FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Last week the inaugural BARGE TO HELL cruise sailed from Miami, FL to Nassau, Bahamas and back and featured live performances by forty-two metal bands. Hellbound.ca was lucky enough to have been able to send some of its contributors on the cruise and here is what they had to say about the performances that took place on Day number two.
Live reviews by Adrien Begrand and Sean Palmerston. All photography by Albert Mansour unless listed otherwise.
Last week the inaugural BARGE TO HELL cruise sailed from Miami, FL to Nassau, Bahamas and back and featured live performances by forty-two death, thrash and black metalbands. Hellbound.ca was lucky enough to have been able to send some of its contributors on the cruise and here is what they had to say about getting to Miami and the first evening’s performances.
Introduction by Sean Palmerston with live reviews by Adrien Begrand and Sean Palmerston. All photography by Albert Mansour unless listed otherwise
Though they’re named after an opulent area of Hong Kong, this band hails from San Fran, across the Pacific Ocean. And after their self-released debut record generated a bit of a buzz three years back, KWC has signed with Brutal Panda for this, their sophomore release—35 and a half minutes of punishing post-sludge.
If you dug the direction COC took on their self-titled record—and I did—then this EP should tide you over till the next one.
In this entry of Blasphemous Meals, reader discretion is advised to those of you who are vegetarian, vegan and on and on and on. You’ll find six saucy, savoury, satanically delicious dishes that are from three different carnivorous groups: beef, fish, poultry and pork. They are warm and welcoming as you retreat from the frostbitten woodlands in the coming months – at least for our Canadian Hellbound readers.
I can’t say that Finsterforst are totally original, but they make up for any lack of creativity by bringing a contagious passion to a style of metal that has rarely resonated with me in recent years. They make a powerful case for the sheer grandeur of their music, which is pretty significant considering that the band sings mostly about the forest and the abuse of nature.
Korpiklaani are a band of the wild that produce music far from an animal call, but a signature sound that summons fans – those who appreciate progenitors shaping the credibility of a once scoffed metal sub-genre through an innovative tribute to culture.
King Animal isn’t just some pale and passably competent effort designed to take hopeful fans for a few bucks – there is genuine heart in it, and that is what will win both old fans back and new fans to this record.
Broken, beaten, scarred and bloody, Verdonkermaan is the aural equivalent of the worst Hostel/Saw environment imaginable. It’s bleak and cold, devoid of sustaining life and terrifying to its core. For all that, it’s a stunning and unforgettable album.
The 69 Eyes borrow elements from a music library incredibly vast. To say that they supply signature twists and turns would be a bit of a stretch but there’s no denial in their ability to provide us with Goth ‘N’ Roll so melodic and relevant to sometimes crude and wild for the amorous bunch.