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Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live June 3, 2010

Hypocrisy/ Scar Symmetry/ Blackguard @ The Wreckroom, Toronto ON, May 29 2010

It was shortly after 8:00 pm when Hypocrisy made their significant entrance; the excitement in the room was palpable when they strode onto the stage, lit vaguely by dim blue light and partially obscured by theatrical smoke. I can only describe their set as an all-out assault. While the sun might have still been impudently shining outside of the Wreckroom, inside the audience was completely consumed by Hypocrisy’s blistering intensity.

Natalie Zed reviews the May 29th Toronto performance by Hypocrisy, Scar Symmetry and Blackguard. Live photos by Adam Wills

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live June 2, 2010

Slough Feg/ Funeral Circle @ Red Room, Vancouver BC, May 29 2010

The inveterate Slough Feg are one of those bands that pulls it off so well live that they’re able to sound identical to what they do on tape, which I found pretty impressive considering how ornate their songs can get. Personally, I was there to hear songs from their latest, Ape Uprising!, and they did not disappoint, throwing the excellent “Simian Manifesto” into their set early on. But as they’re touring for their 20th anniversary, the band threw loads of gems into their set. It was great to hear older tracks like “Tiger! Tiger!”, “The Final Gambit” and “Hiberno-Latin Invasion” live. And seeing Mike Scalzi and Angelo Tringali work their guitar magic, playing off each other is especially jaw-dropping – they recall the classic Gorham/Robertson harmony work in Thin Lizzy.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live May 27, 2010

Portal/ Krallice/ Bloody Panda @ Mohawk Place, Buffalo NY May 24, 2010

The energy that Portal projected, both in their music and their sheer physical presence, was overwhelming. Every gesture that The Curator made was impossibly intense. I spent the entire set staring wildly up at the band, certain that any moment something Very Bad was going to happen. They’re masters at wielding this carefully managed sense of dread. Portal is aptly named; when they were on stage, reality felt somehow thinner than it was before.

Natalie Zed reviews the May 24th performance by Portal, Krallice and Bloody Panda at Buffalo, NY’s Mohawk Place. Concert photography by Adam Wills.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Books May 21, 2010

Book review – Only Death is Real: An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost 1981–1985

Like many pioneers, Hellhammer took their lumps from everyone, including its own members. They were hobbled by geography and underdeveloped talent, but they built a great mystique around themselves as they toiled to spread their malodorous gospel, only to be sent back to the drawing board after every recording session and demo release. This unlikely but glorious book celebrates their restless existence and enduring influence. It all goes to prove that history—this little slice of history, anyway—is written by the victors.

Rob Hughes reviews the new Hellhammer photo/history book, Only Death Is Real, released recently by Bazillion Points.

Articles, Features, Headline May 19, 2010

Watain: The Hellbound Interview

This kind of music attracts people that want to explore the dark , the kinds of things within that want to have an outlet and want to be manifested in reality, in your life. Black metal is one way of letting this side manifest.

Justin M. Norton in conversation with Erik Danielsson of Watain on the eve of the release of their new album for Season of Mist, entitled Lawless Darkness.

Articles, Features, Headline May 17, 2010

Andrew Bonazelli: The Hellbound Interview

I have no idea if Andrew Bonazelli has ever picked up an instrument, let alone ever played in a band, but his position as the reviews and managing editor of the almighty Decibel Magazine and the fact that he’s just released his second book, A Regular, means there’s a connection to the world of extreme music and a reason to throw the hellbound.ca spotlight on the man for a while.

Kevin Stewart-Panko in conversation with Decibel managing editor Andrew Bonazelli about his newly published book A Regular.

Articles, Blogs, Headline, Reviews May 14, 2010

Manitoba Metal Fest 2010: Part Two

For the next hour and half Brutal Truth kept going. They filled their set with gems from their back-catalogue and a heavy dose of tracks off Evolution Through Revolution. At one point in the set Kevin Sharp announced “I’m Henry Winkler and I need some booze goddamnit!” The crowd loved every minute of it. I don’t know if everyone there realized the significance of Brutal Truth playing their home town, but honestly, it doesn’t matter – the band was incredible.

Handshake Inc’s David Hall recaps their experience at this year’s Manitoba Metal Fest making an upcoming film on American grind gods Brutal Truth.

Articles, Blogs, Headline May 13, 2010

Manitoba Metal Fest 2010: Part One

I think it was about six or seven months ago that I saw “Brutal Truth to Play Manitoba Metal Fest,” come across the metal news ticker and I was immediately intrigued. I had never been to Winnipeg, but for some reason the thought of Brutal Truth playing there seemed epic and strange and film worthy: like “Iron Maiden: Behind the Iron Curtain,” or “Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall,” this concert struck me as an iconic event, and I immediately fired off an email to Rich Hoak, pleading with him to let me make a movie about the concert and about the band’s time in Winnipeg. Luckily he, and the rest of the band were into it.

Handshake Inc’s David Hall recaps their experience at this year’s Manitoba Metal Fest making an upcoming film on American grind gods Brutal Truth

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live May 12, 2010

Porcupine Tree @ Sound Academy, Toronto, ON, May 8, 2010

Were this simply an auditory barrage (which I am more than familiar with), I might have had more resistance. But it was much more than that. This show was a carefully orchestrated, beautifully curated performance. The video accompaniment interesting and tasteful, and varied enough that I was never able to settle fully into it or anticipate what was coming next…

Natalie Zed reviews the Saturday, May 8th performance by UK prog rock veterans Porcupine Tree at Toronto’s Sound Academy. Concert photography by Adam Wills.