FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
These guys bring the rock and announce themselves with killer riffs and well placed guitar solos. Tracks like “Snakecharmer” and “Rock Formation” are calibrated for maximum epic impact, true journeys in heaviness that end up on the mountaintop where rock gods dwell and mystic visions abound.
“It’s Judas Priest, man. Judas-effing-Priest!” And really, that’s just about all that needs to be said. That name, it’s a ritual, a mating call, a summons to arms, a bonding focal point. When you hear a bunch of yahoos yelling out “Slaaaaayeeeeerrrrrr!” you know the chances are very good that a Slayer show has just let out nearby. But when you hear “Judas-effing-Priest, man!” regardless of the setting, there’s no doubt that metal is about.
Hellbound speaks to bassist Ian Hill about this summer’s British Steel anniversary tour, stopping in Toronto this Thursday.
Happy birthday, Cripple Bastards! My how you’ve grown. No, really. To the untrained ear, the 20-year-long list of releases that Asti, Italy’s long-standing provocative grindcore institution have comprising their discography may sound like short burst of noise after short burst of noise – and we’d be lying if we said everything that has followed since the day one Guilio “The Bastard” Baldizzone organized a rehearsal on the top floor of an abandoned factory with his fellow extreme music obsessed chum, Alberto The Crippler, has been top-of-the-line, especially some of those early cassette only releases – but, being able to maintain a stable line-up over the last few years has definitely helped the band progress towards pummelling grindcore efficiency.
New York State’s Suffocation don’t waste any time on their latest release, Blood Oath. From the moment it bursts out of the starting gate, the album lumbers along with the death metal/ grindcore sound that has become a trademark of the band.
Amesoeurs claims that it grapples with the modern world in its music. On the preceding EP, this was a persuasive assertion. If Amesoeurs still chooses to hold itself up as a sonic social critic, then this album can only be taken as criticism if it is approached as parody.
Chances are that unless you followed Metal Blade’s Metal Massacre compilations back in the mid-eighties you may have never heard Steel Assassin.
Originally forming in San Diego, California during 2001 under the moniker Silver Sunshine, this progressive rock changed their musical style from psychedelic pop to progressive rock in 2008 and also decided a name change was in order too, settling on the new name of Astra. However, Do not be mistake Astra with the Italian progressive metal band that also goes by the same name.
Hellsaw’s Cold is an album that starts out much stronger than it ends.
This ain’t no Double Live Gonzo, but America’s weirdest right-wing redneck rocker celebrates his 6000th concert at home in Detroit, Michigan. Ted Nugent, you are a freak.
Erik Larson (Alabama Thunderpussy), Bo Leslie (The Last Van Zant), Summer Welch (Baroness), Ben Hogg (Beaten Back To Pure) and Dave Witte (Municipal Waste) come together to create concept album, The Hellpreacher.