FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Hellbound Metal: “Some may curse and call that contention a soft option, but wasn’t the dichotomy that Iggy and The Stooges – and The Stooges before them – always straddled? Weren’t they they band who rocked like hell, even as they were shooting themselves in the foot, rolling in broken glass or setting themselves on fire? Wasn’t it all as fun, silly, stupid and lighthearted as it ws dark and dangerous? Yeah – it was. Ready To Die is too”
Hellbound Metal: “Beneath the roiling black clouds thundering amid the highest peaks, the process of death’s bodily finality plays out its bloody and peaceful last act. Sky Burial is an intensely powerful, emotional album best enjoyed as a whole.”
You gotta love a city whose major concert hall changed its name to match the fictional venue where Spinal Tap performed in the legendary mockumentary. Alas, beer is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think Milwaukee–or maybe zoo animals, if you’re into that–but it does have a bit of metal history as well…
Hellbound Metal: “I was delighted when they opened the set with an excellent rendition of “The Devil’s Orchard”, but I was absolutely over the moon when they followed it up immediately with “Ghost of Perdition” and, this was a real shocker, “White Cluster” off Still Life. I wasn’t expecting anything that old to be played at all, so witnessing this live was a wonderful thing.”
Live review by Sean Palmerston; Special concert photos courtesy of Mike Bax / lithiummagazine.com
Hellbound Metal: written tributes by Hellbound writers to the recently deceased Jeff Hanneman of Slayer
“Though revisiting Schuldiner’s musical legacy meant the sense of collective loss was strong, the sense of fellowship was stronger. In the end it was less for sadness than a cause for celebration.”
Laura Wiebe reviews the April 28th Toronto performance by Death To All and Anciients. Concert photography by Adam Wills.
Hellbound Metal: These guys may not be reinventing the wheel, but as practitioners of the world’s oldest profession, I can dig their modern take on classic rock… ¡Chinga tu madre!
Alas, when I saw Ghost the first time around, they only had the debut album to draw from. I was quite surprised at how many kids were both moshing and singing along to the likes of “Elizabeth” and “Satan’s Prayer,” but their performance didn’t strike such a chord with me….
If Teethed Glory and Injury has a central flaw, it is that the vignette-like nature of its individual songs and transitions means that it also lacks the cohesiveness of their previous full-lengths. It is thus much less of a smooth listen from start to finish.
Hypocrisy aren’t zombies, but their decade-plus career has spawned fantastic music for the Swedish melodic scene.