Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Quinn Henderson] You’re familiar with the term, “unc,” right? If not, it generally refers to a washed up older feller whose personality in large part revolves around extravagantly performing confusion and/or displeasure at the mere notion of …
[Artwork by Caroline Harrison] “Nonsense” opens with a slow fade-in of distorted guitars and seismic drums — the chaos before the swarm. It’s a trick of the trade, the extreme metal equivalent of a camera operator calling out “speed” before …
[Cover artwork by Luca “Zeero” Zironi] There was always something uniquely charming about Konquest’s brand of traditional heavy metal—an almost whimsical breeziness that still felt like a near perfect balance of playful and substantive. A long-lost Italian cousin to Sweden’s …
[Cover art by Beyond Art] There are bad musical moods, and then there’s Mylingar. Over the course of the last decade this group of anonymous Swedes has concocted the type of ill-meaning black/death that makes Diocletian seem like a Care …
I would like to offer my apologies, dear readers, for Riffology’s long absence. I did not intend such an extended break between lessons, but work, side-jobs, deer season, holiday season and illness combined to sap …
As mentioned in our first installment, Judas Priest’s catalog is so large and so full of timeless metal that 13 tracks would barely scratch the surface, so we doubled down. Part Two features thirteen more …
Originally written by Matt Longo Every Voivod album is a career-defining event — each with its own aura of life and death, tribulations and triumph, exploration and evolution. Considering my penchant for the weird, I …
The Butcher’s back once more… Spiritual Genocide is album number thirteen for these German thrashers, and its release coincides with their thirtieth anniversary. Though they may be getting a bit long in them, when they …
Birth in a cemetery or GTFO. One of the key factors any long-time fan of King Diamond will quickly highlight when attempting to explain their indestructible enthusiasm for the man’s varied works is the inherent …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Sludge is one of the laziest, most stagnant subgenres in heavy metal today. Plagued by predictable compositions and gormless bellowing, it’s been mired in an amateurish rut for years. Sure, …
When it comes to bands that should need no introduction to metal fans, Judas Priest is near the top of the list. In terms of shaping the sound — and indeed, the image — of …
Species At War is eight minutes of rapid-fire, rabid, and fiery grinding, a six-song stopgap to fan the flames before the next full-length firestorm from a band that’s currently at the top of the grindcore …
