Sean Palmerston

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

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 29, 2011

Toxic Holocaust/ Inepsy/ Holy Grail/ Kommando @ Annex Wreckroom, Toronto ON, August 21, 2011

“Predictably, Toxic Holocaust delivered on the challenge laid down by Inepsy. Their set was a riot — pure, dirty thrash glee. The band are touring to support new album Conjure and Command, an excellent full-length with no pretensions and profoundly catchy songs.”

Natalie Zed reviews the August 21st Toronto performance by TOXIC HOLOCAUST, INEPSY, HOLY GRAIL and KOMMANDO at the Annex Wreckroom. Live photos by Albert Mansour.

Articles, Features, Headline August 25, 2011

Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy: The Hellbound Interview

“We’ve accumulated a very dedicated hardcore fan-base. This kind of liberates you, because we kind of feel nowadays we can pretty much do anything we want, and we don’t have anything to lose because we are in the lucky position that we don’t have any pressure from the label. They never told us what to do from the beginning, and now we’re very established and, well, and we don’t wanna become the next big thing.”

Jay H. Gorania in conversation with Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 24, 2011

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 will not allow you to turn this into background music, it’s an album that you will definitely want turned up loud in the car.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 23, 2011

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.

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 17, 2011

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 accurate and precise. They have retained an organic roar to the music, especially the immense “General Sherman,” which evokes blood pounding through a body.”

Live concert review by Natalie Zed, Photos by Adam Wills

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 16, 2011

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 disheveled mad-scientist inventiveness ensures there’s not a hint of any mechanized navel-gazing.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 15, 2011

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 metal/rock albums of 2011, singer or no singer. Besides, with grooves this contagious, who needs a singer, anyway?