Sean Palmerston

Sean is the founder/publisher of Hellbound.ca; he has also written about metal for Exclaim!, Metal Maniacs, Roadburn, Unrestrained! and Vice.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 18, 2010

Judas Priest – British Steel (30th Anniversary Edition CD/DVD)

While the river of reissues pouring out of the major label music business is only swelling with time, some records just come with a fantastic story that would keep it selling well even if it hadn’t been repackaged and re-placed on new release racks; they just have an enduring appeal. Judas Priest’s British Steel is that kind of record; over the last couple of years, the members of Judas Priest have begun to re-examine the record at length – last year, they embarked on a multi-continent tour that found them performing British Steel from beginning to end – and tell the stories of making it, thereby reliving their cherished memories of the time and circumstances that yielded British Steel.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 17, 2010

Misery Index – Heirs To Thievery

For the older metal fan all grown this is like a vodka and red bull. It will keep you up and going so you can make more stupid drunken decisions so you can regret that thing you did behind the bar in the alley that got you a particularly nasty case of the herps.

Articles, Features, Headline May 17, 2010

Andrew Bonazelli: The Hellbound Interview

I have no idea if Andrew Bonazelli has ever picked up an instrument, let alone ever played in a band, but his position as the reviews and managing editor of the almighty Decibel Magazine and the fact that he’s just released his second book, A Regular, means there’s a connection to the world of extreme music and a reason to throw the hellbound.ca spotlight on the man for a while.

Kevin Stewart-Panko in conversation with Decibel managing editor Andrew Bonazelli about his newly published book A Regular.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 14, 2010

Laethora – The Light in Which We All Burn

Formed five years ago by founding Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin and three former members of goth veterans the Provenance, Laethora wastes absolutely no time in giving Swedish death metal fans exactly what they crave: bruising, punishing riffs and grooves reminiscent of great bands like Entombed and Unleashed.

Articles, Blogs, Headline, Reviews May 14, 2010

Manitoba Metal Fest 2010: Part Two

For the next hour and half Brutal Truth kept going. They filled their set with gems from their back-catalogue and a heavy dose of tracks off Evolution Through Revolution. At one point in the set Kevin Sharp announced “I’m Henry Winkler and I need some booze goddamnit!” The crowd loved every minute of it. I don’t know if everyone there realized the significance of Brutal Truth playing their home town, but honestly, it doesn’t matter – the band was incredible.

Handshake Inc’s David Hall recaps their experience at this year’s Manitoba Metal Fest making an upcoming film on American grind gods Brutal Truth.

Articles, Blogs, Headline May 13, 2010

Manitoba Metal Fest 2010: Part One

I think it was about six or seven months ago that I saw “Brutal Truth to Play Manitoba Metal Fest,” come across the metal news ticker and I was immediately intrigued. I had never been to Winnipeg, but for some reason the thought of Brutal Truth playing there seemed epic and strange and film worthy: like “Iron Maiden: Behind the Iron Curtain,” or “Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall,” this concert struck me as an iconic event, and I immediately fired off an email to Rich Hoak, pleading with him to let me make a movie about the concert and about the band’s time in Winnipeg. Luckily he, and the rest of the band were into it.

Handshake Inc’s David Hall recaps their experience at this year’s Manitoba Metal Fest making an upcoming film on American grind gods Brutal Truth

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live May 12, 2010

Porcupine Tree @ Sound Academy, Toronto, ON, May 8, 2010

Were this simply an auditory barrage (which I am more than familiar with), I might have had more resistance. But it was much more than that. This show was a carefully orchestrated, beautifully curated performance. The video accompaniment interesting and tasteful, and varied enough that I was never able to settle fully into it or anticipate what was coming next…

Natalie Zed reviews the Saturday, May 8th performance by UK prog rock veterans Porcupine Tree at Toronto’s Sound Academy. Concert photography by Adam Wills.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 12, 2010

Sectioned – Purulent Reality

Purulent Reality is best compared to an unstoppable force that can take a great deal of abuse, simply shedding off its damaged layers while continuing the charge. The album makes no apologies about the fact that it demands to be played from start to finish and allowed to burn itself out.