Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by James Koehnline] As much as I love and appreciate the fact that my metal foundation was fortified by growing up alongside the genre in the ‘80s as a youth, I owe a great deal of my undying …
[Cover art by Fenomeno Design] Did you know that Chile is pretty darn good at death metal? If not, you must be new around these parts, in which case, I say, welcome friend! We’re glad to have you here and …
It’s a magical corner of the musical world where a band can combine an infectious nature with extreme oddness, and it’s in that corner that Idaho’s Seven Chains makes their home. Make no mistake about it, third album Swollen, In …
[Cover art by Claudio Elias Scialabba] Italy’s Into Darkness has been a band for approximately 15 years but is just now releasing its first full length album, Route to the Other Side, but all that time has been greatly beneficial …
The Soil The crest of first-wave black metal is a bed of nutrient-rich gravesoil. While thrash was pushing into more progressive or commercially viable territories and death metal was beginning to find its own sheen …
[Cover artwork by Luke Cantarella] You are aware of the existence of Amoeba Records, yes? If not, just know they are one of this country’s finest purveyors of all things music-related—a Mecca of sorts for …
Heavy metal is, of course, very serious business. When subject matters regularly consist of murder, depression, grief, rage and all the other poisons of the world that make the flowers of your mind wilt, it …
Have you ever thought about the concept of object permanence? In human development, this refers to the realization that something does not cease to exist when it is not being directly observed. But before babies …
“Nightstalker,” the opening track off the forthcoming Out For Blood, emerges from a twilight mist. The rustle of wind in the trees and the cawing of crows set the stage. The soft guitar strums a …
If the job description of a journalist is to be impartial – if indeed a critic is a journalist at all – then stand back while I fail at that fundamental task… and fail soundly. …
Q: What happens when the Endless Swarm meets the guy from Pest Control? A: Total destruction. But on whose side? It’s a ridiculous (seemingly) hypothetical situation, but it’s … well, yeah, fine, it’s completely ridiculous, …
[Cover art by Altari guitarist K.R.Guðmundsson] In the press materials for Kröflueldar, the full length debut from Iceland’s Altari, the band jokes that because the record took nine years to make, they named it after …
