SLUG Contributor Limelight
February 5, 2015
Contributor Limelight: Henry Glasheen
Tales of yore speak of a noble scribe rising from the Bonneville wastes who’ll climb SLUG’s ranks and claim a mighty metal throne over our fair city. The prophecy was fulfilled in April 2010, as Henry Glasheen joined the mag. As a dyed-in-the-denim metalhead, Glasheen is a bastion of SLUG’s satanic stronghold. From his reviews of everything from NWOBHM to black metal to his interviews with such metal mainstays as King Diamond and Behemoth, Glasheen has proved his worth with ease—his interview with Visigoth on pg. 32 nails it! As a formidable Dungeon Master, avid video gamer, voracious fantasy reader and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, SLUG has relished Glasheen’s strengths as a writer, copy editor, fact checker and now Digital Content Coordinator—we’re proud to have him at the helm of SLUGMag.com!
Articles by contributor
Reviews: Judicator – Sleepy Plessow
Everything on this album seems to be just a step away from something really special. In a sense, it seems like it was only partially finished, hampered by flat production and a rote, repetitive take on typical power metal riffs. … read more
Reviews: Speedtrap – Powerdose
Prepare yourself, because Powerdose takes off fast. Ville Valavuo’s guitar snarls out with a heavy metal vengeance while Miika Keränen sets the breakneck pace with swift fills and a relentless beat. … read more
Reviews: Mirthless – A Dirge for Your Suicide
Clearly, Mirthless possess the potential to make great funeral doom metal. However, most of the time this potential emerges after 10 minutes of the same riff, drawn out torturously long. … read more
Reviews: Lycus – Tempest
It’s clear that Lycus know and understand their influences rather well, combining an atonal USBM riffing style with long sections of legitimately heavy and atmospheric funeral doom. … read more
Review: Witch Mountain – Mobile of Angels
Witch Mountain = Serpentcult + The Sleer – YOB … read more
Review: White Orange – Onawa
After a relatively successful and intriguing debut album, White Orange appear to be stepping away from the snappy rock tunes of their self-titled and into the realm of spacey atmospherics. … read more
Review: Witch Cross – Axe to Grind
There’s always something refreshing about a legitimate ’80s metal band getting back together, but it’s rare to see such an enormous gap between their releases. … read more
Review: Windhand – Soma
Soma echoes the smoke-wreathed incantations of Electric Wizard with their heavy, powerful riffing and foreboding atmosphere. However, Windhand tones down the grooviness of the British black wizards, aiming instead for something closer to a traditional doom sound. … read more
Review: Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats – The Night Creeper
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats = (Blue Cheer + Blood Ceremony) / The 13th Floor Elevators … read more
Review: Various Artists – 4 Doors to Death
Try though I might, I simply cannot put 4 Doors to Death down. This four-way split from Unspeakable Axe collects some new tracks from some of the filthiest, most brutal new bands to fly the tattered flag of old-school death metal. … read more
Review: Van Canto – Dawn of the Brave
While Van Canto isn’t treading new territory with this album, their a capella take on power metal has only gotten more interesting and refined with time. … read more
Review: Tribulation – The Children of the Night
Tribulation = Morbus Chron + Degial + King Diamond … read more
Review: Suffering in Solitude – A Place Apart
Too much time is spent plucking out guitar overtones and delay-heavy arpeggios. These guys have a lot of room to grow, but if you like your metal tinged with shoegaze, you’ll probably enjoy A Place Apart nonetheless. … read more
Review: Storm of Light – Nations to Flames
This album takes a completely different direction with its post-metal influences than I was expecting. Instead of the gentle surges and mellow refrains, Nations to Flames takes you by the collar and shakes you again and again with its unrelenting chaos. … read more
Review: Slough Feg – Digital Resistance
Mike Scalzi continues to tread the thin line between heavy metal and rock n’ roll with his acrobatic guitar work and unconventional songwriting. The whole production sounds warm and organic, contrasting well with the album’s lyrical themes of technological isolation … read more
Review: Saxon – St. George’s Day Sacrifice – Live in...
Saxon = Accept + Judas Priest … read more
Review: Secrets of the Sky – Pathway
Secrets of the Sky = Anathema + Katatonia + Paradise Lost … read more
Review: Saxon – Unplugged and Strung Up
Over the course of a 36-year career, Saxon have proven themselves to be the undisputed masters of heavy metal songwriting. Unplugged and Strung Up is a cavalcade of re-recordings, orchestrations and acoustic takes on a selection of Saxon’s greatest material. … read more
Review: Primordial – Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Primordial = Bathory + Old Season + Ereb Altor … read more
Review: PULSE – The Best Is Not Good Enough
PULSE = Deep Purple + Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore … read more
Review: Night Demon – Curse of the Damned
Night Demon = Motörhead / Diamond Head + Angel Witch … read more
Review: Obsequiae – Aria of Vernal Tombs
Obsequiae = Summoning + early Rotting Christ + Aquilus … read more
Review: Moonsorrow – Jumalten aika
Moonsorrow = Menhir + Finsterforst + Bathory
… read more
Review: Motörhead – Aftershock
In an age when most of the great classic hard rock bands are slowing down and approaching their twilight years, Motörhead keeps charging ahead, playing the hardest and truest rock n’ roll ever recorded. … read more
Review: Moon Zero – Tombs / Loss
Like an unsettling dream, this pair of albums produces associations and feelings that displace and frighten the listener. Tim Garratt plays with the possibilities of maximalist ambience, pitting a full range of reverberating overtones against each other to create overpowering aural experiences. … read more
Review: Manilla Road – The Blessed Curse
Manilla Road = Cirith Ungol + Ageless Wisdom … read more
Review: Luciferian Rites – When the Light Dies
Luciferian Rites = Satanic Warmaster + Winterlore … read more
Review: Macabre Omen – Gods of War—At War
Macabre Omen = Bathory + Kawir + Varathron … read more
Review: Lesbian – Forestelevision
While it isn’t the worst album I’ve heard this year, Lesbian’s Forestelevision might be the laziest. … read more
Review: John Carpenter – Lost Themes
John Carpenter = (Depeche Mode + Perturbator) / Philip Glass … read more
Review: Hoth – The Black Goddess Return
Hoth = Deströyer 666+ Desaster / Motörhead … read more
Review: Indian – From All Purity
“Rhetoric of No” and “The Impetus Bleeds” seem to signal a return to the lively riffing of their previous albums, but then the band inevitably falls back into a yawn-inducing sound coma. Containing little substance to be admired, From All Purity marks the low point in Indian’s discography. … read more
Review: High Priest of Saturn
A classic case of stoner doom by numbers, High Priest of Saturn imitate all the basic components of their chosen genre, but fail to add anything substantial or unique to the mix. Highly hailed with comparisons to Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard, the band’s self-titled debut only resembles these bands by the most generous comparison. … read more
Review: Gris – À l’Âme Enflammée, l’Äme Constellée…
Depressive suicidal black metal is hardly a genre one would associate with innovation and variety, yet Gris continue to defy expectations on À l’Âme Enflammée, l’Äme Constellée… … read more
Review: Grand Magus – Triumph and Power
This trio of hard-rocking Swedes never disappoints with their unique brand of epic doom metal. JB Christoffersson’s soaring vocals sound like a younger Biff Byford, and he backs them up with earth-shaking guitarwork. … read more
Local Review: The Rose Phantom – Sketches: Live at Storm...
The Rose Phantom = Clan Of Xymox + Psyche + Faith & the Muse … read more
Local Review: Monkey Rum – Banished from the Garden
Banished from the Garden moves through so many genres and styles that it gets hard to pin these guys down as one genre or another. In that way, you could almost call this album a dad-rock melange, where distinctions between styles get lost in the blend of hair metal, glam rock and grunge. … read more
Local Review: Fiendlord – Dust On The Chamber Floor
Fiendlord = Kataxu + early Nokturnal Mortum + Elffor
… read more
Local Review: Dwellers – Pagan Fruit
Producing more of their psych-tinged “gut rock,” Dwellers have doubled down on the space rock sound that they experimented with on Good Morning Harakiri. The resulting album is unbelievably laid back, sounding a lot like mid-’90s stoner rock but without the angst-driven intensity. … read more
Local Review: Delusions of Godhood – Dreamscape
Delusions of Godhood = Kalmah + Gates of Ishtar … read more
Local Review: Ben Q. Best – Apricot Exorcist
Though his songs are tinged with a kind of delicate earnestness, Ben Q Best excels most in his ability to craft unique melodic passages that carry the darker themes of this album. His voice warbles and wanes through layers of shoegazey post-rock and quiet piano passages. … read more
Review: Gladenfold – From Dusk To Eternity
Even though it sounds like a smooth blend of bands from Spinefarm’s early years, Gladenfold mixes just enough power metal into their synth-driven melodic death metal to breathe life into a genre I had given up on years ago. … read more
Review: Flotsam and Jetsam – No Place for Disgrace
This re-recording of No Place for Disgrace sounds overproduced and heartless, like a rote imitation of the original work. … read more
Review: Erik Enocksson – Apan (Reissue)
Erik Enocksson = Christian Zanesi + Ben Prunty + Earth … read more
Review: Evil United – Honored by Fire
Mired in their own mimetic banality, Evil United stand out only in their unusual brand of terribleness. … read more
Review: Desaster – The Oath of an Iron Ritual
Desaster = Gospel of the Horns + Nocturnal + Deströyer 666
… read more
Review: Death Karma – The History of Death & Burial...
Death Karma = Cult of Fire + Horrendous + Varathron … read more
Review: Dawnbringer – Night of The Hammer
Dawnbringer = High Spirits / Slough Feg … read more
Review: Culted – Oblique to All Paths
Oblique to All Paths sounds like a musical rendition of a passive-aggressive argument at band practice. Embarrassingly self-indulgent and lacking any kind of major, defining characteristic, Culted end up writing the doom metal equivalent of cold oatmeal. … read more
Review: Cathedral – The Last Spire
Cathedral’s final full-length serves as the dreadful denouement to their career. It seems rather odd that Lee Dorrian and his merry band of self-styled metal outcasts would follow up The Guessing Game with an album so unbearably dull as The Last Spire. … read more
Review: Blood Ceremony – The Eldritch Dark
While many listeners may expect to hear the overdriven Black Sabbath worship of Living With The Ancients, Blood Ceremony take a clear step toward their folk influences on The Eldritch Dark. … read more
Review: Blood Ceremony – Let It Come Down / Loving...
Blood Ceremony = Jex Thoth + Mount Salem … read more
Review: Age of Taurus – Desperate Souls of Tortured Times
Three years after their promising debut, Age of Taurus return to bring down the heavy hammer of doom. Desperate Souls of Tortured Times might take some time to sink in, but once you give in to the unrelenting rhythm of its leaden dirge, there’s no going back. Very few modern metal bands are brave enough to draw comparisons to doom metal giants Candlemass, and fewer still do justice to the classic sound. Yet Age of Taurus seems to have hit on a unique sound, both heavily influenced by the golden age of doom metal and bravely departing from tradition. … read more
CONTRIBUTOR LIMELIGHT: Alexander Ortega – Editor
Since 2010, Alexander Ortega has risen through SLUG’s ranks, assuming the titles of Contributor Writer, Senior Staff Writer, Copy Editor, Junior Editor, Editorial Assistant, Managing Editor and now Editor. … read more
Local Reviews: Spell Talk
Salt Lake City seems like the last place anyone would expect to hear tunes like Spell Talk’s most recent LP, but this combination of minimal, mellow blues and psychedelic haziness feels like a hot summer day in the valley. Punctuated by Jared Phelps’ half-shouted singing, Touch It! sounds like it was recorded in a concrete basement, with every tremulous note aching out of Andrew Milne’s tortured guitar bouncing off the walls in a strange, hypnotic fashion. … read more
Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Curse of Strahd
If you’re in the mood to seriously shake up your D&D group or just want a chance to explore one of the greatest pre-made worlds in the history of the game, Curse of Strahd is your jam, and you owe it to yourself—and your players—to pick it up and give it a try. … read more
Review: Heritage of Cyador
L.E. Modesitt plays a long game with his Saga of Recluse series. Eighteen novels into this epic tale, Heritage of Cyador continues with the exploits of the grey mage Lerial, whose aid in the defeat of the Afritan army in Cyador’s Heirs turns out to be far from decisive. … read more
Review: Madness in Solidar
While I’ll openly admit that Modesitt’s got a talent for introducing rich detail into his political plots, Madness in Solidar took some serious patience to get through. … read more
Review: Neverwinter Tales – The Legend of Drizzt
Look, I enjoy the Forgotten Realms as much as your average D&D enthusiast, but I’ve always found Drizzt Do’urden to be an exceptionally dull character. It should speak volumes that the most interesting character in this collection is, by far, a dwarf named Pwent, who is struggling to overcome a vampiric curse. … read more
Review: Gunnerkrigg Court – Volume 1
Its kind of funny to go back through the early events of this now-epic webcomic and see just how much it has changed and grown over the last decade. Volume 1 collects the first 14 chapters of the series, and even over the course of the book, Sidell’s art style and storytelling matures considerably. … read more
Review: Rat Queens – Volume Two
It’s refreshing to read a series that treats equally with the fantastical stories of a well-run Dungeons & Dragons game and genuinely touching personal backstories. The Rat Queens are a team of rough-and-tumble adventurers-for-hire who drink heavily and live as large as they can in the little city of Palisade. … read more
Review: Boardwalk Empire: Complete Series
Boardwalk Empire gets a slow start in Season One, but from the very first scene, Buscemi—as the semi-fictional Enoch “Nucky” Thompson—starts chewing up some damn fine scenery. … read more
Review: The Wire: The Complete Series
The Wire is not your average police procedural about hero cops and inhuman criminal acts. … read more
Review: Big Trouble in Little China Vol. 1
This series takes off right where the movie stopped, and it’s pretty clear from the get-go that there’s still plenty of story to be told here. … read more
Review: Five Ghosts: Deluxe Edition Vol. 1
Five Ghosts stands poised on the border of metafiction and camp, a serious and self-aware celebration of pulp fiction in all its awesome ridiculousness. … read more
Review: Game of Thrones: Episode Four “Sons of Winter”
If this series could be said to have a high point, this is pretty much it. While Gared’s story takes a drastic turn, forcing him to run for the fabled North Grove or face execution, it seems like every other character is finally able to work out some of their pent-up anger. … read more
Review: SaltyHoney
SaltyHoney is a small, Utah-based company that produces high-quality facial-hair-care products. … read more
Review: Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor
Suffering from a particularly bewildering case of sequelitis, Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor is more than bad—it’s downright disturbing. … read more
Review: Guild of Dungeoneering
Guild of Dungeoneering wants to be so many awesome things at once. It’s a simplified RPG that plays out like a solo board game, yet it features a unique deck-building mechanic inspired by Dominion or, perhaps more accurately, Thunderstone. … read more
Review: Snorg Tees
If you’re looking for some saucy geek-related puns to hang on your geek-loving body, then Snorg Tees is a great place to start. Their designs are punchy and varied, featuring solid puns, dad jokes and entertaining mashups that will yield up giggles from nerds and non-nerds alike. … read more
Review: Goat Story Coffee Mug
Perhaps the perfect coffee accessory for the trend-setting, upwardly-mobile, modern-day viking, Goat Story’s mead horn–shaped mug brings style with its functional design. … read more
Review: Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance
If you’re not familiar with the Disgaea series, just imagine a game where you can level up your whole team to level 9999 then reincarnate them back at Level 1 so that you can build them back up again—stronger, faster and more ridiculously overpowered than ever before. … read more
Pathologic Classic HD
This Russian title never got its chance to break out in Western markets, but stayed alive through its cult currency on the Internet as “one of those crazy-ass Eastern European games.” … read more
Just Cause 3: Ode to Explosions
About halfway through parachuting out of a speeding luxury car in midair—and mere moments before it collided with a row of giant gas canisters in a glorious orgy of explosive power—it occurred to me that I might be having a little too much fun in Just Cause 3. … read more
Surging Forth from the Underground: Truest Underground Metal Albums of...
Strap on your bullet belt and get ready to slap a new back patch onto your kutte, because if you like your music loud and heavy, you’re going to love our top underground metal picks of 2015. … read more
Review: Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the...
Dragon Quest Heroes is best enjoyed in short bursts, but still offers just enough light story and character advancement to make the hour or so you spend on the game feel meaningful. … read more
In Search of the Lost Chord: Mark Shelton of Manilla...
Few metal bands command the kind of unquestioning respect and reverence that Manilla Road have so thoroughly earned through their almost 40-year career. … read more
Review: Stella Glow – Imageepoch’s Last Gasp
By all rights, Stella Glow should be the game to vindicate the now-defunct Imageepoch’s creative vision. Can it stand tall in the SRPG genre? … read more
Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Complete Series
Avatar – The Complete Series, brings together one of the first attempts to collect all three seasons of this watershed show into a single box set. … read more
Ragnarok: Last God Standing – Sundering The Shackles of Fate
Nowadays, all we seem to see is the surface gleam of ancient heroes, rather than the deep flaws and peripeteia that darkens them. Ragnarok: Last God Standing, thankfully, is not that story. … read more
Hey, Listen! Amy Andersson Conducts The Legend of Zelda: Symphony...
Conducting a production as momentous as The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses takes an extraordinary conductor. Amy Andersson is all that and more. … read more
Review: Roccat – Aluma
Over the years, I’ve had way more frustrating experiences with in-ear headphones than positive ones. … read more
Drawing First Blood in the Battle For Zendikar Prerelease
As avid Magic: The Gathering fans, Alex Springer and I both decided to give the upcoming set a try. … read more
The 6 Best Writing Tips From Salt Lake Comic Con...
Instead of writing up my outline for an ambitious new novel, though, I’ll bring you the six best writing tips I’ve gleaned over the course of this year’s Salt Lake Comic Con. … read more
Shadow Con: Writing Advice from the Literary Underbelly of Salt...
It’s easy to get caught up in the naked enthusiasm of Salt Lake Comic Con. Even in the first few moments after I set foot in the Salt Palace, I could sense a sudden release of pent-up excitement and joy. … read more
Aroma Soul and Co.
Between the rustic, woody fragrance of Frankincense and Cypress essential oils and the full-bodied aroma of Lavender and Melissa, the Bearded Veteran Formula completely took me in at first sniff. … read more
Basilisk: Just Another Boring Ninja Anime
Basilisk could have been a pretty interesting series, but instead it’s hampered by a terrible script and recycled ideas. … read more
Dungeons & Dragons: Out of the Abyss – Straight Outta...
Out of the Abyss is more than just a well-crafted adventure, it’s a proving ground for some of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition’s best ideas. … read more
Local Reviews: Dark Seas
Dark Seas are great live performers, with their genuine charisma and drunken stage antics. The music itself is nothing extraordinary, consisting mainly of minimal, easygoing guitar strumming through a haze of feedback and reverb, with Rhett Hansen pounding out energetic mid-tempo drum beats. … read more
Review: Mega Man Legacy Collection – Bustin’ Bots Like It’s...
One of my first gaming memories is playing Mega Man X on the Super Nintendo, a game which kicked my 8-year-old ass up and down the block so many times that I can still feel the little blue bootprints. … read more
Review: Design by Humans
Design by Humans doesn’t mess around on this front, as their selection of designs are almost unanimously gorgeous. … read more
Local Reviews: The Plastic Furs
With a sly and energetic style, The Plastic Furs display a musical repertoire that spans the distance between dark, sexy psychedelia and supercharged rock tunes. The band’s punchy drone sensibility meshes well with Brian Mink’s hazy guitar reverberating through their washed-out tone. … read more
Dungeons & Dragons: Princes of the Apocalypse
The Temple of Elemental Evil is the kind of module mentioned in the same reverential tones as Ravenloft and Planescape, and it’s one of the most famous pre-made adventures in the whole of tabletop RPGs. … read more
Review: Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers
I imagine I’ll be playing A Nest of Vipers again on a different save file, just to see how things could have ended up differently. … read more
Review: Lost Dimension
Lost Dimension is a diamond in the rough. True, it could use its fair share of polish, but this is still a seriously strong title. … read more
Review: Logitech G930 Wireless Gaming Headset
Logitech G930 is an extraordinary piece of hardware, handling game audio, chat and music with equal ease. … read more
Local Reviews: Blackhole
This 40-minute live set is a slow burner—one long track of stripped-down, deep grooves from a psychedelic ensemble. Bombarding you with seemingly endless buildup toward a minimal climax, you have to pass that first crest before they start hitting their stride. … read more
Review: Reaper Miniatures – Bones
As a kid, I used to marvel at people’s miniatures. Every time I found myself at the hobby shop, I’d catch glimpses of epic battles being staged between Space Marines, War Machines and just about every manner of fantasy creature you can possibly imagine. … read more
Local Review: Odium Totus
Odium Totus describes their music as “all about torment,” Odium Totus vacillates between dreadful moments of wretched hopelessness and pugilistic riffs that pound the listener senseless. With a sound reminiscent of Ved Buens Ende’s Written in Waters, Nullam Congue Nihil is a caustic, vicious insult aimed at every living thing on the planet. … read more
Local Review: Caladan Brood
Evoking a bitter age of strife in a war-torn fantasy realm, Echoes of Battle shows an impressive amount of maturity for a debut release. With a tasteful mix of thoughtful orchestral arrangements and dynamic black metal sorcery, members Mortal Sword and Shield Anvil pay lyrical and musical tribute to Steven Erikson’s dark fantasy series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. … read more
Radio Moscow, The Flying Eyes, Max Pain and the Groovies...
The doors opened to a meager crowd at ten, and the general feeling was a little bit quiet and sparse. Nobody was really setting up, so most patrons just started the night with a few drinks while the venue played us some tracks from the new Radio Moscow record. … read more
Warbringer, Lazarus A.D., Diamond Plate, Landmine Marathon @ The Complex...
The crowd was still thin for Warbringer’s set, but I doubt that’s how people will remember the show. … read more
Gardens, Max Pain and the Groovies, Dark Seas @ The...
Setting a steady, driving beat for the rocked-out audience, Gardens taps into something classic about rock and roll that doesn’t need intensity or psychedelic fuzz to communicate itself. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Spellcaster Interview
Welcome to another edition of Napalm Flesh. This week we have an interview with Portland’s Spellcaster, one of the bands spearheading the renaissance of traditional metal in the Pacific Northwest. We also have this week’s event rundown as well as exclusive reviews of the new releases from Animals as Leaders, Czar, Satan’s Host, Sunn 0)), and Vektor. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Heidevolk Interview
Welcome to Napalm Flesh! This week we have an interview with guitarist Reamon Bomenbreker of Dutch folk metal crew Heidevolk. We discussed their new album, Batavi, the inner workings of the band, and even the possibility of an American tour. Also on tap, we have reviews of new music from Corrosion of Conformity, Dyscarnate and Wykked Wytch, as well as your weekly event rundown. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Cannibal Corpse Interview
This week is brought to you by the letter C and, as always, the number 666. We’ve got an interview with Cannibal Corpse drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. We also have a slew of reviews from Caliban, Children of God, Eddie Brock, Exumer and The Love Below, as well as your weekly concert lowdown—lots happening this week. It’s a free for all smorgasbord! … read more
Napalm Flesh: Destruction Interview
Welcome to Napalm Flesh! This week, we have an interview with the mighty Teutonic Thrash Titans, Destruction! Even though their show in Salt Lake on May 7 was canceled, we caught up with bassist/vocalist Schmier and talked about the early years that shaped Destruction into the iconic band so many longed to see in Salt Lake. … read more
E3 Day One – Nintendo
All gathered seemed to agree that so far, this was a software year at E3 – where third-party developers would outshine the major platforms even in their own presentations. A few held out hope for Nintendo’s continuous hyping of its new platform, the Wii U, to overtake the tepid showing from its competitors, and a throng of photographers gathered around its new tablet/controller, lying on a pedestal at the front of the stage. … read more
E3 Day One – Gaikai
Lots of rumors have been circulating about Gaikai’s alliances in the coming wave of cloud gaming. Some have said the company was looking to start partnerships with major game companies, becoming a provider for full-length games. However, in a small cubicle high above the din of South Hall’s unfettered revelry, two guys stood in front of modestly-sized screens, explaining the effects of streamlining the demo process for video games. … read more
E3 Day One – Bethesda
When I flashed my press pass at the reception desk, I was corralled into an area where replicas of various arms and armor from Tamriel, the setting of The Elder Scrolls series, could be found. Like any Bethesda game, these were accompanied by lengthy descriptions of the historical and cultural significance of each item. Beyond them sat a throne, flanked by Nordic and Elven armors and an Elder Scroll, laid out on a drafting table. It was here that Bethesda presented their new games, The Elder Scrolls Online and Dishonored. … read more
E3 Day Two – LucasArts
LucasArts pulled the gathered members of the press into a theater themed after the interior of a Star Wars space shuttle. Through the windows, you could see a gradual descent through a seemingly endless series of layers, diving down deeper into what we soon learned was Coruscant. Hovering in the main screen were the words “Star Wars 1313.” … read more
E3 Day Two – Capcom
I made my way to the line where Capcom was handing out tickets to demo their reboot of the Devil May Cry series, DMC. Ninja Theory’s decision to shake up their designs raised the hackles on more than a few fans of the series, but being a fan myself, I couldn’t give up the chance to check it out. … read more
E3 Day Two – Square Enix
With an enormous high definition screen belching out promo footage from their plethora of games on the show floor, I couldn’t miss Square Enix’s display area if I tried. Having been a fan of the company’s Final Fantasy franchise for some time, and enticed by some of the recent acquisitions for the publisher, I trundled over to check out some of the new titles, including Hitman: Absolution, Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider, for myself. … read more
E3 Day Three – Indiecade
As I reflected on the time I spent in IndieCade, I realized that indie developers really were some of the hardest-working people in the industry. Their tireless efforts to provide fun, novel experiences with gameplay showed through the passion with which they described their projects, and the unique concepts underpinning their designs. I honestly look forward with more enthusiasm to some of the incomplete projects I’d seen at IndieCade than virtually any other game I’d seen during my entire E3 trip. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Municipal Waste Interview
Welcome to Napalm Flesh! This week we have an interview with drummer David Witte of Richmond, VA thrash revivalists Municipal Waste. They’ll be in town on June 18 with 3 Inches of Blood and Black Tusk at In the Venue. We also have a lengthy rundown of this week’s metal happenings throughout the state. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Ihsahn Interview
Welcome to Napalm Flesh! This week, we have an interview with the prolific Norwegian musician Ihsahn. Formerly of black metal heavyweights Emperor, Ihsahn has been cultivating a solo career since 2006 and released his fourth solo album, Eremita, last week. We also have a rundown of this week’s metal events throughout Salt Lake. … read more
Game Grid: Utah’s Arcade Exclusive
Upon walking into Game Grid Arcade’s tight phalanx of flickering arcade screens, I felt like I had stepped into the past. Somewhere between the background music and “Game Over” screens, there was a nostalgic reminder of a time when the arcade was still in vogue. “To me, arcades provide a different sort of tactile experience, a physical experience,” says Adam Pratt, who opened the doors to Game Grid in 2008. “In an arcade, you almost feel like you’re sitting in a racing machine of some kind. Or a tank.” … read more
Night Demon: In The Book of Heavy Metal
Night Demon have entered the world of heavy metal like a possessed muscle car crashing through the gates of Hell, and they haven’t slowed down since they hit the road back in October 2014. … read more
Thunder and Doom: Grand Magus Triumphs with Power
Striding forward with their own breed of doom-filled heavy metal, Grand Magus have proven that they are still dedicated disciples of the riff with the release of Triumph and Power. This most recent offering from the trio of hard-rocking Swedes shows a surprising level of focus and maturity in their sound, and shows just how much this band has grown in the last 15 years. … read more
Caravan Palace @ Urban Lounge 04.08 with Jesse Walker, Johnny...
The band’s manouche jazz stylings fit eerily well with the overwhelming power of the electronic drum and bass, and at times their organic instrumentation served as the rhythmic counterpoint to a driving dance beat. The six members of their group took up the entire stage with their equipment, with virtually everyone rotating through an impressive arsenal of instruments. … read more
Salt Fest 2014: Day Two
Let’s face it–Major League Gaming sucks. These tournament-style events make for a nice sideshow, but if I’ve learned anything from the last two days, nobody comes to a convention to watch somebody else play video games. … read more
Salt Lake Comic Con 2014: Tabletop Games and RPGs Day...
My draft started off pretty weird, and I was forced to switch colors with surprising frequency. However, with the aid of a few off-the-wall conspiracy cards, I was able to make a Bant (White, Blue and Green, for the uninitiated) deck with a strong Selesnya-fueled token theme. If I’ve already lost you, then just think of my deck as a random assortment of zoo animals bursting out of the trees and stampeding over my opponents. … read more
Salt Lake Comic Con 2014: Tabletop Games and RPGs Day...
Day two of the Reaper Paint & Take booth was a whole different animal than Friday’s slow trickle of interested novices … read more
Salt Lake Comic Con 2014: Tabletop Games and RPGs Day...
Phil Kilcrease has been publishing games locally under the 5th Street moniker for a number of years, and he makes his passion for board games known through his gregarious attitude and extreme enthusiasm. … read more
Sharing SLC: Could Catching a Lyft in SLC get Uber...
Ridesharing is a cool idea—taking the middle man out of scaring up a late-night weekend taxi opens up a lot of options for SLC’s night life. We haven’t seen very much action on bringing later service to our city’s otherwise robust public transit system, and many of us have endured the long waits and high fares that make taxis a less attractive option. … read more
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition: Monster Manual Review
I was about 15 years old. My friends and I weren’t cool. We listened to metal music and liked books and comics about high fantasy and science fiction. During lunch, we would daydream about epic battles and recount our favorite scenes in video games and whatever book series we thought was cool at the time. … read more
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition: Dungeon Master’s Guide Review
Fifth Edition, to my eyes, is the new gold standard for D20-based tabletop RPGs. It strips away the tedium of systems and statistics and replaces them with the true substance of role playing—deep, immersive stories. … read more
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition: Player’s Handbook Review
As I started flipping through the pages, I felt a well of excitement flooding back. Sometimes it’s the little things that spark your imagination. I kept finding myself lost in the artwork, which hearkened back to the high fantasy style I had grown to love in previous versions of the game. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Artemis
Artemis was unlike any game I’ve ever played before. It wasn’t a tabletop game, but it definitely catered to that small niche in the gaming community. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Villages
I have a personal weakness for board games with pixellated video game art, and Villages capitalized on that weakness immediately. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Cthulhu Wars
As a game, Cthulhu Wars follows the Risk template of conquering the world bit by bit, except instead of raising armies to fight nobly on the field of battle, you’re summoning Elder Gods and their wretched spawn to corrupt and conquer the Earth. … read more
SaltCon 2015: EAE Showcase
At the far end of the exhibit hall, a couple of student teams from the University of Utah’s EAE program had set up game demos. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Flash Point: Fire Rescue
Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a delightfully elegant cooperative board gaming experience. The players take on the role of a specialist in a team of firefighters who must save as many people as possible from being burned to death in a house fire. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Castles of Mad King Ludwig
In this competitive eurogame, you compete to build a castle that will win you the most victory points at the end of the game. Trouble is, you have to satisfy a whole host of conditions for each room in your castle and compete for choice room types and sizes. … read more
SaltCon 2015: Dungeons & Dragons – Ruins of Thundertree
At every single gaming convention I’ve ever gone to, I have always tried to squeeze in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, and virtually every time, I walk away disappointed. Most of the time, it’s because of an overworked Dungeon Master who runs us through an introductory adventure with zero drama, excitement or roleplaying. … read more
Gut Rock Harakiri: Dwellers’ Dark Jams Cut Deep
Dwellers play a style of music they refer to as “gut rock,” a sort of non-genre of writing fun, simple music born of gut feelings and instinct. “We didn’t want to play anything that was genre-specific,” says guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano. “If we ever thought about [a part] more than five minutes, we’d just look at each other and say, ‘Fuck it, man! Gut rock!’ and that would make us choose the simplest path.” … read more
Localized – Nevertanezra, Huldra and Visigoth
On February 10, heavy metal gods Visigoth and the mighty post-metal Huldra play SLUG Magazine’s Localized at the Urban Lounge. Nevertanezra’s death doom majesty opens the show. Localized starts at 10 p.m. and, as always, only costs five bucks. … read more
Local Reviews: Pretty Worms
Side “Acid” takes punk beats and droning bass grooves and combines them with electronic noise and glitched-out mechanical melodies. Pretty Worms play a style of noise rock that is pretty unusual at first listen, but if you give it some time, the incoherent vocal loops and seemingly random atonal synthesizers might begin to make sense. … read more
Local Reviews: Pretty Worms/Blackhole
“Killers Galore” is a ride through noise punk hell on a groovy bass and a light, punchy drum rhythm. Punctuated with sound clips of sirens and yelling, part of the song’s appeal is the sublime strangeness with which they approach a very basic song. … read more
Local Reviews: Pretty Worms/Plastic Furs
With “Comet Tail,” you can hear Trisha McBride’s vocals a little more clearly in the mix of bright bass and thick sonic distortion, and her ranting drone is an excellent fit for Pretty Worms. It’s a little slower and much less noisy than their other material, but as a stand-alone track, it rocks with the best of them. While the familiar, yet still unsettling vocal loops play on, the drums keep a snappy, danceable beat. … read more
Demigods: Alas, Behemoth is Upon Me
Calling it his “most precious child,” Behemoth’s guitarist and vocalist Nergal doesn’t feel like reducing his music to a simple catchphrase. “I just grab my guitar, and pour all my emotions into new riffs and new songs, and the last thing I care about is whether it’s in the ‘blackened death metal’ box,” he says. “Behemoth is Behemoth.” Though recent years have posed a slew of trials for the band—especially Nergal’s leukemia diagnosis in 2010— he emphasizes that Behemoth is a “tight, solid unit again.” … read more
Local Reviews: Despite Despair / Gunner
Squealing guitars and gritty breakdowns dot the mathcore landscape of this local split, which showcases two bands with similar influences to create undeniably different, but thematically similar music. Despite Despair begins with “Elohim,” a short track which starts slow and somber, with twangy, dissonant grooves reminiscent of Pelican’s Australasia. … read more
Ross Imburgia: Mad Light Science
Fiddling with old computer circuit boards and tapping out lines of code, Ross Imburgia prefers the term “tinkerer” to “artist.” Even though the brilliant light trails left in the wake of his colorful, strobing hula hoops might appear artsy at first glance, he maintains that his design process is closer to invention than creativity. Nonetheless, his easy laugh and relaxed demeanor evidence the satisfaction he feels at successfully implementing his ideas and creating his fun, functional inventions. … read more
Dark Passengers: Riding the Void with Holy Grail
Touring almost nonstop since the release of Ride the Void in January, Holy Grail are working hard to keep their name on the minds of metalheads nationwide. Even though the band is comparatively new to the national stage, they’re determined to keep people excited and to build on their success. “It’s great to see that hard work actually pays off,” says guitarist Eli Santana. … read more
Under the Rose: Thinking About Death with SubRosa
Over the last five years, SubRosa has grown into one of Salt Lake City’s better-known metal bands, and with the release of More Constant Than The Gods on Profound Lore Sept. 17, the band has shown that their high profile is well-earned. This third full-length release shows a startling amount of growth in lyrical and musical quality from No Help For The Mighty Ones. Guitarist Rebecca Vernon calls it, “By far, the most grueling album I’ve ever put together.” … read more
Localized: Light/Black
Dark and gloomy doom is the order of the day on Oct. 12. Come chill with the heavy, meandering drone rock of Dustbloom, and meditate with the melancholic vibes of Light/Black. Before all of that, get your groove on with the driving jam punk of openers Baby Gurl. Tickets are just $5, and the 21+ show starts at 9 p.m. at Urban Lounge, brought to you by Bohemian Brewery and hosted by SLUG’s Ischa B. If you are immobile or underage, be sure to catch the show on gigviz.com. … read more
Lines from the Inside of Death By Salt V
SLUG’s Death By Salt V release parties happen June 12 and 13 Urban Lounge and Diabolical Records, respectively. The record features some of the best garage and psych that Utah has to offer, and we reviewed each track of this compilation in the liner notes.
Electric Wizard: Weird Tales from the Wizard in Black
Rising from resin-black pools of acid-tinged darkness, Electric Wizard are the royalty of filth and debauchery. As if peering through a cloud of audible weed smoke, their riffs crunch and fizzle with an irrepressible groove, creating an unstoppable impulse to bang your head, gyrate your hips or just take another hit.
Sulphur Aeon Open the Gateway to the Antisphere
Sulphur Aeon release their third full-length album, Gateway to the Antisphere, on April 3 with Imperium Productions.
Just Another Man From The Cosmic Inferno: Kawabata Makoto of...
Over 20 years, 72 full-length albums and countless tours throughout the world, Japanese music collective Acid Mothers Temple have produced some of the world’s most fascinatingly weird tunes. At the center of this ever-shifting kaleidoscope of musical collaborators, Kawabata Makoto acts as both originator and catalyst for a cosmic musical energy that stretches beyond the boundaries of the strange and into the realm of the sublime.
Raise Your Magick Steel: Visigoth Return With The Revenant King
Visigoth descend from a rich legacy of incredible heavy metal music in Utah, a long history of innovation and tradition woven together into a diverse tapestry of sound.
I Am Thor: King of Muscle Rock
Thor is bending steel bars in his teeth, still standing as a testament to the resilient spirit of rock n’ roll.
Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden
“Sorrow and Extinction developed a following pretty quickly, and luckily, we had a lot of people in our corner to help push the new album,” he says. “It sort of came out of the gate pretty hot, surprisingly. None of us really expected that at all.” Despite their sudden popularity, Pallbearer try to focus on their music, not on the publicity. “It’s basically like we do with everything—try to take everything in stride, not have any expectations about what is coming next and just roll with it,” says Pallbearer bassist Joseph D. Rowland. … read more
Top 5: Ered Wethrin
Just like the epic themes of fantasy and esoteric mysticism that inspired Ered Wethrin’s lyrics, Tides of War takes its time unfolding a vast and enchanting audial world. From the Glen Cook–inspired “Bloody Annals and Brooding Skies” to the Steven Erikson tribute in “Requiem for the Fallen,” Sven Smith’s solo recordings recall the stoic and battle-hardened tales of lesser-known fantasy realms. … read more
King Diamond: A Visit From The Dead
King is the kind of guy who has heavy metal in his soul—in a way that goes far beyond the theatrics and posturing that dominate the scene today. When I asked him about the biggest changes he had seen in the heavy metal scene over his long career, his answer was simple but thoughtful. “It hasn’t changed that much,” he says, “but you keep learning more and more all the time.” … read more
Kory Quist: Roadie Warrior
When I asked Kory Quist to give me the highlights of his time spent on tour with SubRosa, who was supporting Boris, he replied with a surreal 10-item list where each entry baffled me more than the last. … read more
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: Dropping Acid with K.R....
My first experience with Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats was with their second album, 2011’s Blood Lust. A tribute to the vile psychedelia initiated by the likes of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, what really caught me was how close they could come to heavy metal roots without sounding derivative. … read more