Generally Impressed With Riffs
[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 …
[Cover art by Mister Curse] Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface. Stack Overflow in…Corpse Pile Interface? “What’s in a name? That which we call a corpse pile, by any other word would smell as putrid” – billy shakes Forgive my …
originally written by Erik Thomas Along with Evocation, Fleshcrawl, Bloodbath and such, Nominon is definitely one of the more qualified and experienced purveyors of old school Swedish death metal, with past and present members serving in a host of …
Ignoring the more epic connotations that go with naming their band after Poseidon’s weapon of choice, Sweden’s Trident instead employ the form of thrash- and death-influenced black metal currently saturating the scene. Debut World Destruction …
originally written by Erik Thomas You can count me in the number that was incredibly underwhelmed by the debut from this American black metal supergroup, as it came across like all 5 members delivering their …
originally written by Jim Brandon 1349’s last album Revelations Of The Black Flame was far less of a disappointment to me as it was for many others, mostly because while I’ve always respected the band, …
originally written by Jim Brandon Funeral doom is a genre I’ve slowly been easing myself into over the past few years, and Denmark’s Black Wreath is one of the bands that has left a strong impression …
“Ufomammut are gonna make a big splash with this album.” Seems like I’ve been saying that since 2004, when I first heard Snailking. But for whatever reason, these Italians still seem to be flying under the radar …
originally written by Erik Thomas This is my first exposure to this Finnish trio featuring Lasse Pyykkö (notably of doomsters Phlegethon and Sarnath, as well as old school death metal/grindcore act Vacant Coffin). It looks like I’m going to have …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell It’s been nearly nine years since the release of Karma to Burn‘s don’t-call-it-a-swansong Almost Heathen, a ten-ton stoner rock monument to the unadulterated glory of the riff. Since that album–and their subsequent …
