You Could Have Written Alex Van Halen’s ‘Brothers’
Alex Van Halen’s Brothers is infuriating for fans of Eddie Van Halen because we’ve read all this before. We don’t need this high school term paper of a memoir.
heavy metal
Iron Maiden’s World Tour Explores Their Past, Present, and Future
Contemplating the future of Iron Maiden by celebrating the present and looking back at an album that was all about looking ahead. That’s a good hook.
Blood Incantation Play the Music of the Spheres on New LP
On Absolute Elsewhere, Blood Incantation annihilate the death metal rulebook to spread an esoteric message of cosmic proportions.
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MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of October 2024
In October’s best metal, Blood Incantation explore the cosmos, the Bug disfigures the techno sound, and Oranssi Pazuzu contine to transform.
Chat Pile’s Bleak View Goes Global with ‘Cool World’
Chat Pile’s new album does not offer catharsis; it is just an unflinching account of the violence we inflict on each other on an individual and global scale.
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MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of September 2024
In September’s best metal, Pyrrhon reinvent themselves again, Ripped to Shreds accelerate their death/grind, and Spite return with blackened malice and ambition.
From Melville to Metal: The Conceptual Depths of Mastodon’s ‘Leviathan’
Mastodon’s Leviathan is a concept LP inspired by American novelist Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Think of it as sludge metal’s answer to Dark Side of the Moon.
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MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of August 2024
In August’s best metal, Mamaleek defy categorization, Teeth evolve their dissonant death metal, and Vomitrot bounce between death/doom and black metal.
Bad Brains Reissue the Timeless ‘I Against I’
Canonical DC hardcore act Bad Brains remain as vital as ever. Almost 40 years after I Against I’s initial release, it’s remarkable how timeless it sounds.
Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning’ Turns 40, But the Memory Remains
Yes, Metallica were singing about death—the cartoon skulls and swords I doodled in my notebooks rendered sonically. But they were also singing about life.
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MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of July 2024
In July’s best metal, Wormed’s futuristic brutal tech-death is sovereign, Void Witch offer death-doom wickedness, and Malconfort’s off-kilter black metal shines.
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2024
In June’s best metal, Crypt Sermon offer hooks in doom form, Insect Ark stay on the experimental path, and Ulcerate offer despair with technical death metal.