Another month, another set of playlists and staff picks from the folks here at Hellbound. Enjoy! And feel free to share what you’re listening to in the comments below.
Hellbound recommends
Steve Earles
Listening to: Damnations Hammer – Unseen Planets, Deadly Spheres. Immense Celtic Frost/Voivod inspired riffs but with their own unique twist. Superb music, great songs, in a just world Damnations Hammer would be huge.
Live: Behemoth/Amon Amarth at King John’s Castle Limerick. What a super idea-metal in a medieval castle! Behemoth in particular were incredible and fair play to the twelve years of hard work by promoters Bad Reputation, to go from promoting gigs in pubs to this in just over a decade is amazing and all Irish metal lovers should support them. All hail!
Non-metal: Renaissance – Novella
Wild Card: Defying Gravity by Jordan. Excellent book by the punk icon and fashion trailblazer.
Gruesome Greg
Listening to: Toke – Orange
New release: Lightning Born – Lightning Born
Live: Just got back from Maryland Doom Fest, so there’s that…
Non-Metal: Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards (metal adjacent?)
Wild card: I drank a beer that was brewed with Old Bay seasoning when I was in Maryland. True story.
Danielle Griscti
Listening to: ANTHROPIC
https://anthropic2.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-split-with-ruin
Deathgrind from Buffalo that blew us away at the Hellbound’s 10th anniversary party!
New release: SLOUGH FEG – New Organon
https://thelordweirdsloughfeg.bandcamp.com/album/new-organon
Space pirate Mike Scalzi and crew have still got it, and proved it at Velvet Underground last month.
Live: VALE with KAWTHRA, SEIZE, and VERBOTEN at the Hard Luck
Hey there Hard Luck, it sounds good in there now, what an improvement, and Vale were completely evil and wonderful.
https://valeoakland.bandcamp.com
https://kawthra.bandcamp.com (St. Catherines)
https://seize.bandcamp.com (Ham, ON)
Non-Metal: I’m in love with certain tracks from ethereal crooner, WEYES BLOOD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFtRq6t3jOo
Wild Card: YAMANTAKA / SONIC TITAN
https://www.yamantakasonictitan.com/
Just… wow. Montreal ensemble that’s like nothing else you’ve seen or heard before.
Matt Hinch
Listening to: Monster Magnet – Dopes to Infinity. I left this CD in my car for a solid week and I just about went on a total Monster Magnet bender. I’ve done it before. Some say this is peak MM but I’ll take anything this band has done any day of the week.
New release: Ian Blurton – Signals Through the Flames (Pajama Party). I knew about Ian Blurton for years but was never able to hear any C’mon or Change of Heart. Then I found him in Public Animal. Saw them play. Very cool. Now he has this solo album that I just CANNOT get enough of. He just knows how to rock and write catchy ass songs! Dig it.
https://ianblurton.bandcamp.com/album/signals-through-the-flames
Live: I just watched Brant Bjork’s performance at Freak Valley 2019 and it was great. Some day I’ll get to see the Desert Rock Shaman in person. He even brought Sean Wheeler out so sing with him for a bunch of songs!
Non-metal: Macedonian Lines by Yawning Man isn’t really metal. Psychedelic desert rock though. This one is just as good as last year’s ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’. Perhaps better but in a different way. You can still zone out to it though. (Same with everything I’ve listed so far.)
https://yawningman.bandcamp.com/album/macedonian-lines
Wild Card: I recently finished watching the first season of the What We Do In The Shadows spinoff on FX. I think it might be better than the movie! Here’s a little clip of one of my favourite moments:
Keith Lloyd
New release: Infrared – Back To the Warehouse
https://infraredmetal.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-the-warehouse
It’s nice to see these guys back with ANOTHER release! Back to the Warehouse is a great followup to the bands 2018 release Saviours.
Live: Slayer, Lamb of God, Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse – Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa.
Cannibal Corpse opened the night with a short set of unrecognizable songs (largely due to the sound at the venue). Amon Amarth followed with one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. I was pleasantly surprised that our Viking visitors managed to bring the longboat with them! Lamb of God was up next and you could see the anticipation in the crowd. Playing through prime cut after prime cut, you could tell that the band wasn’t as consistent without Chris Adler at the helm on drums. Slayer closed the night with an extended setlist and phenominal stage show, however you could tell Tom was having some issues with his voice throughout the set. All in all, Amon Amarth stole the show that night.
Non-Metal: Fallout: New Vegas Soundtrack
Nothing beats listening to The Ink Spots as you murder, drink and pillage your way through the post apocalypse with mutton chops and a cowboy hat.
Wild card: Diablo 2: Lords of Destruction.
Always has been and always will be one of my favourite video games of all time.
Sarah Riley
Listening to: Firespawn – Full of Hate (The Reprobate, Century Media, 2015)
New release: Hate – Auric Gates of Veles (Metal Blade, June 14th, 2019)
Live: Emo Nite @ Sneaky Dee’s, Toronto. I never thought watching the “emos” of Toronto “mosh” to My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy would be so entertaining.
Non-metal: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Wild Card: Peach Sangria @ Pie Bar, Toronto. Soooo gooood.
Laura Wiebe
Listening to: Devin Townsend Project – Addicted
Non-metal: Charley Pride – Roll On Mississippi
Wild Card: Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
Adam Wills
Listening to: Haken – Visions
New release: Slough Feg – New Organon (Cruz del Sur)
Non-metal: Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (Darkroom / Interscope Records)
Wild Card: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (dir. Macon Blair)
