Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Artwork by Vicky “Liddo” Morales] In a soak-your-underwear sweaty, tetanus-to-the-touch warehouse in the middle of Skid Row, Raw Addict played its first show. Weeks earlier, drummer Isaac made the irresistible sales pitch, stating that the multinational band connecting grind lifers …
Picture this, brah brah: You’re out enjoying a nice meal with the in-laws. It’s a pleasant setting—a beach vacation, let’s say. The sun gently peeks above the horizon, illuminating the tides as they roll in and wash away the footprints …
[Artwork by Pierre de Palmas] When revealing Melting Rot as the first band booked to play at Revenge of the Corpse 3, festival organizer Isaac Horne wrote on Instagram that the Aurora, Illinois, trio was “the closest you’ll ever get …
[Album artwork by Staffan Lindroth] The last time we gathered together under the Dimhav banner, I was busy losing my grip over the Swede’s very excellent and very sudden debut, 2019’s The Boreal Flame. I say ‘very sudden’ in that …
The Hellwell project came on seemingly out of nowhere, but once details spread, it came as no surprise to fans of the band’s most noteworthy member. After all, Mark “The Shark” Shelton’s immortal Manilla Road …
I suppose it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to title a 75-minute album Time. Nevertheless, although Manetheren doesn’t quite provide the sort of experience that enthralls from start to finish, the band makes settling …
Originally written by Matt Longo When I began work as Metal Director at WRUV in 2005, I was reintroducing myself to the genre I fell in love with, and had much ground to cover. Another …
Winterfylleth is a bit like a threesome: It looks awesome on paper, but in practice, someone ends up mostly sitting on the sidelines, feeling a little left out and fantasizing about slipping out to grab a …
Los Angeles-based trio Ides Of Gemini plays a satisfyingly homeless sort of music, wandering like it knows which way it’s going only as far as the next brazen footfall. The band’s eerily beautiful debut full-length …
Class is back in session with lesson number four in the Kreative Evolution series. In case you have been too hungover to make it to the last three classes, we have been engaged in a …
Enslaved has officially entered rarified territory, or rather, they did a while ago and just keep reaffirming it. Their consistent dependability would make a sub-stellar album not just disappointing, but downright shocking. Opeth at least eased …
Originally written by Rae Amitay Vintersorg went Avatar: The Last Airbender with his latest creative pursuit, a four-album concept with each record taking on a classical element (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water). Nipping at the …
