Merrimack: Gray Rigorism
Grey Rigorism is the third full-length album from French black metallers Merrimack. The record starts out strong, but over the course of the hour-long running time things become somewhat inconsistent at points.
Hellbound.ca Nominated For A Hamilton Music Award!
Hey, Hellbound.ca has been nominated for an award! We’ve been nominated for Website/Online Publication in the 2009 Hamilton Music Awards, which is taking place next weekend here in Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Trivium/Chimaira/Whitechapel @ Odeon, Saskatoon, SK, November 20, 2009
Trivium has talent up the wazoo. That’s never been in doubt. The problem with the Florida band is that Matt Heafy and his mates often try far too hard to impress, the perfect example being the bloated 2008 album Shogun, which threw everything at the wall, from thrash riffs, to hooky choruses, to tempo changes, to epic song structures, with very little sticking in the end. With this fall tour being one last go-round before the band takes a break to write and record their fifth album next year, it was interesting to see Trivium downplay the Shogun record as well as 2006’s The Crusade, instead focusing primarily on the breakthrough Ascendancy, as if they were openly conceding that it’s the best album.
Marduk/Nachtmystium @ Annex Wreckroom, Toronto, ON, November 22, 2009
Late November seems as good a time as any to take in a performance by Swedish metal veterans Marduk. A concert centered around a black metal band known for its own distinct take on imagery and songs centering on everything from war machines to religious blasphemy to paganism seems strangely appropriate for a grey month squashed between the twin commercial juggernauts that are Halloween and Christmas.
Concert review by Jonathan Smith
Swallow The Sun: New Moon
At its core, New Moon is about what Swallow The Sun have been doing at their best — infectious, melancholy, and swaying lead guitar melodies eventually overwhelmed by crushing fuzz surging against the backdrops of subtle keyboard ambiance. It’s quite possible that there will be time when Swallow The Sun’s sound is in need of a new direction, but New Moon ensures that for now it’s still well worth another trip down the beaten path.
Grave Miasma: Exalted Emanation
Grave Miasma is the latest proponent of death metal done right. This is nasty, ugly stuff. While not as sharp in attack as Dead Congregation nor as profoundly murky as Mitochondrion nor as surreal as Portal, Grave Miasma entrenches itself in something of a middle ground.
Tate Bengston investigates the new EP by British death metallers Grave Miasma (formerly known as Goat Molestör).
Otargos: Fuck God-Disease Process
By Ola Mazzuca Whether you feel that black metal bands of today are becoming increasingly predictable or losing their touch, there’s always going to…
Various Artists:Swedish Death Metal
This massive three-disc compilation gives the listener a sonic taster of all the flowery praise thrown around Daniel Ekeroth’s book and if that listener is a seasoned Sverige-phile, then Swedish Death Metal Compilation acts as a 3+ hour trip down the left hand path of memory lane. It’s all here, the good, bad, ugly, awesome, marginal and downright terrible
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sacrifice at Hellbound Radio (Parts 3 & 4)
Here are the final two parts of the Sacrifice interview on Hellbound Radio, in which the band answers some listeners questions, talks about the new album, the show this weekend in Toronto and the upcoming vinyl reissues due out in 2010. You don’t wanna miss it!
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sacrifice at Hellbound Radio (Part 2)
In the second part of our interview with Sacrifice, the band discusses the Soldiers of Misfortune album, recording at Phase One Studios, their stance on bootlegs recordings, their upcoming live concert DVD (!!!) and more.