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 …
Originally written by Doug Moore. I first heard of Melechesh in the same context that I imagine most people hear of them: “They’re that death metal band from Israel, maaan!” Turns out that such is not exactly …
Originally written by Jason Jordan. The illustrious Jeremy Garner and I had a conversation recently about Sumerian Records’ debut from The Faceless, and here’s what was said about the 33-minute Akeldama: JG: “Maybe I’m in the wrong mood …
Originally written by Ian Duncan-Brown. Immolation’s first album has recently been reissued. Why should you care? Some fans call it the band’s best ever because it represents Immolation in their purest, most brutal form. That’s a compelling argument, …
This year’s Maaäet was my first exposure to Finland’s Tenhi, and based on how often I spun the record over the course of a month, I was pretty quick on the trigger when I saw …
originally written by Jim Brandon Do you like Sadistic Intent? How about Krisiun and Hacavitz? Does Hate Eternal’s one-speed attack leave you desiring something more? Enter stage right: Azarath’s third album, Diabolic Impious Evil, and …
Originally written by Erik Thomas. Synopsis: It’s Manowar. Posers leave the hall… Review: All fur clad, homoerotic gesturing aside, heavy metal stalwarts Manowar are arguably one of the most polarizing heavy metal bands on the planet. You either …
Originally written by Ramar Pittance “Orphaned.” It’s probably the most perfect piece of music I have ever heard in my life. That fact that music fans aren’t quitting their jobs and killing their families so …
During a time when US-based metal labels were mostly searching for the next meaner, faster, more extreme band, Arlington, Texas’ Solitude Aeturnus epitomized the much less popular doom slant. This left the band with very …
