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 …
To put it plainly, Immolation is one of the most unique, most consistent and flat-out best death metal bands in the world. Formed in Yonkers, New York in 1988, by guitarist/mastermind Robert Vigna, bassist/frontman, Ross …
Usually, this is the part where I’d write the intro to the article. This time, I’ll let this conversation between myself and Tom Phillips, one of the founding members of While Heaven Wept, speak for itself. …
Fun! Fun! Fun! Let’s stay away from controversy, shall we? This month, the emphasis is on fun! And, what better way to have fun than to spin a new album from Korpiklaani?! Amidst your snorts of derision, …
The Aussie goons in King Parrot self-released their debut full-length, 2012’s Bite Your Head Off, and that disc earned them enough of a good reputation that the album was subsequently picked up by Candlelight for …
If metalheads were a fair bunch, they’d pick on the identical wardrobes of every “war metal” band as much as they focus on the looks of bands like New Hampshire’s Vattnet Viskar. Because really, the fashions …
Thirty years ago, Helloween’s Walls Of Jericho helped to lay the foundation for the European power metal scene. The next two records, the two-part Keeper Of The Seven Keys, cemented their status as gods amongst …
On paper, Michigan’s Cloud Rat really doesn’t sound all that distinctive – a trio for most of their career, they’re now a four-piece crusty grindcore outfit following the addition of a member credited for “electronics.” …
I haven’t always been an Armored Saint fan. Hell, the only reason I ever heard about them was because Anthrax recruited John Bush back in the early 90s. For that matter, I wasn’t even really …
