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 Michael Roberts. Just when I thought it was safe to lock in my top albums for 2008, along come Crowpath to throw me into a spin with this truly nasty piece of work. Like …
Originally written by Doug Moore. Sometimes I wonder how the fuck touring bands do it, and I wonder about bands like Lords in particular. This is a group who rarely headlines, who spends about 1/72 of their …
Somewhere between Celtic Frost, Darkthrone, early Exodus, Amebix, and Sodom, Michigan’s Wastelander blend apocalyptic crust with a base of retro thrash and first-wave black metal, and damned if it doesn’t rock like hell, even if it …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell In the midst of a hefeweizen-induced haze, and stumbling through the litany of promos that currently clog the Metal Review queue, I thought I’d uncovered a gem. “Fucken hell!,” I exclaimed, foggy …
Originally written by Ramar Pittance In the minds of most Americans, the cultural phenomena of professional basketball and hip-hop have always been well-suited bedfellows. Superficially, it makes sense, as they share a similar external aesthetic …
Originally written by Michael Roberts. As a fan of All That Remains’ previous two albums I’m sad to report that Overcome is a bit of a letdown. Both This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals were strong efforts that tastefully combined …
originally written by Chris McDonald I seriously thought that after hearing Mindly Rotten and Dripping that I had experienced the weirdest stuff that ultra-brootal death metal had to offer. Turns out I was wrong. The …
When the boss was looking for someone to review the new Slipknot album, even several weeks past the release date, I was the only person who volunteered. This just goes to show you that I’m a …
