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Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 26, 2010

Agnes Vein – Duality

Agnes Vein have well steeped themselves in the lore of Blood Fire Death-era Bathory and latter-day Celtic Frost, but at times, the music also hints at the drone and mood of Jesu. There’s also the strong aftertaste of Primordial in the guitar tone. It’s an eclectic mix, but the influences serve them well and Agnes Vein have managed to distill them down into their own secret formula. I highly recommend Duality to anyone whose ears pricked up at any of the aforementioned inspiration.

Albert Mansour, Articles, Blogs, Featured, The Editor's Blog August 24, 2010

HELLBOUND RADIO: August 22nd, 2010 Playlist

Jesus Christ…I go away for a month and everything goes to a shambles. The station from which we broadcast Hellbound Radio every Sunday has begun the process of being gutted in order to be moved to a still undetermined location sometime in the next nine months – nothing like planning ahead, eh? Half the college seems to be under construction as well, which makes getting to the actual station after hours a bit of a pain in the ass. Then, there are my esteemed co-hosts who failed to put up a single playlist while I was away. So, here you go, Sunday night’s goods.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 24, 2010

Deathmarch/ Esoteric Doctrine/ Hallows Die/ Twilight Child @ The Corktown Pub, Hamilton, ON, Aug. 18, 2010

“Next on the docket was Hamilton’s own Deathmarch. For reasons I’m not fully aware of they were without a drummer tonight, getting by with a drum track and Northern Storm Records label head Rob Cranny. By this I mean that Rob sat in the middle of the stage, shirtless with drum sticks in hand, phantom drumming throughout the entire set. Remember what I said about metal being fun?”

Renee Trotier reviews the August 18th performance by DEATHMARCH, ESOTERIC DOCTRINE, HALLOWS DIE and TWILIGHT CHILD at the Corktown Pub in Hamilton ON.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 23, 2010

Roareth – Acts I-VI

Although they aren’t too creative with the written word—all songs are entitled Acts I through VI, and the band name itself is cringe-worthy—Seattle’s Roareth does have something to offer musically with this, their debut album. Take Zoroaster circa Dog Magic, sprinkle in a few non-distorted slow passages a la Neurosis, and a handful of Cisneros bass grooves, and you’ve got a solid 45 minutes of slow-moving sludge.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 23, 2010

Stratovarius – Polaris +live

Pairing Polaris with a 14 track live disc recorded around the world, is a great move on Armoury’s part. It is a chance for fans and detractors to hear the new guitar player (Matias Kupianinen) in live action, and he more than stands up to the challenge. Recording this over a few shows means the band can make sure it’s their best performances before it’s put out. Of course Stratovarius don’t have bad performances so I’m sure it was tough picking the tracks.

Blogs, Featured, Gruesome Greg August 21, 2010

I can now proclaim to have seen Peyton pass the pigskin in person…

I bought into the Bills in Toronto series when it was first announced, opting for the three-game ticket package. Aside from a close, competitive exhibition game against the Steelers in ’08, the Bills hardly delivered on my somewhat-considerable investment. This season, sensing that the Toronto natives were getting restless, the organization threw us a bone by bringing Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts to town.
Unfortunately, it was another freakin’ exhibition game.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 20, 2010

Volbeat/ The Sleeping/ Dommin @ the Mod Club, Toronto ON, August 17, 2010

“I have no bone to pick with VOLBEAT at all. Their heavy metal/rockabilly/early rock’n’roll gangster aesthetic is fantastic. They’re greasy, twangy and a hell of a lot of fun to see live. Michael Poulsen embodies their sound: lean, punchy muscles, the lines of his brow and cheekbone just a little haggard from hard living, slicked back, dark hair and covered in old-school tattoos. His voice is surprisingly clean. Volbeat’s set was idiosyncratic and playful.”

Natalie Zed reviews the August 17th Toronto performance by VOLBEAT, THE SLEEPING and DOMMIN at the Mod Club. VOLBEAT live photos by Adam Wills.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio August 20, 2010

Death Angel – Relentless Retribution

The production and mix are crystal clear but there is a condensed and compressed feel to the overall sound. Killing Season had one of the best productions I’d heard in many years, organic and vibrant, and I think Relentless Retribution would have benefited from that same production. As would any record for that matter.