Author: Gruesome Greg

  • Kings Destroy – None More

    Kings Destroy – None More

    At this point, I’m pretty familiar with Kings Destroy… but you might not be. This NYC epic doom outfit has three albums under its belt, and they’ll be playing Toronto for the third time—along with Montreal and Ottawa—as touring support for Truckfighters later this month. Not that they sound much like Truckfighters, mind you. If…

  • AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: DIRKSCHNEIDER @ Mod Club, January 10, 2017

    AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: DIRKSCHNEIDER @ Mod Club, January 10, 2017

    This shindig was billed Farewell to Accept, and it was a proper farewell tour–with a 90-minute set and a four-song encore that covered all the classics from I’m a Rebel to Russian Roulette.

  • Lo-Pan – In Tensions EP

    Lo-Pan – In Tensions EP

    Columbus heavy rock crew Lo-Pan is kicking off 2017 in style with this five-song, 22-minute EP. The grizzled tour veterans head out with “Go West,” a slower, sludgy stomp that kinda reminds me of Torche, especially in the vocal department. “Sink or Swim” is slightly shorter and crunchier, a decent, mid-paced, melodic rocker. The slow,…

  • Dealer – Billionaire Boys Club

    Dealer – Billionaire Boys Club

    Take me to your Dealer! This Oakland trio was formerly known as Sexless, are good bros of The Shrine, and totally take the piss outta the Bay Area tech scene with the title of their debut LP. Musically, they range from later Kyuss to Black Flag to Unsane, knocking out 10 tracks in 36 minutes.…

  • Arduini/Balich – Dawn of Ages

    Arduini/Balich – Dawn of Ages

    In case you weren’t familiar with the two names on the cover, Victor Arduini played guitar on the first two Fates Warning LPs, while Brian Balich is known to doomsters as the former voice of Penance and current voice of Argus, one of the leading purveyors of power-doom these days. This collaborative effort has been…

  • HELLBOUND’S TOP 10 CANADIAN ALBUMS OF 2016

    HELLBOUND’S TOP 10 CANADIAN ALBUMS OF 2016

    This has gotta be the first time that Hellbound’s top two Canadian albums were even on my list, but I think that speaks to what excellent records Anciients and Blood Ceremony put out in 2016—a few writers had even ranked them as their personal top two. Canadian legends Gorguts, Voivod and Devin Townsend round out…

  • AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: TOP 10 CONCERTS OF 2016

    AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: TOP 10 CONCERTS OF 2016

    Though I seem to have seen fewer concerts this year, what 2016 lacked in concert quantity, it more than made up for in quality. In any given year, any of this year’s Top Six could have easily been Number One, but when it comes to the overall best live concert experience, the winner was undisputed.

  • Hellbound Year End 2016: Gruesome Greg

    Hellbound Year End 2016: Gruesome Greg

    Hellbound’s End of Year Wrap Up: Part 4 Well, hell’s bells – 2016 was a hellride of a year, wasn’t it?! As the New Year comes creeping in with trepidation, the individual members of Team Hellbound take a look back at our favourites of the year, give our personal thoughts on the state of heavy metal in…

  • Demontage – Fire of Iniquity

    Demontage – Fire of Iniquity

    Man, looking at some of the show flyers in Demontage’s press kit reminds me how long I’ve been hanging around the Toronto scene—and these guys have been around even longer. Fire of Iniquity marks the third album from the 15-year vets, coming a full six years after their last record, The Principal Extinction, which I…

  • Craneium – Explore the Void

    Craneium – Explore the Void

    Well, it seems the Swedish stoner-rock sound has seeped across the sea to Finland. Craneium hails from Turku, and has been kicking around for five years now, although this is the first record of theirs to make it across the pond. It’s not hard to hear why — fans of the classic Lowrider/Truckfighters sound will…