Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by James Koehnline] As much as I love and appreciate the fact that my metal foundation was fortified by growing up alongside the genre in the ‘80s as a youth, I owe a great deal of my undying …
[Cover art by Fenomeno Design] Did you know that Chile is pretty darn good at death metal? If not, you must be new around these parts, in which case, I say, welcome friend! We’re glad to have you here and …
It’s a magical corner of the musical world where a band can combine an infectious nature with extreme oddness, and it’s in that corner that Idaho’s Seven Chains makes their home. Make no mistake about it, third album Swollen, In …
[Cover art by Claudio Elias Scialabba] Italy’s Into Darkness has been a band for approximately 15 years but is just now releasing its first full length album, Route to the Other Side, but all that time has been greatly beneficial …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Well, these speedballin’ Swedes certainly have a knack for churning out terrible album covers. The generic, MMA Bro t-shirt that Death Domination wears is only slightly tackier than the Edward Syringehands dude …
Originally written by Chris Chellis. Post retro thrash-revival thrash? Eh, forget the tags. This is just good metal. While some of their similarly “new” brethren seem to lean more toward the speed of Bonded by Blood, …
British punk/thrash unit Hellbastard’s 1986 demo Ripper Crust is credited with putting the “crust” in crust punk. Back then, Hellbastard were an Amebix-like metallic punk band, ragged and raw, as heavily influenced by anarchist collectives …
Examining a map of the United States will reveal that the majority of well-known American black metal is a little weak on seeking out extreme climates and landscapes. The it-bands from the Pacific Northwest are …
Expanding upon In Requiem’s return to Draconian form, Faith Divides Us finds Paradise Lost stronger than they’ve been since releasing Draconian Times some fifteen years ago. For those not in the know, after that final installment …
originally written by Chris McDonald Amon Amarth has always maintained a solid balance between pedal-to-the-metal fury and more open, epic songwriting in their quest for melodic death domination. But they’ve also noticeably favored one more …
Originally written by Ross Main. Miseration are a band that know what they are doing and what they are going for. With any luck they will be free of the tag that labels them as another …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell For nearly twenty years, Acheron have toiled away in relative obscurity. Near-comedic lineup woes and sporadic recorded output have rendered their name as one that is merely known—and not often praised—in subterranean circles. …
