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Articles, Features, Headline December 16, 2009

Trouble: Nowhere Near Endtime

“We’ve heard some people ask why did you pick Kory Clarke, because he’s not a doom metal singer or he doesn’t sound anything like Eric, but we weren’t particularly looking for someone to sound just like Eric, and we weren’t necessarily looking for someone who was just a doom metal singer either. And we were thinking that maybe we could branch out and do something – a few little twists of things that maybe we’ve never done before with it, with a kind of vocalist like this.”

Laura Wiebe Taylor speaks with Trouble guitarist Bruce Franklin about the current status of the band, their three new North American releases, progress for their next studio album and what the future holds for the legendary Chicago doom metal outfit.

Articles, Features, Headline December 9, 2009

Devin Townsend Project: Along for a Great Screaming Ride

After a few years of relative quiet, Devin Townsend came back with two new albums in 2009. The first to fall on anxious ears was Ki, a relatively restrained outing for the often bombastic Townsend, introducing the Devin Townsend Project and what will eventually be a four-part multi-album endeavour. A few months later, Addicted followed, taking the project in a more straightforward and lively direction while shaking up the musical cast. (Addicted features vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen along with previous Townsend collaborators.) Here Devin answers a few logistical questions about the new project, covering distribution, pragmatic accounting, and future touring plans.

Interview by Laura Wiebe Taylor

Articles, Headline, Reviews December 2, 2009

Advance Screening: Disgorge, Mexico – The Movie

I could simply describe Disgorge, Mexico – The Movie as visually stunning yet disturbing, as Hall definitely has an aesthetic and a well-formed point of view that matches the brutality and not-to-be dismissed splendor in the chaotic madness of Ottawa’s Fuck the Facts – and brilliant in not only the fact that similar to Hall and Cardoso’s previous film (based on Today is the Day’s Axis to Eden), it is clearly obvious that Hall knows the music and its nuances inside and out.

Laina Dawes sits down for an advance screening of Disgorge, Mexico – The Film, the upcoming new film by Handshake Inc. that is based on the Fuck the Facts album of the same name.

Articles, Featured, Features November 18, 2009

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sacrifice live at Hellbound Radio (Part 1)

On Sunday, November 15th Hellbound Radio played host to some special guests when the entire line up of the recently re-activated Sacrifice graced us with their presence. The legendary Toronto thrashers came down the QEW to Hamilton and hung with us in the Indi 101 studios, so we in turn dedicated the entire three hour show to the band’s career. And we filmed it too! Here is the first segment of interview footage from the show, with more to be released in the days to come.

Articles, Headline October 19, 2009

3 Inches Of Blood: True Canuck Metal Warriors

With the recent release of their fourth studio album Here Waits Thy Doom early last month on Century Media, Vancouver’s true metal combo 3 Inches Of Blood have finally made the album many of us have been waiting for with baited breath. With the departure of second vocalist Jamie Hooper after the release of their previous album(2007’s Fire Up The Blades), a lot of the modern metal-core sentiments found in their music were dropped. The results of having Cam Pipes as the group’s main singer has brought his King Diamond-like vocals to the forefront – and pushed the band much more into a traditional metal sound that feels even more eighties inspired than anything they had ever done before.

Articles, Headline October 9, 2009

Meeting of the Metal Minded: The Noctis III Metal Festival and Conference

In terms of metal fests, you’ve got your Milwaukees, your Maryland Deathfests, your Wackens, your Holes in the Sky, Dudefests, Hellfests, and so on—all of them well out of range of western Canadians. Thankfully, a new metallic mecca has sprung up in Alberta, at Calgary’s Noctis Festival. The third gathering (full title: Noctis III: Tritagonist) featured two days’ worth of gigs and a full-blown conference peppered with esteemed guests and international acts brought in exclusively for the event. The concert lineup, which included Slough Feg, Novembers Doom, Aura Noir, Destroyer 666, Suffocation and Cynic, was more than impressive enough to get me onto a WestJet flight from Vancouver to witness the carnage in Cowtown.

Rob Hughes gives a fascinating overview of last weekend’s Noctis III Metal Music Conference in Calgary, Alberta.

Articles, Features, Headline October 2, 2009

Interview with Metal Film and Music Video Director, Handshake Inc.’s David Hall

The decision to create film and music videos for extreme underground metal bands was not exactly a conscious decision, but something that came to Hall organically. A fascination with the music, artistic innovativeness and raw talent (and the balls to contact and eventually build a professional and personal relationship with Today is the Day’s notoriously difficult frontman, Steve Austin) led Hall and Handshake Inc. co-founder, filmmaker/ photographer David Cardoso, to create a company that in a relatively short time, has made some of the most innovative metal music videos and films the metal industry has seen in years.

Laina Dawes interviews London, ON based filmmaker David Hall about his work with Today is The Day, making metal music videos and their work-in-progress documentary on the Maryland Death Fest.