Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover artwork by Old Hag] When I initially realized that Arckanum’s first album after a long hiatus—and, technically, its breakup—would be released on All Hallows’ Eve, I devised this rather cutesy and far-fetched idea to compare the entire album to …
[Album artwork / art direction by Joseph Niet / The Creative Corporation] Offering up a textbook definition of “holy crap, time flies,” Black Sabbath’s swan song, 13, was released 13 years ago, on June 7th, 2013. In a curious move, …
If you’re just now catching up, well, we’re just now catching up. Seth Buttnam and I (plus one uninvited guest) are rounding up some of our favoritest grindcore (or grind-adjacent) releases of the past however many months, since we (read: …
[Album artwork by Truls Espedal] It’s 17 albums for Enslaved now, comprising a discography I find exceptionally challenging to wrap my arms around. What’s going on here? Does anyone else forget that the relatively rote and by-the-numbers Frost is actually …
The following three records stand a pretty good chance of getting a fresh round of attention from folks engaging in serious discussions about Venenum’s stellar debut full-length, Trance of Death: Necrovation’s self-titled record from 2012 …
Somewhere in between free jazz and a black metal version of the X-Files lies whatever the hell is Celestial Bodies. The music attacks as if the listener is laid out naked on a cold, steel …
In heavy metal history, the visual imagery that goes on album covers has long been almost as iconic as The Riff itself. The work of a particular artist becomes permanently associated with a band to …
When Woe’s debut A Spell for the Death of Man hit in 2008, it was a significant shot of adrenaline to an American black metal scene that was, at the time, more often known for …
Originally written by Chris Redar It’s a Thursday, 9:52pm, in the city of Chicago. (Band you’ve been wanting to see) is finally in town after their killer new album blew you away, just like the …
Pillorian‘s Obsidian Arc is the first piece of new material to arise from the ashes of Agalloch‘s admittedly messy split, announced last May. The suddenness of the split was, in itself, surprising, and a very …
Way back in 2014, this oddly-named group of grinders caught my attention on the strength of their EP A Presentation Of Gruesome Poetics, their third EP overall and their first for Relapse. That one was …
Originally written by Chris Redar Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I am able to say this: Benighted has returned to the ass-kicking game in earnest with Necrobreed. After a slight mis-step …
