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 …
[cover artwork by Adam Vick of Dark Meditation] Everyone you know and love is a shambling whole comprised of smaller and smaller parts. You can drill down through the cutaneous, into the tissue, within the …
“Way back in 2022” feels like about a million years ago, doesn’t it? We live in strange times, my friends, when time itself is strange… Back then, Belgian grinders Days Of Desolation released a record …
[Cover art by Eliran Kantor] You like thrash metal, right? And you love all things space, don’t you? Of course you do, you fucking nerd. Look where you are right now. If the idea of …
Avulsed is one of Spain’s longest-running and earliest death metal bands. And with a near-complete line-up overhaul since 2023, Avulsed is also almost entirely a new band. Only founder, vocalist, mainman, and Xtreem label-head Dave …
This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned Ari Aster, nor will it be the last. The famed horror director, known for films like Hereditary and Midsommar, are refreshing in that they don’t necessarily rely on …
A very strong argument can be made that over the last few years, no label has brought more top quality death metal to the masses than Czechia’s Lavadome Productions. From the forward-thinking work of Heaving …
Helmed by DC grind stalwart Richard Johnson (Enemy Soil, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), Drugs Of Faith has steadily cranked out some fun and ugly noise for over two decades now. Self-described as “grind ‘n’ roll,” this trio …
What does subtlety mean to you? I imagine someone artfully steering a difficult conversation toward their preferred resolution without the other party realizing it. Or perhaps the way an Impressionist’s lily resolves into form out …
