Sean Palmerston

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

Articles, Features, Headline May 25, 2011

Maryland Deathfest Preview #2: Friday, May 27th

This upcoming weekend marks the return of the biggest underground metal festival in North America, the Maryland Deathfest. Quite a few Hellbound contributors are making the pilgrimage down to Baltimore for the four day festival, which starts this Thursday and carries on through Sunday, so we have picked some of our most anticipated bands to see each day and will be running daily previews this week.

Here are some bands that Sean and Adam are excited to see on Friday night.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 24, 2011

Hate Eternal – Phoenix Amongst the Ashes

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the casual death metal fan (if there really are any) will find Phoenix Amongst the Ashes hard to swallow. There isn’t anything cool or ‘hip’ to grab on to here, and it will make many of the mall metal fans run screaming from Hot Topic if it comes on during a shopping trip.

Articles, Features, Headline May 23, 2011

Maryland Deathfest Preview #1: Thursday, May 26

This upcoming weekend marks the return of the biggest underground metal festival in North America, the Maryland Deathfest. Quite a few Hellbound contributors are making the pilgrimage down to Baltimore for the four day festival, which starts this Thursday and carries on through Sunday, so we have picked some of our most anticipated bands to see each day and will be running daily previews every day between now and Thursday.

Here are some bands that Sean and Adam are excited to see on Thursday night.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 20, 2011

Zombi – Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity features a stripped-down Zombi—just synths and drums pulsating to a driving beat. It feels more urban and Germanic; at times like a sinister Kraftwerk. Zombi come across as cool masters of technology now; instead of mad lab techs trying to keep a roomful of aging machines alive and in synch. On Escape Velocity, the machines have learned how to run themselves.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live May 20, 2011

Anvil / Alice Cooper @ Hamilton Place, Hamilton ON, May 17, 2011

“Anvil ended up onstage seven minutes earlier than their previously announced set time of eight PM. Quietly strolling on stage and taking their instruments, the trio gave a quick nod and got down to business. Much to my surprise, the band opened with an instrumental, the mighty “March of The Crabs”. The band was in fine form from the first note, with Robb Reiner comfortably holding the backbeat down like he always does. Playing on a sparsely set stage – just the band, their instruments and amps and a huge Anvil backdrop behind them, things really started to take shape with the evening’s second song, “Mothra”.”

Sean Palmerston reviews the May 17th performance by ANVIL and ALICE COOPER at Hamilton Place in Hamilton ON. Live photos by Albert Mansour

Blasphemy Blog, Blogs, Featured May 17, 2011

Blasphemous Meals #3: Fish, Curry and Inebriated Protein

Last year, I received a wonderful gift from my parents – a cookbook that received rave reviews and coverage in various metal magazines, from a publishing company started by one of my favourite writers; Ian Christe’s Bazillion Points.
Annick Giroux is a multi-talented metal chick, dividing her time between graphic design, DJing and cooking the heaviest of metal meals.
Her book, Hellbent for Cooking, is a compilation of culinary classics of every culture from metal bands and artists around the world. It is a celebration of a simple yet exciting marriage between music and cuisine, where Giroux proves that the portrayal of metalheads being junkfood-lovers false.
I have decided to record my thoughts and experiences while cooking my way through Hellbent for Cooking, also providing my view on the bands that graciously donated their recipes.
In this installment of the Blasphemy Blog, I explore a variety of ethnic dishes that include fragrant additives and exciting flavours. Please enjoy my journey through preparing these awesome meals straight from the recipes of the heaviest of bands.