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 Jim Brandon We have too few enigmas these days, and all our gods are dead. If you seek true transcendence in the realm of black metal, I can guarantee you won’t fucking …
Originally written by Sasha Horn My verdict is in. And I just know that you’ve been holding your breath… Many thanks, dizzy dudes and dames. This procrastination turned out to be a blessing in disguise, …
I’ll be honest: I had never heard of the Dutch band Starve before giving Wasteland, their debut album, a spin. Based on the cover art, I was half-hoping for some post-Axis Of Perdition bleak industrial …
The sophomore album from Toronto’s most devout late 60s/early 70s acolytes Blood Ceremony is probably one of those propositions where you already know where you stand. Either you’ve been digging the near-glut of female-fronted occult …
A few weeks back, I covered the other half of Dark Descent’s recent two-fer of almost-forgotten Swedish death metal discographies, Toxaemia’s Buried To Rise. Not to re-hash my past work (especially since it’s not long …
Longstanding Norwegian pagan/black metallers Kampfar seem perpetually and uncomfortably wedged between the general ignorance of the greater metal populace and the constant fawning of a small but very dedicated fanbase. In that way they’re simultaneously …
The prospect of reviewing what stands as the most widely anticipated doom release in the last decade is really rather silly, considering interested parties will likely pick up Last Rites regardless of what words get …
Originally written by Erik Thomas You’ve got to love the state of tech-death metal right now. You’ve got titans like Decrepit Birth, Gorod and Obscura pushing each other and outdoing each other with each release, …
