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 Sasha Horn After all is said and done, The Way Of All Flesh is a good album. You should know. The entire album has been streaming for awhile now, and you’ve probably …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Fans of industrial metal, especially those that cut their teeth on the glorious, early-to-mid-90’s output of Ministry and Fear Factory, have fallen on hard times. The dearth of quality acts spawned from these …
originally written by Chris McDonald Psycroptic could very well be labeled the “purist’s” technical death metal band. Despite the ultra modern production of their albums and their absolutely brain-frying level of musicianship, the Australians have …
From Wikipedia, “Trinacria is both an alternative name for Sicily and its national symbol (an ancient form of the Triskelion), which also appears on its flag.” In case you don’t have a Word-A-Day calendar, a triskelion …
Originally written by Kris Yancey The first I heard of this Finnish septet of orc-worshipping folk nuts was their sophomore effort Sword’s Song, and I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now, …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell While it’s a bit unfair to pigeonhole every modern-minded, French metal band that waltzes by as a Gojira clone, sometimes you have to cut through the bullshit and call it like it …
Originally written by Kris Yancey I’m going on an angry reviewer tangent before I even start the review. Hey, Napalm Records! Yeah, you guys with the solid artist lineup and above-average track record. Stop sending …
Like Clutch themselves, Full Fathom Five has no frills. It’s packaged in a simple digipack case, with space-rock artwork that just as easily could’ve adorned a Hawkwind record in 1971. There are no bonus features, …
