Join us as we once again continue with this revived Hellbound tradition – our monthly staff picks/playlists. This time around we’ve got the usual categories, plus we’re taking a look back to highlight some albums from 2018 you may have missed.
HELLBOUND RECOMMENDS
Steve Earles
Listening to: Hawkwind’s Road To Utopia. Even after all these years Hawkwind are still capable of producing music that is strange and beautiful.
New Release: Iron Void’s Excalibur. Iron Void are the kind of band that truly deserve a wider audience, producing album after album of quality metal for the sheer love of it. Here, their doom meets NWOBHM sound tackles the Arthurian legends, beautifully packaged too.
Overlooked 2018 release: Carpenter Brut’s Leather Teeth. Great soundtrack to film that doesn’t exist, but really needs to!
Non metal: Best of Chuck Berry. Brilliant songs, putting today’s spotified garbage to shame.
Wild Card: The Plague. A six-part Spanish-language series set in Seville during an outbreak of the Black Death in the 17th century. Beautifully made, the series is very relevant for our times. One character says: The real plague is ignorance. That’s what will do away with humanity.’ As true now, in our world of fake news, as it was then.
Gene A. Gaona
Listening to: Deep Purple, Machine Head album. Getting ready for tomorrow night’s show with Judas Priest.
New release: Satan, Cruel Magic released September 7th on Metal Blade Records. Fun 70’s Heavy Metal throw back sounding record.
Live: Traveling around Texas seeing Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals 3 nights in a row, extreme, tight and powerful band. Also pretty cool to see Phil sing some Pantera tunes as well.
Overlooked release: Genocide Pact, Order of Torment album released February 2nd via Relapse Records, dark, groovy fun Death Metal.
Non-metal: Hank III, Straight to Hell album
Wild card: A band I saw while in Texas called Flesh Hoarder, brutal Death Metal and they released an album this year called Homicidal Necrophile. Pretty sure the name speaks for itself to how heavy the band is..
Matt Hinch
Listening to: Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth. My NIN knowledge is limited but I like this album better than The Downward Spiral.
New release: Brant Bjork – Mankind Woman. Brant Bjork is the master of groove and his latest has soul, gets funky, and is one of my absolute favourites of the year.
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/brant-bjork-mankind-woman
Live: I saw Cancer Bats in Kingston on Sept 20 at the Mansion. As always they completely ruled. Surprisingly enough my neck pain only lasted a couple days!
Overlooked 2018 release: Sunnata – Outlands. Hypnotic and heavy stoner/sludge/doom from Poland. Transcendent!
https://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/album/outlands
Non-metal: Briena Pearl – Reckless Duality. Pearl sang for Tim Sult’s (Clutch, Bakerton Group) short-lived side project, Deep Swell. Lots of acoustics, folk vibes, some horns here and there, some more rockin’ tunes, but Pearl just does what she wants here and of course, her vocal personality shines brightly.
Wild card: The 2018 edition of the Metal Alliance Tour features Goatwhore, the Casualties, Great American Ghost, Black Tusk and on select dates, Gozu (others Morthereon). There are three Canadian dates (all with Gozu). Kingston, ON, Montreal, and Quebec City. NO TORONTO DATE. So feel free to come on down to Kingston and hang out with ME! (http://metalalliancetour.com/)
Keith Lloyd
Listening to: The Green Album by Woods of Ypres
New release: Sinister by Ominous Eclipse
Live: The Metal Alliance Tour featuring Goatwhore + The Casualties 11/24/18 @ Overtime Sports Bar in Kingston, Ontario.
Overlooked 2018 release: “Hammer and Hand” – West Of Hell
Non-metal: 1312 by The Casualties
Wild card: Too Scared to Scream Picture Disc by Voivod
Sean Palmerston
Listening to: MC5 – High Time (Atlantic Records 1970)
New release: VOIVOD – The Wake (Century Media, 2018)
Live: looking forward to seeing the return of SHALLOW NORTH DAKOTA in October
Overlooked 2018 release: BLACK SALVATION – Uncertainty is Bliss (Relapse, 2018)
Non-metal: LUCERO – Among The Ghosts (Liberty & Lament, 2018)
Wild card: TRAPEZE – Medusa (Threshold Records, 1970)
Sarah Riley
Listening to: Opeth – “When” (My Arms, Your Hearse, 1998)
New release: Deicide – Overtures Of Blasphemy
Live: Behemoth @ Danforth Music Hall, November 6th
Overlooked 2018 Release: Existem – Wrath of Gaia (Mantle)
Non-Metal: The Chats – “Smoko” ( Get This In Ya, 2017)
Wildcard: Movie – Hard Core Logo (1996)
Daniel Smith
Listening to: Gevurah – Hallelujah! (2016, Profound Lore Records). A magnum opus from French-Canadian black metal philosophers. This is a crushing album that combines horrifying instrumentation and multi-faceted lyrics in efforts to convey their esoteric message.
New release: Sumac – Love in Shadow (2018, Thrill Jockey Records). A crushing landmark release from the experimental atmospheric sludge metal trio from Vancouver, BC.
Live: Behemoth, Wolves in the Throne Room and At the Gates (November 6, The Danforth Music Hall. Toronto)
I’ve seen Wolves in the Throne room once and the fact they are playing with these other two is very exciting.
Overlooked 2018 release: Spectral Lore/Jute Gyte – Helian (SPLIT) (2018, I, Voidhanger Records). I’ve been listening to Spectral Lore for a while and this is probably the most talented one-man project out there. His side of the split is no exception. I also recommend checking out his masterpiece of an EP, Gnosis from 2015.
Non-metal: Sun Kil Moon – Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (2017, Caldo Verde Records). An amazing 2 hour and 10 minute long masterpiece of folk and spoken word by Mark Kozelek. Don’t miss out on this one.
Wild card: The Sacrifice (Offret) (1986) by Andrei Tarkovsky at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in 4K on November 3rd. I’ve been waiting for years to see this amazing film in all its glory and now I can finally get a chance to see it in beautiful 4K for the first time. (https://www.tiff.net/films/the-sacrifice/)
Jacob Vandergeer
Listening to: Full Of Hell – Rudiments of Mutilation
New release: KenMode – Loved
Live: Grey Eyes
Overlooked 2018 release: Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Non-metal: Gouge Away – Burnt Sugar
Laura Wiebe
Listening to: Moonspell – Lisboa Under The Spell (released August 17th, Napalm Records)
New release: The White Swan – Touch Taste Destroy and Iomair – Iomair (Infamous Butcher)
https://thewhiteswan.bandcamp.com/album/touch-taste-destroy
Live: Amorphis, Dark Tranquillity, Moonspell, Omnium Gatherum @ The Opera House, Toronto on September 10
Overlooked 2018 release: Harakiri for the Sky – Arson (Art of Propaganda, 6 February 2018)
https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/arson
Non-metal: The Weeknd – Starboy (2016)
Wild card: Gowan live @ the Cambridge Fall Fair on September 8 and Canadian women kicking ass in FIBA 2018 World Cup
Adam Wills
Listening to: Clutch – Book of Bad Decisions (Weathermaker Music, 2018)
New release: Virgin Black – “Requiem Aeternum” and “Dies Irae” from Requiem – Pianissimo (releases November 30, 2018)
https://virginblack.bandcamp.com/album/requiem-pianissimo
Live: Amorphis, Dark Tranquillity, Moonspell, Omnium Gatherum @ The Opera House, Toronto on September 10
Overlooked 2018 release: Ihsahn – Àmr (Spinefarm, 4 May 2018)
Non-metal: Lovely Creatures – The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (1984-2014)
Wild card: Mother (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2017)
