Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by Maciej Kamuda] I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture, but more importantly, I admire its people. That fascination has persisted throughout my life, stemming from childhood when I was just captivated by the beauty and courage of …
It’s been a minute since I’ve committed any significant amount of time to listening to doom. Any doom, really. From anywhere. Of any type. And not because there hasn’t been great doom the past few years. Rather, my attention has …
[Cover Art by Daniel Karlsson] Februus is a one-man project driven by the prodigious and still developing talents of Sweden’s Andreas Karlsson. His latest, Construction of Conflict, delivers 40 minutes of guitar-centric death metal that, despite being packed to the …
There’s much more than this plane of existence. Are you willing to listen? A few years ago, one of the more obscure bands on my year-end list happened to be Germany’s Ch’ahom and their debut full-length LP Knots of Abhorrence. …
Picture a James Bond villain: Refined, debonair, intellectual; enacting some long-goal plan for world domination, some chess-game masterclass in malevolence that requires vast and far-reaching machinations; a portrait of upper-class sociopathy and grace. Now picture …
Howdy, friends. Welcome to the somewhat belated September edition of Staff Infections. Is anybody else sick of people dying? I know it happens to everyone, but does it have to happen to so many people …
[Artwork by Stefan Thanneur] “Are you still with us, Mr. Niedermeyer?” . . . “Hmm? Oh, yes, I’m sorry. I was just…I guess I was just lost in thought.” “It’s a fairly standard question, the …
There is death metal, and then there is evil death metal. Don’t get me wrong, death metal of all types is awesome, but I find I get entirely different moods from listening to, say, Cannibal …
A familiar voice is sometimes just enough pick-me-up. Now having Brainstormed for 22 years, Andy B. Franck is that familiar voice to many. More importantly, he’s that familiar voice to me. Franck was the voice …
It’s arguable that the earliest seeds of black metal were planted when Robert Johnson first fell to his knees at the Crossroads. The turn to darkness is a Hail Mary–all faith is lost, the temptation …
[Artwork by Mark “The Tinkerer” Wilkinson] Senjutsu is a wonderful album. And with 30+ years of Iron Maiden experience under my belt, you can absolutely positively 100% take that statement to the bank. Unless those …
There’s something to be said for finding a core sound and generally sticking within its bounds. No one expects Cannibal Corpse to suddenly start adding power metal vocals any more than they’d expect Blind Guardian …
