Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Quinn Henderson] You’re familiar with the term, “unc,” right? If not, it generally refers to a washed up older feller whose personality in large part revolves around extravagantly performing confusion and/or displeasure at the mere notion of …
[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 …
Alchemy, mysticism, paranoia, neuroticism, and human suffering: all choice elements found within the scrawlings of a book entitled Inferno – courtesy of Sweden’s premiere author/playwright/chemist/chemical dabbler of yore, Johan August Strindberg – and also the …
Originally written by Erik Thomas. Synopsis: I gotta tell you, I may not be a black metal expert or aficionado, but I can tell you one thing: This is how I like my black metal. Review: Grim, …
originally written by Jim Brandon Of all the bands who were birthed in the early/mid- 90’s and enjoy a comfortable level of mainstream success, for some reason Sevendust has been spared much of the unmitigated …
I recently made an observation in one of my reviews about how infrequently I hear mention of our friends across the pond in Russia when it comes to metalheads jawin’ about noteworthy newcomers in our …
originally written by Jim Brandon Even though I find southern-tinged metal and hard rock to be only marginally appealing for being a niche style, most of it drives me up the wall. All that thump-n’-twang …
Originally written by Chris Chellis. Taking a complex but ultimately positive lyrical approach to life’s Grand Design, Austria’s uber-symphonic power metal foursome Edenbridge adhere to a strict concept throughout but the music itself serves as the album’s greatest …
Originally written by Tim Pigeon Young upstarts: look out, for the elder statesmen of melodic death metal have returned with yet another fine album. When a band has been making music for over 15 years, …
It’s a testament to the band’s vitality and creative development that there simply IS no definitive Killing Joke album. Ask a group of fanatics to name their favorite album, and you’re likely to get a wide variety …
