Author: Sean Palmerston

  • Solitude Aeturnus – In Times Of Solitude

    I recently received In Times Of Solitude in the mail from Massacre Records and I gotta say, this is a must for diehard Solitude Aeturnus fans.

  • Glen Drover – Metalusion

    While it’s obvious that the album is to be a showcase for the guitar playing, the song is always kept in mind and the solos don’t wander into ‘jam’ (DANGER!) territory. Drover has ensured that the song is the focus and kept things very tight and tasteful. The guitar work and song composition on Metalusion…

  • Dixie Witch – Let It Roll

    For the most part, Dixie Witch straddles the line between southern and stadium rock, and while this album mostly hits the mark, there isn’t that much separating one song from the next. That said, Let It Roll doesn’t drag, at 36 minutes long, so you get your fill before it becomes too much to handle.

  • Mares of Thrace / Vilipend / Enabler / Godstopper @ The Shop, Toronto ON, August 12, 2011

    “The attention Mares of Thrace have received has not only been deserved, but they’ve carried it with an incredible amount of grace. The doom-lady duo have taken their exposure and used it as motivation to become even better performers. Their sound, even at its most droning, is now more elegant, the explosions of energy more…

  • Gigan – Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes

    A drop of proto-electronica, a dash of Gorguts’ unpredictability, splashes of Florida’s meanest (to add some bite), a little Voivod eccentricity and a beaker of left-field nimble-fingered guitar athletics. Gigan’s mix of ideas sets them way ahead of the tech-metal pack, and although they are a state-of-the-art riffing launch pad into the celestial unknown, that…

  • Shooting Guns – Born to Deal in Magic: 1952-1976

    In the hands of a producer who specializes in this style of music (this band was born to work with Sanford Parker), these guys could be capable of a record that sounds even more massive. For now, though, we’re perfectly content listening to one hell of a fun debut, one of the very best Canadian…

  • Hot Graves – Desecration Time 7″

    In the mood for some thrash-worship discore that manages to fuck up the mix with occasional blastbeats and/or molasses-slow doom? Pick up this seven-inch from Hot Graves as a taster

  • Arson Anthem – Insecure Notoriety

    Make no mistake, this is not a metal album, this is early, dirty underground hardcore for folks who loved it and miss it, and a lesson for those who have no idea what hardcore is but are open minded enough to check it out. Start here then, go find the bands that influenced Arson Anthem…

  • Overkill: The Untold Story of Motorhead By Joel McIver

    Oh, I loved reviewing this book, it was like a time machine back to a golden age, one that importantly still continues, as Motorhead are still as awesome as ever.

  • Neurosis – Sovereign EP

    Neurosis has been reissuing a lot of their older material of late (see “Souls At Zero” review from a little while back). And while this four-song EP, the first to be released on Neurot back in 2000, doesn’t have the historical significance of prior reissues, it’s certainly worthy of a second lease on life, considering…