Monthly Archives: January 2012

Girls Don’t Like Metal

Posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 4:07 pm.

This week, I launched a new column called “Girls Don’t Like Metal” with Canada Arts Connect Magazine. This is an idea I’ve been turning over and over in my mind for a few months now, as a starting point for an even larger series of projects focussing on women and heavy metal.

Here’s a little bit more about the column:

Girls Don’t Like Metal is a weekly column examines gender issues, feminism, and sexuality within heavy metal music. Each post will come in the form of of an interview with a member of the heavy metal community, including artists, writers, magazine and …

Black Skies — On Wings of Time

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 1:40 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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Black Skies have been active since 2005 and are based in Chapel Hill, NC. They’re a hybrid band that are somewhat difficult to categorize. The music they play is a bit like metal and a bit punk-ish garage rock, in terms of their technique. The core of their sound though, the guiding principle in the songs’ progression and structure, is a heavy, psychedelic take on the blues. There’s a sense of urgency in the rhythms, a relentless forward momentum …

((Thorlock)) — ((Thorlock))

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 1:37 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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This is the debut, self-titled album from ((Thorlock)), who hail from Cape Girardeau, MO. Another band that produced and released their record, ((Thorlock)) was then picked up by upstart indie label Handshake Inc. for a more comprehensive re-release and promo campaign. There’s a little Weedeater influence heard in the spare, thumping drums and buzz-y, reverb-heavy guitar tone, especially in the circular structured “Mississippi Wheelwash.” ((Thorlock)), however, are sharper than a lot of their tar-thick compatriots; they have created a Southern …

Sonata Arctica — Live In Finland

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 1:35 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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Fans of Finnish power metal icons Sonata Arctica will have to wait well into 2012 for a full-length follow-up to 2009′s The Days of Grays. Not wishing to let their loyal fan base languish, Sonata Arctica released Live in Finland, a massive four-disc (two-CD, two-DVD) collection. The fist CD is a truncated version of set they played in Ulu, Finland earlier this year, while the first DVD is a video recording of the same set, including all 19 songs, featuring much …

Sam Cheuk — Love Figures

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 1:33 pm.

Originally written for This Magazine.

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There is a unicorn on the cover of this book. This book is like a book with a unicorn on the cover. This book is like a unicorn, like something mythical and beautiful that has to disappoint, either by its non-existence or the drab ordinariness it must assume in order to exist. This book is like a unicorn, and it is like love.

The first section in Sam Cheuk’s Love Figures, “Punctum,” is the strongest. Punctum is a term …

Tags: Book Review, Writing

Sandrider — Sandrider

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 1:28 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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This self-titled release may be a debut effort by Seattle, WA-based Sandrider, but that’s not an indication of experience or lack of chemistry. Nat Damm (drums) and Jon Weisnewski (guitars and vocals) have been playing together in Akimbo for over a decade, and are joined by bassist Jesse Roberts (the Ruby Doe) to complete the line-up. Weisnewski founded Sandrider with Damm out of a desire to play guitar again. The group take their name from Frank Herbert’s Dune series, a …

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 12:33 am.

Originally written for Alternative Matter.

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Ex-Ministry member Chris Connelly’s latest solo record, Artificial Madness, is a genuine disappointment. My first impression of this album stuck with me through every listen: I hate the vocals. The flat, featureless, spoken vocal performance is without any spark or emotion, and it really drains the pleasure out of Artificial Madness. The vocals also don’t seem to add anything to the album other than a spoken-word pretentiousness, which was additionally frustrating.

The production is also not ideal: the sound …

Tags: Album Review, Metal

Boris — New Album

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 12:31 am.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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New Album is the third album that the experimental Japanese heavy band Boris released in 2011, plus a split/collaboration with Merzbow. They’ve always a prolific group, and are now having a particularly active year. When I saw Boris perform earlier this fall with Asobu Seksu, a lot of my concert mates seemed disappointed or frustrated; the Boris that performed were much less heavy and much more pop than they were expecting.New Album explains that tension, that lightening, …

Questionnaire: Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 12:27 am.

Talking to Dave Mustaine was one of the highlights of my year! This piece was done as an Exclaim! questionnaire.

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Dave Mustaine is one of the most iconic and universally recognized personalities in the realm of heavy metal. His music career has spanned 30 years and he is recognized as one of the most significant lead guitarists and metal vocalists of all time. His career began with a brief, but extremely influential early stint Metallica from 1981 to 1983. After that, Mustaine founded …

Tags: Dave Mustaine, Interview

Metal 2011: The Year of Tradition vs. The Year of Innovation

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 10:09 pm.

These two duelling articles were written as part of Exclaim’s 2011 year-end coverage.

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The Year of Tradition

Between revivals of classic heavy metal genres and iconic bands’ reunion tours, it’s clear that a love of tradition still runs deep in aggressive music culture. Metalheads are infamous for their Klingon-like loyalty to the bands and styles they love; many metal heads don’t just let their musical tastes inform their listening habits, but everything from their style of dress to their …

Tags: Articles, Metal

UnexpecT/ Hallows Die/ Legions @ The New Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON, November 18th 2011

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 7:27 pm.

Originally written for Hellbound.

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This was my first time attending a show at the new location for the Hard Luck Bar. They’ve moved down the street and up a flight of stairs, into the room that was previously The Poor Alex Theatre. The new location is bigger than the old Hard Luck and more concert-friendly, with more room to move around. The stage is also a bit higher, though the bar is small and weirdly squashed. I’m excited to see what the space becomes …

Tags: Experimental, Live Review, Metal

Feature Interview/Review: Blut Aus Nord — 777 The Desanctification

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 7:24 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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Calvados, France-based Blut Aus Nord‘s 777 The Desanctification is one of the most important avant-garde black metal albums of 2011. The album forms the second part of a proposed trilogy that began with 777 Sect(s), released in April of 2011. The third part of the series, Cosmosophy, is slated for release in the spring of 2012. Blut Aus Nord are the primary artistic outlet for black metal visionary Vindsval. 777 The Desanctification is a spiralling, sonorous record that’s as difficult to grasp as smoke …