To some, metal is a niche family of music, existing mostly in the shadowy underground. To metal fans, metal is an entire world of passion, and even healing. While some people are put off by the aggression and intensity of metal music, or by the dark and visceral lyrical themes, others find an emotional energy […]
Hello there! I’ve returned to writing with a new Ultimate Guide to Metal Genres, done as an independent study at Ramapo College. This guide explores the musical traits and history of the most prominent metal genres, and their most prominent sub-genres. Click here to give it a look!
When I was picking songs to share as my top five riffs of the 2000’s, I noticed just how many of my favorite extreme metal songs are from the 1990’s. I wasn’t surprised; the 90’s were a time of exploration, a time when extreme metal and progressive metal branched out into more and more moods […]
Hey there! I hope you all are doing well in spite of the pandemic. As promised, I’d like to share my top five riffs of the 2000s, starting off a series of posts exploring my top five riffs of each decade that metal has been around for. At any point in time, metal is so […]
In the midst of a pandemic, placing many people in difficult, stressful and lonely situations, the arts are more important than ever. Stories, songs, pictures, and fictional worlds keep people occupied, and give something to get lost in. My main pastime for these past few difficult weeks has been gaming, and I’ve been fortunate to […]
There were way too many great albums last year to cover even a fraction of them in a single post, so here are some more metal and alternative albums from 2019 that I found to stand out! Borknagar – True North (blackened progressive metal) Borknagar are a fairly big name in the progressive extreme metal […]
2019 concluded the decade with a fantastic year for alternative music. I’m still working my way through my long playlist of 2019 releases in extreme metal, heavy metal, alternative and post rock. In the meantime, as we are now three months into the new year, and The Metal Beholder missed the hype of years-end favorites […]
Opeth were one of my absolute favorite bands going into my first year of college. The soundtrack to my adolescence may have comprised more of thrash and “heavy” metal bands, such as Testament, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth, but Opeth had something interesting in that darkness that made their music feel more impactful to that younger […]
While my first post covered ten albums that were formative in my taste in music, it’s impossible to cover the full spectrum of anyone’s taste in just ten works. Here are five more albums that I feel soundly represent my taste in metal, most of which I discovered in a black metal phase in college. […]
The Metal Beholder is a “music and nerd” blog; music may be the primary focus, but I am also writing to voice my opinions on “nerd content” such as video games and other works of fiction. Along with music, video gaming is one of my greatest passions, I believe it to be a powerful and […]
The Metal Beholder 