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 …
This excellent split pulls off one of those relatively difficult feats: bringing together artists of generally disparate styles to vie for your earspace without coming across like random combination or mere pastiche. Of course, we’re …
Originally written by Erik Thomas Even though I was unfamiliar with Todtgelichter, I’m a fan of avant-garde German black metal like Secrets of the Moon and most of Aural Music/Code 666’s releases, so Angst was a …
What the hell happened to the fanfare surrounding a new Motörhead album? The fact that no one seems to be talking about The Wörld is Yours, Lemmy and Co.’s landmark 20th studio album (or 21st, …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell. At long last, the perpetually nascent USBM scene seems to be coming to a boil. In stark contrast to the late 90’s, when the words ‘United States’ and ‘black metal’ typically …
I understand Incubus fills a vital role behind the Inquisition drum kit, but his handy precision has mostly been shadowed beneath his co-conspirator Dagon’s one-two punch of riffing and off-kilter ribbiting. Not to take away …
Originally written by Jon Eardley Back in 1993 when legendary Bay Area thrashers Testament went through the first of a plethora of lineup changes, one of the main concerns most fans had was who would …
originally written by Chris McDonald A long-running figure in the U.S. black metal scene, Krieg has never attained the notoriety and reputation of projects like Leviathan, Judas Iscariot or Xasthur, but that hasn’t stopped main-man Imperial …
So, 2010 sucked ass. 2011 isn’t starting off much better, and I finally figured out why. The year may have ended, but I never pounded the final nail into its coffin by publishing my year-end …
