Tag: black metal
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Friendship – Hatred
Who says heavy music can’t have a sense of humour? Calling this Japanese outfit Friendship is a little on the nose, but the title of this none-more-black record is much more appropriate. These caustic Care Less Bears blast through 12 tracks of blackened, sludgy crust in a little over 25 minutes on this don’t-call-it-an-EP, with…
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Enslaved – E
Enslaved is back with another slab of weirdness that only they can conjure. The band has been at it for more than 25 years now; their name is etched on the black metal pantheon for eternity. But to just call a band like Enslaved ‘black metal’ is patently absurd in 2017. That’s fine – they…
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Venom Inc. + Goatwhore @ The Mod Club, Toronto, 5 September 2017
Venom are among the most influential heavy metal artists even to this day, responsible for imbuing metal with Satanic theatrics. Venom Inc. is a reunion of three members from the English band’s 1989 ‘Prime Evil‘ album, namely Demolition Man, Mantas and Abaddon. Fans spout the praises of the original group’s mainman Cronos but credit should…
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Marduk / Incantation @ The Garrison, Toronto, 2 September 2017
Black and death metal form an unholy alliance to deliver evil to Toronto. The instigators in question are Marduk and Incantation, both acts at the forefront of their genres with pedigrees few can surpass. Swarms of black-clad metal heads take over The Garrison for a dose of darkness. Household death metallers Incantation need no introduction…
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Mayhem & Dragged Into Sunlight (2017 tour diary)
Heavy metal’s grandfathers Black Sabbath set the genre’s tone of darkness with their music, visual aesthetic and energy, and it seems that the acorns haven’t fall from the tree at all. Their fellow countrymen—as varied as Cathedral, Paradise Lost and Cradle of Filth—have followed suit and branched off while remaining true to that ominous core.…
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No Funeral / Livid split
From the frozen tundras of Minnesota comes a spiritual successor to that Noothgrush/Corrupted split from 20 years back (which was recently reissued by 20 Buck Spin). Though I’ve never heard of either act before, both No Funeral and Livid both play sludge metal the bad ol’ fashioned way, stretching just three songs over 37 minutes…
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Enfold Darkness – Adversary Omnipotent
After a lengthy hiatus, the mighty Enfold Darkness return, fronted by a new vocalist, delivering their long awaited sophomore effort. Technical, brutal, symphonic and most certainly blackened, Adversary Omnipotent is sure to dazzle fans of death metal looking for something fresh and yet familiar. Despite a lengthy departure from active duty, this new roster seems to…
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Iapetus – The Long Road Home
There is something really special about Iapetus‘s latest offering, The Long Road Home, a vortex of everything good that exists in technical, progressive metal. Honestly, this record floored me the first time I gave it a full spin. This is not a difficult album to enjoy; it is in fact a pleasure to listen to,…
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Hard Charger + Satanarchist @ Coalition, Toronto on June 8, 2017
Countless bands blur the line between metal and punk so it makes sense to see a tour that showcases these two extreme genres together as equals. New Brunswick crusty rockers Hard Charger are joining forces with Portland, Oregon’s anarcho black thrashers Satanarchist for a coheadlining trip across Canada. Tonight it hits Toronto’s beloved Coalition but…
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Sigil – Kingdom of the Grave
Sigil have produced a most assured debut. Influenced by the likes of Discharge, Entombed, Black Breath, Death, Immolation and Morbid Angel, Sigil are ploughing their own furrow. A pleasing aspect to this album is the crusty sound to the riffs. I was reminded of the likes of Doom here; these are some seriously dense and effective…