Sean Palmerston

Sean is the founder/publisher of Hellbound.ca; he has also written about metal for Exclaim!, Metal Maniacs, Roadburn, Unrestrained! and Vice.

Bison BC, Lazarus AD, Barn Burner @ Amigos, Saskatoon, SK, July 14, 2009

Bison BC, or simply “Bison” as they’re known round these parts, has become a live institution in Western Canada over the last year and a half, and the nice turnout on this Tuesday night reflected the band’s steadily growing grassroots fan base. Theirs is an easy sound to like, and one that translates exceptionally well to live settings, especially smaller venues

Killswitch Engage: self-titled

Killswitch Engage’s latest and self-titled album showcases in many ways what has come to be expected from the band. The formula hasn’t changed much — straight and to-the-point metalcore with lots of clean lead guitars and bursts of drums. However, this time there’s more angst than usual in the lyrics, and definitely attempts at making the incredibly short songs sound suitably epic.

SAHG: II

Sahg takes influence from classic groups like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin and their doom metal sound ranges from fast, retro sounding groovers to more plodding and psychedelic crushers. Fuzzy, trippy and heavy, Sahg does a nice job changing up the styles and tempos.

Slayer: Preparing for a World Painted Blood

“I can imagine myself at 75 looking like Charlie Watts playing speed metal,” says Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. “I’m OK with that. I don’t know about the other guys. I’ll keep playing, though, and as long as Slayer needs me, I’ll be here. Whatever they wanna do.”

Keith Carman speaks to Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo about their new upcoming album, World Painted Blood, and what the future holds for the legendary Southern California metal band.

Blackguard: Profugus Mortis

Like fellow Quebecer’s Unexpect, Blackguard has a distinctive classical European flavor, melodic black metal with a distinctive nod to folk and they like to play fast – Dragonforce fast. However, unlike the self-masturbatory English band, their frenetic pace is not accentuated by technical guitar work, but instead is sopping with keyboards and orchestrations.