Tag: review
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Madrost – The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh
Throw those horns, whip your locks and hail the dark lord himself… or at least that’s what Madrost‘s latest crusher, the appropriately titled The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh will have you doing halfway through track one. Having already released two other albums in the last half decade these guys seem pretty on point…
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Ufomammut – 8
What’s in a number? The eighth album from Ufomammut contains eight tracks clocking in just shy of 48 minutes. (OK, so it’s actually closer to 47). At this point, you probably know what you’re going to get from this Italian trio—a whole buncha heavy, experimental sludge—and in that regard, The Ocho delivers. We begin with…
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Magma @ The Mod Club in Toronto, 20 August 2017
Sometimes progressive rock feels too limiting a label for an infinitely innovative collective credited with introducing unorthodox and challenging elements to music. One such act is cult legend Magma, formed in France in 1969 by the ambitious Christian Vander. Vander took Magma one step beyond other musicians at the time by creating his own language for…
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Pallbearer – Heartless
The clean, retro-looking cover of this record, Pallbearer’s third full length, perhaps belies a softer, more psychedelic sound within. Some had complained that they pulled an Opeth on this album, moving more toward prog and away from metal. To wit, when they recently performed in Toronto, their bassist asked the crowd if there was anyone…
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Anathema @ The Opera House, Toronto, 21 August 2017
The last time England’s atmospheric progressive rockers Anathema came to Toronto in 2013, visa issues cruelly skimmed the line up to just frontman Vincent Cavanagh, guitarist Danny Cavanagh and vocalist Lee Douglas. Now live in Toronto tonight, the whole line up is present and it the audience’s anticipation marks this show as long overdue. Starting…
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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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Virulent Depravity – Fruit of the Poisoned Tree
Climbing, spiral riffs that seem to ascend into the heavens are what greets you, the listener, upon first hitting play on Virulent Depravity‘s latest output, the excellent and epic Fruit of the Poisoned Tree. Possibly the only band that is capable of being compared and contrasted against the sadly now-defunct Spawn of Possession, Virulent Depravity…
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The Jelly Jam + Rustik @ The Rockpile, Toronto – 18 August 2017
A progressive rock/metal supergroup strikes Toronto! The members of The Jelly Jam include bassist John Myung from Dream Theater, guitarist and vocalist Ty Tabor from King’s X and drummer Rod Morgenstein, an alumni of Dixie Dreggs and Winger. Despite their line-up’s impressive roster of musical contributions, this band has a criminally limited fan base. Their…
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North Mississippi Allstars – Prayer For Peace
The terms and conditions for being regarded as an “artistic dynasty” are vague and often vary from band-to-band but, without question or argument, the Dickinson family fits the bill. First, there was Jim Dickinson. For forty-six years, Jim Dickinson was present in one capacity or another (either as an “artist” or as a “producer”) to…
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Namazu – Works Cited
Although they built this city on blues ‘n BBQ, I can’t really think of any good music that’s come out of Memphis in the past 30 years or so. So when I heard about this heavy duo Namazu, I was certainly intrigued. Not to be confused with the Aussie drone duo (or the equally Aussie…