Some eclectic and quality choices to metal-up your 2016!
Affliction Gate – Dying Alone
by Shawn Miller
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSBvCH2d37Y]
French purveyors of death metal Affliction Gate return with their latest EP, Dying Alone, and place their stake for the crown of militant, steamrolling death metal once held by the likes of Bolt Thrower and Hail of Bullets. Emotive yet bludgeoning, Dying Alone is one of the most inspired death metal offerings I’ve listened to in quite some time. While the band proudly wears their influences on their sleeves, Affliction Gate brings a destructive sound all their own; and it’s a sound that should have fans of early Entombed, Unleashed and Bolt Thrower salivating.
Mourning Beloveth – Rust & Bone
by Nathan Hare
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pv-O098WB0]
Irish death/doom band Mourning Beloveth has been around over 20 years, but they’ve been largely overshadowed by the big three of British doom/death. Rust & Bone adds some new tricks to the band’s repertoire; the Irish folk elements hinted at on previous releases are now more of a focal point and they nicely complement the band’s already finely crafted doom/death. If a doom/death Primordial sounds interesting, give Rust & Bone a listen.
Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Arc
by Evan Mugford
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBngZL0gfec]
Sure, it’s just an EP. And yeah, it’s only three tracks. But holy moly, man-oh-man, and jeez Louise is Arc—the first of a quadrilogy of extended-players from grind legends Agoraphobic Nosebleed—one ferocious assault on the senses. And the kicker? It ain’t even grindcore!
Agoraphobic Nosebleed have gone full-moon werewolf mode and opted to shift things into sludge overdrive on Arc—churning out a trio of songs that doom, gloom, and swagger the bejeebers out of life itself. Top that off with a paint-peeling performance by Kat Katz, and some of the meanest and grooviest riffs this side of the Mason-Dixon line, and you have a goddamn modern classic on your hands. EP numero dos can’t drop soon enough.
Borknagar – Winter Thrice
by Joshua Bulleid
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoa9w7WB_Xo]
Another year, another mind-blowing album from a band and genre that normally isn’t my usual cup of progressive, folk metal tea. Last year it was the galloping rhythms of Orden Ogan’s Raven Head that kicked my year off with a bang, and wound up being one of my (and the TMO writers’) absolute favorite albums of that year and Winter Thrice definitely seems like it’s another record that will easily go the distance. There’s simply no denying the brilliance and scope of Winter Thrice, and—between this and last year’s Arcturian (by Arcturus)—it’s also no far-stretch to claim that one Mr ICS Vortex is at the top of his game as well.
