Kataklysm – Heaven’s Venom
(Heaven’s Venom shows) there are still some new ideas in this Canadian northern hyperblast machine that keeps them at the top of the death metal pack
Canada
Deathmarch/ Esoteric Doctrine/ Hallows Die/ Twilight Child @ The Corktown Pub, Hamilton, ON, Aug. 18, 2010
“Next on the docket was Hamilton’s own Deathmarch. For reasons I’m not fully aware of they were without a drummer tonight, getting by with a drum track and Northern Storm Records label head Rob Cranny. By this I mean that Rob sat in the middle of the stage, shirtless with drum sticks in hand, phantom drumming throughout the entire set. Remember what I said about metal being fun?”
Renee Trotier reviews the August 18th performance by DEATHMARCH, ESOTERIC DOCTRINE, HALLOWS DIE and TWILIGHT CHILD at the Corktown Pub in Hamilton ON.
Fatality/ Terrorhorse/ Hallows Die @ El Mocambo, Toronto ON, August 6th 2010
Natalie Zed reviews the August 6th performance of FATALITY, TERRORHORSE and HALLOWS DIE at the El Mocambo in Toronto, ON
Mares of Thrace @ Kilroys, Thunder Bay, ON, August 8th, 2010
Mares of Thrace are one hell of a lot of fun to watch live and they will blow you away. If the new song they played at Kilroys is any indication (Pale Neck), their next record is also going to be a monster, possibly better than The Moulting but I’m not sure if that could happen.
Blood Revolt – Indoctrine
The fact that the much-ballyhooed debut album by Blood Revolt is generating vehement reactions from the metal world shouldn’t be much of a surprise. And you know it’s the kind of reaction Alberta black metal mainstays C. Ross and James Read wanted when they formed a trans-Atlantic artistic partnership with Primordial proselytizer Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill. One one side, you’ve got underground metal scenesters who can make neither heads nor tails of all that damned singing atop the scorching backdrop of raw black metal provided by the two members of Axis of Advance and Revenge. On the other side are the Primordial fans that are so starved for a new album that they’ll listen to anything Averill lends his voice to. Needless to say, hearing the man contribute to something so unflinching, so confrontational had to have been the last thing they expected. Where are the 6/8 time signatures, dammit!
Introducing: Mares of Thrace
Guitarist/vocalist Therese Lanz and drummer Stefani MacKichan have been part of Calgary’s music scene for a while now, Lanz as frontwoman for grindcore band Exit Strategy and the pair most notably comprising two-thirds of the hard rock trio Kilbourne, but since forming Mares of Thrace it feels like they’ve stumbled upon something special. One album in, they already have a very strong identity, as The Moulting (Arctodus Records) is a blistering combination of the massive riffs and rhythms of Neurosis, the angularity of Unsane and the Jesus Lizard, the intricacy of the Dillinger Escape Plan, and some well-timed melodic passages to boot.
Adrien Begrand speaks to one of Canada’s most exciting new bands, the Calgary based duo known as MARES OF THRACE.
Jucifer/ Mendozza/ Ahna @ Funky Winkerbean’s, Vancouver BC, August 6, 2010
Jucifer live is Total Ritual: Thick smoke and hot underlight, howling fury and gnashing of teeth, sonic overkill pouring forth from Amber Valentine’s monolithic wall of cabinets. From the second she steps onto the pitch-dark stage to begin her rite of setup to the moment the cloak is removed and the Flying V is strapped on and she begins beating hell out of it like it’s some faltering beast of burden, ritual is the only way to properly sum up the band’s live oeuvre.
Kyle Harcott reviews an appearance in Vancouver, BC of touring machine, JUCIFER.
Jucifer – Canadian Tour Diary #2
by Gazelle Amber Valentine July 13, 2010 Call The Office is the only club in London we’ve ever played. When I tell that to…
Fuck The Facts – Live In Whitby cassette
I normally don’t like live records. Between bad recordings, obvious overdubs and embarrassing stage patter, I find most live albums to be unsatisfying to say the least. Live In Whitby from Ottawa’s Fuck The Facts destroys all of my misgivings in the first few seconds. The sound on this release is amazing! In fact, you can almost believe you’re standing directly in front of the sound guy at the venue, watching the sweat fly.
Hellbound Handshake Clip Of The Week: Woods Of Ypres video outtakes
Installment number six of the Hellbound Handshake Clip Of The Week features video outtakes from a recent WOODS OF YPRES video shoot