doom metal

Blogs, Featured, Gruesome Greg July 28, 2012

The Courthouse might be Toronto’s best doom metal venue–when it’s not hosting dance parties, that is…

Last summer, when I first heard that YOB was playing some dance club at Church and Adelaide, I must admit, I had my reservations about the Courthouse. But that changed almost as soon as I walked into the place–or perhaps, more accurately, once local legends Sons of OTIS took the stage and I could feel the bass hit my face. Last nite’s HOMTGOS tour only served as confirmation–this is probably the best place in town to catch a doom metal gig, though the going rate seems to be about one a year here…

Blogs, Featured, Gruesome Greg May 19, 2012

Toronto is Doomed? Not anytime soon!

Last weekend, I was in Ottawa for the All That Is Heavy II doomfest, a six-band shindig featuring Blood Ceremony, Iron Man and Revelation, to name a few. This was the second notable doom-metal festival in Canada over the past few years, after Montreal is Doomed in December 2010, which happened to be Pagan Altar’s North American debut. (That was quite the nite for me, too!) So, when are we gonna see one of these things in Toronto? Don’t hold your breath…

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio February 13, 2012

The 11th Hour – Lacrima Mortis

Album number two from The 11th Hour is darker and more bombastic than their debut. Throughout the album the two interweaving vocal styles add a lot of contrast, meaning the epic-length tracks never fall flat. Lacrima Mortis’ collection of harrowing tales is cloaked in a godforsaken veneer, and it’s a credit to Warby’s talents and songwriting ability that he manages to preserve that requiem-like atmosphere throughout.

Blogs, Featured, Gruesome Greg October 15, 2011

The guitar player from Solstice and the bass player from Pagan Altar log on to a board. Hilarity ensues!

Take this posting about the new Pagan Altar/Mirror of Deception split 7″, for instance, in which PA bassist Manny Cooke reveals that the song his band contributes is a guide track–not the full lineup, just Al & Terry Jones with a drum machine. What happens next can only be described as a flame war of epic proportions, the best bit of doom drama not involving Bobby Liebling since Andy Beresky’s epiphany.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Live September 2, 2010

Mares of Thrace/ Spitfist/ Drunk Hussy @ Rancho Relaxo, Toronto ON, August 14, 2010

Mares of Thrace played last on the bill, and brought the night to a thunderous close. I am profoundly interested in the aesthetics of constraint and the way art can be produced by limitation. Mares of Thrace plug directly into this particular obsession. Consisting only of vocals, baritone guitar and drums, this two-woman force of nature produce a wall of sound: intense and varied, deep and resonant, pulsating and urgent, and shockingly complex.