Articles

Articles, Features, Headline August 11, 2010

Introducing: Mares of Thrace

Guitarist/vocalist Therese Lanz and drummer Stefani MacKichan have been part of Calgary’s music scene for a while now, Lanz as frontwoman for grindcore band Exit Strategy and the pair most notably comprising two-thirds of the hard rock trio Kilbourne, but since forming Mares of Thrace it feels like they’ve stumbled upon something special. One album in, they already have a very strong identity, as The Moulting (Arctodus Records) is a blistering combination of the massive riffs and rhythms of Neurosis, the angularity of Unsane and the Jesus Lizard, the intricacy of the Dillinger Escape Plan, and some well-timed melodic passages to boot.

Adrien Begrand speaks to one of Canada’s most exciting new bands, the Calgary based duo known as MARES OF THRACE.

Articles, Features, Headline August 6, 2010

Jucifer: The Hellbound Interview Part 2

“We’ve always known that as an entire band—both live and everything on our albums—we’re asking listeners to have a very open mind, more open than a lot of people are capable of. Depending on what song somebody hears, we could fit so many different categories. So if somebody sees we’re “black metal” and then listens to “Japanese and Lovely,” they’ll think we’re “false metal,” or that the person who called us black is an idiot. Vice versa if somebody’s told we’re indie rock and then, God help them, comes to our show, screaming for the door.”

Part two of Jay H. Gorania’s interview with Amber Valentine of JUCIFER.

Articles, Features, Headline July 30, 2010

Jucifer: The Hellbound Interview Part One

“We wanted an album that we’d be excited to play. As much as we appreciate that people love a song like “Amplifier,” we don’t want to play it. So with Throned… we can finally give fans a set with songs from the current album that we actually get off on playing. Maybe we’ll disappoint some people who like our albums because they’re not so abrasive. But in the end, we have to consider what pleases us. And arguably, the fans that don’t attend our shows are not the ones we should aim to please.”

Part one of Jay H. Gorania in conversation with JUCIFER’s Gazelle Amber Valentine about the release of their new album Thrones In Blood

Articles, Features, Headline July 21, 2010

Halford: The Metal God Never Rests

“I’ve done it all, I’ve been it all, I’ve seen it all – these are like the bonus rounds as far as the opportunities go. Personally, I’m having the time of my life right now just doing what I really want to do. That’s a nice feeling, and having all the fans supporting Priest and the other endeavors – it’s just tremendously gratifying that you can still go out and do what you want to do more than anything else in the world and that’s write metal and play metal live.”

On the eve of their appearance at this weekend’s HEAVY MTL festival Rob Halford speaks to Hellbound.ca’s Bill Adams about the return of his solo band Halford and their plans for the remainder of 2010.

Articles, Featured, Features, Headline July 19, 2010

Jucifer – Canadian Tour Diary #1

“Driving onto the Bridge To Canada feels like jumping out of a plane. Okay, maybe not that exciting. But you do have a sense that you’re committed to a path that could go seriously wrong if you’re not careful. For example, never having crossed Ambassador Bridge before (we usually enter at Niagara Falls) we got confused as to whether we should follow signs for “trucks” or “cars” — seeing that “RV” or “bus” were not options — and ended up having to reverse out of an entry lane. One more strike against American intelligence.”

In an exclusive to Hellbound.ca, JUCIFER guitarist/vocalist Gazelle Amber Valentine has submitted the first part of their Canadian tour diary documenting their current tour North of The Border.