“The other reason is that people want to tag bands with some political name; especially if you don’t denounce the group they say you are a part of. I won’t denounce any political movements. One, I’m not a part of them and it’s not my place. And two, I believe in free speech and free expression. If someone wants to go out and be a part of a movement even if I don’t agree with it it’s not my place to step in. I’m not an activist, I’m not as politician. I have enough problems of my own and I don’t need to start a war with any specific movement.”

Justin M. Norton in conversation with Krieg founder and main man (and sometime Twilight collaborator) Imperial.

“As Darkest Hour vocalist John Henry pointed out: “Some of you have been supporting us all along, and some of you here tonight weren’t even born when we started out! That’s crazy!” While they definitely seemed more interested in hosting a celebration (with as many circle pits as possible) than performing a perfectly programmed and orchestrated set, their performance was definitely entertaining and their musicianship tight.”

Natalie Zed reviews the November 17th appearance by Darkest Hour, Veil of Maya, Periphery and Revocation at Toronto’s Mod Club.

“Soon enough, all ceremonial flames were lit and out strode the dread beast Watain to perform their black mass. What a show. From the opening strains of “Malfeitor”, Watain held the Rickshaw rapt with satanic attention. Their reputation preceding them, the band completely revel in malevolence and black theatrics, from coating themselves in pig’s blood to utilizing flame as the major light source onstage.”

Kyle Harcott reviews the November 14th Vancouver debut by WATAIN. Also on the bill were Goatwhore, Black Anvil and local support from Galgamex.

Hellbound readers, we’re sure that by now you are all familiar with our Natalie Zed, right? Natalie was our big grand prize winner way 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?

Well, with her last installment (reviews #41 – 48 for those keeping stats at home) Ms Zed actually finished up her prize and has now started to review newer CDs. So, without further adieu here is part 6 in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…

“Written by veteran British music writer Phil Sutcliffe, High Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll follows the model set by the Jim DeRogatis book on the Velvet Underground: a good sized, hard-bound book crammed with extensive essays and a plethora of band photos and memorabilia. However, seeing how a) we’ve already seen numerous AC/DC biographies come along over the years, and b) the band put out an illustrated coffee table book as part of last year’s Backtracks extravaganza, just how essential is Sutcliffe’s volume?”

Adrien Begrand reviews AC/DC: High-Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History, the new book by Phil Sutcliffe

“We have no contemporaries that are alive, let alone making music for the right reasons. We’re the last ones of a certain era, really, from the second wave of punk. And our career’s been very different insofar as I think the most meaningful and exciting and perhaps vital part of our career has been from the middle to this point. The velocity of each album increases, and now with the original lineup back… wow, it’s great. But we’ve never stopped putting out records. And that’s it. Other bands reform, we haven’t, we just keep going.”

Kyle Harcott speaks to Killing Joke mainman Jaz Coleman on the eve of the release of their newest album Absolute Dissent.

“I really had some dark days, desperate days. It’s kind of baffling to me now…not really baffling because I understand where I was…I’ve been clean six years now and I look back and even before, back injuries, bone breakage, pain killers and all that shit came into my life, there was always some sort of hovering doubt in my life. And it’s really unwarranted.”

Hellbound’s Jason Wellwood chats with legendary frontman Phil Anselmo about his upcoming solo project, Arson Anthem, and Housecore Records.

“Once you have lived this for a while you are free to have different experiences. Each tour brings a new experience. But I’m a somewhat nostalgic guy. This is my seventh U.S. tour or something like that and there are a lot of memories. We played Portland last night and there was a full moon. And there was a full moon the first time I ever played Portland. I remember looking at the moon in 1986 and making some notes about it. Then I find myself on the first Triptykon tour and there’s a full moon. Certain memories stick forever.”

Hellbound’s Justin M. Norton sits down with Triptykon mastermind Tom Gabriel Fischer to discuss his life on the road, the nature of evil, and J.D. Salinger.