Ajna Offensive

Nightbringer – Apocalypse Sun

“Black metal, if it is to be effective, must be capable of forming an expression that provokes in both music and ideology. In fact, it is a mistake to speak as if the former is discrete from the latter; the expression itself, if it is effective, must make the music ideological and the ideology musical.

Nightbringer, with its esoteric lyrics detailing the present-day shadows cast by ancient and forgotten gods, does precisely this.”

Album review by Tate Bengston

HELLBOUND’s TOP 10 CANADIAN METAL ALBUMS OF 2010

Since Hellbound.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated metal publication, we do things a little bit different than most. As 2010 quickly is coming to a close, we asked all of our contributors to pick their Top Canadian metal albums of the year. We then tabulated up their responses and have created our second annual Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums writers poll. Please enjoy.

Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 4

Hellbound readers, we’re sure that by now you are all familiar with our Natalie Zed, right? Natalie was our big grand prize winner way back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?

So, after a long layoff (sorry NZ!), here is Natalie’s fourth installment (reviews #31 – 40 for those keeping stats at home) in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…

Weapon: Drakonian Paradigm

Musically, what makes Weapon unique is its intricate sense of composition, its sinuous melodic leads, and the subtle accents that it uses in order to conjure a distinctive atmosphere. Conceptually (and, by extension, atmospherically), Drakonian Paradigm is uniquely syncretic in its left-hand-pathos, in turn using its music to menace several doctrines from a common ground.

Tate Bengston reviews the debut full-length album by Edmonton, Alberta-based black metal quartet Weapon, recently released on CD and LP by the AJNA Offensive.