Postcards From Natalie Zed

You can read the original version of these postcard reviews here on Hellbound.ca.

*              *             *

Yakuza – Of Seismic Consequence (Profound Lore Records, 2010)
The skin of the earth has come cracking apart. This is what is sounds like.

Weedeater – Jason…The Dragon (Southern Lord 2011)
There are strong parallels between the kind of MMA matches that get someone the most excited and the type of metal they enjoy listening to. Welter and light heavy are my favourite weight classes: the fighters are light enough to retain killer hand speed, but big enough to …

Read More…

You can read the original version of these postcard reviews here.

*                      *                  *

Deicide – To Hell With God (Century Media 2011)
Closing in on a quarter century, Deicide are still driven by an insatiable, brimstone-stinking rage. No amount of blood and froth and screaming has slaked their thirst for destruction. Their hatred is the purest thing about them, and here it is distilled again. The production quality is unusually high for a Deicide album, as well – which is a lot like saying the coat …

Read More…

You can read the original version of this set of postcard reviews here.

*                      *                        *

Ektomorf – Redemption (AFM)
I have an extremely sensitive palate. Sometimes, nothing pleases me more than challenging myself with food, and savouring the subtle layering of flavours in, say, gorgonzola gnocchi with porcini mushrooms in a veal stock and red wine reduction. Sometimes, I can only be sated by a fucking cheeseburger. Redemption is not complex or subtle. Is is a ground Sepultura and Slipknot sandwich with some …

Read More…

You can read the original version of this set of postcard review here.

*                        *                     *

Aborym – Psychogrotesque (Season of Mist)
A shuddering, shambling zombie-dance between two types of decay, Psychogrotesque is a startlingly eloquent album in the medium of rot. Vacillating between the abjection of decaying flesh and the grind of decaying machinery, Aborym evoke the buzzing of flies and the groan of rust with equal skill. Balance between the mechanical and the physical.

Dawnbringer – Nucleus (Profound Lore)
The guitar work is absolutely …

Read More…

You can read the original version of this set of postcard reviews here.

*                      *                  *

Bison BC – Dark Ages (Metal Blade, 2010)
It’s all about gravity. At times, leaden as a dirge, a barge carrying corpses, the weight of dirt on a coffin lid. Crush injuries. At others, nimble as a rapier tip, precise and merciless as it is weightless. It’s impossible to keep your balance. Dark Ages knocks you around. Whether funereal grey, brass-bright or red hot; crushing heaviness or suffocating vaccuum; whatever …

Read More…

You can read the original version of this set of postcard reviews here.

*                    *                 *

We, The Undersigned – Bleed the Constants (Diminished Fifth Records, 2009)
Wait, I have seen this before. This album feels like an afterimage burnt into my retina, the shape of something I know infinitely well and yet in this incarnation is impossible to focus on. They’re going for photopsias, fireworks, and all I am getting is eye strain.

Narrows – New Distances (Deathwish Inc. 2009)
Here is one of the rare occasions where the cover …

Read More…

You can read the original version of this set of reviews here.

*                 *                  *

Titan – Sweet Dreams (Relapse 2010)
Sweet Dreams is a rather delightful nightmare. There is plenty of psychedelia here, but very little sludge. The sound is nimble and fleet-footed. Instead of being unable to run from a monster, trapped in the tar of slow-motion, Titan leaves the listener unfettered, able to run like a gazelle. Titan will catch you anyway. This album in the soundtrack to a mind that is, inexorably, turning on …

Read More…

The fifth installment of my postcard review series, Postcards From Natalie Zed. You can read the original here.

*               *              *

Imperium Dekadenz – Procella Vadens (Season of Mist 2010)
This might be a strange thing to say, but this strikes me as an album with courage. Procella Vadens is not afraid of tenderness; is is as willing to warm as it is to blister. This album has an elemental quality, as changeable and varied as water – a trickle of sweat, a ruthless downpour, choppy whitecaps, or a long …

Read More…

I write a series of postcard-length album reviews for  Hellbound.ca. This is the fourth installment. You can read the original here.

*                      *                  *

Sign Of The Southern Cross – …Of Mountains and Moonshine (Season of Mist 2009)

Sweat-stained and bourbon-soaked, this album sure knows what it’s on about. The sound is fat, humid and dirty is all the right places. SIGN OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS never lets the listener suffer too long from heat exhaustion either. Songs like “Weeping Willow” are as soothing as night …

Read More…

I write a series of postcard-length album reviews for Hellbound.ca. This is the third installment. You can read the original here.

*                        *                       *

Keep of Kalessin – Kolossus (Nuclear Blast 2008)

The sheer grinding force of Kolossus‘ sound evokes lightning-blasted rock, a well-orchestrated sonic avalanche. Even more than the sound, the vocals hooked me. Whether screams or growls, black or death, every word with still clarion-clear. The meaning of the lyrics, clearly audible and comprehensible, and the force of the voice delivering …

Read More…

I write a series of postcard-length reviews for Hellbound.ca. Here is the second installment. You can read the original here.

Skitliv – Skandinavisk Misantropi (Season of Mist 2009)

When a razor’s edge first splits skin, the shallowest cuts aren’t painful. Like slicing through elastic, each layer flexes, gives, and eases apart. First pain is a high note, a quick intake of breath. Breathe through it. Press. The deeper you go, the fatter the blood is; the sweeter the flesh. The pain deepens, grows darker, gains weight and texture. The pain growls. Here you might hesitate. SKITLIV presses still harder, past muscle and fat, …

Read More…

I write a series of postcard-length reviews for Hellbound.ca. Here is the first installment. You can read the original here.

Blackguard – Profugus Mortis

I first saw BLACKGUARD perform with ENSIFERUM, EX DEO, and SWASHBUCKLE on December 1st 2009. Their energy, graciousness and leather pants left me smitten, as did the combination of a black metal aesthetic with the cheerful cheekiness of folk. Paul Ablaze is a charismatic bugger, and “This Round’s On Me” is positively infectious. The album, in contrast, is surprisingly chilly and stoic. The sound is dominated by the keyboard battling the guitar, and while it’s definitely a friendly …

Read More…