Hull: Sole Lord
Vocals are one area that doesn’t get enough attention and analysis across the broad pantheon of extreme music. So, let’s talk vocals and how they apply to the Brooklyn-based band Hull.
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Necrophobic: Satanic Blasphemies
Satanic Blasphemies is a collection of tracks from nineties demos Slow Asphyxiation, Unholy Prophecies and the 7” EP The Call. Nine tracks of classic death metal that evoke much ‘grandfather’-esque influence on bands making their mark today.
Living Colour @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto ON, October 3, 2009
I was tempted to start this review by simply saying, “This show was fucking awesome,” but it was much more than that. You had four top-notch musicians on that stage, including singer and leather aproned-wearing Corey Glover (whom if you haven’t heard this man sing, and sing so passionately yet so effortlessly, you are sorely missing out on a genius) and I wonder, why aren’t these dudes being recognized? If not in record sales, for their sheer genius? For actually knowing how to put a song together? But in some ways, it is the same sentiment when I heard the new albums from Suffocation, Lord Mantis and Kylesa this year.
Laina Dawes reviews the recent Toronto live performance by NYC outfit Living Colour.
Immortal: All Shall Fall
After seven long years, my most anticipated release of 2009 has finally been unleashed and the big question is does it hold up to all the hype? Well… yes and no.
Blatant Self-Promotion: Porcupine Tree/King’s X Live Review on Exclaim.ca
While Hellbound.ca is definitely my main focus these days, every now and then I still write for other places when asked. Way back before I launched Hellbound.ca back on June 1st, a Toronto date for Porcupine Tree and King’s X was announced in Toronto for September 30th and I pitched Exclaim! on doing a review of it. True to my word, I went to the show and did the review for Exclaim!, who have posted it up online this morning.
Revocation: Existence Is Futile
On the surface, the band is rooted in the same post-thrash groove that Lamb of God has dominated this decade, but unlike the otherwise likable Virginians, Revocation don’t dig themselves a safe little rut, instead using the sound as a launching pad for other, bolder musical excursions. The end result is their second album and Relapse debut Existence is Futile, an album undeniably accessible enough to draw in the Rockstar Energy™ Mayhem Fest crowd, yet clever enough to pull the rug from under everyone’s feet with sudden forays into progressive death metal and continue to command listeners’ attention while doing so.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gods & Guns
My main problem with God & Guns is its lack of focus. It’s all over the place, almost a series of slow songs sketches loosely tied together rather than a classic 70’s-style Skynyrd southern rock album. I’m admittedly skeptical of anything from Lynyrd Skynyrd since that terrible Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 record, but getting back to this one I would only recommend it to diehard Skynyrd fanatics or Johnny Van Zant Band fans.
Photo gallery: DragonForce Live In Toronto, Oct 2, 2009
While Adrien Begrand did a live review of DragonForce last week on Hellbound.ca of their recent Saskatoon show, here are some of the photos I shot of them at their Toronto show this past Friday.
Children of Bodom/The Black Dahlia Murder/Skeletonwitch @ Odeon, Saskatoon, SK, October 1, 2009
If there’s one band that fully deserves a “victory lap” tour, it’s Children of Bodom, who after a good dozen years plying their distinct brand of melodic extreme metal, is finally experiencing some significant success in North America. For most fans who live in the smaller centres, they best they could manage before was to catch Alexi Laiho and his booze-fueled band of flashy Finns as part of a package tour, be it the Unholy Alliance or Gigantour, which usually meant a measly eight or nine songs, maximum, and when a band has six studio albums under their belts, it’s tough to get some variety. So the venue was packed with fans hoping to get a huge dose of the old stuff, and that’s exactly what Bodom gave them.
Adrien Begrand reviews the recent Saskatoon stop on the CoB/BDM/Skeletonwitch tour.
My pre-teen dream was nearly dashed by a shitty soundsystem…
When I was 10, the holy trinity of hard rock bands consisted of AC/DC, KISS, and…wait for it… Nazareth. The Scottish rockers had a shoulda-bin stadium stomper in “Hair of the Dog” and turned Joni Mitchell’s “This Flight Tonight” into a hard-rockin’ hit. I actually used to draw pictures of myself wearing a Nazareth T-Shirt. I kid you not.
To this day, I still don’t own a Nazareth T-Shirt. I also haven’t seen them live, and I think I could live without doing so. But after catching AC/DC last November, my pre-teen dream was realized last nite when I finally saw KISS in concert.