Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by Harshanand Singh] The third album is in some ways a litmus test for a band’s longevity. Three albums is a sufficient sample size—you can generally tell where a band is headed, whether they’ll last, whether they speak …
[Pre]-historically speaking, the boys, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, have always been influenced by the likes of Celtic Frost, Bathory, and all things ‘80s. In fact, they don’t shy away from the fact that it’s always been about that era. After …
[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 …
Thankfully, I’ve never yet had to deal with hemorrhoids, but I hear they’re a total pain in the ass… Boom. Mic drop. Thanks. I’m here all week. But seriously, folks. These bloody Portland, Oregon-based death-grinders …
Toronto’s Ischemic take a rather interesting approach to assembling their doom/death metal that helps give it a refreshing, but thankfully never forced, level of diversity. Condemned to the Breaking Wheel is their third full length, …
From the bookend EPs Poisoned Blood in 2017 to Abhorrent Rapture in 2021, Witch Vomit has been a good and sometimes great band. I don’t own a ton of death metal on vinyl, but I …
I remember my initial viewing of Ari Aster’s horror masterpiece Hereditary. To this day, it remains one of my favorite first watches ever. Heart palpitations and shock aside, as soon as the credits finished rolling, I …
If you have found yourself thinking lately, “Boy, I sure am glad that the world around me makes so much sense, and I’m really enjoying the sensation of thinking clearly,” you might want to talk …
[Artwork: The Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva from The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust] “Blow that cigar smoke in my face one more time and find out.” The years have a way of getting fuzzy, but if memory …
[Cover Art By Justin Hast / bassist] Mechanical can often be a word levied against a band as a negative. The term can mean the production sounds too clean or that the music lacks a …
[Cover art by Ian Miller] Here’s a one-image review of Chitin, the latest full length from Defect Designer: Oh, do you require more information? Okie dokie. Here we go… Defect Designer’s lineup has shifted considerably …
