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Red Fang – Whales and Leeches

There is definitely a cleaner, crisper sound on this one, the band seemingly going for a more widespread appeal, but without entirely abandoning its roots. Put it this way: Whales and Leeches is the album Queens of the Stone Age shouldda put out this year.

Astrakhan – The Pillarist EP

For a band that has only been together a couple years, the chemistry is incredible. They’re already crafting their art in such grand fashion that before long they’ll be forcing the bands now considered influences to up their game.

Katatonia

Katatonia / Cult of Luna / Intronaut / Tesseract @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, September 27, 2013

When you’re into foreign underground bands who are often slotted into short opening slots because they’re not widely known… well, you get used to enjoying one of your favs for about half an hour before the higher profile but sometimes less interesting headliners take to the stage. In the case of Katatonia and Cult of Luna’s co-headlining tour stop at the Opera House in Toronto this September, ‘interestingness’ wasn’t the issue. Nevertheless, openers Tesseract were the highlight of the night.

Carcass – Surgical Steel

“A record of solidarity between chaps from Liverpool who sharpened their skills in ’88 to explore what rotting flesh would sound like, to persevere through the age of Grunge before taking a break from the operating room. You could say this band is in a state of post-mortem, but the founding spirit of Carcass is very much alive.”

Indriocothere – II

Indricothere are most definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Lacking an attention span for the most part, II will turn away the more traditional audience. But for those with more adventurous tastes, II serves as a testament to the unfathomable talent that resides in Colin Marston. Genius like this doesn’t come along very often.