Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover Artwork by Julia Proszowska] Something about the internet that only occurred to me recently is that it’s changed the way we think about death. Like just about everything else, the very notion of death has lost so much of …
[Cover artwork by The Blacksmith] I will freely admit that anonymity when it comes to art largely puzzles me, particularly as it relates to music. Aliased with some sort of elaborate costume? There’s potential there; who doesn’t love a little …
[Cover art by Larisa Brechun] With age, you begin to understand that genuine loss is not the haunting shadow you once thought. It isn’t a short-lived grief that disappears in a few days. Instead, it’s more than a shadow; it’s …
[Cover artwork by Ludwig Missal] Working from a classic build of vocalist/guitarist, bass player, and drummer, the appropriately minimalist design of Germany’s Midnight Prey works in their favor as they charge through seven songs of the kind of hybrid hard …
It might be hard to believe at this point, considering the band’s gargantuan stature in the music industry, but Meshuggah had rather humble beginnings. Take their 1989 self-titled debut EP, for example. It had much …
[Cover artwork by Johannes Huemer, vocalist of Venator] Dial the clock back to when we last gathered here in the hallowed halls of The Temple of Trad Metal and you will recall our focus was …
[Cover art by Nick Blinko] A lot of credit should be given for simply understanding the assignment, and credit Blood Monolith for doing exactly that. This band plays death metal, and they do so with …
I debated busting out my nonexistent cloak for this one, but I’ve instead decided to keep this one a dark comedy. Evil, yet light-hearted, ya know? Here, in the great Midwest, the storms and …
The grandiosity of Ancient Bards is just one of the band’s many selling points. But it and the multifaceted voice of Sara Squadrani are the more obvious ones. That fact remains unchanged here, on their …
This is not – I repeat, not – a syllabus for a correspondence course entitled “So You’d Like To Join the Circus: Carnival Metal In Its Historical Context.” To be honest, if you landed on …
[Cover art by Aaron Pinto (Gutslit) / KidSquidy] In unleashing the catchphrase “treat yo self,” Parks & Rec created a pop-culture reminder that indulgence can be a good thing. Taking time to focus on doing something just …
Me: “You know what the world definitely does NOT need right now? Another modern throwback metal band with a singer mirroring Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford or King Diamond.” Friendly dog: “I hear you, brother. But …
