Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Clare McCarthy] A brutal death metal album with a beautiful cover? Consider me intrigued by the contrast alone. Brutal death metal, despite its typical gory imagery, lyrics, and tone, has a peculiar charm. But it’s not just …
[Cover art by Adam Yates] Look, I’ll freely admit that I listen to and love some truly pretentious death metal. Hell, I ranked Ingurgitating Oblivion’s last album as my seventh favorite in 2024, and that album has its head so …
[Cover Art by Kristian Valbo] I love the story behind the music. Not that it has to be some dramatic, sensational, or lurid tale. Rather, I just really appreciate how a little window into the artistic process can color one’s …
[Cover artwork by Rotting Reign] Having slept on the first few releases from Australia’s Snorlax, I approached Toxic Current—the Aussie one-man blackened death metal band’s third full-length—with fresh ears. I won’t bore you with any references to a certain anime …
After a decade or so of bouncing around the underground, Bay Area mince-masters Haggus found a new home with Oakland’s venerable Tankcrimes last year, and promptly released two surprise EPs in the process, both of …
[cover artwork by Isak Lønne Emberland] In the perennially cute n’ sassy world of chemistry, there are two types of mixtures: heterogeneous and homogeneous. Either type could be up your alley, depending. Sometimes you want …
[Cover artwork by Angus McKie] As a result of punk rock’s penchant for speed and aggression that eventually fueled the fires of the NWOBHM, we are all well aware that punk and heavy metal have …
[Artwork by Louis Daguerre] If Esoteric’s guitar leads are the sound of the stars, Coltsblood’s echo the Earth’s interior, at least a subterrain pulled straight from Jules Verne’s fantastical imagination. The quintessential Coltsbloodian lead is …
If you’re anything like me, sometimes you find yourself a little bit down. Stuck in a routine, frustrated by a mountain of small problems, unable to get out from under that weight. I don’t have …
Howdy, friends. I’m a little (a lot) late this month, but just in time for Memorial Day weekend, here’s the May edition of Staff Infections. Here’s hoping you and yours are enjoying some fun in …
[Cover art by Caroline Harrison] It’s always a nice little treat when a lyric feels capable of summarizing an album. For Weeping Sore’s sophomore album, the line “The sludge in my veins, the color of …
Ah, the life of the grinder, where you wait patiently for one of your most-anticipated releases of the year… and it’s finally here… and it’s fourteen minutes long. But hey, at least, these are fourteen …
