progressive metal

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio July 28, 2010

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE: The Metal Blade Reissues

San Francisco’s Hammers of Misfortune have recently signed to Metal Blade, and as a result, the label has reissued their entire back catalogue in hopes that it will get the due recognition it missed the first time around. With no expectation and no foreknowledge of the band, I tossed myself in at the deep end to review these four reissues and wound up discovering something completely fresh.

Kyle Harcott reviews the new Metal Blade reissues of the Hammers Of Misfortune back catalogue.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio July 27, 2010

Cynic – Re-Traced

This EP plays a lot with the dynamics of sound. The interplay between loud and quiet, digital and analog creates rich waves of tension and release. I was struck by the depth of each of the tracks, not just in terms of the layers of sound but also the thought and care that went into crafting these alternate interpretations.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio July 7, 2010

Delain – Lucidity

As for the bulk of the original album, it’s what you would expect from a former member of Within Temptation (Westerholt): soaring vocals, bombastic guitar solos, pounding drums, lush keyboard and symphonic string arrangements. All played with subtlety and an attention to contrast that it seems only those in power or progressive metal remember any more

Featured, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live May 12, 2010

Porcupine Tree @ Sound Academy, Toronto, ON, May 8, 2010

Were this simply an auditory barrage (which I am more than familiar with), I might have had more resistance. But it was much more than that. This show was a carefully orchestrated, beautifully curated performance. The video accompaniment interesting and tasteful, and varied enough that I was never able to settle fully into it or anticipate what was coming next…

Natalie Zed reviews the Saturday, May 8th performance by UK prog rock veterans Porcupine Tree at Toronto’s Sound Academy. Concert photography by Adam Wills.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio May 6, 2010

Haken – Aquarius

I am totally blown away. Haken is the best thing to happen to progressive metal in many, many years. Hailing from England, this relatively young band has unleashed a masterpiece.

Articles, Features, Headline April 30, 2010

Barren Earth: When the Prog/Metal Fusion Works Out Right…

“We all listen to progressive rock, so it’s natural that it comes across in the music. It was clear from the start that progressive elements would be featured in the band’s sound. And that was the reason for me to join. I remember seeing Opeth in 2006, and being very impressed by not just the music, but the whole presentation, and the juxtaposition of metal and prog. I thought then that this is would be an interesting musical path to explore. And Barren Earth has provided me with that path.”

Laura Wiebe Taylor in conversation with Barren Earth keyboardist Kasper Mårtenson about the band’s creation, their debut full-length album and more, exclusively for Hellbound.ca

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Audio April 20, 2010

The Ocean – Heliocentric

This is an album that should truly be admired for its intelligent design. The band might get comparisons to Between The Buried and Me and I would agree with that except for the fact the The Ocean surpassed BTBAM in cohesive songwriting two albums ago. It’s a shame the scene kids won’t “get it”

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Audio March 26, 2010

Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 2

Hellbound readers, remember Natalie Zed? Natalie was our big grand prize winner back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?

So, without further adieu, here is Natalie’s second installment in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…