Angry Metal Guy

Record(s) o’ the Month – May 2025

By Angry Metal Guy on August 9, 2025 in Blog Posts, 125 comments

There are months when the Record(s) o’ the Month feels like a sacred duty. It is the noble, worthwhile culmination of rigorous listening and passionate discourse. And then there’s May. May, a month in which Dr. A.N. Grier tried to vote for a band called… SEXCAVE or some shit 4 or 5 different times with different pseudonyms, and where Dolphin Whisperer almost made me rage quit by making a single joke about “sky-tearing tonalities,” which, like… what kind of pretentious fucking bullshit is that? Do you people even listen to music or do you just sit around all day making up stupid poetic ways of saying absolutely nothing?

Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2025

By Angry Metal Guy on August 3, 2025 in Blog Posts, 156 comments

“April is the cruellest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot in a poem that no one quoting it has ever finished reading. And while Eliot was quite metal in his exquisite, existential despair about WWI or whatever, he never understood true existential dread. I speak, of course, of the dread of being force-fed twenty-five promising albums, half of which are drenched in so much reverb that you feel like you’re swimming, only to realize that you didn’t even review the Record o’ the Month yourself

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On Spotify

By Angry Metal Guy on July 26, 2025 in Blog Posts, 316 comments

“Phantom Spell review, a number of people commented that the great new record from Kyle McNeill is not on Spotify. This is, indeed, the case. Phantom Spell is part of a nascent movement of musicians who are divesting from the platform because of Daniel Ek’s involvement in the development of AI war tech.” AMG is here to give you the rundown on Spotify and streaming.

Phantom Spell – Heather & Hearth Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 24, 2025 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 94 comments

“During the 16 years that AMG has been a thing, I have criticized the trend of reaching back for the sounds of yore and creating high-fidelity copies. Dubbed “Nostalgiacore,” I regularly razzed Steel Druhm about his obsession with his lost glory days and heartily rolled my eyes at Rethrash. I thumbed my nose at the 3,500 bands a week we were getting in 2015, wearing bell-bottoms and writing Black Sabbath riffs 45 years after Black Sabbath was released.” Ruh roh…

Calva Louise – Edge of the Abyss Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 17, 2025 in Reviews, Electronica, Groove Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 120 comments

Genre is a funny thing. Calva Louise is almost certainly called “Crossover.” Their sound is a combination of elements that, if I read each one individually, would make me shrug my shoulders. Maybe I would ask, “How would that even work?” What I wouldn’t expect is an album that excites me.

Impureza – Alcázares Review

By Angry Metal Guy on July 11, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 94 comments

Jokingly called the “French Nile,” Impureza blends extreme, brutal death metal with rich cultural motifs and flamenco. Alcázares marks Impureza’s third full-length album in 15 years. Does it live up to Impureza’s elite past?

Insania – The Great Apocalypse Review

By Angry Metal Guy on June 12, 2025 in Reviews, Power Metal, 126 comments

“One could be forgiven for thinking The Great Apocalypse was another nostalgia ride—a lovingly executed Stratovarius/Helloween tribute made by scene veterans committed to the bit. But the familiarity is a trap. Underneath the Europower surface is something more ambitious.” But is it fun? And does it work?

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2025

By Angry Metal Guy on March 8, 2025 in Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 130 comments

The tradition at Angry Metal Guy has been the strong start to the year where, like so many people with New Year’s Resolutions, you stick with ’em for a while, and then they taper off, sliding later and later as the year goes on. But this year, even the dopamine kick of listing everything in some kind of ranking order and getting lots of positive feedback from readers didn’t help me shake my funk. Yet, I have dragged myself out of funk in order to make a minimal effort for the greater good. APPRECIATE ME!

Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Angry Metal Guy on January 29, 2025 in Blog Posts, Lists, 349 comments

Starting 2025 with a bang was always important, and I elected the “being 26 days late with your Record o’ the Year post” as the best possible way to give everyone that patented Angry Metal Guy feeling of waiting and waiting only to be smacked in the face with 5000 words that you disagree with entirely. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Executive Dysfunction™! Let’s make a list!

Grendel’s Sÿster – Katabasis into the Abaton [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]

By Angry Metal Guy on January 7, 2025 in Things You Might Have Missed 2024, Heavy Metal, 69 comments

Unlike other members of the Angry Metal Guy staff—such as the venerable, self-aware ape suit they call Druhm who’s just one death away from actually running this show in case anything happens to me—I am not a sucker for just anything that sounds old. Such things do not remind me of my wasted youth, and thus do not earn nostalgia points. I was, therefore, thoroughly surprised that, upon listening to Grendel’s Sÿster vicariously through an ill-fated n00b review, I fucking loved it.