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 …
Prior to receiving Desolate Kings for review, I’d never heard of Oracle, and my guess is, prior to reading this, neither have you. The band’s relative obscurity aside, this comprehensive retrospective on the brief career …
originally written by Chris McDonald If there’s one thing many death metal fans have learned over the last decade or so, it’s that slick production values and razor-tight musicianship are never a substitute for writing …
Welcome back to Cappy’s Guttural Grotto of Cavemanic Barbarity…of Death…Metal: A harsh landscape where huge, percolating tar pits swallow triggered drums and corrupt glossy sheens with abscesses spurting syrupy filth. A primal terrain where Raw …
Originally written by Erik Thomas. In my many years of metal journalism, I’ve met and interviewed numerous folks. None are more entertaining than Lord K Philipson, he of The Project Hate MCMXCIX and the now-defunct God Among Insects. With …
Melodic doom/death sometimes seems like a (sub-sub) genre without any real set of parameters. Bands lacking the proper songwriting chops more often than not come off like they’d be better suited playing funeral doom, melodeath, …
From the ever-reliable Wikipedia: “The masakari is an ancient Japanese weapon. This battle axe was used by the Yamabushi, the warrior monks. The blade is made of heavy metal with a spike opposite which is …
originally written by Jim Brandon Australia has gained world renown for producing some of the nastiest and most vile variations of death and black metal bands you can find, so I was a bit surprised …
originally written by Jim Brandon Bands from Chicago tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves so often, and so shamelessly, and our overall scene is a lot busier in the underground than many people …
