High Spirits: 4 song demo 2009
This four track demo EP is pure 80’s metal. It sounds to me like the early output of Scotland’s Heavy Pettin’ fronted by a singer that sounds somewhat similar to Kevin Griffiths of the NWOBHM band Briar.
Obscura: Cosmogenesis
Munich, Germany’s tech metal mastermind Steffen Kummerer returns in 2009 with his band Obscura’s sophomore album Cosmogenisis. With a few member changes and additional set backs now behind him, he now comes adorned with former members of Necrophagist and ex -Pesitlence bass extraordinaire Jeroen Paul Thesseling.
Woods of Ypres, Elevator 22, Will of the Ancients, Musk Ox, Seras @ Club Absinthe, Hamilton, ON
It was a night of firsts and lasts – the first Hamilton appearance of Ontario’s independent Woods of Ypres, and the last show for local legends Elevator 22.
ISIS: Wavering Radiant
A couple weeks ago, the world’s most accomplished stoner, multiple gold medallist Michael Phelps, returned to the pool after serving out his suspension for inhaling what, considering his lung capacity, must have been enough weed smoke to lay out the state of Utah.
Tank: Their War Drags Ever On
Of all the original NWOBHM bands, few have been as sadly under-valued as London’s Tank. Formed by former Damned/Saints bassist Algy Ward in early 1980, Tank took the raw aggression of Algy’s former punk bands and applied it to a more metal setting.
Today Is The Day — Welcome To Hellbound.ca!
Thanks for joining us for the launch of Hellbound.ca, Canada’s newest metal webzine. Updated weekdays with 2 – 3 new album reviews, concert reviews and photos as well as in-depth interviews with bands that span the realm of underground metal, Hellbound hopes to fill part of the void left with the unfortunate recent closings of Unrestrained!, Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs.
Hooded Menace: Fulfill The Curse
Known for their decidedly old school style death metal releases – we’re talking in the vein of Impetigo, (the Canadian) Slaughter and Repulsion here folks – it makes total sense that this album could have only come out on Razorback Records.
Word Association Fun With… AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED
Agoraphobic Nosebleed has just released their crowning achievement, the stunningly song-oriented ginormous musical fuck-stick that is Agorapocalypse and as the press cycle dictates, it’s time for them to do interviews promoting said record. We could ask about their packaging the CD in old-school longboxes, what took so fucking long and how a band that doesn’t have a drummer managed to place a drum solo in “Question of Integrity.”
Lacuna Coil: Shallow Life
Perhaps a surprise to no one who has been following the band over the past few years, Lacuna Coil’s Shallow Life is an interesting step for the band but showcases a bland end result that dilutes the possibilities of the stylistic shift.
Cauldron: Chained to the Nite
Having grown up on metal in Canada during the 1980s, the first thought that springs to mind upon hearing the debut album by Toronto trio Cauldron is, why in the hell couldn’t these guys have been around 24, 25 years ago?