Ladies and gentleman, the TOP 5 METAL ALBUMS OF 2011 according to the contributing writers of Hellbound.ca…

Jay H. Gorania reviews the 2011 edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest, which happened in Austin, TX in early November.

An original effort of epic proportions, Rest takes the music of Neurosis/Isis into the 21st century, with their own unique southern touch. Often, songs this long have me nodding off, but there is enough dynamic fluidity, changes of tempo, pace and styles to keep me interested throughout.

Neurosis has been reissuing a lot of their older material of late (see “Souls At Zero” review from a little while back). And while this four-song EP, the first to be released on Neurot back in 2000, doesn’t have the historical significance of prior reissues, it’s certainly worthy of a second lease on life, considering that the title track never appeared on any subsequent release.

This record runs the gamut from cool to quirky to slightly-boring alt-rock slog, leaving no stone unturned along the way.

Today Is The Day European Tour Diary 2011, Part One

In April, Jay H. Gorania headed to Europe to flog merchandise for TODAY IS THE DAY on their tour. Now that he’s back and had time to get used to regular life again, Mr. Gorania has written a tour diary for Hellbound.ca. Here is his second entry from the tour.

Today’s interview in our ongoing staff interview profiles is with Northern California-based writer Justin M. Norton

“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