Tag: Jonathan Smith

  • Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen

    Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen

    The most obvious thing about Kuolemanlaakso’s Tulijoutsen is that it’s another collection of doomy, slow-moving metal from Finland, one that will certainly reinforce the stereotype that gloom is something that Finnish musicians do very well. This is not the first release from Kuolemanlaakso. Their first album, 2012’s Uljas Uusi Maailma, went completely under my radar. This…

  • Return of the staff playlists: April 2014

    Return of the staff playlists: April 2014

    It’s been a while since Hellbound shared what our contributors have been listening to and enjoying beyond the new releases or shows covered on the site. We figured it was about time to change that, so here, back by popular demand, is Hellbound’s staff playlist feature, the April 2014 edition. The Lists Danielle Griscti LISTENING:…

  • Alcest – Still the same stone, but what you see is different

    Alcest – Still the same stone, but what you see is different

    January saw the release of Alcest’s latest album, Shelter. Even though I myself am not a big fan of this particular offering from the band, it’s clear to me that it is a proper culmination of gradual changes in Alcest’s sound and direction. As a long-time Alcest fan, I’ve read a number of interviews with…

  • Alcest – Shelter

    The Prophecy Productions write-up for Alcest’s fourth full-length album, Shelter, states that the record is “about the concept of shelter as a safe place that allows everybody to escape reality for an instant, to reunite with what we really are, deep down.” For myself, Shelter is like a vacation. At first it’s exciting and enthralling…

  • Anathema / Alcest / Mamiffer @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, September 18th, 2013

    Anathema / Alcest / Mamiffer @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, September 18th, 2013

    I cannot speak for the whole audience attending Wednesday’s show, but from where I was standing that night there was a palpable sense of excitement in the minutes leading up to Anathema’s arrival on stage. For many, it was finally the long-awaited opportunity to see them deliver a full-band performance in Toronto. They did not…

  • STAFF PLAYLISTS: August 2013

    Back again by popular demand! You keep asking when it’s coming back, so here it is. Here is what the staff of Hellbound.ca has been enjoying during the months of July and August 2013.

  • Sombres Forêts – La Mort du Soleil

    Hellbound Metal: “The result is an album which is admirable in its aesthetic approach, but nonetheless disappointingly mundane in its musical execution.”

  • The Night Watch – s/t

    Hellbound Metal: “The Night Watch have released a challenging debut, one which initially did not work for me. Though not all the tracks stand out, it’s with repeated listens that it becomes apparent to me that the album is an exciting piece of avant-garde metal/post-rock/insert label here.”

  • Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory and Injury

    If Teethed Glory and Injury has a central flaw, it is that the vignette-like nature of its individual songs and transitions means that it also lacks the cohesiveness of their previous full-lengths. It is thus much less of a smooth listen from start to finish.

  • Sannhet – Known Flood

    The end result: despite some notable moments, the album is not as powerful or as interesting as early previews suggested it might be.