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Author Archive
 

 
 

Nile, Hour of Penance, Marasmus, Gornography – 3/28/12

When you go to see a big-name band, it’s easy to get caught up in the important atmosphere around the whole thing. The big bus outside, the impressive merch selection, the potentially pricey cover-all of these tell your brain...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Cynic – The Portal Tapes

As the site’s biggest Cynic fan, I was excited to learn that Season of Mist would be officially issuing The Portal Tapes for the first time ever. Though not an actual Cynic release in and of itself, it’s an important part o...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Shroud of Despondency – Pine

I’ll let you in on the secret to a critique: it’s about evaluating what the work is trying to achieve, and how well it’s able to pull off its vision. You can apply this to criticism of nearly any form of art-film, books, ...
by Ben Chipman
 

 

 
 

Pharaoh – Bury the Light

Power metal comes in a few different flavors, and a lot of them can be straight-up bad. When most of the genre is made up of keyboard-twinkling, falsettoed screeches and tales of knights and dragons, hunting for bearable power ...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Christian Mistress – Possession

First thing’s first: I just want to say that I’m really glad bands like Christian Mistress still exist. I’m not going to go on an unnecessary, long-winded diatribe against the kids and their computers and their crabcores;...
by Ben Chipman
 

 

 
 

Enthrall – Throes Of Fire

My first exposure to Enthrall’s 2011 album, Throes Of Fire, didn’t exactly make a stellar first impression. From what I can tell, sole member Neil Rego rigged up an unintentionally hilarious YouTube video declaring his new ...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Goatwhore – Blood for the Master

Blackened thrash works as a genre for the same reason Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups work as a candy. It’s two great things you wouldn’t think to put together, but one day someone did it and the world was all the better for i...
by Ben Chipman
 

 

 
 

In Flames, Trivium, Veil of Maya – 2/11/12

So it’s 7 on Saturday and I’m literally so bored that I’m just driving around town looking for something to do. I get a call from my friend-he’s got an extra pass to In Flames in the city tonight and it’s mine if I wa...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Absu – Abzu

Alright, I know I’m a few months late on this but there aren’t any good new releases happening until the new Goatwhore next week, and I broke my policy of only reviewing black metal bands whose names start with ‘A’ so I...
by Ben Chipman
 

 
 
 

Cynic – Carbon-Based Anatomy

As a young prog fan, Cynic was a revelation. That there were musicians who were incorporating such diverse sounds into Floridian death metal as early as 1993 blew my fledgling metal mind. By making use of fretless bass, Chapman...
by Ben Chipman