The Gates of Slumber: Hymns of Blood And Thunder
There is in fact a greater cohesiveness over all to this new record that was not there on early releases. This is a band that is at their peak now as a true unit, a well-oiled machine as it were.
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Hotter Than Hell: Chicken Wings on Bloor St. (Toronto)
When I heard that a chicken wing joint was opening two doors down from St. Louis on Bloor, I thought that was a dumb idea. A few months later, when another bar specializing in wings opened at the corner of Bloor and Walmer, well, I figured that was a really dumb idea. Yet I found myself drawn to the winning combination of spicy wings and beer, so today I went to all three wing joints. My verdict is as follows…
Månegarm: Nattväsen
In the end, this collection of night creatures might just encourage you to toss back a pint and go racing into the neighboring hills with sword in hand — at least until you get arrested for disturbing the peace.
U.D.O.: Dominator
Unfortunately, while the best moments of Dominator would make a pretty solid EP, this mostly mid-paced album has a hard time holding my attention for 50 minutes.
Doomriders: Darkness Come Alive
Four years after their debut effort Black Thunder—though they have a number of EPs and other releases—apocalyptic groove-metal brigade Doomriders unleash what is easily their most accomplished effort in sophomore affair Darkness Come Alive.
Hatebreed/Cannibal Corpse/Unearth/Born of Osiris/Hate Eternal @ Odeon, Saskatoon, SK, December 7, 2009
There’s never much to a Cannibal Corpse show, just five guys who never leave their marks, long, sweaty hair obscuring their faces, churning out that distinct death metal sound they’ve been doing for more than two decades. No frills whatsoever, just pure brutality, and it never fails to floor audiences.
Adrien Begrand recaps the recent Saskatoon stop of the current Hatebreed/Cannibal Corpse co-headline tour that is underway now in North America.
Nightstalker: Superfreak
These guys don’t reinvent the wheel, but if you’re a fan of Monster Magnet, Lowrider, 90’s Nebula and/or Kyuss—and are looking for a band that’s currently releasing decent tuneage—then this record’s worth a listen.
The Company Band : s/t
Generally speaking, a band should be greater than the sum of its parts. Keith Carman isn’t sure that is the case with US super group The Company Band (although assuredly it must be better than that awful new band John Paul Jones is in).
Squash Bowels: Grindvirus
Ever wonder what it would be like to be sitting peacefully on an outhouse latrine only to have the structure upended by backwoods goons, leaving you writhing in excrement? Probably not, but a good musical equivalent to this “Deliverance” scenario would be listening to Grindvirus, the new offal-ing from long-running Polish grinders Squash Bowels.
W.A.S.P.: Babylon
Being a huge fan of W.A.S.P. ever since I first saw the video clip for “I Wanna Be Somebody” from their self titled album back in the 80’s, it pains me to tell you that there’s not much new happening here, except for some recycled riffs and solos from previous albums.