzerd’s sophomore release, Delirium. It’s not a bad record, but as the band continues to flex their songwriting and technical skills, Delirium was too much of everything. Be it the fifty-minute runtime, the exaggerated drum fills, or the focus on solo placement instead of song structure, it lacked direction. What it did reveal was these boys can shred, and their desire to create interesting leads and harmonizing guitar work can work with the proper structure. Four years later, The 3rd Dimension sets out to prove the band can pull it off.” Viceroys of Hazzerd.
![Amiensus – Reclamation: Part 1 [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amiensus-Reclamation-Part-1--768x768.jpg)
“Amiensus really blessed us this year. Their fourth and fifth full-lengths dropped as the two parts of epic Reclamation. Each a beautiful work of art of their own, together, they’re a shining example of progressive black metal, an emotional and music journey of truly Homeric proportions. But it is towards the former of the pair, Reclamation: Part 1, that I turn here, my esteemed spongefren Kenstrosity having given Part 2 its deserved praise elsewhere.” Reclaiming the AMG love.
August of 2024 was a pretty good month. First, it marked my return from the Injured Reserve, where I’d been nursing a high ego sprain and nagging executive dysfunction issues. These aren’t perfectly fixed, but being back on the field has shown beyond a doubt that I’m still a force to be reckoned with. Second, August of 2024 was a particularly fecund month for potential Records o’ the Month. That surprised me.
The last time Avernus released a full-length album, the year was 1997, which means the release of Grievances took twenty-seven years to produce. These U.S.-based doom-slingers experimented with death and doom metal back in the 1990s before life and limbo got in the way. The intervening years are a long time to hone a sound, so there was no telling what to expect with Grievances—except one look at that cover should tell you we’re in for some serious doom metal. With only that to go on, I was eager to see how nearly three decades make a sophomore album.
“In the grand tradition of doing things late and in the wrong order, this review for interstate progressive melodic black metal outfit Amiensus’ fifth album, Reclamation Pt. II, comes before any AMG coverage of its companion predecessor, Pt. I, released just this past April. How does something like this happen? It’s easy. We missed it. Life gets in the way, or promo came too late or not at all. Any number of scenarios lead to this result, but it is rare that we encounter such situations over the course of a single year. With so little time between releases, I ask myself what kind of album Reclamation Pt. II could be, and what kind of quality should I expect?” Reclaiming the opinions.
“Few bands in the thrash business have remained as enjoyable through their dips and resurgences as New Jersey’s very own gutter brigade Overkill. And since The Lubricunts dissolved to form that unsung thrash titan, bottom-rumbler D.D. Verni has been pluckin’ low and clangy under scooped riffs and snarled anthems for the better part of forty-four years, equally as integral to the Overkill grime as Bobby Blitz’s trash-tongued antics. So it’s understandable then that Verni’s output, being born of a mind—D.D. Verni performs everything here—that has reveled in riffs with a sticky crunch, has aimed to take a step back to roots, back to rock ‘n’ roll.” Rock in a Jersey place.
“Named after Father Damian Karras from The Exorcist, this French power(violence) trio expend tons of energy and vinegar, but precious little time, on their second full-length We Poison Their Young. To quote the vernacular, this strikes the face and/or buttocks region with an open-palm swipe AND it has enjoyable recreational sexual intercourse. This is the type of grind and punky, powerful powerviolence that your late grandpappy warned you about when he was cradling his shotgun from the comfort of his rocking chair on the porch, all while blaring Napalm Death and Nasum at ear-bleeding volumes.” Commence to grinding, son!
