Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Jef Whitehead] Cognizance’s In Light, No Shape serves as a useful reminder that when it comes to our musical preferences, our whats are subservient to our whys. If, for example, you are a fan of the early …
[Cover artwork by Michael Cloutier] Prog, of course, is known for technical musicianship and songwriting complexity above all else, a reputation well-earned by the early giants of the genre and happily maintained by their progeny ever since. It’s also true …
[Cover artwork by Timbul Cahyono] In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I’ve always found the concept of the split to be flawed. It works best when there’s a shared theme or the band’s involved cover each …
[Cover art by Mars Triumph] Petrichor, the sixth full length album from Greece’s epic metal stalwarts Battleroar, commences with the sound of rain and an invitation to reflect. That word, “petrichor,” is a relatively new one (coined by scientists in …
Fuck Paladin. If there are two areas of metal I have little patience for its power metal and melodic death metal. Not that I don’t find plenty to appreciate in both, but I don’t really …
Way back about a billion years ago, the first version of Nocturnus was formed when drummer / vocalist Mike Browning split from a young Morbid Angel. After a pair of demos and a shifting line-up …
The new record by Seattle’s Pound, the title of which is just two dots, is absolutely bonkers. Bonkers. The most convenient way to describe it would be as an instrumental hybrid of Meshuggah and The …
Nostalgia is probably overrated, at least the most common notion of it, the poignant sense that what was is somehow inherently better than what is. It’s a lie of which we are well aware, if …
Swedish kängpunks Martyrdöd have always sounded iron-willed and up for a fight. No more so than on their new album, Hexhammaren. With a who’s who lineup of Scandi punk / metal heavyweights, Martyrdöd have spent …
Astres, the debut full length from French duo Epectase, manages to be both incredibly promising and a mite confounding all at once, often for the intertwining reasons. The record is absolutely sprawling in both style …
Sometimes you’re sitting around with your buddies, listening to all your favorite old records, when you notice one of the guys staring extra intently at the iconic sleeve art of Screaming for Vengeance. “You guys …
Though it was early a decade ago now, Ares Kingdom still couldn’t have picked a better title for their second album than Incendiary. If one word encapsulated this band’s aesthetic, that word was “incendiary.” And …
