Eluveitie

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?

Azure Emote – Cryptic Aura Review

By Owlswald on July 29, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Death, 25 comments

“Azure Emote is the project of two very busy musicians, vocalist Mike Hrubovcak (ex-Monstrosity, ex-Vile) and guitarist Ryan Moll (Hypoxia, Total Fucking Destruction). In between their work with many acclaimed death metal acts, the duo reconvenes every five years or so to craft a new Azure Emote record. What began in 2010 with Chronicles of an Aging Mammal as an experimental think tank for their genre-defying ideas has steadily evolved into their own eclectic brand of avant-garde death metal.” Emotions of brutality.

Eluveitie – Ànv Review

By Twelve on April 23, 2025 in Reviews, Folk Metal, 66 comments

“Unlike a certain Angry Metal Overlord, I really liked Origins. Up to 2014, I had only a dim awareness of Eluveitie, save that they were a Swiss group that did not believe in keyboards. Origins was my gateway into folk metal, an album I found exciting and refreshing, and Eluveitie’s live show in support of it is still one of my top concert experiences. For over twenty years, Eluveitie has been a force in folk metal. Armed with many instruments and a metal core, they are now on their ninth full-length album, Ànv. What have these giants of the genre cooked up for us this time?” Folk in a hard place.

Valhalore – Beyond the Stars Review

By Twelve on April 18, 2025 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 33 comments

“Valhalore is a great name for a band. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a little goofy—but look, you get it instantly. “Valhalla?” Folk metal. “Lore?” Symphonic/power metal. Put them together and you get that exact album cover. Beyond the Stars is Valhalore’s sophomore release, following a seven-year silence from their debut. It’s a long time to cook up something cool, and I’m an easy mark for this kind of music, but Valhalore are treading a well-worn path in their fusion of styles. The question is certainly not what kind of music you’ll find on Beyond the Stars, but how well it is executed and what will set these Australians apart from their many contemporaries.” Wotan shrugged.

Imperia – Dark Paradise Review

By GardensTale on July 29, 2024 in Reviews, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 66 comments

“You all know this is corsetcore. You saw the computer-generated snake and apple, read the album title. The only thing that could make it more obvious would be the heavily airbrushed and photoshopped vocalist in Victorian dress. Alas, you’ll have to make do with a woman who’s been turned into a tree instead. Imperia is not a household name like Nightwish, but don’t count them out just yet. Helena Iren Michaelsen helped found both Epica and Trail of Tears, and has been hammering at the road with this particular outfit for 2 decades, with Dark Paradise the 7th attempt to claim the spotlight.” Apples, snakes, corsets, oh my!

Kati Rán – Sála Review

By Twelve on May 24, 2024 in Reviews, Neofolk, Not Metal, 26 comments

“Neofolk is a special style of art. It encompasses the achingly simple to portray stunning complexity. Everything is done with earnest emotion, and often the onus is on the artist not to simply entertain, but to transport the listener, through time, through places, and through very states of being. When I first learned of Kati Rán and her debut full-length release Sála, I was heartened by a single line in its promo copy: “Recorded in a barn in Húsafell, Iceland”—and I didn’t read further.” Barn razing.

The Dread Crew of Oddwood – Rust & Glory Review

By Twelve on March 12, 2024 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Not Metal, 37 comments

“We’re no strangers to “pirate metal” ’round these parts, are we? There’s just something about the enduring and relatable ideals of pirate-themed music that we at Angry Metal Guy universally love, commenters, readers, and writers alike. I’ve opened my review with this entirely uncontroversial statement as a way to share with you my own excitement when I received the promo copy for Rust & Glory, the fifth full-length release for the U.S.-based pirate musicians that make up The Dread Crew of Oddwood.” YAAARR’s revenge.

Tvinna – Two – Wings of Ember Review

By Twelve on February 23, 2024 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Progressive Rock, 21 comments

“As I sit down to write this review, it’s occurring to me belatedly that I’m not fully sure how to describe the music I’m sitting down to describe. The four members of Tvinna, in their sophomore full-length album, demonstrate that they are many things. They are European, with members hailing from Germany and Switzerland. They are experienced musicians, with members in Eluveitie, Solarcycles, and Faun. They are well-read and well-researched, presenting in Two – Wings of Ember an album that is entrenched in folk tropes and rich in both history and mythology.” Two wings, one band.

Ember Belladonna – The Grove Review

By Mystikus Hugebeard on February 18, 2024 in Reviews, Folk Metal, 56 comments

“I was a clarinet player as a child, but I tried my absolute darndest to learn the flute for a time (5 minutes). I found the mouthpiece simply impossible to figure out, and I could only produce the sounds of pathetic, tinny flatulence. Moved on though I have, I’ve always loved the music of professional flute players. Thus was my interest piqued by Ember Belladonna, the moniker of one Emma Kramer-Rodger, a classically trained flutist from Saskatchewan, Canada.” Blowing in the wind.

Wandering Oak – Resilience Review

By Mystikus Hugebeard on February 5, 2024 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Progressive Metal, 34 comments

“Come, weary wanderer, join us around the fire here in the Folk Metal Corner of AMG. Look upon Resilience by Wandering Oak; does it not look at home here? Such indicators as the band’s name and logo, Resilience’s album art, and the big “folk metal” tag attached to the promo could only suggest the folksiest of metal. But wait, put down those lutes, I say, before you stumble into Wandering Oak’s trap!” Trapped and folked.