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 …
Let’s talk about headbanging for a minute. Is there a wrong way to headbang? Are there places where you shouldn’t headbang? First off, there is no wrong way to bang your head. The biggest faux …
Some weeks back, on one of our various social media outlets, a few fellow writers and I were extolling the virtues of Martyrdod, and somewhere in the convolution of the conversation, we came to a …
Metal and goth have always made strange bedfellows. For all the good done by the Peaceville Three and bands such as Type O Negative in the early 90s, the years that followed presented enough laced …
The writing of H. P. Lovecraft has been a source of inspiration for metal artists seemingly since the birth of the style, and for good reason. He wrote works of great fantasy and escapism, something …
Italian quartet Vultures Vengeance is yet another new band attempting to sound like some long-lost undergrounders from yesteryear – and they look ridiculous with their aviator shades and headbands and Paul Stanley chest-rugs. Put all …
We’re clearing the decks with looks at releases that languished in our inboxes over the “holiday” season. Record labels don’t completely shut down in December, but it’s very easy to overlook new albums when you’re …
Grave Digger is the veritable embodiment of consistency. Like Accept, like UDO, like Helloween, these Germans have carved themselves a kingdom from a seemingly endless wellspring of trad-metal inspiration, assembling and re-assembling the basics of power-trad …
I have been wrestling with Maze of Sothoth’s debut full length, Soul Demise for a few weeks. Not at all because I don’t know if I like it, but because I am not sure how …
