Author: Sean Palmerston

  • Divine Heresy: Bringer of Plagues

    For all the hype it received in 2007, Divine Heresy’s debut Bleed the Fifth was a major disappointment. Somewhere along the way, though, band leader Dino Cazares righted the ship, for the follow-up Bringer of Plagues turns out to be one of the more pleasant surprises of the summer. Adrien Begrand reviews the new sophomore…

  • Burnt By The Sun: Heart Of Darkness

    Burnt By The Sun has never been one to leave out groove and melody laced with absolutely fury and heaviness in an intelligent way and this continues on Heart of Darkness. As always the groove is driven by Dave Witte on drums, a man of many bands but never short on talent and ability to…

  • Death Angel: Sonic German Beatdown DVD

    Germany is famous for its beer drinking, festival loving rabid heavy metal fans. This is where Bay Area thrash giants Death Angel filmed their very first live DVD showcasing two energetic sets in which the band perform their most mosh-worthy classics.

  • Death Angel: Sonic German Beatdown CD

    Upon first listen, you might think this fifteen track offering is one of the greatest live albums of all time; it’s definitely one of the best to see release this year. This CD is what Death Angel is all about: heavy, thrashy, tight live playing that is highlighted by great guitar work.

  • Ahab: The Divinity Of Oceans

    Doom purists may be put off by some of the softer more melodic fare on here but I find Ahab’s diversity refreshing and adventurous in what can sometimes be a rather monochromatic genre. Like waves that swell and then recede, Ahab seems to have adopted a similar approach to their song craft and for the…

  • Melissa Auf der Maur @ Anticipation, WorldCon 67, Montreal QC, August 6,2009

    Besides being metal junkies, we’re also science fiction geeks (if you’ve glanced at our Hellbound playlists, you might know this already). Turns out Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, MAdM) has a soft spot for sf as well, which her new multimedia project, Out of Our Minds makes blatantly clear. Auf der Maur appeared…

  • Insomnium: Across The Dark

    Across The Dark is the latest album from Finland’s Insomnium, and it is another entertaining showcase of the accessible and melodic death metal that the band does best.

  • Delain: April Rain

    The vocals are perfect. They always match the music dead on. Unlike most female goth metal, Charlotte Wessels does not sound over dramatic. Her performance grabs the listener and does not let go until the album’s completion. However, this album does not strictly rely on vocals like most female-fronted goth metal acts; it also gives…

  • Hammers Of Misfortune, Ludicra, Crux Of Aux, Slaughter Strike @ Casbah, Hamilton ON, August 8, 2009

    Truth be told, it has been a pretty shitty summer weather-wise here in Southern Ontario so far. Instead of our usual hot, humid summers it has been the kind where you can count the truly sticky days on one hand. This Saturday was another drab, dreary one here in the Hammer, with rain coming and…

  • Firebird: Grand Union

    While extreme metal fans worldwide continue to wish like hell that 2008’s Carcass reunion tour would turn into something more permanent, Bill Steer’s musical passion has led him down a very different road, the guitarist eschewing death metal for some good, old-fashioned heavy blues rock with his trio Firebird.