Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by David Preissel] The sounds of Neurosis’ “Locust Star” emanate from a desktop speaker wired to an iPod Nano via ⅛-inch cable “Hey maaaan … is that Ponderous Post Metal?” “Yeah maaan …” “Well turn it up MAAAN!!” …
[Artwork by Vicky “Liddo” Morales] In a soak-your-underwear sweaty, tetanus-to-the-touch warehouse in the middle of Skid Row, Raw Addict played its first show. Weeks earlier, drummer Isaac made the irresistible sales pitch, stating that the multinational band connecting grind lifers …
Picture this, brah brah: You’re out enjoying a nice meal with the in-laws. It’s a pleasant setting—a beach vacation, let’s say. The sun gently peeks above the horizon, illuminating the tides as they roll in and wash away the footprints …
[Artwork by Pierre de Palmas] When revealing Melting Rot as the first band booked to play at Revenge of the Corpse 3, festival organizer Isaac Horne wrote on Instagram that the Aurora, Illinois, trio was “the closest you’ll ever get …
By the time Rush released Moving Pictures early in 1981, they’d already completed a major phase shift from blues-based hard rock to full on prog rock and then produced no fewer than four indisputably classic …
Greetings, Trav’lers. Once again, the moon has crept its way into total darkness, reminding us of the ever-eroding sands of Time. It is often accepted that Time is a man-made construct, an idealogical invention in …
Is black metal real? Sheath your quills and hold your emails, please. Yes, of course black metal is real in the sense that it is comprised of actual sounds, rhythms, melodies, vibrations of the tympanic …
Sometimes I wonder what may be wrong with me, that I should seek out such sounds that would typically be described as unpleasant. Often, I would imagine, others wonder the same, particularly any unlucky passenger …
When I first crossed paths with Korpiklaani back in 2006, I took one look at the slipcase promo for Tales Along this Road, and finding them completely ridiculous, promptly discarded and ignored it. I don’t …
[Album artwork: Pendath] Spend enough time in and around the extreme metal sphere and the likelihood that the following words—progressive, avant-garde, technical, and experimental—will eventually inspire you to pound your head against a brick wall …
Pounder’s last full-length, 2019’s Uncivilized, was a collection of fun and well crafted songs marred by one pretty significant stumbling block. A throwback metal outfit in the vein of so many these days (see: Traveller, …
[Cover art by Christopher Moyen] Heavy music fans regularly reach for their favorite black metal records during the snow-filled months of winter. The motherlands of its inception and frigid sounds/atmospheres utilized through the past few …
