Tag: metal
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The Great Sabatini – Goodbye Audio
On the surface this is a well-recorded and played album of Melvins-inspired music. However, what sets it apart is the fact that the songs are strong. If they were to be played acoustically they would still work – the sign always of a good song. Moreover, the band have their own identity, and I can…
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Kosm – Cosmonaut
Cosmonaut was released on 16th November, the day before my birthday, a time of reflection and change for the future, when I reflect on just how many albums I’ve reviewed that weren’t bad, just generic… which in a way is even worse than being bad. No one ever remembers ‘it was okay’. But Kosm’s Cosmonaut…
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Virgin Black – Requiem Pianissimo
Requiem – Pianissimo is both opening and resolution. This long-awaited release presents the first section of Virgin Black’s three-part requiem but it also brings the trilogy to a close, completing the two-hour and thirty-three-minute masterpiece more than a decade after it began. Although Pianissimo opens the requiem series, to me this album begins in what…
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Damnation Festival 2018
Damnation Festival 2018, November 3rd, Leeds, UK While the first weekend in November was hosting Guy Fawkes celebrations across the country, Leeds University had its own reason to celebrate — Damnation Festival 2018, which was taking place on November 3rd at Leeds University’s Student Union. Over the years the festival has featured a vast amount…
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Deadbird – III: The Forest Within the Tree
I guess they’re back from the dead? Roughly 10 years since their last album, Arkansas outfit Deadbird, featuring a few guys from Rwake and the current bassist of The Obsessed, has returned with their third full-length installment of southern-fried sludge, offering up eight tracks in a little under 40 minutes. Fans of Rwake, or even…
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Iomair – Iomair
One of the most important elements of music is sincerity, and Iomair have that in spades. Think of a folky Opeth and you aren’t even half-way there. What I like most about this album is its heartfelt emotionality. This is really music for the inner you, not for the face you put on for the world. Strange…
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Sunrunner – Ancient Arts of Survival
Despite their Native American inspirations, Sunrunner have a lot in common with European power metal bands, in the sense that their music is melodic, well-played and optimistic. This then is a concept album, and an interesting one, though the songs would work equally well on their own. Different, but all the better for it. http://www.sunrunnermusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/sunrunnermusic/…
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Anathema – Internal Landscapes 2008-2018
In 2008, Anathema were one of the first bands to sign to progressive label KScope. Which makes sense as their music has constantly progressed, with founders Vincent and Danny Cavanagh being the constant factors. In 2018, Anathema are very different to the band that signed to the mighty Peaceville Records almost two decades previously. Then,…
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Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest
by K.K. Downing with Mark Eglinton When a band member leaves an iconic band it’s then you’ll get the true story on the said band. Such a book is the splendidly named Heavy Duty – the autobiography of K.K Downing, formerly guitarist in Judas Priest. And it is unputdownable! K.K. comes across as a very nice…
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Staff Playlists, October 2018 (Halloween edition)
Join us once again for an update on what the Hellbound folks are digging these days. On top of the usual picks this month, we share some of our spooky Halloween favourites. Hellbound recommends Bill Adams New release: Hamell On Trial – The Night Guy at The Apocalypse, Profiles of Rushing Midnight (LP). Anybody who…