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 …
Oh, hello there. I didn’t see you come in. What’s that? Oh, no, this isn’t the Authenticity Debate room. Yeah, you’ll want to head down the hall and hang a left. You’re looking for the …
Maruta’s In Narcosis was a fairly highly-touted effort that – even as it garnered serious love in certain circles – never quite resonated with me. There was nothing wrong with the band’s performance (though the …
In a recent review I talked about underrated bands, focusing on the ones that aren’t that underrated, but just hold onto a small but devout (and usually vocal) cult following. There is, however, another state …
Disclaimer #1: I feel it’s vitally important to get something out in the open right off the bat: A long-time member of our staff right here at Metal Review happens to be Pyrrhon‘s vocalist; and …
It’s really no secret that the current faction of Metal Review mostly ignores what stems from the “power” realm of heavy metal today. I suppose these sorts of things can be expected as genres fall …
originally written by Jim Brandon Thirty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds of thrashing black chaos is par for the course for the likes of Impiety, but they’ve taken an adventurous route this time around, at least …
Portland’s Rabbits inhabits (zing!) a scuzzy middle ground between sludge metal and noise rock. Lower Forms is never quite distorted enough nor packed with actual riffs to claim the sludge tag, but it’s quite a …
originally written by Chris McDonald This right here, folks – this is where it all began. If you’re one of the people who shudders at the notion of words like “delicate,” “nostalgia,” and “childhood” being …
