Tag: Melodic
I Am the Night ‒ While the Gods Are Sleeping Review
[Cover art by Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin] The Grand World of Heavy Metal Music is no stranger to works of tribute, typically to an era or sound or Days of Yore, but sometimes bands zero in …
Amorphis – Halo Review
[Cover artwork by Jean-Emmanuel “Valnoir” Simoulin] Comfort is an underrated and often unexpected trait of heavy metal that’s largely eclipsed by the conventional “brutal,” “crushing,” “razored,” “evil” et al. that largely dominates the lexicon of …
Upon Stone ‒ Where Wild Sorrows Grow Review
Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. LA’s Upon Stone prefer their melodeath the way it was originally played in Sweden in the early and mid-90s: equal parts classy and brutal, haggard in the vocal …
Carcass – Torn Arteries Review
Ever been disappointed with a pretty good album? On the one hand, I haven’t either. But then… on the other hand… Let’s get that first cat right out of the bag: Torn Arteries is a …
Ophidian I ‒ Desolate Review
[Artwork by the incomparable Eliran Kantor] The most convenient way to describe Desolate, the sophomore effort from Icelandic tech-deathers Ophidian I, is to call it a serious guitar nerd’s death metal album. This is far …
A Devil’s Dozen – Carcass
Not many bands can say they helped to launch a genre. (Or to launch a sub-genre, whatever you want to call it. We’re splitting hairs.) Even fewer bands can say that they helped to launch …
Code ‒ Flyblown Prince Review
[Artwork by Mors Ultima Ratio Art] Code has always been a little unpredictable for a variety of reasons (lineups, stylistic choices, timelines), but the choice to never make the same album twice is easily the …
Paranorm ‒ Empyrean Review
The movie Heavy Trip tells the story of Finnish band Impaled Rektum (because of course), who basically only exists in one member’s basement for more than a decade, constantly playing their favorite covers and loving …