Category: Features
-
Full Metal Parenting #1: Birds, bees, and big old riffs
A lot of metal fans will tell you that the genre has taken them on journeys to dark, unexpected, and wholly beautiful places, leading them to question nature, reality, and the meaning of existence. Well, welcome to parenthood! It’s pretty much the same, and often twice as loud. Parenting is livin’ after midnight by default…
-
Dave Brockie, Oderus Urungus, In Memoriam
Gwar is not just a band. One look at a promotional photo should tell you that, but Gwar isn’t just a group of dudes in weird costumes either. If you’ve ever been to a Gwar show, then you might know what I’m hinting at. And if you’ve been to nearly a dozen or more Gwar…
-
And the battle wages on – Wacken Metal Battle Canada dates & compilation
Last night the latest round of Wacken Metal Battle Canada had Toronto area bands Our Covenant, Operus, Protokult, The Fiction In Folklore and Endemise duking it out for the chance to move on to the next stage of the competition. A heck of a lot of bands are competing this year, with multiple rounds scheduled across the country…
-
Editor’s playlist – songs for a cold, snowy Thursday
For a serious music fan (and I assume anyone reading this must be), finding sounds that really click for you has to be one of the most satisfying pleasures — encountering music that resonates with some part of your psyche, your emotions, your cells… And when you find those artists, albums, or songs that hit all the right…
-
Shooting Guns: dealing some heavy instrumental magic
When it comes to the metal aesthetic many bands feel they need to choose the route of texture or torture. Bands decide whether to build weapons or evoke atmospheres with their sound, and to focus on the ephemeral often means leaving a sense of visceral threat behind. After all, smoke cannot hurt us, and shadows…
-
Alcest – Still the same stone, but what you see is different
January saw the release of Alcest’s latest album, Shelter. Even though I myself am not a big fan of this particular offering from the band, it’s clear to me that it is a proper culmination of gradual changes in Alcest’s sound and direction. As a long-time Alcest fan, I’ve read a number of interviews with…
-
XUL: Poised to take the world of metal by storm
Photo by Bailey Ann Gottlieb Interview by Patrick Chappelle Occasionally, the boundaries of metal are tested and stretched beyond the confines of what its fans find acceptable, by bands bands who seek to create something distinctive. Such efforts by artists who lack percipience or talent to make it happen, result in abominable recordings that often…
-
Crimson Shadows: Ready to Take on the World
Hellbound is a Canadian-based metal site. That doesn’t determine our coverage – we can appreciate, evaluate and cover heavy tunes from anywhere in the world. But we do like to support our fellow Canadians who are involved in making ear-stimulating music. And though our Canada Day features and annual best Canadian metal lists are fun…
-
Blasphemous Meals #9: Slaughter of the Bowl
Photos and words by Ola Mazzuca This entry of Blasphemous Meals . I chose each for their type of protein and method of preparation, which ultimately makes them fitting year round. For our Toronto readers, I hope each evokes a sense of warmth in contrast to long winter we’re having – straight outta Battles in…
-
Wacken Metal Battle Canada: Canucks winning their way to an international stage
Interview by Laura Wiebe If you’re a metalhead you’ve heard of Wacken Open Air. Founded in 1990, the German festival is a mecca for metal pilgrims, a status immortalized in Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen’s Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey (2005). But Wacken is a desired destination for more than fans. For a band, playing Wacken…