technical death metal

Aborted/ Augury/ System Divide/ Horde of Worms @ Sneaky Dee’s, Toronto ON, August 28th 2010

“Only in death metal can you seriously announce that the next song is about the secret shadow-dwellers who live underground, have the room nod along seriously and then play a blisteringly brilliant song without a hint of irony. It’s damn fun to play mind-bogglingly intricate, complex music and still assert that the subject matter is inspired by psychic vampires. It is excellent, serious music delivered with charm, humour and monsters — there is nothing not to love.”

Natalie Zed reviews the August 28th Toronto performance by ABORTED, AUGURY and SYSTEM DIVIDE at Sneaky Dee’s. Live photos by Adam Wills.

Maryland Deathfest 2010 Recap Part 1

The great thing about fests like MDF is that the metal is simply overflowing. The bad thing about fests like MDF is that the metal is simply overflowing. If it’s sitting down to catch your breath, or grabbing a drink or a bite to eat, there are plenty of reasons causing one to miss one or too many killer bands.

Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 1

Hellbound readers, please welcome aboard Natalie Zed! Natalie was our big grand prize winner back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?

So, without further adieu, here is Natalie’s first installment in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…

Meshuggah – Alive

In less talented hands, the 90 minute concert film that constitutes the centerpiece of Alive would come off as a sloppily arranged mess, but director/editor Ian McFarland’s footage is so well-shot and so tastefully edited that we can’t help but forgive him for making the whole experience a touch disjointed.

Adrien Begrand reviews the brand new live DVD/CD collection by Sweden’s technical death metal innovators Meshuggah.

Arsis – Starve for the Devil

There will be some complaints that Starve for the Devil utilizes a more traditional rock/metal songwriting style, however, the riffs are still challenging and hook laden, and because the time changes are more restrained than before, the songs have an openness that lets you get into the riff and commence air guitaring.