2025 is fading in the rearview, but the Filters still need scrubbing. See what was left over after all the holiday debauchery.
Sentenced
Hooded Menace – Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration Review
“I’ve been hot and cold on Finnish doom-death act Hooded Menace over the years. I enjoyed the heavy, ugly sound of their early albums, but as they slowly progressed into more melodic realms, I felt they lost a bit of their primal sting. I enjoyed albums like Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed and 2021s The Tritonus Bell and respected their reset into more jaunty, trad metal melodic doom soundscapes, but it just felt like something was missing. That brings us to their latest release, Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration.” All good in the Hood?
August Moon – Something Eldritch and Macabre Review
“As Listurnalia hits these hallowed halls with the year-end release doldrums in full swing, scraping the pit to unearth one last juicy morsel before the holidays can be a fool’s errand. Luckily, I didn’t have to scrape much as August Moon’s debut Something Eldritch and Macabre was gifted to me from the bone pile. Conceived at the epicenter of Finland’s renowned 90’s death metal scene as a side project and think tank of avant-garde ideas not suitable for their main band, As Serenity Fades, August Moon are a testament to patience. After a brief one-year run and the release of two demos, the group disbanded in 1994 before re-emerging in 2014 to continue crafting their debut.” The power and the patience.
![Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cemetery-Skyline_Nordic-Gothic-01-768x768.jpg)
Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]
“When members of Dark Tranquillity, Amorphis, Omnium Gatherum, Dimmu Borgir, and Sentenced come together to record a Goth rock album, people take notice. That’s exactly what happened when Cemetery Skyline hit the streets this October with their Nordic Gothic debut. A project overflowing with talent, this Scandinavian collective stirred hopes for good things, and by and large, good things were delivered.” Tears for Christmas.
Tomb of Finland – Across the Barren Fields Review
“As I inch closer to hitting a full decade of writing for Angry Metal Guy Industries, Ltd., I like going back and revisiting bands I reviewed before, normally in hopeful anticipation of new material. Not only is it because of morbid curiosity in seeing any progress, but this is kinda-sorta like watching a child grow older before your eyes. You want what’s best for them. In 2015, I reviewed Below the Green, the debut album from Tom of… TOMB. TOMB of Finland. Sorry. That “b” is important, kiddos.” Look at this photograph!
The Vice – White Teeth Rebellion Review
“Genres create expectations. That’s largely their purpose. You categorize music into recognizable sounds and that way you know roughly what sort of sound to expect when a band’s genre or combination thereof is explained to you. Black n’ roll, the combination of black metal’s dark intensity and hard rock’s catchiness and swagger, has a broad range of expectations to operate in, from the icy cold of Satyricon to the incomprehensible party anthems of Kvelertak.” Molar express.
Angelcrypt – Dawn of the Emperor Review
“We don’t get much metal from the tiny island nation of Malta. It has a smaller population than my home town in New York and the AMG archives reveal coverage of only 3 other acts hailing from that neck of the Mediterranean. Now melodic death metal crew Angelcrypt is lucky number 4 to make the leap with their second album, Dawn of the Emperor.” Malt-metal.
Rämlord – From Dark Waters Review
“No one expects the Rämlord, nor should they. Formed by members of such wildly diverse acts as Impaled Nazarene, Legenda, and National Napalm Syndicate, Rämlord is a strange new act purpose-built to defy genre boundaries as they explore classic metal styles. On their debut, From Dark Waters they attempt a near herculean amount of genre hoping, dragging in influences from goth rock, hair metal, hard rock, 80s radio rock and a few other odds and sods along the bumpy journey they fashion for the unsuspecting listener.” Rämming speed!
The Eternal – Waiting for the Endless Dawn Review
“Long time readers of Angry Metal Guy Blogworks and Important Opinion Emporium, Ltd., know I have a soft spot for sadboy melancholic doom. This led me to heap praise on Swallow the Sun’s mammothly meandering, overblown triple album suite, Songs of the North back in 2013. In the fullness of time, I downgraded the original score on my Contrite Metal Guy confessional, and hard lessons were learned: Some albums are simply too long-winded to work as well as they should. Now comes Australian act, The Eternal and their sixth album, Waiting for the Endless Dawn.” Why the long album?
Imperial Domain – The Deluge Review
“When Gothenburg’s Big Three uncorked their defining early 90s works followed quickly by Finnish death misers, Sentenced releasing their groundbreaking Amok opus, the world saw that death vocals could be successfully integrated with classic metal in the vein of Iron Maiden and Mercyful Fate. Thus was melodic death metal created and in the preceding years, one billion copycat bands spewed out in a torrid frenzy of imitation and mimicry. Sweden’s Imperial Domain was one of the faceless horde of bastard offspring to drop from that overly fertile womb, releasing their debut in 1998.” A cry from the 90s.
