FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
I could barely contain my excitement when Scott Kelly, Al Cisneros and Dale Crover quietly joined Wino, set up their stuff, pointedly ignored the choruses of cheers and the prerequisite ‘I love you, man’ from some drunk/high audience member and just started playing.
Germany’s Secrets of the Moon win this year’s award for most black on an album cover. Luckily for listeners, there’s as much inky depth to Privilegivm as the packaging’s colour pallette suggests.
I lost interest in Paradise Lost sometime in the mid-90s, and one opening slot for Opeth several years later did nothing to change my mind. But listening to the band’s latest album, Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us did.
On Sunday, November 15th Hellbound Radio played host to some special guests when the entire line up of the recently re-activated Sacrifice graced us with their presence. The legendary Toronto thrashers came down the QEW to Hamilton and hung with us in the Indi 101 studios, so we in turn dedicated the entire three hour show to the band’s career. And we filmed it too! Here is the first segment of interview footage from the show, with more to be released in the days to come.
In their previous house, Mr. Kachluba had a nice little room to display his limited edition mailorder boxed set, picture disc LPs, CD collection and vast button collection, but in the new Chez Kachluba this lucky fellow has nearly the entire basement in a huge L shaped room – most of which is dedicated to his love of metal. The rest of the shrine also contains a projection television and kick ass surround sound system, on which Rob, Albert and I took in a viewing of the amazing-in-its-own-right Anvil: The Story Of Anvil DVD.
Who knew crack would be so cheap? I’ve never really been a drug taker, the occasional joint when I was in my younger days but never really liked it. So while I’ve never done anythning harder, I imagine this record would be something like taking cocaine or meth. The high is quick and the come down is quick and you come back for more but it is always like chasing the dragon.
It’s an eerily attractive package for those who appreciate agonized expressions, androgynous bodies, and the aesthetics of the damned. What it all sounds like is a graveyard chamber orchestra, complete with strings and horns performed by a long list of guest musicians and produced by John A. Rivers (Love and Rockets, Dead Can Dance, Buzzcocks).
Dimensional Bleedthrough is the sophomore effort from New York’s Krallice. Like the band’s debut, the record is generally steeped in the more recent “avant-garde” or “post-Black Metal” sound, but it offers enough of the little details that are recognizably the group’s own.
Jonathan Smith reviews the new Krallice album for Hellbound.ca
Legendary Toronto thrashers SACRIFICE will be interviewed live on tonight’s November 15th edition of Hellbound Radio on INDI 101. All four members of the band will be present for the interview, which will air live in the greater Hamilton ON area at 9 PM Eastern on 101.5 FM. Those not in the area can also listen to the show online at http://www.indifm.ca or http://radiotime.com/station/s_24659/C1015_FM.aspx .
Whenever a veteran metal band undergoes radical changes, like in Amorphis’s case, a new lead singer and a more streamlined sound, even if that shift in direction is successful artistically commercially and artistically, there will always be the stubborn folks in the background bitching and moaning about how their favourite band just isn’t the same as it used to be. Well, if you’re one of those people who still gripe that Skyforger is a sellout and can’t hold a candle to Tales From the Thousand Lakes, first of all, you’re only half right, and secondly, you can give a listen to Finland’s newest supergroup, who approach Amorphis’s classic, folk-infused progressive doom sound as if nary a day has passed since 1994.
Adrien Begrand dissects the debut release by Finnish progressive death metal supergroup Barren Earth.