Blood Ceremony

Finally, a way to combine football and heavy rock without a single note of “Don’t Stop Believing!”

As a die-hard sports fan, I’m often disappointed by the musical selection at sporting events. For every time that a stadium DJ might play “Run to the Hills” or “Hit the Lights,” there are at least a couple hundred renditions of “Don’t Stop Believing,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “Blitzkrieg Bop” and whatever Nickelback’s latest single happens to be at the moment. I can’t remember the last time any of these songs actually fired me up. And when a football player’s idea of a metal band is Free Reign, well, let’s just say that I was starting to believe that good music and the gridiron don’t mix. But that was before I became tuned in to the greatness of Vince Lombarrdi.

All That is Heavy II: Ottawa is Doomed!

When they did the first edition of this event, a fundraiser for local college radio station CKCU, I remember thinking, “Damn, that’s a great lineup!” Featuring four of Southern Ontario’s finest–Electric Magma, Gypsy Chief Goliath, Blood Ceremony and Sons of OTIS–there was really no reason that show couldn’t have happened in Toronto, cept nobody had the initiative to book it. But when I saw the bill for the sequel this year… Well, let’s just say the organizers are kicking it up a notch, and I definitely plan on heading up to the nation’s capital for this one.

HELLBOUND’s TOP 10 CANADIAN METAL ALBUMS OF 2011

Since Hellbound.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated metal publication, we do things a little bit different than most. While 2011 was 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 third annual Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums writers poll.

Please check out what our writers feel to be the best Canadian metal albums released in 2011.

The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre

The latest band to make it big in the new wave of occult rock (ie Ghost, Blood Ceremony), these Dutch demons have unleashed a lengthy, 76-minute Metal Blade debut upon the masses with this, their second album. Opening with a shuffling, ringing, haunting instrumental, you know you’re in for a hell of a ride…

The world’s loudest bar band hits Toronto tonite…

They might not be in the Guinness Book of Records alongside Manowar and Motorhead, but Georgian “black doomed sludge thrash” nomads Jucifer have been blowing the roofs offa tiny clubs for years. Tonite, they make their annual trip to Toronto, where, for the second year in a row, they’ll be playing the Bovine Sex Club.

Tonite’s your only chance to buy Blood Ceremony’s new album…

Fortunately, we won’t hafta wait as long this time around, since the band will be releasing its second opus tonite at The Garrison before heading off on a European tour with their ghastly label mates. Support comes from Blizaro–a psychedelic side-project of Rochester doom titans Orodruin–who’ve had their name misspelled on many a gig listing, including the venue’s.

The Devil’s Blood – The Time of No Time Evermore

What makes The Devil’s Blood successful is its masterful gift for restraint. The band knows how to hold back, painting a partial musical portrait consisting solely of shadows and allowing the listener to infer the details using that most horrifying of artists: the imagination.

Tate Bengston gives us a great review of the latest output from traditional metallers, The Devil’s Blood.