This year we reintroduced an old Hellbound tradition – our monthly staff picks/playlists! Every few weeks we ask our regular and longtime contributors to weigh in on what they’re listening to, watching, going to see… Expect a few quirks and idiosyncrasies now and then, but these are our standard staff pick categories:
- Listening to – an album, ep or song from the library shelves (something that isn’t new)
- New release – a worthy album, ep or song released within the past couple of months
- Live – a recently enjoyed or highly anticipated live recording or gig
- Non-metal – an album, ep or song of choice from the non-metal world
- Wild card – a recommendation outside of or beyond the above picks
HELLBOUND RECOMMENDS
Bianca Bobescu
Listening to: Dark Oath – When Fire Engulfs The Earth, When Fire Engulfs The Earth (WormHoleDeath, 2016)
New release: Napalm Death – Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs (Century Media, 30 March 2018)
Non-metal: Lorn – Acid Rain
Wild cards: Darkest Hour, 2017 [watching], A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman [reading]
Steve Earles
Listening to: The Fall – A Past Gone Mad. Mark E. Smith was a unique talent. The Fall released millions of albums (or so it seems!), and this is a good one. A band with a Joycean sense of lyrics (I always feel Mark was out to create the Ulysses of post-punk!), and their own distinct sound. We live in a time when we are flooded with a multitude of useless, generic bands, using the internet and computer software to flood the world with their music (which could only happen in a world where
people feel music should be free, and hence, like all things, what’s given freely is frequently considered worthless). But The Fall are special, they did it their way, and they did it the hard way, and their music will always have worth.
New release: Vantablack Warship – Abrasive Pulmonic Speak. A band really coming into their own, one to watch.
Live: 24 Carat Purple by Deep Purple. A great live album, and it doesn’t go on for centuries to outstay its welcome.
Non-metal: The Essential Jefferson Airplane. Really brilliant songs, and it also reminded me of Sanctuary’s excellent cover of ‘White Rabbit’. R.I.P. Warrel Dane.
Wild card: That would have to be the vinyl issue of ‘Fuga Dal Bronx‘ from Death Waltz records. This is the superb soundtrack to a film known in Ireland as Bronx Warriors 2, and elsewhere as Escape From The Bronx. An Italian rip-off of Mad Max and Escape From New York, this film is marvelous (and deserves a remake), and so is its soundtrack.
Gene A. Gaona
Listening to: Dying Fetus – Wrong One to Fuck With (Relapse, 2017)
New release: Haven’t had much time in the last month to listen to much of anything new, so with that said I’m going to go with Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals – Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue.
Live: The Exhumed and Incantation show I recently attended was most excellent.
Non-metal: Pink – Beautiful Trama
Wild card: Educating my 14 year old son Benjamin on some classic movies lately: Casino, Good Fellas, American Me, and Detroit Rock City, just to name a few.
Jay H. Gorania
Listening to: Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath
New release: Napalm Death — Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs (Century Media)
Live: Bad Brains — Live
Non-metal: Lip Cream — Kill Ugly Pop! [www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTFhBKwcGk0]
Danielle Griscti
Listening to: Rudra – Enemy of Duality (Transcending Obscurity, 2016) rudrametal.bandcamp.com
New release: Glorior Belli – The Apostates (Season of Mist, 8 April 8 2018) gloriorbelli.bandcamp.com/album/the-apostates
Live: Plague Throat in Delhi, March 17, 2018 plaguethroat.bandcamp.com
Non-metal: Tetouze soundcloud.com/tetouze
Wild card: documentary The Truth Is In the Stars (2017)
Gruesome Greg
Listening to: Bison – Earthbound (No List, 20 April 2018)
New release: Besvärjelsen – Vallmo (Suicide Records, 27 March 2018)
Live: Earthless @ Lee’s Palace, March 14; Woodhawk @ Bovine, March 30
Non-metal: Kacey Musgraves – Space Cowboy
Wild card: Will be spending most of March watching college basketball.
Matt Hinch
Listening to: Three different versions of Sleep’s Dopesmoker — The 1998 The Music Cartel version entitled Jerusalem, the 2003 Tee Pee digipack, and the 2012 Southern Lord limited reissue [ www.youtube.com/watch? v=ugp8a7B9izw ].
New Release: Slaves B.C. – Lo, and I Am Burning (The Fear and The Void Recordings, 16 March 2018) slavesbc.bandcamp.com/album/lo-and-i- am-burning
Live: I recently watched the HBO documentary Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) about the events before, during, and after the Bataclan terrorist attack and their return to Paris to play for the survivors. I can’t imagine living through that.
Non-metal: My wife really likes the song “No Roots” by Alice Merton. I have to admit I don’t hate it.
Wild Card: I went and saw Letterkenny Live in Belleville, ON recently and it was a fucking riot, eh?! Pitter patter! How’r ya now? Fuck, boys. Let’s have a beer. Too many d-gents from upcountry in the merch line though. Hard no!
Rob Hughes
Listening to: Angel Witch — Seventies Tapes (Bandcamp)
New release: The Messthetics (Dischord)
Live: Kikagaku Moyo (Fox Theatre, 02/26/2018)
Non-metal: Yes — Drama
Wild card: On Cinema at the Cinema (YouTube)
Daniel Smith
Listening to: Blaze of Sorrow – Echi
New release: Portal – ION
Live: Enslaved, Wolves in the Throne Room, Khemmis, Myrkur on February 20 at The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Non-metal: Rodrigo y Gabriela – Rodrigo y Gabriela
Wild card: I recently saw Isle of Dogs in Downtown Toronto!
Laura Wiebe
Listening to: Ihsahn – Arktis (Candlelight, 2016)
New release: Vile Creature – Cast of Static and Smoke (Halo of Flies / Dry Cough, 7 March 2018) vilecreature.bandcamp.com/album/cast-of-static-and-smoke
Live: Vile Creature, Astral Witch, Lovelace and Greber @ Doors Metal + Taco Joint in Hamilton on March 24
Non-metal: Chiwoniso Maraire – “Zvichapera” + M.anifest – “B.E.A.R.” + Tycho – “Awake” + Pretty Lights -“My Other Love” — all from the Hoops Africa: Ubuntu Matters soundtrack
Wild card: completing ASL 101 (American Sign Language) through the Canadian Hearing Society
Adam Wills
Listening to: Yob – Clearing the Path to Ascend (Neurot, 2014)
New release: Slugdge – Esoteric Malacology (Caroline, 2 March 2018)
Live: Astral Witch / Vile Creature / Lovelace / Greber – Hamilton, ON
Non-metal: Phantom Thread (OST) – Johnny Greenwood
Wild card: The Orville – Season 1
