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 …
Football, shmootball. The Cubs have gone down in flames, thereby proving that Back To The Future Part II is a work of fiction. Here are a few albums, both good and bad, for Cub fans to slit their …
A month or so ago I had a conversation with a friend wherein my rock-loving buddy lamented the fact that, generally speaking, the Foo Fighters are hailed as the “best we’ve got right now.” What …
I remember now… I was somewhere around twelve or thirteen; on Headbanger’s Ball, a video from a band with a name I had no idea how to pronounce… I remember how it started… With the …
The phrase “whether it’s intentional or not” is as crucial to a music writer as “no offense, but” is to the general population. Both are expressions that allow someone to introduce a controversial or perhaps …
Doing this write-up proved to be a harder task than I imagined. Between the personal stuff I had going on and the absolute butt-load of work and volunteering, I’ve had this nagging itch about the Jex …
Originally written by K. Scott Ross. What makes a band? Is it the musicians in it, or the music that they play? Obviously, the most complete answer is “both,” but where does the balance lie? …
There is certainly no shortage of “narrative” potential about England’s Slugdge, for those that look for such things. First is the ludicrous speed at which they pumped out Dim & Slimeridden Kingdoms after Gastronomicon, itself …
If you aren’t familiar with the name Costin Chioreanu, you’re likely familiar with his art, which is finding its way onto heavy metal album covers with increasing frequency. So curiosity was naturally piqued to see …
