FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
This is one of those bands where the record label really had to work on their press release. There was a bit of anticipation when The Reel is described as ‘unrelenting’ and ‘unique’ when it is actually a pretty bland collection of death / metal core tunes in which there is nothing that really stands out.
For the first time in years, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 sees Rob Zombie playing and interacting with other musicians on tracks that actually sound like new songs rather than a set of reconstituted remixes. After the tone gets set by “Jesus Frankenstein” – which sounds a bit like an overture for the proceedings and echoes “Sawdust In The Blood” from Educated Horses – Zombie leads the charge through a set of the ten hardest-driving, least computer-controlled rockers to come from the singer since the word “White” preceded his name.
Welcome to the second installment of the snarky, irreverent world of Rimshots, reconstituted for the online world that is Hellbound.ca. Enjoy them, because I know I didn’t. After suffering through this crop of crap, all I have to ask is: Sean, dude, what did I ever do to you?!
Adam Wiills photo gallery of Joe Perry Project live at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Thursday, February 4th, 2010.
Absolutely one of the best death metal albums this year, Majesty and Decay has set the standard to beat.
Like the rodents they are named after, The White Mice are an elusive target. Here are the known facts; the band is from Providence, R.I. They released the wonderfully twisted Ganjahovadose via 20 Buck Spin last year. They’ve recorded a slew of splits and EPs with titles like Mouse of Mendes and Do They Know It’s Christmice? Their symbol is a rodent’s face scrawled on a pentagram. The music? Bass, distortion pedal and drums with liberal electronic effects and samples where applicable. They’ve been categorized as industrial, noise, art rock and noisegrind. Perhaps a better description would be unclassifiable.
Time to Burn is stuck shamelessly in 1984: it was a time when melodic heavy metal and hard rock boasted über-slick production and massive, massive hooks, but most importantly, the guitars still retained a metallic bite, unlike the gaudy, thinner sounds of the post-1986 glam metal era. More Spencer Proffer, less Bruce Fairbairn. Simply put, if you grew up with bands like Ratt, Dokken, Kick Axe, and Y&T, you will dig this sucker, without a doubt.
While instability is familiar territory for Trouble, the changes of the last few years are of an order of magnitude beyond anything it has experienced previously. The reissue of Unplugged, featuring outgoing vocalist Eric Wagner, and Live in Los Angeles, featuring the debut of replacement Kory Clarke (Warrior Soul), jointly symbolize the end of one era and the start of a new era.
Tate Bengston reviews these two new releases by Chicago doom metal legends Trouble.
This 12-track affair is surprisingly progressive, unwittingly infusing a great deal of punk rock ‘n’ roll into their beastly Sick Of It All-influenced (as in, Three Steps Back feels like it could be a natural successor to Scratch The Surface) delivery.
Live review by Ola Mazzuca; Photos by Adam Wills There is a certain magic quality about metal shows; magic in which no matter what…