Jonathan Smith

Articles, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio January 10, 2013

LISTENING TO THE PAST: Death – Human

“(Human) embodies much of metal’s concern for and obsession with material questions of existence. It remains special partly because of its historical importance for extreme metal, but also because it stands out as a prime example (out of many) that it is very possible to merge anger and aggression in extreme metal with a compassionate search for answers to social and philosophical questions.”

A revisitation and re-evaluation of the classic DEATH album Human by Jonathan Smith

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio November 27, 2012

Finsterforst – Rastlos

I can’t say that Finsterforst are totally original, but they make up for any lack of creativity by bringing a contagious passion to a style of metal that has rarely resonated with me in recent years. They make a powerful case for the sheer grandeur of their music, which is pretty significant considering that the band sings mostly about the forest and the abuse of nature.

Articles, Features, Headline January 9, 2012

HELLBOUND’s TOP 10 CANADIAN METAL ALBUMS OF 2011

Since Hellbound.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated metal publication, we do things a little bit different than most. While 2011 was coming to a close we asked all of our contributors to pick their Top Canadian metal albums of the year. We then tabulated up their responses and have created our third annual Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums writers poll.

Please check out what our writers feel to be the best Canadian metal albums released in 2011.

Articles, Featured, Features, Headline December 27, 2011

Hellbound.ca’s Top 20 Albums of 2011, Part 1

We asked all of the contributing writers here at Hellbound.ca to submit their Top 10 albums of 2011, which we then compiled into a master list, assigning points to all their choices (10 points for #1, down to 1 point for #10). After tabulating the results, we have created Hellbound.ca’s Top 20 Albums of 2011. For part one of our continuing series, here is albums #20 through 16…

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live December 14, 2011

We Are All Puppets: Devin Townsend/Today I Caught The Plague @ The Opera House, Toronto, ON, December 10, 2011

“If we in the audience are puppets whose strings are manipulated by artists, then Townsend is both puppeteer and lead puppet, a living caricature of the genre who takes such obvious joy in poking fun at both the scene and his own place within it. His performances are both sincere and satirical, and that is what makes them unique.”

Jonathan Smith reviews the December 10th performance of Devin Townsend in Toronto. Live photos by Adam Wills.

Articles, Features, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live November 3, 2011

KNOWING YOUR HERITAGE WHILE LOOKING AHEAD: Opeth/Katatonia @ Guelph Concert Theatre, October 30th, 2011

“Opeth have reached a strange point in their career. Despite their ability to pack the house, it was clear that the evening’s choice of songs would have been better suited to a more intimate environment. I was actually surprised that the band didn’t decide to play Heritage in its entirety. It seemed like it would have been an easy-enough thing to do, and it was not as though they contrasted their newer songs with the heaviest of the old.”

Jonathan Smith reviews the October 30th performances by Opeth and Katatonia in Guelph, Ontario. Live photos by Adam Wills.