Category: Reviews

  • Zed – The Invitation

    A self-proclaimed “stoner metal” band from San Jose California, the quartet Zed has some of the elements you would expect: fuzz pedals, slow-rolling breakdowns, heavy bottom-end. They also have a crisp, commercial sheen that you could file under modern rock.

  • Votum – Metafiction

    The amazing thing about this release is the drastic change from their debut; with some work put in by the listener they will be rewarded with such a intelligent laid back prog masterpiece. This new direction may put off some of the heavier progmetal fans out there but if you are willing to put in…

  • Exodus/ Holy Grail/ Bonded By Blood/ Fatality/ Black Elysium @ The Mod Club, Toronto ON, August 24, 2010

    “Just as my energy level was reaching a crisis point, the audience’s had risen to a fever pitch, becoming positively explosive by the time Exodus took the stage. I made it about halfway through their 90-odd-minute set before throwing in the towel, but what I saw was absolutely spectacular. They are without a doubt a…

  • Black River – Black N’ Roll

    What is it about black metal, and death metal, guys that makes them want to drop the corpse paint and put on a biker jacket? Black River aren’t the first side project formed by some guys who needed a break from their ‘day job’ band to just rock (see Chrome Division for example) but they…

  • Unsane/ Today Is The Day/ Keelhaul/ Vilipend @ Sneaky Dees, Toronto ON, August 22, 2010

    “What stood out for me was Steve Austin. Not only did the conservative persona I observed earlier in the evening quickly disappear and was replaced by an incredibly intense musician who howled -either in pain or in passion, I don’t know – but it was clear where one could be in awe and be incredibly…

  • Agnes Vein – Duality

    Agnes Vein have well steeped themselves in the lore of Blood Fire Death-era Bathory and latter-day Celtic Frost, but at times, the music also hints at the drone and mood of Jesu. There’s also the strong aftertaste of Primordial in the guitar tone. It’s an eclectic mix, but the influences serve them well and Agnes…

  • Ion Dissonance/ The Last Felony/ Starring Janet Leigh @ Club Absinthe, Hamilton ON, August 23, 2010

    Holy Christ, the new songs Ion Dissonance played, which were about half their set, blew me away. Crazy, maniacal and with a heavy as an elephant low end, these guys use 8 string guitars and you can feel it in the stomach. Their performance was tight, to the point and they left it all on…

  • Blind Guardian – At The Edge of Time

    Make no mistake, this is POWER metal. The songs on At The Edge of Time are arranged with a classical ear, the attention to detail on this album cannot be denied.

  • Deathmarch/ Esoteric Doctrine/ Hallows Die/ Twilight Child @ The Corktown Pub, Hamilton, ON, Aug. 18, 2010

    “Next on the docket was Hamilton’s own Deathmarch. For reasons I’m not fully aware of they were without a drummer tonight, getting by with a drum track and Northern Storm Records label head Rob Cranny. By this I mean that Rob sat in the middle of the stage, shirtless with drum sticks in hand, phantom…

  • Roareth – Acts I-VI

    Although they aren’t too creative with the written word—all songs are entitled Acts I through VI, and the band name itself is cringe-worthy—Seattle’s Roareth does have something to offer musically with this, their debut album. Take Zoroaster circa Dog Magic, sprinkle in a few non-distorted slow passages a la Neurosis, and a handful of Cisneros…