FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
In case you didn’t know, I just got back from the West Coast a couple days ago. Saw Sleep in concert at the Roseland Theater in Portland, then caught the Seattle Seahawks’ season opener at Qwest Field. These were the best two days in recent memory.
I like free things. I especially like them when they give me the chance to see a bunch of bands I dig for, well, nothing. So, after passing on going to the initial Scion Rock Festival with Kevin Stewart-Panko last year when it happened in Atlanta, I made up my mind I wouldn’t miss this year’s edition. When it was announced in early February that this year’s edition would be happening in a much closer location – Columbus, Ohio to be exact – we made plans to go.
Sean Palmerston recaps the 2010 Scion Rock Festival in Columbus OH for Hellbound.ca.
Kyle Harcott reviews Snakes For The Divine, the brand new studio album by High On Fire and their first for new label E1 Metal Records.
A lost classic no longer, this hidden gem deserves to be heard!
With a roster of talent that is hard to match, Shrinebuilder’s Shrinebuilder is an impressive debut.
Mammons War is kick-ass Doom metal offering, combining elements from several genres; Dan “Fodde” Fondelius has done a fine job creating that. A very respectable and a pretty cool album to check out.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Sleep, the quintessential stoner/doom band that kept the Sabbath dream alive throughout the 1990’s. While guitarist Matt Pike eventually decided to play faster with High on Fire, the other two thirds of the equation kept the stoner grooves going with OM. At least until recently. Drummer Chris Hakius left the band last year with little fanfare, and was replaced by little-known Emil Amos. Not much has changed, otherwise. Al Cisneros was the anchor holding Sleep together, and he continues to man the bass and vocal duties of the guitarless duo.
Now, Sleep is perhaps best known for Dopesmoker, the posthumous reissue of their Jerusalem record, with a more stoner-friendly title. Whether you
call it Jerusalem or Dopesmoker, the single-track, 52-minute platter is a noteworthy album. But Holy Mountain isn’t just an album, it’s a collection of SONGS, man!
Easily the most coveted album amongst my shipment of MeteorCity new releases. Black Pyramid’s self-titled was one of my most anticipated albums of ’09, and easily my most eagerly awaited debut since the Blood Ceremony record that came out on Rise Above last year.
When I think MeteorCity, riff rock bands like Lowrider and The Atomic Bitchwax come to mind. In that sense, Flood isn’t your typical MeteorCity band.