FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Once upon a time, not so long ago, before the internet turned much of the western world’s population into isolated recluses, the tape-trading network was the lifeblood of the underground metal scene. In this spirit, Darkness Shade Records has produced three fine cassette releases.
The debut demo by Toronto-based black metallers Thantifaxath is enough to make you’d wish you’d never given up your cassette player. It’s certainly an incentive to get it back.
I normally don’t like live records. Between bad recordings, obvious overdubs and embarrassing stage patter, I find most live albums to be unsatisfying to say the least. Live In Whitby from Ottawa’s Fuck The Facts destroys all of my misgivings in the first few seconds. The sound on this release is amazing! In fact, you can almost believe you’re standing directly in front of the sound guy at the venue, watching the sweat fly.