Filters are hard to keep clean because of all this filth. Don’t make it worse!
Dark Tranquility
Stuck in the Filter: November and December 2024’s Angry Misses
2024 will not die (because we won’t let it). Now you must sort through the flotsam and detritus of the November and December Filters before you can properly experience 2025. Embrace the suck pumps.
Slechtvalk – At Death’s Gate Review
“Reviewing the newest release from a long-running band you’ve never heard of is one of the more interesting experiences I’ve had as a reviewer. Although Slechtvalk has been taking on the Dutch metal scene since 1999, I’d never heard of them before accepting this review. Really, all I had was a genre tag—black metal—and the difficult-to-ignore expectation that you get when a group has been around for as long as this Dutch trio. Could they live up to it? Of course they could—they’ve been around for a while, after all. Do they? Also yes, but let’s dive into the why.” Olde, bolde, and colde.
The Crown – Crown of Thorns Review
The Crown is back with its 12th album, Crown of Thorns, continuing a legacy of death-thrash fury. We at AMG Industries, LLC have been tongue-bathing these Swedish darlings since Doomsday King, their 2010 comeback following a six-year hiatus. Through three reviewers, and 15 years of reviews, The Crown has continued to garner high mark after high mark and an unusual amount of love from our cantankerous staff. Can Crown of Thorns live up to the high bar set by their earlier work, or are the cracks starting to show?
October Tide – The Cancer Pledge Review
“Since 1994 this sadboi doom/death Katatonia spin-off has been spewing sullen tunes to the beat of a depressed march. Originally more in line with a stripped-down presentation of the kind of work that Dance of December Souls started and Brave Murder Day championed, October Tide festered into its own deathly beast, eventually seeing the legendary Jonas Renkse step away to a succession of progressively more vile vocalists.” High? Low? October Tide.
Stuck in the Filter – May’s Angry Misses
May Day is upon us, in July! Join us as we demonstrate what focused spring/early summer Filter cleaning can accomplish when you have motivated technicians.
AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Conspiracy of Zero – Ahthos Arouris
““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.” Now attacking Greece.
Majesties – Vast Reaches Unclaimed Review
“Tanner Anderson, Carl Skildum and Matthew Kirkwood unofficially formed Majesties in 2016 with melodic death metal in mind and Gothenburg, Sweden in their hearts. It wasn’t until 2022, however, that their debut album, Vast Reaches Unclaimed, coalesced to present a classic conundrum for conscientious music reviewers: how do we talk about a really good pastiche?” Majesty and decay.
Agrypnie – Metamorphosis Review
“Agrypnie is a German black metal band from Hesse, and no newcomer to the scene, having released five full-lengths, a split, an EP, and a compilation since 2005. Perhaps “avant garde” is a tag given to bands that are just difficult to pinpoint, as these guys employ a kitchen sink of influences and guest vocalists in their aural assault in sixth full-length Metamorphosis.” Kafkanated.
Paradise in Flames – Devil’s Collection Review
“Paradise in Flames is a Brazilian black metal quartet, having released two albums, two demos, and an EP since their 2003 formation. While their third full-length’s cover poses questions, a glance at their promo confuses further. They cite death metal countrymen Sepultura and Sarcófago as influences, while the Devil’s Collection was mastered by producer Tue Madsen of Meshuggah and Dark Tranquility fame. Such first impressions are baffling, but the looming question is: is Devil’s Collection any good?” Riffing is fundamental.
