Author: Laura Wiebe
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UTERINE DERANGEMENT: the introduction
Just a few days ago I came across this tweet from History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) on Twitter: “This list of reasons for admission to a lunatic asylum in the 1800s reads like a list of potential metal band names.” The attached image (see below) provided the list. If you click through to the original tweet…
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From the archives: Octavia Sperati
Wise, Beautiful, Strong, and Haunting Metal is a male-dominated scene and has been since the first embryonic power chords belched forth from the gaping maw of hell. But in recent years the number of women metal musicians seems to be on a healthy incline, and despite the efforts of the misguided (and sometimes well-intentioned) to…
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From the archives: Threat Signal
Threat Signal head out on a North American tour this spring, just months after releasing their fourth album, Disconnect (November 2017, Agonia Records). It’s been six years since we last heard from these Canadian metalheads, but Disconnect shows they haven’t missed a beat. Though this latest effort was five years in the making, it quickly…
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Calgary 420 Music & Arts Fest 2018: Dopethrone and many more
Tickets are on sale and the line-up’s been announced for 420 Music & Arts Festival – presented by METALHEADS UNITED in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, April 19-21. Headlining this year are Sasquatch (Thursday), La Chinga (Friday), and Dopethrone (Saturday), plus Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Vista Chino) will be around on Friday, April 20, deejaying between bands and to close the…
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Wacken Metal Battle Canada returns to Hamilton, ON
After a one-year hiatus, Wacken Metal Battle Canada has returned, with this year’s competitions kicking off in Calgary this past January. This month the battle comes to Ontario, with rounds beginning in Toronto this Friday, February 9 and in Hamilton this Saturday, February 10. The full schedule of shows can be found on the WMBC…
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Wardruna in North America
A step back in musical time If you’ve ever wanted to hear the Nordic past summoned into the present, Wardruna is a band you don’t want to sleep on. Perhaps you’ve heard them already. Wardruna have released a trilogy of albums: Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga (2009), Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013), and Runaljod – Ragnarok (2016). Their…
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Igorrr: evasive experimentation
Last spring, while perusing some of the new metal releases featured on Youtube, I came across a video that didn’t quite fit the mold, in a ‘one of these things is not like the other’ kind of situation. Elements like hardcore electronic beats, operatic vocals, and classical guitar aren’t totally unexpected in a metal context,…
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Best CANADIAN Metal of 2017: Honourable Mentions
This has been another great year for Canadian metal, with strong releases coming out across the country. After several Hellbound contributors put our heads together, we managed to produce a list of fifteen favourites – and we’ll be announcing these soon. As usual, we came up with too many selections for one short list; hence,…
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Heavy metal in 2017 by Laura Wiebe
Ah, that most glorious time of the year for music writers – year-end season is upon us once again! 2017 was a tumultuous year, but even so, it was a damned good one for heavy metal, and Team Hellbound had a cornucopia of great albums to choose from. Here, we turn the page over to…
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Honourable mentions of 2017
We at Hellbound are nearly ready to weigh in on the best metal releases of 2017 with our collective top ten, as voted by the contributors. Before we share this overall ‘best of’ list, we present to you, our readers, a long list of honourable mentions. Our annual top ten, like our best Canadian list,…