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 …
So I’m sitting here listening to Sinister Realm’s third full-length World of Evil, and it got me to thinking about the traditional metal label versus the retro/old school metal labels. The word “traditional” has a …
Originally written by Matt Longo The album begins with a deep ominous heartbeat that leads to desperately grasping air before we hear a monitor flatline. Sounds cliché, yeah? Well it could be, but this is …
There’s a chance you’ve heard this one before. That is, if you’ve been even half-attentive to the prevailing currents in contemporary black metal over the past decade or so, the general sounds that emerge from …
So, it seems as if very-brief Himsa guitarist Aaron Edge has recruited the talents of underground grunge (undergrunge? Ew…) stalwart Tad Doyle and Yob vocalist Mike Scheidt for a new project/band named Lumbar… Class, anyone …
originally written by Kyle Harcott Nose-picked Swedish frostfilth. Dungarees caked with human grease. Ugly tattoos. Tattered hair. Each successive inverted cross bigger than the last guy’s. Eskilstuna’s WAN could give two fucks. They’re here to …
It’s been said before and often, but that’s because it’s true: By and large, when it all comes down, we’re in this for the riffs. But there’s a bit more to it than that. Because, …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell You’d think Minnesota would be a natural habitat for the blackened arts. The climate fluctuates violently between unbearably hot and unbearably cold (Desert Northern Hell, anyone?), frostbite is a legitimate …
Originally written by Dean Brown. Since primitive man made a rhythmic racket by slapping a stick off a rock-face, instrumental music has always been an important part of our culture throughout the ages. Nowadays we …
