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 Chris McDonald The indelible legacy that Chuck Schuldiner left on the metal world with his work in Death should be, at the very least, acknowledged by anyone reading this review, but Control …
For the November edition of Staff Infections, Metal Review’s Sasha Horn extended an invitation to Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (Aura Noir, Ava Inferi, Twilight Of The Gods, ex-Mayhem) to contribute his own playlist. He responded with six …
The Ocean is back with its follow up to this year’s Heliocentric, an album that may have surprised the lot of you due to its emphasis on the more orchestral side of the band as …
Pages have been written about the Nola scene throughout the years: how its sludgy misanthropy captures the gritty essence of its hometown in filth-encrusted fashion; how its drug-addled violence and blues-tinted roots sum up the …
For those of you who don’t watch Animal Planet, the echidna is a spiny anteater that’s sort of like a porcupine and sort of like a platypus. It’s not a terribly fearsome creature, unless you’re …
originally written by Chris McDonald I’m largely unfamiliar with the work of the multi-talented Navene Koperweis (of Animosity, Animals As Leaders, and The Faceless) and didn’t even realize his impressive pedigree upon signing up to …
Elliott’s Keep’s debut, In Medias Res, was for me one of those pleasant surprises that makes this reviewing gig worthwhile. As a conservative estimate, I would say that 80% of the albums I review never …
Nowadays I approach a new Death Angel album with a combination of the piqued interest of the old-school fan and the steeled nerves of those accustomed to disappointment. I came to this party just before …
