Reviews

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Live April 19, 2010

Amon Amarth/Eluveitie/Holy Grail @ Odeon, Saskatoon, SK, April 16, 2010

As opposed to the combination of muscle and nuance that Eluveitie excels at live, Amon Amarth is always strictly about brute force. No frills at all, just five guys taking the stage and hammering out an hour and a half’s worth of rousing tunes. Led by the gregarious, downright jolly Johan Hegg, the band hunkered down and regaled the hot, sweaty crowd with a considerably longer set than their first North American tour, which was certainly a nice touch.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio April 19, 2010

Classic Albums Revisited: Type O Negative’s October Rust

We may have lost Petrus T. Ratajczyk due to heart failure, but his legacy with or without the band will live on for eternity. The heart is strongly, if not always associated with love, admiration and passion which leaves me wondering: did Peter Steele die to health related heart failure, or did he lucidly love to death?

Ola Mazzuca revisits the 1996 Type O Negative album “October Rust” in tribute of the late Peter Steele, who passed away on April 14th due to heart failure.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio April 19, 2010

Cathedral – The Guessing Game

Modestly experimental and incredibly grandiose by their standards, this double album (their first ever) clocks in at an ungodly 80-plus minutes, way more than it should but, hey, it’s Cathedral. You know the fuzz-pedals were particularly gritty one day and writing got out of hand.

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live April 16, 2010

Ludicra / Krallice / Empyrean Plague @ Rancho Relaxo, Toronto ON, April 14, 2010

I don’t want to in any way cheapen Ludicra’s performance here by saying that they performed “admirably under the circumstances.” They flat-out fucking rocked. They are tough, tenacious, and have a mind-blowing stage presence. Their vocalist, Laurie Sue Shanaman, filled the meagre space with her otherworldly voice.

Natalie Zed reviews the April 14th Toronto performance by Ludicra, Krallice and Empyrean Plague, which took place at Rancho Relaxo

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio April 14, 2010

Umbah – Trilobeth

Trilobeth doesn’t offer much of in terms of a focused style, but its seeming adaptability and multiplicity are its strengths. It’s a release that is a musical tribute to our technological and frenzied reality.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio April 14, 2010

Baptized In Blood – Gutterbound

Playing a thrash, metalcore infused style, the music is fun, dirty, rocking and has your head nodding from the get go. The album is chock full of big sounding melodic passages that work very well and suck you right back into the moment.