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 Q: How does one write an extensive and calibrated review of such a “Fuck You” and in your face hardcore release? A: One does not. He or she takes notes …
Like many fans of Ye Olde Days Of Metale, I was pleased with the idea of these newbie thrash bands popping up everywhere, raising their horns in tribute to bands and albums I’d always loved. But …
Originally written by Tim Pigeon Bewitched is a veteran Swedish act on their fifth full-length album, but they are new to me. I can’t tell you where this album of old-school thrash metal rates compared to the …
Originally written by Brady Humbert. This totally caught me by surprise. I was expecting a band called, Facebreaker, to be some kind of blend of bad Hatebreed with some horribly sung clean vocals and hackneyed Pantera breakdowns. I also investigated the …
Crusty Italian grinders Cripple Bastards celebrate their twentieth anniversary with this exhaustive double-DVD documentary plus their full set at the 2003 Obscene Extreme Festival in the Czech Republic. DVD sets are almost always “for fans only” …
Originally written by Brian Sweeney. Some people say that because Heaven Shall Burn use musical devices like breakdowns and blast beats they are, by the definition of the genre, metalcore. Others say they are not metalcore at …
Originally written by Sasha Horn Whiskey soaked. Boozy and bearded. Hammond B3 organ driving from the back seat. Sloppy Cathedral-esque death/doom with a penchant for the wolverine blues. So I’m probably not supposed to make flattering reference to the …
Originally written by Brady Humbert. So my Metal Review cherry is popped with my first review, which is the new Monster Magnet album 4-Way Diablo. It follows up 2004’s Monolithic Baby! and is very much a similar album. Unfortunately, this means the album …
