Generally Impressed With Riffs
[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 …
[Cover artwork by Subhuman at Desert Dungeon] Let’s talk about our love for quirky metal. Okay, sure, any definable level of ‘quirk’ is obviously subjective, but I’m guessing you know we’re not talking about the guy who loves The Black …
Originally written by Rae Amitay There’s definitely a tried-and-true formula to melancholic metal, but Oklahoma’s Memory Driven manages to breathe new life into exhausted melodic concepts. Their last release, Relative Obscurity, was an impressive and …
originally written by Chris McDonald While a grindcore band may seem like a strange fit for Southern Lord’s primarily slow ‘n heavy roster, the union makes a lot more sense once Dead in the Dirt’s …
Originally written by Erik Thomas As any of my regular readers know, I’m simply a sucker for the Swedish Stockholm / Sunlight guitar tone. Heck I’d even listen to country music or Lady Gaga songs …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Skeletonwitch, despite extreme levels of burly sweatiness, are one of the most huggable bands in heavy metal. There’s something oddly adorable about their stage presence (consisting of a Pabst-swilling madman …
Turbulent times make for desperate and inspired art. Whether it’s the Vietnam War informing Hendrix’s guitar screaming out the national anthem in gestures of agony and bomb blasts, or the dismal economic and political climate …
originally written by Chris McDonald As much as I stick to the “favorite albums over favorite bands” rule, I must admit that Taake’s recent direction was a pretty hard pill to swallow for me initially. …
There are difficult bands to put into words, and then there is Giant Squid. Quite frankly, none of the descriptive qualities of this band adequately paints the picture of what they bring to the table. …
Originally written by Jason Lawrence It’s no secret that Doom Metal and its bastard children Stoner and Sludge have had a great upsurge in popularity, progression and production lately. What ten years ago was usually filled …
