Author: Sean Palmerston

  • Orphaned Land with Suidakra @ The Wreckroom, Toronto ON, March 13, 2010

    After a short intermission Israel’s Orphaned Land presented to Toronto their version of Middle Eastern Heavy Metal. Foregoing the traditional metal uniform of all black, the band performed dressed in Arabic influenced white and accessories.

  • Rise & Fall – Our Circle Is Vicious

    Overall, Our Circle Is Vicious is an amusing if not altogether convincing move; decidedly slower than it seems it should be and while that ensures faster tunes blind-side, it also means enduring some plodding, almost boring songs at the same time

  • Revisiting Testament’s The Formation of Damnation

    To celebrate the recent tour edition reissue of this album, Adrien Begrand revisits Testament’s The Formation of Damnation for Hellbound.ca

  • Darkthrone – Circle the Wagons

    Not without the requisite controversy among the black-metal community, once again it appears Darkthrone is determined to carve their name in the big stone book of metal/punk crossover, as another of those rare-treat bands who can appeal to both the ‘airies and the baldies at the same time. There’s just that matter of their tr00-kvlt…

  • Lewd Acts – Black Eye Blues

    Leaden and imposing while still agile and heated, Black Eye Blues isn’t redefining the world of hardcore overall but it’s still bold, inspired and original enough to be stunning.

  • Baroness – Blue Record

    This Blue Record goes from heavy to melodic to acoustic and back, offering something for all fans of heavy rock; from Priestess to Pentagram, Angel Witch to Acid Witch, Kansas to Jerusalem…

  • Hirax – El Rostro De La Muerte

    A solid offering that never slips below expectations, El Rostro De La Muerte admirably strives to create some elbow room between Exodus’ Pleasures Of The Flesh and Testament’s The New Order.

  • Airbourne – No Guts, No Glory

    It has been a very long time since music like this sounded so energetic; on No Guts, No Glory, Airbourne rock out like true believers and they have the chops to back up their ambition.

  • Kreator, Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile @ Opera House, Toronto, ON, March 9, 2010

    KREATOR, of course, positively destroyed The Opera House. “Hordes of Chaos” raised the energy level in the room to near-riot level early on, and “Enemy of God” and “Extreme Aggression” kept it there. Whatever chilliness I’d initially felt evaporated almost immediately, and there was rarely a moment when my fist wasn’t in the air and…

  • Joe Thrasher – Metal Forces

    The end result is a raw, almost desperate affair brimming with stellar riffs, engaging caterwauls and an adrenaline-pumping pace virtually absent since thrash’s formative years.