Adam Wills

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live December 14, 2011

We Are All Puppets: Devin Townsend/Today I Caught The Plague @ The Opera House, Toronto, ON, December 10, 2011

“If we in the audience are puppets whose strings are manipulated by artists, then Townsend is both puppeteer and lead puppet, a living caricature of the genre who takes such obvious joy in poking fun at both the scene and his own place within it. His performances are both sincere and satirical, and that is what makes them unique.”

Jonathan Smith reviews the December 10th performance of Devin Townsend in Toronto. Live photos by Adam Wills.

Adam Wills, Articles, Blogs, Features, Headline November 10, 2011

It’s Kvlt to Eat Your Vegetables: Vegan Black Metal Chef’s Pad Thai

“I like my metal and I like my vegan food, so I couldn’t help but be delighted when earlier this year Vegan Black Metal Chef videos started circulating via Twitter and other social media: black metal aesthetics and meat, dairy, and egg-free cooking in a delightfully over-the-top combination.”

Laura Wiebe, Mark Coatsworth and Adam Wills made the Vegan Black Metal Chef’s Pad Thai. Photos by Adam Wills

Articles, Features, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live November 3, 2011

KNOWING YOUR HERITAGE WHILE LOOKING AHEAD: Opeth/Katatonia @ Guelph Concert Theatre, October 30th, 2011

“Opeth have reached a strange point in their career. Despite their ability to pack the house, it was clear that the evening’s choice of songs would have been better suited to a more intimate environment. I was actually surprised that the band didn’t decide to play Heritage in its entirety. It seemed like it would have been an easy-enough thing to do, and it was not as though they contrasted their newer songs with the heaviest of the old.”

Jonathan Smith reviews the October 30th performances by Opeth and Katatonia in Guelph, Ontario. Live photos by Adam Wills.

Features, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live October 7, 2011

Enslaved / Alcest / Junius @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, September 30, 2011

“There’s no doubt in my mind that when I look back on 2011, this show will stand out as one of my top concerts of the year. It was incredibly well curated and all the artists on the bill enhanced and challenged one another. I was initially disappointed that Ghost couldn’t make this show due to visa issues, and wondered how the substitution would affect the line-up. As it turns out, it was a non-issue. The flow of the performance, the tension and build, was lovely and perfectly balanced — definitely one of the best tours to come through Toronto in a while.”

Natalie Zed reviews the Sept 30th performance by Enslaved, Alcest and Junius. Concert photography by Adam Wills

Articles, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live September 30, 2011

Katatonia @ The Montage Music Hall, Rochester NY, September 24, 2011

Katatonia, the Swedish kings of melodic gloom, are enjoying a couple of anniversaries in 2011. To celebrate, the band is playing a little more than a handful of headlining shows on the nights when current tour mates (and fellow Swedes) Opeth have decided to take some time off. Hellbounders Adam Wills and Laura Wiebe caught the fourth of seven such gigs scheduled in North America, crossing the border into New York State to see how our southerly neighbours would welcome one of our favourite bands.

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live August 17, 2011

Mares of Thrace / Vilipend / Enabler / Godstopper @ The Shop, Toronto ON, August 12, 2011

“The attention Mares of Thrace have received has not only been deserved, but they’ve carried it with an incredible amount of grace. The doom-lady duo have taken their exposure and used it as motivation to become even better performers. Their sound, even at its most droning, is now more elegant, the explosions of energy more accurate and precise. They have retained an organic roar to the music, especially the immense “General Sherman,” which evokes blood pounding through a body.”

Live concert review by Natalie Zed, Photos by Adam Wills

Adam Wills, Blogs, Headline July 23, 2011

HeavyMetalAdam Invades Heavy TO: The Homecoming

This weekend marks the first instalment of Heavy TO, Toronto’s spinoff of the previously visited Heavy MTL. Having attending the previous event in Montreal, I decided to stay a bit closer to home and catch the inaugural event here in Ontario. As I have done at the previous festivals, I’ll be live blogging throughout the weekend. Keep up, as this will be updated all weekend!