Metalcatto
I’m late again!
Releases that almost fell through the cracks: Kreator, Fires In The Distance, & Ethereal Darkness
Metalcatto
Time to redeem myself from past mistakes, especially because I actually received some of these promos. I just didn’t see them in time. As tragic as when you dropped that ice cream at the local fair when you were three. Needless to say, these albums are easy 4/5 on my list. Now that we’ve got the lame numbers out of the way, let’s show some hidden pearls.
Amon Amarth – The Allfather Awakens
Metalcatto
If there’s one trick pony out there, it’s Amon Amarth. Despite this obvious fact, the band has been ridiculously successful, taking Viking sagas to places nobody ever imagined they’d reach—Wisconsin. However, ever since Jomsviking, I’d say the band has suffered a creative drought, which is why I’m approaching The Allfather Awakens with extreme caution. I have no hope this is going to be With Oden on Our Side or Deceiver of the Gods, but okay.
Worst Metal Albums in History: Metallica/ Lou Reed – Lulu
Metalcatto
I didn’t want to cover Metallica again so soon, but the people on Instagram have spoken, and apparently they want to put me through this ordeal. It’s easy to say that Lulu is the worst album our humble genre has offered to the sad world. Metallica and Lou Reed wanted to do something together. It was supposed to be different, audacious, fearless. What we got instead was fear deep in our hearts and generational trauma. So let’s start.
Spirit Possesion – Cathedral Speech
Metalcatto
In the depth of my ignorance, I didn’t know that Spirit Possession was a big deal. So I’m here to correct that mistake. The band delivers this harsh Black Metal that, despite being stuck to some traditions, has lots of nuances. It makes sense to think that Cathedral Speech could be more than just a decent album, but we’ve gotta go through this ordeal and see if we’re made for it.
Dream Unending – Certain Uncertainties
Metalcatto
If you’re deep in the underground, you’ll probably have heard of Dream Unending and the great Song of Salvation. It’s an album that took Tomb Mold and made it an atmospheric journey. Now, Certain Uncertainties has big shoes to fill. Is it going to get heavier or weirder? It feels like both can’t go at the same time, right? The guys have a few choices, and they all come with risks. Let’s see what happened in the end.
Hippotraktor – Annihilist
Metalcatto
I’ll say it loud: Hippotraktor is one of the most interesting projects of this decade. This unique blend of Djent, Prog, and Post-Metal has been offering banger after banger, yet it still feels like the band hasn’t reached its full potential—at least not on Stasis. But maybe it has done it on Annihilist. Okay, maybe you should stay and find out. It’s going to be a fun ride.
Trve Kvlt 37#
Worst Metal Albums in History: Metallica – St. Anger
Metalcatto
I’m starting a new section, one where we forget about greatness and jump straight into the horror. Not everything is awesome in our Metalsphere, and it’s time for me to warn future generations about albums like Metallica‘s St. Anger, the bad album par excellence. Not many albums are this iconic and this atrocious. So where the hell do I even start?
Trve Kvlt special: HKSPK – Heimkehr
Metalcatto
Time to give back to the deep underground. We’ve talked about HKSPK—I know, it sounds like the name of a K-pop band—before in our feedback special, but today we’re not pulling any punches. We’ll review Heimkehr with all the brutality of the law. The guys had their chance, so now they’re going to get a full review and get judged like a proper high-league act. Okay, I’m just scaring people off now, but I had to raise the stakes, right?
