FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Burnt By The Sun has never been one to leave out groove and melody laced with absolutely fury and heaviness in an intelligent way and this continues on Heart of Darkness. As always the groove is driven by Dave Witte on drums, a man of many bands but never short on talent and ability to hold any style of music together. The drums sound huge and really pound out those heavy head banging riffs like Lexington Steele pounding a chick into submission.
Germany is famous for its beer drinking, festival loving rabid heavy metal fans. This is where Bay Area thrash giants Death Angel filmed their very first live DVD showcasing two energetic sets in which the band perform their most mosh-worthy classics.
Upon first listen, you might think this fifteen track offering is one of the greatest live albums of all time; it’s definitely one of the best to see release this year. This CD is what Death Angel is all about: heavy, thrashy, tight live playing that is highlighted by great guitar work.
Doom purists may be put off by some of the softer more melodic fare on here but I find Ahab’s diversity refreshing and adventurous in what can sometimes be a rather monochromatic genre. Like waves that swell and then recede, Ahab seems to have adopted a similar approach to their song craft and for the most part it works admirably.
Across The Dark is the latest album from Finland’s Insomnium, and it is another entertaining showcase of the accessible and melodic death metal that the band does best.
The vocals are perfect. They always match the music dead on. Unlike most female goth metal, Charlotte Wessels does not sound over dramatic. Her performance grabs the listener and does not let go until the album’s completion. However, this album does not strictly rely on vocals like most female-fronted goth metal acts; it also gives the listener a good dose of instrumental sections as well.
Reunion albums are bloody scary things. You never know exactly what you are going to get, will it be a masterpiece or something that you wished never happened? More often than not, it’s the latter that rings true but in this case I am proud to report that the return of Artillery with a new studio platter is a delightful surprise that will not only fulfill the wishes of veteran fans, but should also pick the band up an new army of devoted thrashers more than ready to help further the cause.
Montreal’s Augury is describable as Canadian Progressive Death Metal. This band manages to keep the listener’s interest throughout the whole album delivering fresh melodic tunes on their second full length cd Fragmentary Evidence.
Night Electric Night is the third album from Swedish industrial band Deathstars. While there isn’t anything that really stands out to get the listener’s attention, there also isn’t anything particularly horrific about this album.
Truth be told, it has been a pretty shitty summer weather-wise here in Southern Ontario so far. Instead of our usual hot, humid summers it has been the kind where you can count the truly sticky days on one hand. This Saturday was another drab, dreary one here in the Hammer, with rain coming and going all day making for a generally blah day. Thankfully, the evening’s entertainment inside at the Casbah did more than make up for the crappy weather outside. In comparison, the four bands that played the venerable King Street West venue left those in attendance positively steamy.