I don’t know about you, but 2019 started a little thin and then by the first quarter’s end just exploded all over the good linen like a beast. This year, more than most, we’ve been a little behind the ball in getting reviews out, but with a lot of new blood coming in I have a feeling that’s going to change soon. In the meantime we got your quarterly round up right here of all the stuff we wanted to review, should have reviewed, but didn’t.
Until now. So let’s dive in. Continue reading
[glances at album artwork] Mmm…yes…the ’80s are strong in this one.
[snaps out of trance] Oh! Hey everyone! Welcome back to another edition of Retrocution. It’s been, perhaps, a bit longer than I’d like — life, am I right? — but it’s finally time to kick it retro-style again. In this week’s edition, we’re going to take a look at Phases, the latest album from SelloRekT /LA Dreams.
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Welcome back to another edition of Retrocution! Yes, more than five months after our most recent edition of this column — during which your writer finished school, passed his licensure exam and, oh yeah, realized he needed a break from metal something fierce — we’re back to continue spreading the gospel of ’80s-loving electronic goodness. To (re-)kick things off, let’s take a closer look at We Are Hypersensitive, the latest album from the prolific French act, AWITW.
Last month, I was just sad – it was one of my first Christmases without my entire family – so I thought it would be fitting to discuss one of the saddest genres in metal, much to my chagrin and (possibly) tasteless jokes. It got personal, as I tend to closely associate with the music I listen to on an emotional level once my tendency to intellectualize it is stripped away. The music I chose to discuss last month were albums I deeply connected with – particularly Created in the Image of Suffering – and they needed to be revisited to see if they still hit as hard as when I first encountered them…some still do and others hit harder.
Enough about that. That was all in the past, and now we get to move on to something I have wanted to talk about since I wrote about symphonic metal many months ago.
On the darker side of symphonic metal exists another genre, one that tends to be overlooked due to its association. After all, it’s always easier to lump two genres together when they have a similar tendency to showcase female operatic vocals.
It’s time we talk about Gothic Metal. Continue reading
Last month, we dove into power metal and talked about how it was essentially foreign for me until I decided to step outside of what I knew. I also talked a lot about vocal envy and voice mimicry, which has somehow worked for me in learning how to sing. Essentially, power metal is fun, somewhat cheesy, and comforting – like a good chicken noodle soup — it will lull you to sleep and think happy thoughts, or it will amp you up to get stuff done.
Now, for many of us, it’s the holiday season. We spend time with family, friends, and other loved ones to bask in the good things that the year has brought us, eating good food, and having a great time watching movies or doing whatever normal people do during the holidays. However, because of my sense of humor and my rather interesting year, I decided to become the ultimate Grinch and give you all something to cry to. After all, nothing says “Happy Holidays” more than reminding you that we are all, fundamentally, sad people. Let me tell you something: this genre is definitely the opposite of chicken soup.
It’s time we talk about Doom Metal. Continue reading
