FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Since Hellbound.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated metal publication, we do things a little bit different than most. While 2013 was coming to a close we asked all of our contributors to pick their Top Canadian metal albums of the year. We then tabulated up their responses and have created our fifth annual Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums writers poll.
Please check out what our writers feel to be the best Canadian metal albums released in 2013.
Well, here we are with week two’s Iron Maple column. With any luck there won’t need to be a name change this week or anyone crying ‘conflict of interest’ with my reviews! It’s been an interesting week for me here in Iron Maple land, racking up plenty of interviews as well as a whole lot of listening. There hasn’t been a lot of new stuff coming in to Iron Maple headquarters the last two weeks, but that’s perfectly fine as I’m so back logged right now, it’s a little mind blowing.
On Thursday, April 5th, Inertia Entertainment and the Annex Wreckroom hosted a memorial show dedicated to David Gold. The sudden death of Gold, a major player in the Canadian metal scene and main man behind the band Woods of Ypres, was a sobering moment in metal scenes across the country and beyond. The evening’s theme, “love the living while they’re still alive,” a lyrical reference to one of Gold’s last songs, became a mantra repeated several times by Gold’s mother, Esther. It suited the night’s ambiguous mood well. The event was a celebration of Gold’s life and music, a chance to be with old and new friends still here, but the evening could not help but feel bittersweet given the lingering grief of those who were still mourning and missing him.
Show recap by Jonathan Millard-Smith; Live photos by Adam Wills.
“Woods of Ypres took to the stage about eleven, instantly at home on the Rickshaw’s roomy stage. From the opening rooooaaaaarrr of ‘The Sea of Immeasurable Loss’, it was evident that this was an even stronger band than the already-way-impressive unit I saw last year.”
Kyle Harcott reviews the 25th anniversary party for Vancouver’s Powerchord radio show on CITR, which featured Woods of Ypres, Titan’s Eve and more at the Rickshaw Theatre. Concert photography by Ted Reckoning.
“I am not sure I have ever been to a show, barring Iron Maiden, where more members of the audience were wearing the headlining band’s shirts. There were Kalmah logos as far as the eye could see, and as soon as the lights went down, the crowd went bonkers.”
Natalie Zed reviews the Toronto stop by Kalmah, supported by Warcall, Woods of Ypres and Bolero.
In early March Jason Wellwood had the chance to interview WOODS OF YPRES main man David Gold about the recent Earache re-release of their last album WOY 4: The Green Album. Here is that audio interview, which was originally broadcast on the radio station CILU FM in Thunder Bay, ON in its entirety.