Author: Laura Wiebe
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The exquisite sound and philosophy of a Vile Creature
Photo by Adam Wills Commentary by Laura Wiebe Sometimes it’s not till the moment when you hear a sentiment voiced that you realize you hear it far too seldom. I had this revelation most recently at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton as, in the process of introducing themselves, St. Catharines anti-oppressive doom duo Vile Creature acknowledged their experiences with…
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From the archives – Type O Negative: Geriatric ‘Souldiers’ of Rock and Roll
Originally published in Unrestrained! in 2007. Peter Steele says he’s a “souldier,” a “tool of god.” And as that tool, Steele (who’s best known as the bassist/frontman of Type O Negative) claims it’s his duty to transmit god’s unpopular message any way he can – whether that’s through “rock and roll or heavy metal or…
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Wacken Metal Battle Canada thunders on
The latest news from Wacken Metal Battle Canada comes from the West coast, where Victoria thrash band Torrefy emerged triumphant in their home town. Torrefy move ahead to the WMBC Vancouver final to compete with Gushwhacker, Unbeheld, Resurgence, and Medevil – April 10 at the Rickshaw Theatre. Before Vancouver’s victor is announced, Edmonton’s final round takes place…
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Get out your popcorn kiddies, MUTANK is coming
A deranged lunatic broke out of an insane asylum (which was really a front for a mutagenic testing facility) with a strong sexual magnetism towards nuclear waste. Upon finding a discarded vat of the stuff in a nearby swamp, he proceeded to pound-off into the glowing green slime. The smell brought back memories of his…
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How to not be an old jaded music fan (this is not an answer)
I love music. Probably a good thing, even a requirement, for someone who edits a music site. But I’m not always as excited about music, especially new music, as I remember being at one time. And that’s kind of sad. One way of interpreting what’s going on here is that there’s just too much music, metal…
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Wacken Metal Battle Canada 2015 competition has begun
In 2013, Canada stepped up to compete in the international Wacken Metal Battle competition, a contest for emerging metal bands that takes place alongside the annual Wacken Open Air metal festival in Germany. In 2013, Canada also won the competition – or, more specifically, Toronto’s Crimson Shadows fought their way to the top while representing the…
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my best of 2004 (aka, I keep getting older)
As some of you may know, well before I began my metal writing “career” (well, aside from a couple of regrettable, really badly written reviews for the excellent Chronicles of Chaos) I was spinning metal on campus radio. After a break of several years I returned to radio at CFMU 93.3 FM (the McMaster University…
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Christmas at the Garrison holiday food drive – Dec 18
It’s not metal but it’s for a good cause. If you’re in the mood for burlesque, 50s and 60s music, and supporting the Daily Bread food bank, you might want to check out “Christmas at the Garrison.” Here’s the scoop: “Christmas at the Garrison is an annual holiday food drive where 100% of the proceeds go directly to…
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Devin Townsend Project, Animals as Leaders and Monuments in Toronto, Nov 30, 2014
Devin Townsend Project, Animals as Leaders and Monuments The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto ON November 30, 2014 Many years ago, my first gig as a teaching assistant was grading papers for an introductory university course on popular music. Though he respected my interests enough to invite me to give a guest lecture on metal music,…
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Deafheaven and Programm, Toronto ON, Nov 21, 2014
Converse Rubber Tracks Live: Deafheaven with guests Programm Opera House, Toronto ON Friday, November 21st, 2014 Metal as a genre doesn’t have the anti-establishment reputation of punk, but it still doesn’t seem all that likely that heavy metal would be ripe for corporate sponsorship. Nevertheless, in recent years we’ve seen such sponsorship beginning to flower, with corporate brand names like…