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 Doug Moore. Let’s call it the Philadelphian Metalcore Curse. When you think about it, how else could you explain Starkweather? Or Turmoil and (early) A Life Once Lost? Maybe it’s my Philly-raised inferiority complex talking, but …
East of the Wall is an extraordinarily talented powerhouse that packs the shrewdness of metalcore and the radiant elements of post-rock deep into their music. Ressentiment contains excellent production and a wide variety of musical …
originally written by Erik Thomas It’s rare that I’m ever thrown for a loop or that I have a hard time finding words when it comes to reviews, but Philadelphia’s Cleric appears to have done just that. …
originally written by Chris McDonald Apparently Mörser thinks that the best things come in twos; this obscure yet long-running German outfit features two vocalists, two guitarists, and even two bass players. (Just one drummer, though.) …
originally written by Jim Brandon Serial killers are such a wonderful thing to hear about bright and early on the morning news. Everything is pretty much uphill for the rest of your day after that, and …
Madder Mortem, in their latest effort, falls somewhere between your standard, female fronted atmospheric gothic metal and The Diablo Swing Orchestra. In their latest effort, the Norwegian 5-piece only managed to spit out an arguable …
Having clicked on the link for this review, the chances are pretty good you already know Hammers of Misfortune’s The August Engine. Likely you’ve even read a good selection of other reviews over the album’s …
Californian thrash unit Hirax is a truly old-school outfit that never seems to get much attention outside the underground—they’ve been around since the first wave, alongside the Exodus’ and Metallica’s and the like, but they …
