Soulfly – Enslaved
Soulfly may not be the cutting edge band it once was, but it’s still a relevant bulwark of power in today’s metal scene. Enslaved is a poignant celebration of Max Cavalera’s musical vision and his longevity.
Reviews
Primal Rock Rebellion – Awoken Broken
Right off the top, before anything else is said here about Primal Rock Rebellion or their debut, Awoken Broken, it needs to be said that this record stands as proof that old dogs can indeed learn new tricks.
Desaster – The Arts of Destruction
With a few defeats and changes of members along the way, along with a fairly lengthy discography, Desaster are still campaigning like true survivors. Having never gained the sort of popularity or visibility of many of their German brethren, the band have remained a cult act, and their new album, The Arts of Destruction, isn’t likely to change that scenario any time soon.
Les Discrets – Ariettes Oubliées…
Without taking Les Discrets’ sound to a more adventurous place, Ariettes Oubliées… unfortunately ends up sounding like an adequate but less inspired version of the band’s debut.
Goatwhore – Blood For The Master
Blood For the Master isn’t a radical step forward, but nor, given its traditional metal underpinnings, is it a step back. It is exactly the album Goatwhore needed to make right now.
Spirit Descent – Seven Chapters in Minor
if this band’s MO is to copy Candlemass and Argus as closely as they can, they’ve hit the mark. I gotta dock ‘em a couple points for originality, but full marks for execution are well-deserved.
Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth
Against all the odds, the band has managed to believably make twenty-seven years of chasing its tail melt away and re-present themselves in such a way that implies they were never actually gone.
Cannibal Corpse – Torture
This album fucking destroys and I wouldn’t have expected or accepted anything less from my favorite Death Metal band of all time.
Deep Purple @ Hamilton Place, Hamilton ON, February 13, 2012
“Veteran hard rockers Deep Purple are either insane or still some of the hardest working musicians in show business – there is no other explanation to describe their decision to tour Canada coast to coast in February. Even the most grizzled tour dogs usually avoid going nationwide in our frozen home and native land, but with its members now well into their sixties the quintet stopped down in my current hometown, Hamilton ON, for an early week show on Monday, February 13th that was nearly halfway through their Canadian only tour.”
Live review by Sean Palmerston; Concert photos by Albert Mansour
Liberteer – Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees
You can sit and stew in your cynicism; you can bemoan the state of the world. You could even pour scorn on anarchist thought. But you cannot deny that Better To Die… is a triumph of political thought turned into genuinely innovative and inspiring action.