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 October is slowly reaching its end. The moon is full tonight, with a lone star shining brightly in the dark blue sky as the strains of Haeresiarchs Of Dis pierce …
Ever since the release of last year’s ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ, I have not been able to stop listening to Arckanum. Although I’m quite fond of Shamaatae’s (Arckanum’s only member) earlier albums, I immediately thought ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ would be …
As is often the case when getting to know an album I am set to review, I took the laptop up to my regular house of coffee, scones, and yuppiedom in order to take some …
originally written by Erik Thomas I’m not going to rehash the family tree of Minnesota’s Iron Thrones that includes Nehemiah, Veil of Maya, Dead to Fall and Everest — you can read my review of Iron Thrones’ excellent debut, Visions of Light, and get …
With all the scenester bullshit dominating black metal in the United States, it’s really refreshing to hear a band and album from my home country playing something a bit more geographically ambiguous. California’s Valdur is …
Your Tomorrow has the dubious distinction of being both a decent dose of doom and a dash of disappointment, at least for this dedicated disciple of Corrosion‘s crossover conception. Allow me to dissect these dichotomous …
There’s a neglected little rocky crag just south of Stinson Beach I used to visit when I lived in the Bay Area that provided a welcome escape from the stresses of life. The ridge wasn’t particularly …
originally written by Erik Thomas You’d think Century Media would have promoted the debut from supergroup Insidious Disease a little more. Especially considering the hype behind bands like Torture Division, Bloodbath and Hail of Bullets that also feature great death metal vocalists with …
