Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Claudio Elias Scialabba] Italy’s Into Darkness has been a band for approximately 15 years but is just now releasing its first full length album, Route to the Other Side, but all that time has been greatly beneficial …
[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 …
Originally written by Chris Redar From the very first bit of recording footage I watched, I knew Savage Sinusoid was going to be a somewhat divisive, if not outright polarizing, album. That’s not a humble …
Originally written by Chris Redar Reviewing legacy acts is always a tough proposition. On the one hand, a band like Obituary is legendary for a reason. On the other, more pragmatic hand, a band like …
Music criticism doesn’t exactly have its own version of cinéma vérité, but here’s a poor substitute: earlier in the morning on the day I wrote the bulk of this review, I took my daughter to …
Originally written by Chris Redar Greece’s Dephosporus have the kind of name that drives a word processor’s autocorrect absolutely bonkers. Also, their drummer has been in every single band ever formed in Europe. We reviewed …
Originally written by Chris Redar Dying Fetus has an all-time, unimpeachable death metal classic in Destroy the Opposition. The band’s now patented (and Decibel HoF inducted) blend of brutal slamming mixed with near-toxic levels of …
The sophomore effort from Italy’s Emyn Muil is a strong reminder of the power of timing. A band need not necessarily be the absolute best at their trade to get attention, they just need to …
One of life’s rules of thumb: No one really cares about your dreams, particularly the ones you think are “really fucked up.” Those nightmares are made-to-order for you and you alone – carefully crafted by …
In the never-ending quest to reconnect with our youth, perhaps because it offers us a glimpse into what we perceived as better times, cassette tapes have become the alternative format du jour. And it makes …
