Jeff Hanneman – Reign In Peace
Hellbound Metal: written tributes by Hellbound writers to the recently deceased Jeff Hanneman of Slayer
metal
Hypocrisy – End of Disclosure
Hypocrisy aren’t zombies, but their decade-plus career has spawned fantastic music for the Swedish melodic scene.
Old Corpse Road – ‘Tis Witching Hour…As Spectres We Haunt This Kingdom’
Hellbound Metal: The best new British band since The Meads of Asphodel, I can give no higher praise!
Devil to Pay – Fate is Your Muse
Hellbound Metal: In any case, they might have flown under the radar for some time, but this album proves that if you sleep on this Indy outfit, well, payback is a bitch. 😉
Clutch / Orange Goblin / Lionize / Scorpion Child @ Sound Academy, Toronto ON, April 18, 2013
Hellbound Metal: “As Clutch tore into a blistering rendition of “Crucial Velocity” off of this year’s excellent album Earth Rocker, the crowd began its metamorphosis into one singular entity; a living, breathing cyclone of energy. For the next 90 minutes Neil commanded the stage like a preacher gone mad, pointing his fingers wildly in the air while delivering lines about who stole his rock and roll in a sermon-like fashion.”
Live review by Renee Trotier, concert photos by Albert Mansour.
View From the Vault: Warpig Wails Again
Originally published in VIEW Magazine in November 2006, this interview was with Warpig founding vocalist/guitarist Rick Donmoyer about the 2006 re-release of their self-titled album, originally released on Fonthill Records Canada on 1971
Lost Gem Alert: Northern Oak – Monuments
The best music always comes from the heart, always takes you on a different journey each time you listen to is. Northern Oak have achieved this to lasting effect with Monuments and I couldn’t praise them more for it.
Wintersun – Time I
Without the soy sauce Wintersun need, Time I is not seamless. But like vegetables in a good stir fry, their talent is fresh and inviting. This band has been harvested to think outside the box, even if it means adding a little Hoisin.
Voivod – Target Earth
Target Earth is one of those albums that many reviewers will spend more time talking about what is wrong with it than what is right. Since it is the first album to feature Mongrain and it is essentially the start of a new era, you can expect it to be compared over and over to the band’s legacy. This is unnecessary in my opinion, for as Snake sings in “Warchaic”, the band is out “to find a brand new world”, and it is something they manage to do just fine.
Sylosis – An Interview With Josh Middleton
Sylosis have just unleashed their latest masterpiece Monolith through Nuclear Blast on October 5th. On this, their third album, the band has taken their blend of progressive thrash and moved things forward. While still a complete ‘shred fest’, Monolith has more feel to it, more ambience if you will. Taking the band to record where giants have tread before (Monnow Valley Studio, which has housed Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Rush to name a few) seems to have given Sylosis the ability to convey mood a little more, and dial back on the technicality of their songs. Monolith is a fantastic achievement for this young band, and I had the pleasure of speaking with founding member/guitarist/vocalist Josh Middleton a few days after the North American release of the album.