FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
The album feels dark, but overall it leaves you with a positive feeling, positive that Lucassen is a fantastic musician/writer/lyricist and he knows exactly how to put together an amazing album and get incredible results from his guests.
Some listeners will be incensed by the combinations that Escape The Fate are making here, some will call it a mockery – but many will see the resulting pop-metal as a gateway; what Escape The Fate has done on their new album is create a bridge connecting the continents of pop and metal that makes it possible for listeners to call it either because it incorporates an equal amount of both.
Lords Of Depravity Part II is an amazingly thorough, well-put together package but it might just be way too much for the beginner Sodom fan. At a running time of over six hours there is a shitload of Sodom to be had for a reasonable price.
Matt Lewis reviews the October 28th show by BAPTIZED IN BLOOD and guests at Hamilton’s Club Absinthe. Photos by Albert Mansour.
As far as the Torche sound goes, Songs For Singles is a breakthrough; there have been hints of veering off in this direction from the beginning, but Torche have really nailed it down here. Though I’d have been just as happy to wait for a full-length, at 21 minutes, this feels like more a tease than anything.
Above all, I was profoundly impressed by how satisfying it was to sing along to their music with a room full of rabidly passionate metalheads. It felt like I was participating in a kind of full-contact crowd karaoke, especially during “The Heart Collector” and “Inside Four Walls.””
Natalie Zed documents Nevermore’s recent visit to Toronto accompanied by Warbringer and Blackguard.
Even with turnover amongst the ranks of its members over the years, Therion has the foundation of Johnsson and (unofficial) Karlsson and continue to write and record some of the most creative albums in the symphonic metal genre. The epic album Sitra Ahra ranks among their very best works.
Marrow of the Spirit is not, personally, the musical paradigm shift that was Ashes Against The Grain. It is instead a welcome development of and contribution to Agalloch’s catalogue, an album that is a sure contender for the inevitable “best of” lists coming up.
Scythia, are nothing short of incredible particularly when you consider that the band had only been together for a few weeks prior to taking off on tour (member changes)! Leader of the pack David Khan is very much at home on the stage and leading his tribe through some of the best folk metal I’ve heard in a long time. Not only do they perform in costume but David takes on the role of the bard and speaks just as his character would have in between songs.
Jason Wellwood provides a glimpse at the triumphant showing of Scythia, joined by Marching Mind in Thunder Bay.
“I was immediately struck by the rawness of their sound, distorted and fuzzy and positively enormous in scale. The chemistry between all four members is undeniable when experienced live, and the crackling energy that passes between them combines to create a deadly force field you can actually feel hanging in the air.”
Hellbound’s Renee Trotier caught the Toronto performance of Bison B.C., and lived to tell the tale…