Once again, I return to my roots. That opulent, gem-encrusted egg from which my metalhead nascency spawned, symphonic power metal. Cloaked in velvet drapery as I return to these cobbled alleys I used to haunt, those early years steeping in Nightwish, Leaves’ Eyes, Epica, and Xandria wash over me, evoking a nostalgic bliss. Enter Greece’s Mystfall and their sophomore effort Embers of a Dying World. Relatively fresh on the scene, and competing with newer champions like Elvellon or Dialith, do Mystfall have what it takes to make waves?

If nothing else, Mystfall have two big things going for them: a (relatively) meaty guitar tone and the most convincing death growls and blackened rasps in the genre right now. Thanks to a moderately-better-than-industry-standard mix and master, you can clearly hear the bass guitar thundering underneath lush strings and prominent choirs as well. These are items that countless acts in this space neglect or shortchange, but not Mystfall. Thankfully, those items don’t detract from the usual suspects. Operatic mezzo-soprano lead vocals, heavily accented; hooky verse work and soaring choruses; galloping drums and brisk pacing; rich orchestrations; the gang’s all here, and in fine form for the most part. And, in another unexpected breath of fresh air, Embers of a Dying World clocks in at a tidy 38 minutes, with the longest song just barely brushing past five minutes. It seems that on paper, Mystfall fully understood their assignment and gave me everything the world needs in a modern symphocheese record.

Embers Of A Dying World by Mystfall

In practice, Embers of a Dying World acquits itself quite nicely as well. Enlisting the help of studio bassist and harsh vocalist Stelios Varotsakis was an inspired choice, as his counterpoint on both instruments elevates everything it touches (“Embers of a Dying World,” “Fading Memories”). It is my assertion that Mystfall make him a full-fledged member of the band immediately. However, his contributions aren’t so astounding as to distract from Marialena Trikoglou’s siren song, Aris Baris’ chuggy riffs, or Dimitris Miglis’ expressive percussion. Hints of old school Epica melodies (“Crimson Dawn,” “Echoes of Arcadia”), Leaves’ Eyes/Xandria adventurism (“Whispers of the Tempest,” “Guardians of the Earth,” “Cosmic Legends”) and Nightwish double bass bounce (“Sleeper in the Abyss”) coalesce into a fun variety of moods and motifs, all smartly woven together to allow each performer their spotlight. With such a bizarrely tight runtime, Embers of a Dying World is also ridiculously easy to spin multiple times in one session, assisting greatly with long-term memorability.

Unfortunately, Mystfall still struggles to find a distinct identity in the homologous plague the symphonic power metal scene perpetuates. While crafting an enjoyable album that is undoubtedly fun and wholly engaging, its similarity to those bands that originally forged the style is undeniable and obvious. Partly due to the strict and restrictive nature of operatic singing techniques—and the physiological difficulties that committing to that style poses to the exploration of any other kind of singing—Marialena’s technically competent performance here lacks impact and power when pinned against singers who can and do work in multiple disciplines (Simone Simons, Floor Jansen, Veronica Bordacchini). On the instrumental front, Aris Baris’ riffs rarely venture outside of the conventions long upheld in this field, often allowing the orchestrations to take point when leading melodies or initiating motifs. Even the dramatic orchestrations lack the showstopping quality they could have if they were either recorded with a full orchestra or more unique in composition or arrangement.

As a result, Embers of a Dying World feels misplaced in time. Were it released in 1996 or thereabouts, it would’ve constituted an instant hit, a direct competitor to the pack leaders at the time. In 2026, it’s one in a million, albeit better made and brilliantly edited. As maligned by songwriting issues and stylistic banality as symphonic power metal often is, competing for acclaim and attention in that crowded place requires a fierce, striking showing. Mystfall have everything they need to make that showing, but Embers of a Dying World falls just short of that elusive threshold. That said, I’m impressed with it enough to wait avidly for what Mystfall might come up with next!

Rating: Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Websites: mystfallofficial.com | facebook.com/mystfallofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 20th, 2026

For #MusicWomenWednesday by @loewe:

#Dialith: Shadowdancer

https://song.link/kdfgwppqqzgzs

#PowerMetal #SymphonicMetal

FFO #DirePeril #EternalChampion #SacredOutcry

AMG Turns 15: Angry Metal Guy Himself Reflects on 15 Years of AngryMetalGuy.com

By Angry Metal Guy

In 2009, when I started AngryMetalGuy.com, I had absolutely no serious intentions for it. I had finished my senior year of university while abroad in Sweden, and I had met someone in the lovely city of Umeå.1 We had moved in together, but finding work was proving difficult given my degree in sociology and my lack of Swedish skills. And so, I had a lot of time on my hands and not a lot of money. Needless to say, access to new music was a matter of concern for me, because I couldn’t afford it. Domestically, the Swedish government was coming down hard on piracy—or trying to—and I got a bit spooked by the whole thing because I wasn’t even a permanent resident at the time.

Fortunately, I had a few things going for me. I had a rudimentary understanding of websites and web design because of the stuff I had done for my band (and others) in the early 2000s. I had a label contact at Napalm because of the work that I had done for Vintersorg. I had experience as a reviewer from years earlier, which was a pretty formative experience for me, and where I had cut my teeth on reviews with bands like Orphaned Land and Disillusion. I tended to write lengthy reviews and had a deep and abiding love of list-making. And, yes, being a young man, I had boatloads of unearned confidence.2

The most important of the things I had going for me, however, may have been that I had no more serious intentions for AngryMetalGuy.com than gaining access to the labels from whom I wanted to receive promotional materials. Some people might think that sounds bad, but I don’t think that this is something that should be taken as a negative. When I think back, I think it was key to the website’s success.3 This nonchalance gave me the freedom to quickly stop trying to imitate news websites like Blabbermouth. It gave me the latitude to write negative reviews without fear of losing advertising dollars. And it made it easier to do what I wanted; writing the occasional rant, doing the occasional interview, and writing long-form music reviews. While focusing on reviews was not a driver of traffic early on,4 I also had no desire to monetize AMG. And, in my estimation, it was that authenticity that attracted loyal readers and, eventually, loyal writers.

AngryMetalGuy.com became synonymous with authentic, high-quality reviews. The Angry branding, which had been rooted in a joke that had little to do with my actual personality at the time,5 seemed to grant me a certain bit of leeway for my initially naïve belief that the reviewing game was, in fact, about giving honest appraisals of music. And while such naïveté has cost us label access—here’s looking at you, Nuclear Blast—this helped to make AMG the website that it has become. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything, especially access. Additionally, as I added writers, worked hard to help people learn to write, and began thinking about music reviews as an editor, I began to refine my own style and a style that we teach to new writers. Over time—and with a metric ton of further education—I have become more like the writer that I had imagined myself to be when I started AMG.

My involvement in AngryMetalGuy.com has waned, to my frustration, and, of course, inevitably. The fact that my involvement is a bit of a punchline in recent years is funny like a tough guy nickname—you know, those guys who call you Simba because your uncle killed your dad or Univision because you’re blind in one eye—funny because it’s true, but also ouch. And this becomes clear when reading through the reflections of the staff; the newer a writer is, the less likely they are to mention my influence. And yet, as bittersweet as that is, I am so happy at the consistency—and consistently increasing quality—of the staff here over the years. We’ve been able to continually recruit impressive people and excellent writers whose tastes fill out the topography of the scene in ways that are necessary to keep AngryMetalGuy.com both relevant and diverse. And yet, we never skimp on quality. The group who writes here is deep and accomplished, and I am so proud that they represent AMG today.

Fifteen years later, here I still am. I’m still The Angry Metal Guy. I’ve wondered over the years, when I’ve been struggling with keeping up, why I’m unwilling to just let go of AMG. But it’s not a mystery. The reality is that AMG is me, and I am AMG. And yet, as you’ve seen over recent weeks, AMG isn’t just me. AMG is a community of writers and readers who have worked together to create the best reviewing site in the world. We have collectively given so much more to the scene than I could ever have imagined when I registered the website all those years ago. Of course, that’s due to the dedication of the staff, the editors, and my long-time partner in crime Steel Druhm.6 Our longevity and strength show that AMG will live on, because this site, this community, and all its readers—those who read every day and those who pass on through—get so much from it. And yet, there’s so much more to give.

Here’s to another 15 years!

AMG Gave to Me …

The thing that AMG has given to me that I doubt that I would have found my way to on my own has been unsigned bands. As a supporter of the scene and musician, I would like to believe that I would have been supportive of local bands, even if I weren’t involved here. Yet, the access to things I wouldn’t have heard—and the ability to raise them for others to hear and love them as I do—is something I wouldn’t have had without AMG. In recent years, I have taken all the more comfort in independent bands. While I am a believer in the importance—necessity, even—of labels for bands to have sustained success in the world of metal, the quality of independent releases has been very high during the last decade. And even when labels are passing on things that won’t sell, there’s still a wealth of great releases that have landed on my plate and my life is better for it.

Wilderun // Veil of Imagination [2019-11-19 | Self-release] — The most obvious example of this is Wilderun. While they ended up signed to Century Media eventually, their sophomore and junior releases were both independent and they were both excellent records, which demonstrated the kinds of chops that unsigned bands shouldn’t be expected to have. These records both made my life so much richer at times when I didn’t always feel like the metal scene, as represented in my promo inbox, was cutting it for me. And while my love for Wilderun has also become a punchline, the reality is that I am not ashamed of going to bat so hard for a band that I truly love.

Aeternam // Al Qassam [2020-03-27 | Self-release] — Like Wilderun, Aeternam has become a mainstay in my rotation. Unlike Wilderun, my initial exposure to them was their debut album, which had been optioned by Metal Blade, but the band was dropped following its release. While the band’s earliest material is not as strong as their later releases,7 it’s been fun to watch Aeternam develop through the years to become one of the best orchestral and melodic death bands active today. Their composition is fantastic and their records sound great. And Al Qassam also happened to be Record o’ the Month when we started with the new layout, so it also holds that special place in my heart. I’m happy to stan these guys for years to come.

Trials // This Ruined World [2015-07-24 | Self-release] — The first time I became aware of the Angry Metal Bump™ was when I was told by then-colleague Mark Sugar (AKA Dr. Fisting) that we had pushed Trials from the red into the black because of our coverage of This Ruined World. And, while I am a genuine fan of Black Sites, Sugar’s follow-up to his late-modern thrash attack known as Trials, This Ruined World holds such a special place in my heart. The album is raw and it’s weird, and endlessly hooky. It has a trashy production that’s charming as hell and which gives it a unique sound. But it wasn’t just the production that was charming. Sugar and guitarist Ryan Bruchert tag-teamed the solos throughout the album, naming them things like “Gremlins II” and “Tango and Thrash,” and these are some real highlights; creative, fun, and super memorable. There’s a vitality to Trials’ final record that, nearly 10 years on, makes it my favorite modern thrash record by a country mile.

The foregoing three albums are hardly alone. Absolutely killer bands, like Xoth, Lör, Dreamgrave, Dialith, and Carnosus, enriched my life before they signed record deals. And I would almost certainly never have heard of them without the promo bin at AMG or the other writers who are constantly delving into the depths to cover the very best that the scene has to offer—no matter where it’s from. And, on that note, there is so much music that I never would have discovered if not for the other writers. Part of the reason for expanding AngryMetalGuy.com over the years has been that we can’t keep up with all the promotional materials we receive. I just don’t have the ears or the time to listen to, never mind write about, everything I want or need to—now more than ever. But I frequently receive messages from the Angry Metal Persons telling me what to check out, and we have a community of commenters who are keeping us up to date with the things that even we miss. That is a great privilege that AMG has given me.

I Wish I Had Written …

There are two key answers to this one. First, I wish that I had written more. During recent years, I have been too far away from AMG as an entity and as a person. I reflect often upon the fact that I don’t have relationships with newer writers and readers that are similar to the ones I had in the past. That sucks. So, when I think about what I wish I had written, it’s hard not to answer: everything. I wish I had been the one to cover a critical mass of records and bands that I just haven’t had the time or the energy to cover. Not because we didn’t do it well, but because it would have been nice to be able to do it myself.8

More concretely, though, The Ocean Collective’s brilliant Pelagial. Noctus was a guy who wrote for us and who had taste I didn’t find that agreeable. He loved long, slow, and simplistic albums about which he could write long, slow, and baroque reviews. But it was good to have a countervailing opinion and diversity in the camp at the time, and we may very well not have covered Pelagial if he hadn’t snapped it up. This album stands as one of the testaments to the strength of iconic composition in the history of AMG. The fact that Pelagial hits so hard not once, but twice, because both versions of it—bevocalized and unbevocalized—are killer, makes it one of the best things I own to this day. And that’s without mentioning that the art is gorgeous and the packaging was next level. I wish I had been able to afford the vinyl they released at the time because it was truly a special boxed set. Pelagial got a 4.0 at the time. By the end of the year, I would have given it a 4.5. Today, I think it’s an unquestionable 5.0.

I Wish I Could Do Over …

If I could do it all again, I would get rid of scores.

I’m not sure how I would replace them. Either I would switch to a thumbs up/thumbs down kind of system, so that the lazy among us could still look at the thumb and decide what to read,9 or I would just get rid of them altogether. I see scores as a disservice to bands and fans alike. Scores are fundamentally subjective and yet promise objectivity. But, of course, it’s impossible to quantify something that doesn’t have quantifiable aspects and one’s impressions of music are often contextualized by one’s life context in ways that make scores variable for the person giving them over time. Yet, scoring implies that there should be intersubjectivity between reviewers and even review websites, but we all know that a M*tal T*mple 10/10 is an AMG 3.0/5.0. And sure, that 5.0 moment is great for bands.10 But every 3.0 that one writes where one is saying “Yeah, I like this! Check it out!” is interpreted by readers and bands alike as “This is fucking trash, throw it on the fire!” That’s a waste. Would AMG be the same without scores? I don’t know. Maybe Druhm would never have reached out to me to work at a place without them. Maybe the labels wouldn’t have taken me as seriously. What’s done is done. But the more I think about review scores, the dumber I think they are.

In terms of things I’ve written, I feel like I have few regrets. That said, having excised that stupid fucking Linkin Park apologetics post was one of the best moments of my life, and that thing should never have been written to begin with. Linkin Park sucks. Nostalgia is not quality; it’s nostalgia. I nostalgia early Biohazard records, but it doesn’t mean that they were good. We’ve reached the time when we’re getting a lot of “nü metal was good actually” nostalgia takes because people listened to it, and it was a gateway into better music. You don’t have to apologize for having listened to it—there are no guilty pleasures, and there are bands like System of a Down and other bands that have now been labeled ‘alternative metal’ that I think offered something different and fun—but neither do I need to accept the corporate board approved, major-label-A&R-guy-connected, darlings of MTV2 as having made a valuable contribution to the metal scene as covered by AngryMetalGuy.com. Because it didn’t.

I Wish More People Had Read …

I have wrestled with this question and I don’t have a great answer. I guess what I wish is that bigger labels would understand the nature and value of Angry Metal Guy. And so, I wish more industry people had read what is always my most popular post of the year: The End o’ Year List. In these, I discuss the growing nature of our reach, our stats, and how the things we review gain traction. I wish that these people understood the power of our staff and of you, the reader. The fact that you read so diligently and that you show up when we endorse stuff—and even when we don’t, often to tell us that we should have—is what makes this place so special. And yet, it seems like labels and PR firms have yet to truly take stock of this because we don’t play the same kind of commercial game that ‘proper’ magazines do.

Maybe it’s a question of math. As Friend o’ the Blog Matt Bacon has said, a PR company that gets you into Decibel isn’t always doing you a favor if you’re the smallest band there, because you’re competing with Iron Maiden and shitty nü metal retrospectives. Whereas, Angry Metal Guy readers and writers are operating at a different level of the scene and, as Matt has said, even our negative reviews are positives in terms of streams and purchases for bands.

And yet, it’s hard to believe that at 15 years, I still have to call out Nuclear Blast for treating us like we’re on Blogspot. I wrote a rant in 2012 called “On Things That Make Being Angry Metal Guy Hard” and I remember a PR intern at a Metal Major Label saying to me, basically, “Hey, I saw your post and I am pointedly not mentioning it to my bosses.” As streaming has proliferated, even the idea of getting individual promos for new albums has started to dwindle. There’s this idea that the compensation of free 320 kb/s mp3s of the thing we’re reviewing—and thus promoting—is too much to ask. In so many ways, the things I wrote then—which, I must admit, were very angry—are worse now than it was. Labels embargo us, in spite of our reach and quality, and they farm out work to others without concern for how it affects reviewers to be dealing with a new PR firm every six months. And then they can’t even bother to give us Yum Codes or higher quality downloads in good time for review.

I wish people would read the summaries of our statistics and sympathize a bit more with the plight of the independent reviewer. There’s no reason why we should have anything other than pretty much full access to the industry, given both our quality and reach, and your dedication to making us look awesome.

What I Wish for the Future of Angry Metal Guy …

A lot more Angry Metal Guy, in all senses.

#2024 #Aeternam #AMGTurns15 #BlackSites #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Carnosus #Dialith #Lör #TheOcean #Trials #Wilderun #Xoth

Elvellon – Ascending in Synergy Review

By Kenstrosity

As I’ve mentioned a few times during my tenure, fem-fronted symphonic power metal was my gateway into the metalverse. Bands like Nightwish, Epica, pre-Hydra Within Temptation, and Neverworld’s End-era Xandria, among many others, were my favorite things in the world for many years. Even today, the style still holds a crucial place in my rotation. Unfortunately, very few breakout acts in the last decade made a mark in the scene. Two names in particular who buck that trend come to mind: Connecticut-based Dialith and the subject of today’s piece, German five-banger Elvellon. Featuring highly engaging songwriting and passionate performances, Elvellon’s debut Until Dawn rocketed to the forefront of my listening schedule. Six years later, can follow-up Ascending in Synergy renew their status as one of my favorite up-and-coming symphonic metal bands?

The short answer is a resounding, exuberant yes! Much like Until Dawn, Ascending In Synergy showcases everything great about symphonic metal when it’s done right: huge hooks, opulent orchestrations, and satisfying heft wrapped in a sparkly bow. Evoking an alternate universe where Nightwish released a transitional record between their Once and Dark Passion Play releases, Elvellon’s sophomore full-length contains enough bounce in its consistently addicting songwriting to shame a superball (“Unbound,” “My Forever Endeavor”). All the while, its songwriting retains the rich, theatrical delivery and vivacious attitude I hoped for (“A Vagabond’s Heart”). Gilbert Gelsdorf’s crunchy lead guitars and Jan Runkel’s delightfully gravelly bass guitar dance their way in and out of Pascal Pannen’s lush, yet tasteful keys with a graceful, yet palpable weight (“Into the Vortex”). To complement this striking balance, Martin Klüners’ percussion juggles dance-able beats, exuberant fills, and entertaining cymbal gymnastics with poise and purpose (“A Legacy Divine”). Over top, Nele Messerschmidt’s crystalline, yet brassy siren song makes every moment of Ascending in Synergy a special occasion, leveraging beauty with bite and making it seem as effortless as breathing (“Ocean of Treason”).

You’ll find Ascending in Synergy to be direct, lively, and most of all, irresistible if you have any affinity for this style. Especially strong in its front half, Ascending in Synergy presents five consecutive contenders for album highlight right out of the gate. Everything from opener “Unbound” through “Aftermath of Life” found its way into my daily rotation in an instant—whether in my office, in my car, or in my head. Of those, “A Vagabond’s Heart” jumped straight to the top of my Song o’ the Year list, proving that Elvellon have the songwriting chops to pen a true showstopper. Its verse and chorus work alone are enough to flood my heart with pure joy, and its instrumentation pulls more than enough weight to hold its own in the face of Nele’s stellar delivery. A close second, the epic “Ocean of Treason” throws a few Madder Mortem melodies into the mix, which helps differentiate the number from the lineup as it lights up my spine, and its final chorus evokes an all-encompassing euphoria powerful enough to brighten even the worst of days.

As with many symphonic metal albums, Ascending in Synergy involves a fair measure of sappiness, found primarily in its two ballads, “Last of Our Kind” and epic penultimate track “The Aeon Tree.” I happen to enjoy ballads in this genre, but these two represent a step down from the rest of the tracklist. In the former’s case, admittedly gorgeous vocal melodies and sultry guitar soloing allow for a welcome point of rest before the record’s second act, but on its own “Last of Our Kind” isn’t compelling or memorable enough to stand out. Thankfully, late album bangers “Into the Vortex” and “A Legacy Divine” pick up the slack. However, “The Aeon Tree” fumbles the final landing at the eleventh hour by including an overlong, disruptive monologue in the song’s center. It’s also odd that “The Aeon Tree” doesn’t close the album out. Instead, Elvellon chose to depart with one last bop, “Epiphany of Mine,” which feels misplaced in the album’s context.

Quibbles aside, Elvellon prove themselves as the genuine article with Ascending in Synergy. Not only is this record impossible to put down, it’s also improbably memorable. Despite its flaws and minor missteps, I’m hopelessly in love with Ascending in Synergy. Although I can’t fairly rate it as highly as I hoped, I nevertheless wholeheartedly recommend Elvellon’s sophomore outing to anyone and everyone who enjoys epic music like this. You won’t be disappointed!

Rating: Very Good!
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: facebook.com/ElvellonBand | elvellon.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: May 17th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AscendingInSynergy #Dialith #Elvellon #Epica #GermanMetal #MadderMortem #May24 #NapalmRecords #Nightwish #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #SymphonicMetal #SymphonicPowerMetal #WithinTemptation #Xandria