Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover artwork by Old Hag] When I initially realized that Arckanum’s first album after a long hiatus—and, technically, its breakup—would be released on All Hallows’ Eve, I devised this rather cutesy and far-fetched idea to compare the entire album to …
[Album artwork / art direction by Joseph Niet / The Creative Corporation] Offering up a textbook definition of “holy crap, time flies,” Black Sabbath’s swan song, 13, was released 13 years ago, on June 7th, 2013. In a curious move, …
If you’re just now catching up, well, we’re just now catching up. Seth Buttnam and I (plus one uninvited guest) are rounding up some of our favoritest grindcore (or grind-adjacent) releases of the past however many months, since we (read: …
[Album artwork by Truls Espedal] It’s 17 albums for Enslaved now, comprising a discography I find exceptionally challenging to wrap my arms around. What’s going on here? Does anyone else forget that the relatively rote and by-the-numbers Frost is actually …
Preamble transcendental – [tran-sen-den-tl,-suhn-] adjective 1. transcending, surpassing, or superior. 2. being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural. 3. abstract or metaphysical. 4. idealistic, lofty, or extravagant. black metal – [blak met-l] …
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 …
