On the 25th day of the 12th month of 2012, the Six-Tongued Hellgoat was summoned to rise from the ashes and bring darkness to this place called POPdose. Join him in his quest.
Ritual Thrust into the Profane Maw of Churning Filth
Album: Corsair, Corsair
Label: Shadow Kingdom
Release: January 21, 2013
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Rating: 10/10!
The Hellgoat feels a little duped. Shadow Kingdom records not only releases new material but they are also well known for reprinting classic obscure releases on vinyl – things that the owner just seems to like. Albums that sold 200 copies in 1981 and might sell 250 copies of the re-release. With the first listen to Corsair, the Hellgoat was rockin’ out like he was back in 1981 listening to Tygers of Pan Tang again. Then he did some reading and found out that Corsair was a new band! Now granted, Shadow Kingdom never gave any indication that this was old material which means their self-titled debut is so retro sounding that you can’t even tell.
Corsair released the album independently in April of 2012 and then Shadow Kingdom snatched them up to properly put the record out. You all should be happy about that. These guys have a late ’70s early ’80s NWOBHM vibe to them that seems totally authentic. We all know that these new-vintage bands have been cropping up all over the place in the past two years and maybe of them have been really good. Corsair might be the best.
Why are they the best you might ask? Well, it’s all about the guitars on this record. The riffs are progressive in nature while not being overly complex and the dual leads play off each other so well. The longer songs all have fantastic soloing on them with crisp, clean and incredibly innovative riffs. The band seems to understand this fact as well, as the songs are certainly written to showcase the guitar work throughout. They make something that’s probably really complex to play sound effortless – the mark of true craftsmen. You’ll be amazed not only at how clean and smooth this record is for guys just starting out but how well they capture the vibe of the late ’70s and early ’80s without copying it at all. It’s early of course but this is the Hellgoat’s favorite record of 2013 so far.
Most Hellacious Moment: The ridiculous riffing in “Gryphon Wing.”
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Somnolent Regurgitation of the Scrolls of Proselytism
(The Hellgoat wishes to convert you to the ways of the metal. But he prefers to let the press release and bio do most of the talking on these nefarious black circles.)
Album: Sacred Steel, The Bloodshed Summoning
Label: Cruz Del Sur
Release: February 16, 2013
Genre: Epic Power Metal
Press: Far from any clichÁ©, at the same time knee-deep within any metal clichÁ©. Sacred Steel have always been polarizing the metal audience. There’s no way that the earthshaking sound of the Ludwigsburg metal commando can leave a listener untouched. Love them or hate them: rarely a band on the metal scene in these days has met the same paradigm.
Now, after fifteen years of battles for metal, Sacred Steel are ready to unleash their 8th studio opus. The Bloodshed Summoning comes more than three years after the acclaimed Carnage Victory and, well, it was worth the wait. Recorded in Poland and produced by the band itself in corporation with Bart Gabriel, the album kicks massive ass once again, showing a band stronger and angrier than ever, once again sporting a true metal attitude that most bands only could dream of.
Hellgoat’s Take, 7.5/10: “Polarizing” is a great word for Sacred Steel. Really, it all comes down to what you think of Gerrit P. Mutz’s vocals. Sometimes brutal, sometimes soaring and sometimes silly, the Hellgoat has heard four of the band’s eight records and he still hasn’t decided what he thinks of them. But musically, this is their best album by a long shot.
Album: Anger As Art, Hubris Inc.
Label: Old School Metal Records
Release: February 5, 2013
Genre: Thrash
Press: Ironclad Thrash metallers Anger As Art have announced that new album Hubris Inc. will be released on February 5th, 2013 on Old School Metal Records. Anger As Art founder and veteran of the metal wars, Steve Gaines (Abattoir, Bloodlust, Tactics, Bitch, Dreams of Damnation, Pagan War Machine) states that the band’s fourth album, which follows the well received Disfigure, offers the kind of vicious, memorably penned thrash/speed metal that fans have come to expect without simply retracing the steps taken on previous albums.
Hellgoat’s Take, 2/10: This is metal incest right here. Anger As Art is three members of both Bitch and Abattoir and Besty Bitch sings on “Rage and Retribution” while “Speed Kills” actually belongs to the former band as they brought the Abbatoir bassist in to perform. The Hellgoat can’t stand Steve Gaines’ vocals and while he’d welcome Betsy Bitch back to hell with him when he goes, the track she’s on goes horribly awry. In fact, the rest of the record does as well.
Album: Defeated Sanity, Passages Into Deformity
Label: Willowtip
Releaes: February 5, 2013
Genre: Brutal Progressive Death Metal
Press: Comments the band in a collective statement: ”With Passages Into Deformity, fans can expect another quality release from Defeated Sanity. Without compromising the brutality of our sound, we have stepped it up in terms of the overall production. The album has a more old-school vibe to it, with a lot of early 90s inspired riffs and slams, but we made it a point to not get away from the technical and progressive stuff as well. People can definitely expect the most balanced Defeated Sanity album yet.”
Hellgoat’s Take, 4/10: This is way too much for the Hellgoat to take in. You just don’t hear time signatures like these in brutal death metal too often. But it’s the drumming that really throws this off. At points it’s like the drums aren’t even there and other times it sounds like the drummer is having a stroke. And the album is produced with the drums so in your face that they totally distract from the rest of the band. Passages Into Deformity is totally nuts.
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