Metal Blade’s Brian Slagel:The Audio Interview
Jason Wellwood in conversation with Metal Blade founder and owner Brian Slagel on March 27, 2011
Anacrusis – Hindsight:Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited
Little bits of guitar have been added and subtracted, some parts given more prominence and studio effects exist where studio effects never existed previous, but all-in-all Reason redux is a faithful rendition of one of the greatest collection of metal songs ever to be presented in one place. Yeah, you heard me.
Across Tundras – Sage
Sometimes, the right music comes around at the right time, and as the last traces of winter give way to spring, Sage suits the season splendidly.
Within Temptation – The Unforgiving
It might be considered blasphemy from a metal perspective, but from a purely pop-oriented point of view, where Within Temptation is concerned, “heavy” doesn’t necessarily equate “better”. They’ve always been a pop act at heart; whenever they’ve dragged out the heavy riffs or the goth clichés in the past, it’s felt a bit on the forced side. When they’re in full pop rock mode, though, they’re in their element, and The Unforgiving plays to those strengths, at times exceptionally well.
40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room
If you, like me, have spent time in the gloom cocoon of misery and even momentarily liked it there (for a little while, anyway), The Inside Room is both your ticket into and out of the darkness.
Video interview:KEN Mode’s Jesse Matthewson
Exclusive video interview with KEN Mode guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson
Exes for Eyes / Teethmarks / Godstopper / Vices @ the Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON, March 18th, 2011
Natalie Zed reviews the March 18th show by Exes for Eyes, Teethmarks, Godstopper and Vices @ Toronto’s Hard Luck Bar
Blood Ceremony – Living With The Ancients
Living With The Ancients is a strong step forward for a band that is definitely on its way to making its mark.
Birth A.D. – The Hellbound Interview
“My other band was an expression of something much larger than myself; a monument if you will. It will always represent an essential part of my mind and spirit. Birth A.D., on the other hand, is a way for me to exercise complaints over the “daily life” portion of my existence. People are stupid, traffic sucks, everyone has cancer and so on. But it’s important to note that one band doesn’t negate the other in any way. It’s merely two different sides of me, kind of like the whole Rocky/Rambo thing that Sylvester Stallone did (or maybe that’s a weird example).”
Keith Carman in conversation with BIRTH A.D. bassist/vocalist Jeff Tandy.
Devil – Magister Mundi Xum (Demo)
By all means, Magister Mundi Xum is hit-and-miss – when it does hit, it’s pretty damn fun. Look past the recording quality, the at-times downright-goofy lyrics, and you might dig this as much as I did. Will be interesting to see what they come up with on their upcoming full-length.