Sean Palmerston

Sean is the founder/publisher of Hellbound.ca; he has also written about metal for Exclaim!, Metal Maniacs, Roadburn, Unrestrained! and Vice.

Ex Deo: Romulus

Brutal, crushing, epic metal to the march of Roman legions! With their debut Romulus, Ex Deo establishes a unique middle ground between the fierce brutality of Kataklysm and the storming pagan metal of Blackguard, Moonsorrow and Tyr.

UFO: The Visitor

UFO have now been in business in one form or another for forty years and The Visitor is UFO’s 20th studio album. Unfortunately however, this album is nothing like the classic UFO albums Lights Out, Obsession or No Heavy Petting.

Fatalist: Rechanneling Swedish Death Metal In Ventura County

While the classic Swedish death metal scene of the late eighties and early nineties has influenced today’s scene immeasurably, there are legions of new metal fans today that have yet to discover classic bands like Nihilist, Carnage, Unleashed and Grave. The retro thrash movement is of course all the rage as of late, but not a lot of new bands have yet to pay homage to those classics captured in the formative days of Stockholm’s Sunlight Studios. Ventura County, California based quartet Fatalist is one band that would like to try and help reintroduce that classic Swedish sound to the burgeoning metal masses.

Slough Feg: Ape Uprising!

We’ve seen a lot of goofy gimmicks in metal, and monkey metal has to be a first, but if there ever was a band that could convincingly serve up a concept album based on the blatantly Hestonian notion of apes conquering the world and wiping out mankind in the process, it’s Slough Feg.

Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction @ Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto ON, June 2, 2009

Fans gathered en masse at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre looking for a bit of nostalgia. Some were there to relive Perry Farrell’s early 90’s Lollapalooza tour. Others who weren’t even born at the time were there to find out what they missed. There were definite highlights to this performance but this tour, as almost all other of the nostalgia tours didn’t quite live up to the days of old.

The Lord Weird Slough Feg: The Slay Stack Grows

If spending over two hours with the ‘Feg is your idea of a good time, you’re gonna love this! The Slay Stack Grows is a two-disc set featuring the band’s initial “White Tape” demo from 1990, along with their 1994 demo tape, four live performances and a German radio interview.

HELLBOUND To Co-Sponsor BURIED INSIDE Summer Tour

Ottawa, ON’s BURIED INSIDE has announced a cross-Canada tour in support of their brand new album Spoils Of Failure and HELLBOUND is proud to announce we have been asked to co-sponsor the tour along with the fine folks over at Lambgoat.com.

Samael: Above

Samael’s Above is an album that comes and goes very quickly, but while it hangs around it pounds those who hear it with a relentless return to form. Said to be a “tribute” to the Swiss band’s past, this new effort leaves behind the more melodic and organized sound of their previous album, Solar Soul, in exchange for an all-out torrent of black metal/industrial metal that rarely leaves any space to catch one’s breath.

Minsk: With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone

Interwoven through all of Minsk’s albums are underlying themes of survival, perseverance and a triumph over physical, societal and /or personal challenges, but instead of a Rollins-style “DIY or you’re a pussy” self-help ethos, Minsk provides an introspective narrative that investigates the feelings of frustration, loss, and perhaps finally, redemption.