Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork / art direction by Joseph Niet / The Creative Corporation] Offering up a textbook definition of “holy crap, time flies,” Black Sabbath’s swan song, 13, was released 13 years ago, on June 7th, 2013. In a curious move, …
If you’re just now catching up, well, we’re just now catching up. Seth Buttnam and I (plus one uninvited guest) are rounding up some of our favoritest grindcore (or grind-adjacent) releases of the past however many months, since we (read: …
[Album artwork by Truls Espedal] It’s 17 albums for Enslaved now, comprising a discography I find exceptionally challenging to wrap my arms around. What’s going on here? Does anyone else forget that the relatively rote and by-the-numbers Frost is actually …
[Cover art by Per Spjøtvold] Want a fun way to acknowledge your own mortality? Think about how many years you’ve been listening to certain bands or albums. Of course, you, a distinguished devotee of this publication, surely engage in this practice, …
Originally written by Justin Bean. Now is as good a time as any to get into American grindcore because it seems every which way I turn I find another quality dose of blast beats, distorted …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell While overshadowed in most circles by Profound Lore‘s irresistible sexiness, Metal Blade has been quietly rebuilding themselves into a pure metal juggernaut. With metalcore waning, Slagel and Co. have put out some incredibly …
One gets the sense listening to James Labrie sing that he takes his work very seriously. Not so much the pinpoint-focused craftsman, nor the humorless artisan, but just that he lets no sung note hit …
Originally written by Doug Moore. Black metal today can be divided (very roughly, mind) into two camps. One camp consists of traditionalists. Darkthrone’s Fenriz is their chief spokesman, and stalwarts like Immortal, Gorgoroth, Watain, and Inquisition are their field generals. The …
Originally written by Erik Thomas I vaguely remember receiving this Finnish black metal act’s self-titled demo a couple of years ago, but I never got around to reviewing it, in part put off by the …
Despite a moniker tailor-made for doom metal, the Virginia-based trio known as Solace of Requiem, in fact, plays death metal. The band’s third album, The Great Awakening was actually recorded in 2008, but the act, …
Originally written by Erik Thomas My only real exposure to Italy’s long-running industrial black metal act Aborym was 2006’s excellent Generator. And with the core of founder Malfeitor Fabban and Faust (Emperor) returning on drums, …
Bearing witness to a band’s growing pains can reap great rewards for a fan as easily as it can bring uncomfortable disappointments. On one hand there is the pleasure in having known that band when …
