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 Keith Fox. Don’t approach this album like I did, noting the presence of both Ihsahn and his wife (Star of Ash) and expecting either a continuation of the now retired Peccatum project with a …
Originally written by Erik Thomas. Synopsis: There is no synopsis I can write that can succinctly describe this album in one short, witty sentence, so just keep reading… Review: Very rarely am I stumped by …
Originally written by Jason Jordan. While I’m not knowledgeable enough to write a paper about the seemingly minute differences between battle, heathen, pagan, and Viking metal, I know what I like, and I like the …
Crude, gurgling beasts with weeping eyes struggling to pull free from slimy alien webbing. Dark, freezing oceans packed with stormy waves crashing on mountainous shores that hang heavy with centuries of moss. Inverted priests gazing …
Originally written by Erik Thomas. Synopsis: As kids playing brutal deathcore rises to a saturated reeeee-filled crescendo, at least bands like Suicide Silence are doing it well enough to be respectably heavy and not inject childish immaturity …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Unlike my esteemed colleague, I’m no Darkthrone aficionado. Other than their early 90’s necrotrinity (which, honestly, doesn’t strike me in the way that classic albums should) I’ve watched the duo’s career fly …
Originally written by Tyler Wagnon. Brooklyn, NY’s Tombs is a three-piece featuring Mike Hill (ex-Anodyne, ex-Versoma) on vocals and guitars, Justin Ennis (The Heuristics) on drums, while Dominic Seita (Speedloader) rounds out the band on bass. Hill …
Originally written by Jason Jordan. Known for his work with Amesoeurs, Mortifera, and Peste Noire, Neige’s least metal project Alcest has oddly enough generated more buzz than the others. While 2004’s Le Secret contained Burzumian screams on “Elevation,” the full-length Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde, …
