For Those About to Squawk: At the Gates, Amorphis, Skinless

Gearing up for America’s best metal party of the year; now if only they’d book Hatebeak… Anyway, your old boy Waldo here to let you know what I think about some upcoming releases.

So, the long awaited follow-up release from the reunited At The Gates is finally coming out. The first thing to note on To Drink From The Night Itself is the lack of longtime guitar player/songwriter Anders Bjorler, but this doesn’t really hold back this release at all. This record finds ATG sounding as good as they ever have, and the songwriting is well, At The Gates, they haven’t missed a beat.  Here you will find the classic ATG sound, melodic passages, moody theatrical parts, amazing vocals and lyrics and this overall does not betray their legacy. This isn’t all flawless though, the songs seem a little slow (in my pecking opinion) and the drumming can come across as stiff at times, but all in all, this is an excellent release.  One that will not let down existing fans and one that’s certain to make new fans.

8 Fucking Pecks

You know how when a band starts off like really good, like 20-30 years ago, then they “progress” and get lame? Well, then you should check out the new Amorphis record, Queen Of Time. Let’s ignore the fact for now that they did put out an awesome death metal record and then changed their sound.  This is weak as peck. I really don’t get the appeal to stuff like this. Weak riffs, slick production, wanky sounding keys and OF course clean vocals. So, this is lighter on the folk metal aspect that they’ve done in the past, but this is FAR from their death metal roots.  Fans of this whimpy ass birdshit will like this because it’s awash in genericness and is just lame.

2 Fucking Pecks

I love Skinless. I think they rip, and Savagery is no exception. Skinless have never really strayed too far off of the path that they set out on, and it shows. There are monster riffs, pseudo slams, guttural vocals and just brutality. The production here is a little dark and really lends to the overall feel of the record.  To call this “meat-and-potatoes” death metal would not be giving it enough credit, but since they’ve been back, Skinless have proved that they know how to write a brutal record and how to make a pit move…

7 Fucking Pecks

Catch you fools later… Waldo out!