Tag: metal
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Martin Eric Ain, 1967 – 2017
“The sands of time will never run For an immortal dead man” Celtic Frost – “Visions Of Mortality” Hellbound mourns the sudden passing of Martin Eric Ain, legendary bass player for the genre-birthing Swiss bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Born Martin Stricker, Ain, would form his first band Shizo out of the same small Swiss…
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Dead Quiet – Grand Rites
Though they might be a new band, Dead Quiet are no strangers to the vaunted Vancouver heavy rock scene. Featuring former members of Barn Burner and 3 Inches of Blood, these dudes have already toured with Anciients and Black Wizard, before issuing their debut album on… a Toronto EDM label??? However, there ain’t no techno…
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Pale Horseman – The Fourth Seal
While Chicago might be more known for progressive post-sludge (think Yakuza, Minsk, The Atlas Moth, et al), it’s nice to hear a band that still plays ‘er low ‘n slow, the way Kirk Windstein intended. This foursome, Pale Horseman, is serving us up a full hour of deep-fried southern sludge on their fourth full-length in…
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Unleash The Archers – Apex
Unleash The Archers play excellent traditional metal, which I very much mean as a compliment. There are occasional diversions into harsher vocal realms, but this is unnecessary when you’ve got a vocalist as good as Brittney Slayes. Like Kobra Paige, she gives her band a strong identity and has a most metal name as an…
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Motherslug – The Electric Dunes of Titan
Admittedly, I don’t know much about the Aussie stoner scene. I mean, there’s never been a Desertfest Australia… although that would probably make more sense than Desertfest Berlin, when you think about it. So I can’t say I knew much about Motherslug before I pushed play. With that said, this album cover screams Nebula, and…
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Burning Witches – Burning Witches
A band needs a good name, and Burning Witches is an excellent one. This group of five lady metallers truly are on fire! Musically, this is old school metal, à la Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and especially the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Which is to say, your actual songs! There are enough contemporary influences…
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Year of the Cobra – Burn Your Dead
This husband/wife, bass/drums, stoner/doom duo is sorta like Seattle’s answer to Jucifer… only without quite as many amplifiers, I presume. After their debut album dropped last year, they’ve followed it up with this five-song, 25-minute, 12-inch EP on Magnetic Eye Records. “Cold” wastes little time in getting down to business, with a heavy, fuzzy bass…
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Friendship – Hatred
Who says heavy music can’t have a sense of humour? Calling this Japanese outfit Friendship is a little on the nose, but the title of this none-more-black record is much more appropriate. These caustic Care Less Bears blast through 12 tracks of blackened, sludgy crust in a little over 25 minutes on this don’t-call-it-an-EP, with…
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Kobra and the Lotus – Prevail I
Three years on from the last Kobra and the Lotus album ‘High Priestess’, the band unleash their latest opus ‘Prevail I’, the title of which is a searing statement of intent. Kobra and the Lotus are here for the long haul, here to see trends come and go. They are all about a love for…
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Wo Fat – Live Juju (at Freak Valley and Beyond)
From Made in Japan to Double Live Gonzo, not to mention those supposed Knights in Satan’s Service, the double live album has historically been a heavy-rock staple, albeit one that’s seemingly gone extinct. But with vinyl’s resurgence combined with doom’s patience-testing album lengths, ’twas only a matter of time before we saw its return. And…