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 …
In the history of death metal, few bands, if any, loom larger than Death. “Evil” Chuck Schuldiner and his ever-changing cast of collaborators played an integral role in both forming the genre’s conventions and expanding …
Early reports can now be confirmed: the invasion is upon us. A long dead relic of the past has arisen, back to claim the throne it once sat upon. The cassette — that deteriorating, misshapen …
originally written by Chris McDonald It’s always a rather interesting and humbling experience as a reviewer to cover a band that has been toiling away in almost complete obscurity for as long as Germany’s Obscenity …
I was quite taken with Hooded Menace’s debut, Fulfill the Curse, when I reviewed it some years ago. The band’s mixture of Candlemass, early Cathedral and Asphyx hit the right spots for me. Despite adhering …
We all have certain bands that we enjoy, sometimes even love, with certain conditions. I have long been like this with Between the Buried and Me, understanding their shortcomings but enjoying them because of the …
Tiamat’s journey from Swedish death metal also-rans to brilliant doom / death / goth experimentalists to pedestrian purveyors of cheesy mediocrity is well documented, at least for anyone who has paid attention since about 1998. …
Originally written by Rae Amitay Metalocalypse is a phenomenally funny show with one of the best soundtracks around, provided by Brendon Small and an all-star supporting cast (Bryan Beller and Gene Hoglan). They execute the …
The first few times I sat down to try and write about this new Pig Destroyer album, I will admit, friends, that I had a bad attitude. I had already formulated a number of critiques …
