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 …
I swore before sitting down to this keyboard that I wouldn’t make any sort of reference to my being “far from an expert in the progressive/power heavy metal field.” Isn’t that pretty much expected from …
originally written by Juho Mikkonen Much like analytical geometry, progressive metal can sometimes be one of the best labors of love to enjoy with your pants on. However, there’s only a thin line between spellbindingly …
originally written by Jim Brandon As much disdain as he might bring upon himself from the metal elite, and for all the hype which has always overshadowed his finished musical endeavors, Matt Heafy is not …
The article was originally written by Rae Amitay. MetalReview’s Rae Amitay took the opportunity to sit down and chat with the one and only Devin Townsend before his set at The Palladium in Worcester, MA …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Desecration Time is a three-track 7″ (…or digital download, which, in this case, seems a like a more frugal investment for the curious) from fuschia-loving genre-whores Hot Graves. This Floridian …
Another week, another entry in MetalReview’s soon-to-be-legendary 100 Most Essential Albums Of The 1990s… This week features two thrash classics, a Maryland doom masterpiece, one of the best progressive death metal albums of all time, …
In our jobs as reviewers, we critic types toss around adjectives and the occasional hyphenated terms and hypothetical-breakfast-food-themed clichés like proverbial hotcakes. Amidst all my endless descriptors and terrible, terrible jokes, there’s one word that …
Originally written by Rae Amitay Arkona is one of those bands that, as a folk-metal enthusiast, I feel obligated to enjoy. A love for the genre combined with my Russian roots made me a textbook …
