Generally Impressed With Riffs
Friend, here’s a truth that I hope you will carry with you, especially if you ever feel even a twinge of guilt or shame about being unfamiliar with a particular album, or about being not quite as well-versed in a …
[Cover artwork by Joachim Luetke] I have always found thrash to be one of the more interesting case studies in heavy metal because thrash in its purest form experienced one of the more spectacular near deaths following a notably scorching …
Let’s just blow the lid right off this review from the start. When you absolutely, positively have to rip everything to shreds, only a band like Sweden’s Mutation will do. Debut Esoteric Order of Debauchery is one of the rudest, …
[Cover art by Noah Cutter Meihoff] It’s been more than 40 years since Watchtower really ushered in the age of tech metal with their debut Energetic Disassembly, and in all those years, the techy arms race has impacted nearly every …
[Cover art by David Preissel] The sounds of Neurosis’ “Locust Star” emanate from a desktop speaker wired to an iPod Nano via ⅛-inch cable “Hey maaaan … is that Ponderous Post Metal?” “Yeah maaan …” …
[Artwork by Vicky “Liddo” Morales] In a soak-your-underwear sweaty, tetanus-to-the-touch warehouse in the middle of Skid Row, Raw Addict played its first show. Weeks earlier, drummer Isaac made the irresistible sales pitch, stating that the …
Picture this, brah brah: You’re out enjoying a nice meal with the in-laws. It’s a pleasant setting—a beach vacation, let’s say. The sun gently peeks above the horizon, illuminating the tides as they roll in …
[Artwork by Pierre de Palmas] When revealing Melting Rot as the first band booked to play at Revenge of the Corpse 3, festival organizer Isaac Horne wrote on Instagram that the Aurora, Illinois, trio was …
[Album artwork by Staffan Lindroth] The last time we gathered together under the Dimhav banner, I was busy losing my grip over the Swede’s very excellent and very sudden debut, 2019’s The Boreal Flame. I …
[Cover art by Caelan Stokkermans] “Change–and everything is change; nothing can be held on to–to the degree that you go with a stream, you see, you are are still, you are flowing with it. But …
[Album artwork by Adam Hill] It’s kind of amazing how Elder has maintained their identity over the course of nearly 20 years and seven albums (plus EPs, a collaboration, and live albums), because, when you …
[Cover art by Matt Stephens – sole full-time member of the band] If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance that you are a music obsessive. More than likely, that means you consume other …
