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?

So, after a long layoff (sorry NZ!), here is Natalie’s fourth installment (reviews #31 – 40 for those keeping stats at home) in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…

If there is one thing that can be said about the criticism on Hellbound.ca it is that we don’t pull punches. The reviews that we print are the ones that are submitted by our writers and the editors just have to suck it up, whether they like it or not. So with that in mind, here are two very different reviews of the Suicidal Angels’ latest album Sanctify The Darkness, which will be released in North America in one week’s time. Take these for what you will and make up your own mind.

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Find out what HELLBOUND’s contributors have been listening to during the month of May. Almost every writer has submitted their Top 5 list and have an option to list a book and a film they are into right now too.

The thing about Omen is that it feels like Soulfly is running through the motions in a lot of ways. The clue to that lies (again) in the Jeffrey Dahmer referencing; the cannibal was arrested and tossed in the can in 1992. He died in ’94; this was the best the band could do?

 By Adrien Begrand
Although there aren’t many metal side projects that are actually worth getting very excited about, without question, every time Witchery puts out a new album it’s an event. Never ones to do anything particularly inventive, Witchery specializes in a hybrid of thrash and black metal with minimal frills, but like another Swedish “supergroup” named Bloodbath, they pull off a simple style as well as anyone, as they’ve proven on four very good albums, the most recent being 2006′s spirited Don’t Fear the Reaper. With several band members committed …

Overkill focused upon their latest effort, Ironbound, clearly one of their best albums in years, and one of the best albums of the year thus far. And they did justice to classics like “Hello From the Gutter” and “Elimination.”

Could it be that after three decades as metal musician Fischer has found his voice after playing with so many different styles? Eparistera Daimones is not that different from Monotheist, but that’s not a detriment when following an album that revived your career and reputation. Triptykon’s debut is a worthy piece in Fischer’s enigmatic but always provocative musical career.

To celebrate the recent tour edition reissue of this album, Adrien Begrand revisits Testament’s The Formation of Damnation for Hellbound.ca