FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Formed five years ago by founding Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin and three former members of goth veterans the Provenance, Laethora wastes absolutely no time in giving Swedish death metal fans exactly what they crave: bruising, punishing riffs and grooves reminiscent of great bands like Entombed and Unleashed.
All in all, this split LP is a challenging listen, especially if you are not the biggest fan of drone like me. Ultimately, I found it rewarding, but only as background music.
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.
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.
Purulent Reality is best compared to an unstoppable force that can take a great deal of abuse, simply shedding off its damaged layers while continuing the charge. The album makes no apologies about the fact that it demands to be played from start to finish and allowed to burn itself out.
Virion is without a doubt one of the most original, incredible, and downright vitriolic records I have heard in a very long time.
Overall, yes, this offering is brimming with value but the jury is out on whether or not that’s impulse or extended. Still, with its improved quality, bountiful bonuses and footing in solid new school ‘core, there have been far worse ways to part with hard-earned dollars than Suicide Season’s Deluxe version.
Despite having only one original member, the band’s brand new album Celebration delivers to all their fans a fourteen track collection with an absolutely crushing set list. This celebration of forty years of rock is an album that has it all!
Worm Ouroboros dive in without hesitation, never shy about setting themselves adrift on the musical currents they generate. On the surface, they wallow in beauty and atmosphere. But after repeated listens you can get beneath the surface, into the substrata of the songs themselves, which is where this album’s rewards really dwell.
Red Sparowes are a fascinating live band, but sometimes their performance almost gets overshadowed by what you’re watching on the screen.