death metal

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio November 27, 2009

Dying Fetus/Beneath The Massacre/Suffokate @ Mod Club, Toronto, ON, November 24, 2009

I have to admit that one of the reasons why I pitched Hellbound.ca a concert review of the Planetary Depravity Tour was because I wanted to see Dying Fetus guitarist John Gallagher and guitarist Michael Keene from The Faceless play live. Would they be able to pull their dexterous guitar feats off or were they simply studio tricks? Does Gallagher look as evil and demented as he sounds? Inquiring minds wanted to know.

Laina Dawes reviews the recent Toronto stop of the Planetary Depravity tour.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio November 24, 2009

Grave Miasma: Exalted Emanation

Grave Miasma is the latest proponent of death metal done right. This is nasty, ugly stuff. While not as sharp in attack as Dead Congregation nor as profoundly murky as Mitochondrion nor as surreal as Portal, Grave Miasma entrenches itself in something of a middle ground.

Tate Bengston investigates the new EP by British death metallers Grave Miasma (formerly known as Goat Molestör).

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio November 20, 2009

Various Artists:Swedish Death Metal

This massive three-disc compilation gives the listener a sonic taster of all the flowery praise thrown around Daniel Ekeroth’s book and if that listener is a seasoned Sverige-phile, then Swedish Death Metal Compilation acts as a 3+ hour trip down the left hand path of memory lane. It’s all here, the good, bad, ugly, awesome, marginal and downright terrible

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio November 13, 2009

Barren Earth: Our Twilight

Whenever a veteran metal band undergoes radical changes, like in Amorphis’s case, a new lead singer and a more streamlined sound, even if that shift in direction is successful artistically commercially and artistically, there will always be the stubborn folks in the background bitching and moaning about how their favourite band just isn’t the same as it used to be. Well, if you’re one of those people who still gripe that Skyforger is a sellout and can’t hold a candle to Tales From the Thousand Lakes, first of all, you’re only half right, and secondly, you can give a listen to Finland’s newest supergroup, who approach Amorphis’s classic, folk-infused progressive doom sound as if nary a day has passed since 1994.

Adrien Begrand dissects the debut release by Finnish progressive death metal supergroup Barren Earth.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio October 27, 2009

The Cleansing: Poisoned Legacy

Poisoned Legacy is a fine addition to the Danish death metal corpus (mortale…apologies for the horrid pun). It is well-performed musically and quite enjoyable in short bursts, but it lacks the consistently dynamic songwriting required to hold the attention for its duration.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio October 23, 2009

Scar Symmetry: Dark Matter Dimensions

The main problem with this band is after their storming debut album, the last few albums (including this new one) sound like the album they made two albums ago. It is nowhere near being a bad album at all, it’s just I have heard this same CD like three times now.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio October 16, 2009

Vader: Necropolis

Polska death metal masterminds Vader throw punches with absolutely no remorse on their latest release Necropolis; composing varied sounds and melodies to keep things fresh yet brutal.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio October 6, 2009

Revocation: Existence Is Futile

On the surface, the band is rooted in the same post-thrash groove that Lamb of God has dominated this decade, but unlike the otherwise likable Virginians, Revocation don’t dig themselves a safe little rut, instead using the sound as a launching pad for other, bolder musical excursions. The end result is their second album and Relapse debut Existence is Futile, an album undeniably accessible enough to draw in the Rockstar Energy™ Mayhem Fest crowd, yet clever enough to pull the rug from under everyone’s feet with sudden forays into progressive death metal and continue to command listeners’ attention while doing so.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio September 23, 2009

Vader: Necropolis

Going strong now since the early 90s, Vader keeps getting better and better with each subsequent release. Considered the death metal version of Slayer they are the leaders of the Polish death metal scene and, with this album, soon the planet.