On July 2nd a seven-band bill made up primarily of up-and-coming thrash metal bands descended on Toronto’s Blue Moon Pub for an mini festival of music dubbed The Thrash Bash. Hellbound’s Renee Trotier was there to soak it all in, here is her review of that evening’s show.

During the month of June Adam Wills traveled to Clisson, France to go to the 2011 edition of Hellfest. Here is his recap of day one in words and pictures, including reviews of the performances by Church Of Misery, In Solitude, Primordial, Down, Morbid Angel and more.

“Children of Bodom has done a remarkable job building a very loyal fanbase in Canada, and it’s gotten to the point where the band dramatically outsells the United States per capita north of the border. They are loved here, and as usual their fourth performance in Saskatchewan in four years was met with great enthusiasm.”

Adrien Begrand reviews the July 3rd Saskatoon performance by Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend Project, Septicflesh and Obscura at the Odeon. Photos by Darcy Begrand.

We might have been missing one of the headliners, but all bands were so good on this night that no one, including yours truly, could care less. This was three hours of death metal at its finest.

“There’s numerous ways that metal shows are often described: epic; intense; but the best word to describe this show? Fun. Devin is refreshingly positive and enthusiastic as he jokes, pokes fun and chats with the crowd throughout the night, all the while performing with a combination of smiles and silly faces. And when you add Anneke’s glowing charm to the mix, you can’t help but have a great time.”

Adam Wills recaps a performance abroad, seeing Devin Townsend in the Netherlands with Anneke van Giersbergen.

“While this bout of First Gen punk rockers strutting their new stuff (OFF!) or taking a skank down memory lane (Descendents) was clearly not about to grab Southern Ontario by the short and curlies, with enough bodies filling the concrete lawn to instigate agoraphobia, it was clear that Southern Californian punk rock has clearly grown in appreciated stature over its three decades.”

Keith Carman reviews the June 16th outdoor performance by Descendents and OFF! at NXNE in Toronto. Live photos by Heather Carman Ostrander.

“A Storm of Light provided a performance that felt more like a denouement than a revelation. Their set featured a heavy visual component, in the form of projected videos that drenched the stage in light. It was quite lovely, which is unsurprising considering that vocalist/guitarist Josh Graham is the visual artist for Neurosis.”

Natalie Zed reviews the June 11th Toronto performance by A STORM OF LIGHT and TOMBS at Toronto’s Sneaky Dee’s. Live photos by Laina Dawes

Sepultura, celebrating their 27th year as a band in 2011, are still in fine, fine form. Derrick Green is an engaging frontman, bantering with the crowd between every song, and absolutely tearing the place up vocally. Drummer Jean Dolabella is a powerhouse, and the best compliment I can give him is that all of the classic Sepultura songs (let’s face it, the drums were always Sepultura’s signature) sounded exactly the way they were supposed to. Paulo, Jr? Well, Paulo’s bottom-end keeps it all in place – he doesn’t move around or interact with the crowd so much, but as the oldest-serving member of Sepultura at this point, he doesn’t have to. And Andreas’ guitar riffs were monstrous and legendary, he too kept the crowd engaged and roaring.

Kyle Harcott reviews the May 31st appearance by Sepultura at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre. Live photos by Ted Reckoning.