Tag: metal
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Iron Mountain – Unum
Occasionally, when reviewing records, I receive one that really exceeds my expectations. Such an album is Iron Mountain’s Unum. To give a soundbite description, it is post-metal meets Irish folk, psychedelic and prog, but that only begins the first steps on the journey to describe a band that have a huge, expansive, truly original and…
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Hands of Orlac / The Wandering Midget split
Cruz del Sur has established a solid reputation in power/epic doom circles, with several records from the likes of Argus, Atlantean Kodex, Slough Feg and While Heaven Wept under their belts. So when they put out a split between a couple bands I’ve never heard of, from Italy and Finland, respectively, I’ll at least give…
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Anciients, Dead Quiet and Muffler Crunch @ Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, 18 August 2017
If you aren’t familiar with Anciients, you should be. The British Columbia-based band recently took a swing through southern Ontario as part of their Voice of the Void Canadian tour with Dead Quiet. Hellbound welcomed them to Hamilton for their performance at This Ain’t Hollywood – a night of top-notch live metal also featuring local openers…
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Argus – From Fields of Fire
It’s been a while since we last heard from Argus. Their last album, Beyond the Martyrs, was released in 2013, and when combined with a lack of appearances on any notable U.S. underground doomfests lately, I wasn’t sure if this band was still a going concern. Fortunately, Pittsburgh’s premiere purveyors of power/doom metal have returned…
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Crafteon – Cosmic Reawakening
One of the best things about writing about music is the gems amongst the dross you come across. Such a shining multi-faceted jewel is Crafteon’s ‘Cosmic Reawakening’. Imagine a Dimmu Borgir inspired by the tales of a certain H.P Lovecraft, and you’re half-way there! The clue of course is in the band’s most original name. Musically, Crafteon…
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Contrarian – To Perceive is to Suffer
Contrarian is a four man wrecking crew, a technical quartet who weave epic songs in the vein of late-era Death albums (with the help of drumming phenomenon George Kollias, known for his role in the infamous Nile) and Cynic. The epic masterpiece The Sound of Perseverance comes to mind when I sit down and start to…
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Usnea – Portals Into Futility
Portland post-doomsters Usnea are getting all literary on us with their second album, with a suggested reading list that includes Dune, The Handmaid’s Tale and Demon Haunted World. You’d certainly be able to polish off a few chapters in the time it takes to listen to Portals Into Futility, a five-track, 55-minute effort. The album…
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M.U.T.A.N.K. – W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T.
To misquote that great film ‘Conan The Barbarian’, ‘what is good in metal?’ And the short answer is MUTANK! Why? Because they get it. Metal is supposed to be fun, uplifting and life-affirming. It’s supposed to bring us together, which is a good thing in a world tearing itself apart. In short, Mutank get it;…
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Downcast Twilight – Under the Wings of the Aquila
Hailing from Russia, but with lyrics in English, Downcast Twilight are most accomplished musicians and could compete on any international stage. Their song-writing is strong, the tracks all cover various periods in history, and clearly a lot of work has gone into their production. It is death metal with folk influences, but really it has…
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No Funeral / Livid split
From the frozen tundras of Minnesota comes a spiritual successor to that Noothgrush/Corrupted split from 20 years back (which was recently reissued by 20 Buck Spin). Though I’ve never heard of either act before, both No Funeral and Livid both play sludge metal the bad ol’ fashioned way, stretching just three songs over 37 minutes…