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 …
We were put on to Shabda, an Italian trio of avant-droners previously in Thee Maladoror Kollective, by the princely Matt Fitton over at The Sludgelord. Matt’s got a real knack for sniffing out delectable …
Originally written by Matt Longo The thing about being immortal is that you can never, well… RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE. With that lycanthrope-in-the-room Altered Beast reference out of the way, before moving to the music, …
originally written by Craig Hayes This is the second installment in a five-part series. In Mainstreaming Metal, LR scribe Craig Hayes looks back on his experiences as a beacon for underground heavy metal within the …
Being able to observe the entire evolution of a band is a rare privilege, but through my friendship to vocalist Doug Moore (of this site’s past and Invisible Oranges’ present), I’ve had exactly that ability …
originally written by Kyle Harcott Taurus’ No/Thing , with its menacing, doom-slaked vibe, embodies the infamous quote, “If you’re going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy.” An auditory hallucination of mental hell …
Gwar Frontman Escapes Earthly Imprisonment Last Rites is saddened to hear of the passing of Gwar frontman Dave Brockie, aka Oderus Urungus. You can love ’em or hate ’em or think they’re just okay, but …
Welcome to volume seven of the Most Essential Albums of the Eighties. Previous volumes are available here. This week’s edition is short on big names, highlighting the fact that second-tier and lesser-known bands are still capable …
Belfast’s Slomatics are the Masters & Johnson of the wumgasm. They know this stuff forwards, backwards, slower, and lower. BF-ORs? Uh, yeah dude, BF-ORs. Enormous ones, in fact. The kind forcing you to circle the …
