Tangerine Dream

Blizaro – Light and Desolation Review

By Baguette of Bodom on October 27, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, 21 comments

“What do you get when you combine old school doom with older school horror movie soundtracks? John Gallo of Orodruin asked this question roughly twenty years ago, and the answer became known as Blizaro. Despite the years of experience accumulated, the discography of this mostly solo project is quite brief; Light and Desolation is only Blizaro‘s third full-length. Time, ever the unfair mistress, treats everyone quite differently. Some artists have a lot to re-learn, others are able to pick up right where they left off. With nine years having passed since their previous album, how has the hourglass treated the intriguing and slightly bizarre concept of Blizaro?” How Blizaro, how Blizaro.

An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City Review

By Killjoy on October 15, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, 144 comments

“When a group strikes gold, I imagine that there might be a temptation to continue mining the same vein. In 2022, Sweden’s An Abstract Illusion seized the metalverse by the collective throat and shook it with forceful pathos. Woe was a start-to-finish progressive death metal masterpiece which edged out some stiff competition to take the number one spot on my personal Top Ten(ish) list that year. The same was true for Carcharodon, whose mighty shoes—flippers?—I humbly struggle to fill. Now, with the release of The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion boldly declares that they are not content to repeat themselves.” Illusion and concrete.

Electrocutioner – Harbinger Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 2, 2025 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 61 comments

“Two years ago, I grabbed Electrocutioner’s False Idols solely because their one-pager told me not to. And I enjoyed every minute of its straightforward approach to old-school thrash. Even scoring it higher than one would ever dare for something that’s been done countless times over. But there was just something about its riff-machine qualities that hooked me so deeply. Fast forward, and I’ve got my grubby sausage fingers on their sophomore outing, Harbinger. And, once again, you’ll find no gimmicks here. Just beer-swilling thrash in the realm of Slayer, Testament, and Whiplash.” Strong Island strong.

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Wist – Strange Balance

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 10, 2024 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, 20 comments

“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” If Wist were horses, beggars would ride.

Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere Review

By Saunders on October 7, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 223 comments

“A star was born when Denver’s Blood Incantation launched itself into prominence on its exciting 2016 debut Starspawn. The band possessed the talent, musicianship, and compositional prowess to match the growing hype. But when 2022’s Timewave Zero came rolling through as a bold detour embracing their ambient soundscapes and minimalist synthwave experiments, offloading vocals, and suppressing their metallic instincts, I was left bewildered.” Is going Absolute Elsewhere enough to help Blood Incantation regain their Metal Twitter Darlings™ status?

Cloud People – Simulacra Review

By Iceberg on March 6, 2024 in Reviews, Electronica, Not Metal, Synthwave, 21 comments

“One thing I really admire about The Administration here at AMG is their willingness to allow us writers to explore what exists on the fringes of metal. Some of my most memorable finds over the years—before the onset of my indentured servitude—have carried tags like not-metal, folk, or synth wave. Norwegian musical collective Cloud People claim to draw inspiration from jazz, electronica, and metal, and have decided to submit their album Simulacra to these hallowed halls for mild praise or summary execution.” Watch the skies.

Afterbirth – In But Not Of Review

By Ferox on October 18, 2023 in Reviews, 111 comments

“It took Afterbirth more than two decades to launch their first deep space probe with 2017’s The Time Traveler’s Dilemma. The Long Island gurglers were worth the wait, as that album and 2020’s ingenious Four Dimensional Flesh sketched out the band’s vision of prog-enhanced brutal death metal. Kronos deemed Four Dimensional Flesh “one of the most charismatic and original death metal albums you’ll ever hear,” and in the wake of that triumph a new Afterbirth slab qualifies as a full-fledged Event.” Strong Islands birth strong sounds.

Giobia – Plasmatic Idol Review

By Emya on February 7, 2020 in 2020, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Italian Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, 8 comments

“”3, 2, 1, 0…All engines running. Liftoff!” The first arpeggiated synth of Giobia’s new album Plasmatic Idol rings out and jettisons me into space. In keeping with the space theme, the title of the opening track, “Parhelion,” refers to the shimmering spot in the sky which appears on either side of the sun as a result of the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals in Earth’s atmosphere. Giobia are definitely not n00bs to the space rock genre.” Starry eyes.

Opeth – In Cauda Venenum Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 27, 2019 in 2019, Moderbolaget, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Progressive Rock, 211 comments

Thirteen albums in, I’m still excited about new Opeth records. While I am, indeed, an Angry Metal Guy, I appear to have taken the band’s merger into progressive rock better than other metalheads having loved Pale Communion and enjoyed Sorceress. And being Angry Metal Guy, the responsibility for (and privilege of covering) such a huge event like a new Opeth album falls to me. The problem, of course, with being the guy who has to review the new Opeth record is simple; I am the guy who has to review the new Opeth record. And reviewing In Cauda Venenum is a major endeavor. As the next step in Opeth’s journey, In Cauda Venenum is a fascinating, complicated album. And In Cauda Venenum is not a journey that everyone is going to love taking.” More-peth!

aswekeepsearching – Rooh Review

By Huck N Roll on September 25, 2019 in 2019, Indian Metal, Not Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Not Metal, 10 comments

“You ardent readers may not agree, but it can be tough on one’s aural organs to blast metal for hours upon hours each and every day. That’s because in our tiny cubicles we don’t often get to crank the albums we love; we have to play the ones we’re reviewing. And after blasting my assignments from Cult of Luna and Monolord a combined twenty-seven times this month, my weeping ears needed a break. Something peaceful, serene, and calming. And since I wasn’t (un)lucky enough to be tabbed for In Cauda Venenum, I settled on what I hoped would be a sweet little morsel of post-rock: Rooh, the third album from Indian post-rock outfit aswekeepsearching.” Vacation for the ears.