Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by Harshanand Singh] The third album is in some ways a litmus test for a band’s longevity. Three albums is a sufficient sample size—you can generally tell where a band is headed, whether they’ll last, whether they speak …
[Pre]-historically speaking, the boys, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, have always been influenced by the likes of Celtic Frost, Bathory, and all things ‘80s. In fact, they don’t shy away from the fact that it’s always been about that era. After …
[Cover art by Quinn Henderson] You’re familiar with the term, “unc,” right? If not, it generally refers to a washed up older feller whose personality in large part revolves around extravagantly performing confusion and/or displeasure at the mere notion of …
[Artwork by Caroline Harrison] “Nonsense” opens with a slow fade-in of distorted guitars and seismic drums — the chaos before the swarm. It’s a trick of the trade, the extreme metal equivalent of a camera operator calling out “speed” before …
Who knew the end times could be so much fun? Well… not these times. Not that we’re literally living out the end of days; although, what better sign of the times than the plausibility that …
It might be hard to believe at this point, considering the band’s gargantuan stature in the music industry, but Meshuggah had rather humble beginnings. Take their 1989 self-titled debut EP, for example. It had much …
[Cover artwork by Johannes Huemer, vocalist of Venator] Dial the clock back to when we last gathered here in the hallowed halls of The Temple of Trad Metal and you will recall our focus was …
[Cover art by Nick Blinko] A lot of credit should be given for simply understanding the assignment, and credit Blood Monolith for doing exactly that. This band plays death metal, and they do so with …
I debated busting out my nonexistent cloak for this one, but I’ve instead decided to keep this one a dark comedy. Evil, yet light-hearted, ya know? Here, in the great Midwest, the storms and …
The grandiosity of Ancient Bards is just one of the band’s many selling points. But it and the multifaceted voice of Sara Squadrani are the more obvious ones. That fact remains unchanged here, on their …
This is not – I repeat, not – a syllabus for a correspondence course entitled “So You’d Like To Join the Circus: Carnival Metal In Its Historical Context.” To be honest, if you landed on …
[Cover art by Aaron Pinto (Gutslit) / KidSquidy] In unleashing the catchphrase “treat yo self,” Parks & Rec created a pop-culture reminder that indulgence can be a good thing. Taking time to focus on doing something just …
