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, …
It’s been said many times that vocals represent something of a fulcrum in heavy metal music. Lo! how many times we’ve relegated to the shelf an otherwise quality album because the vocals render sallow even …
California’s Holy Grail is comprised of the majority of a previous White Wizzard line-up—vocalist James Paul Luna, guitarist James J. Larue and drummer Tyler Meahl all abandoned that project in 2008 after the release of …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell It’s been a while since this album’s release, so advance apologies to those that expected prompt analysis. Something as (purportedly) monumental as The Crown‘s reunion album should be dissected posthaste, should …
Once upon a time, this New England outfit dropped something of a lost classic in 1987‘s A Crystal Vision, a record that succeeds as much through youthful exuberance as through the band’s nascent talent. That …
originally written by Jim Brandon This year certainly has not lacked in ugliness, but there’s been a fundamental absence of forward movement among the black and death metal crowd in many cases. The relatively short …
Regardless of which era of Dylan Carlson you prefer to listen to, his music will always have a subtle way of, well, droning over your thoughts. After all, this is the man responsible for inventing …
originally written by Chris McDonald Electric Wizard has long been a major player in the doom scene, and their influence in their own style, as well as their ability to pull in fans from metal’s …
Originally written by Juho Mikkonen Although the plate of underground metal is full of impassioned zealots who seem to do nothing but harness all their energy to bring new pieces of art into being, only …
