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Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 10, 2009

Hammers Of Misfortune, Ludicra, Crux Of Aux, Slaughter Strike @ Casbah, Hamilton ON, August 8, 2009

Truth be told, it has been a pretty shitty summer weather-wise here in Southern Ontario so far. Instead of our usual hot, humid summers it has been the kind where you can count the truly sticky days on one hand. This Saturday was another drab, dreary one here in the Hammer, with rain coming and going all day making for a generally blah day. Thankfully, the evening’s entertainment inside at the Casbah did more than make up for the crappy weather outside. In comparison, the four bands that played the venerable King Street West venue left those in attendance positively steamy.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 6, 2009

Clutch @ The Odeon, Saskatoon SK, August 2, 2009

Clutch’s current musical incarnation, which dates from 2004’s Blast Tyrant to this year’s Strange Cousins From the West, has been a remarkable creative renaissance, with blues superseding stoner rock, and not surprisingly, when the final third of the show focused on the newer material, things truly took off.

Adrien Begrand reviews Clutch’s most recent tour stop in his base city, Saskatoon, SK.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Classics August 4, 2009

Classic Album Revisited: The Red in the Sky is Ours

The Red in the Sky is Ours did not depart from the core tenets of the genre, but it did offer a vision of death metal that stood apart from its peers. Based on that singular vision, The Red in the Sky is Ours has not seen its power diminish with the passing of time; hence the reason that it deserves to be celebrated as a “classic.”

Tate Bengston explains why At The Gates’ The Red in the Sky is Ours is Hellbound’s first Classic Album.

Articles, Headline July 31, 2009

Killswitch Engage: Turning Liquid Sugar Into Gold

Whether it’s because they have definite hardcore roots, forming as they did from the ashes of Overcast, Aftershock and, later, Blood Has Been Shed, or because they have choruses that sound more like globules of liquid sugar instead of caustic battery acid, Massachusetts’ Killswitch Engage has always had troubles being accepted by metalheads across the board. Arguments range from “they’re metalcore/screamo/not metal therefore they suck” to “they may be metal, but they suck” and other such subjectivity disguised as scene police fact. That they’ve gone ahead and managed two certified gold records in the U.S. means that the underground has yet another reason to chastise them beyond the speciousness of arguments surrounding what genre they call home.

Kevin Stewart-Panko discusses KSE’s second self-titled album and their rise to modest fame with band guitarist Joel Stroetzel.

Articles, Features, Headline July 29, 2009

Interview with Phil Freeman, Author of Sound Levels: Profiles In American Music, 2002-2009

“Metal is hard,” says Freeman. “It’s difficult, rigorous music but it’s not treated as such. These are guys who are on the level as symphony players on their respective instruments. These are guys who went into their bedrooms at age 10 and didn’t come out until age 20, but because they have long hair and they sing about decapitating virgins or whatever, it’s not treated with the respect the effort put into it would seem to demand.”

Laina Dawes speaks to music writer and recent Metal Edge editor Phil Freeman about his newly released book.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio July 27, 2009

Asphyx: Death… The Brutal Way

The appearance of Asphyx at this year’s Maryland Deathfest was more of a treat than probably many of the young ‘uns realized. After finding this out, I silently cursed my financial status for not allowing me to make the trek, because after one listen to their latest full-length Death….The Brutal Way (out August 19th on Ibex Moon, available for order now from the label’s website) being late on the rent might have been worth it.

Laina Dawes reviews the new comeback album by Dutch death metallers ASPHYX, one of the most anticipated old school death metal albums of 2009.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Vinyl July 22, 2009

Saviours: Three 7″ Singles

Recorded as demos this past April with Scott Ecklein, the four new songs and two covers aren’t just rough around the edges; they’re positively filthy, that barely-produced sound hearkening back to the glory days of tape-trading, the bare-bones mix enhancing the fierce performances. Simply put, as solid as they were before, Saviours has never sounded this great.

Adrien Begrand reviews three brand new, limited edition 7″ singles by Bay Area metal quartet Saviours.

Articles, Headline July 20, 2009

Birushanah: Taking Japanese Culture To New Extremes

One band that has embraced traditional Japanese culture and used it to make something that is both new and exciting is the Osaka based quartet Birushanah. A band that has ties to the always-amazing Corrupted (bassist Sougyo spent some time in that band), Birushanah melds traditional Japanese percussion (done on metal instrumentation) with sludge metal that is similar to early Swans, Neurosis and (fellow Japanese) Zeni Geva

Headline, Reviews - Live July 16, 2009

Bison BC, Lazarus AD, Barn Burner @ Amigos, Saskatoon, SK, July 14, 2009

Bison BC, or simply “Bison” as they’re known round these parts, has become a live institution in Western Canada over the last year and a half, and the nice turnout on this Tuesday night reflected the band’s steadily growing grassroots fan base. Theirs is an easy sound to like, and one that translates exceptionally well to live settings, especially smaller venues