Category: Reviews
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Cradle of Filth – Hammer of the Witches
Hammer of the Witches has the best Cradle of Filth cover since that of Cruelty and the Beast, which featured the lovely Luisa Morando as Elizabeth Bathory (where is she now?). The new artwork is very much in the vein (if you’ll pardon the pun!) of such Hammer Films classics like Twins of Evil and…
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Valkyrie – Shadows
Well, kudos for the name for a start! Opening with ‘Mountain Stomp’, Valkyrie nail their colours to the mast. This fine tune is somewhat reminiscent of Thin Lizzy’ circa ‘Emerald’. ‘Golden Age’ could well refer to the period of time they take musical influence from – here we find them drawing on the spirit of…
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High on Fire – Lumniferous
Y’know, I kinda wish I hadn’t read that interview with Matt Pike where he says this album’s about saving The Illuminati from aliens before I heard Lumniferous. Evidently, the dude dropped out of life with bong in hand a long time ago. But High on Fire, they still bring it, maaaaaan… This record comes growling…
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Opium Lord – The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth
Can’t say I’m too familiar with Opium Lord, a UK sludge outfit, but they’re coming to Toronto with Primitive Man on July 17, which is reason enough for me to check out their debut album here. The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth opens right off the bat with the type of down-tuned riffage that instantly…
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Galley Beggar – Silence and Tears
Rise Above Records make an ideal home for Galley Beggar. They are not a metal band, but there is much here for any adventurously minded metal fan to love. To be honest, the Rise Above logo tells you all you need to know. For most people, one significant musical act in their life would be…
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Khemmis – Absolution
After Colorado legalized marijuana, it was only a matter of time before we started hearing about new buzz bands from the Denver stoner scene. I’m not saying the two things are related… but let’s face it, Vancouver has by far the most sludge bands per capita of any city in Canada. Drugs ‘n sludge are…
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King Giant – Black Ocean Waves
King Giant’s previous album, Dismal Hollow, was more of a grower than a shower for me, but by the time I saw ’em live in Milwaukee last summer, I was fully a fan. Though they hail from the D.C. area, you couldn’t call ’em a band of Pentagram worshippers. File under doom, perhaps, but if…
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The Apex – S/T
Straight from banks of the filthy-as-fuck Detroit River, Windsor, Ontario, four piece THE APEX bring a raw technical death attack on a Meshuggah/Dillinger Escape Plan tip to their brief but uncompromisingly brutal debut CD. Years of hard-earned road experience via past/present member tenures in CLOSED CASKET FUNERAL and CORRUPTED LEADERS (among numerous others) playing alongside…
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Fight Amp – Constantly Off
I figure I’m somewhat familiar with Fight Amp at this juncture. They’ve found their way to the bottom of a coupla sludge-metal touring packages that have hit Toronto—albeit not in the past couple years. The Philly-area outfit is known for its Neurosis-inspired post-sludge and complete lack of stage lighting that makes them hard to see…
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Leprous – The Congregation
Their experience as the backing band for Ihsahn (of Emperor fame) may have given Leprous an advantage. I, for one, took extra notice of them once I became aware of the Ihsahn connection. But if an association with the ‘nobility’ of Norwegian metal has gained Leprous some extra attention, it is well deserved. The Congregation is…