FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Alas, for the most part, this EP is listenable, even enjoyable—but by no means original. That said, if a record sleeve of a black-clad woman in front of an oak tree with the words Sex and Magic along the bottom would incite you to buy this album, you won’t be disappointed with the content within.
“Well, it is really one of those funny stories in life which started as a big coincidence. The short version is that, about a year and a half ago we met Mark Tornillo and loved the way he sang. It wasn’t planned out at all. We were not auditioning for a singer or anything. We just happened to meet during a jam session. Peter (Baltes) and I were spending a day just jamming some old riffs. Somebody suggested we call Mark and have him sing along with some old songs. We realized he has a killer voice which was suited perfectly to our old material. The idea to reform was born in that moment. Within about a minute and I half Peter and I just looked at each other and we knew we had to do something.”
Allan Grusie in conversation with ACCEPT guitarist and founding member Wolf Hoffmann about their reformation and the excellent Blood Of The Nations comeback album.
Part 1 of a 2 part series in which Adrien Begrand reviews the 2005 Sanctuary deluxe reissues of the first four MOTORHEAD studio albums after s/t.
Last week the inaugural 70000 TONS OF METAL cruise sailed from Miami, FL to Cozumel, Mexico and back and featured live performances by forty-two metal bands. Hellbound.ca was lucky enough to have been able to send four of its contributors on the cruise and here is what they had to say about the performances that took place on Day number two.
Live reviews by Adrien Begrand, Albert Mansour, Kevin Stewart-Panko and Sean Palmerston. All photography by Albert Mansour unless listed otherwise.
Prior to Nevermore, Warrel Dane cut his chops in Sanctuary. But prior to Sanctuary? Well, there was this band called Serpent’s Knight, of which remarkably little is known…until now. Shadow Kingdom, in conjunction with guitarist Brad Poland, released all of Serpent’s Knight’s material in remastered form. Accompanying the release are liner notes which seek to set the record straight on what actually went down with this, Dane’s formative band.
Album review by Tate Bengston
“I just remember being at the practice space, early on and writing some songs, and realizing how different they were sounding. And being a little unsure as to how it was going, and where it was gonna end up. Especially since Static Tensions had just come out, people were still checking that record out. So it was like ‘Well, this is definitely NOT Static Tensions Part II’, but [these new ideas] could go one of two ways…”
Kyle Harcott in conversation with Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope of Kylesa.
“I think the biggest thing that has helped with the resurgence in classic power/speed metal is probably blogs and the internet. Plus, there’s so much crappy music out there that it seems only the classic metal/power/speed bands are worth listening to since they still stand the test of time.”
Kevin Stewart-Panko in conversation with HOLY GRAIL vocalist James Paul Luna about their debut album, Crisis In Utopia, set for release October 26th on Prosthetic Records
Now, with all that praise for Judas Priest’s Setlist on the proverbial books, it doesn’t need to be questioned why – with six live albums already in circulation, does a compilation need to exist? In Judas Priest’s case, their entry into the Setlist series marks a fantastic proof of the band’s faculties as a love act. The band proves that they have never dramatically changed or experienced a decline in the thirty-year span of time that this record offers glimpses into. That, in a word, is unbelievable.
“I’ve done it all, I’ve been it all, I’ve seen it all – these are like the bonus rounds as far as the opportunities go. Personally, I’m having the time of my life right now just doing what I really want to do. That’s a nice feeling, and having all the fans supporting Priest and the other endeavors – it’s just tremendously gratifying that you can still go out and do what you want to do more than anything else in the world and that’s write metal and play metal live.”
On the eve of their appearance at this weekend’s HEAVY MTL festival Rob Halford speaks to Hellbound.ca’s Bill Adams about the return of his solo band Halford and their plans for the remainder of 2010.
While the river of reissues pouring out of the major label music business is only swelling with time, some records just come with a fantastic story that would keep it selling well even if it hadn’t been repackaged and re-placed on new release racks; they just have an enduring appeal. Judas Priest’s British Steel is that kind of record; over the last couple of years, the members of Judas Priest have begun to re-examine the record at length – last year, they embarked on a multi-continent tour that found them performing British Steel from beginning to end – and tell the stories of making it, thereby reliving their cherished memories of the time and circumstances that yielded British Steel.