This year has been crazy in a lot of ways, mostly in terms of my own life getting in the way of trying to maintain regular updates on this blog, but still we soldier forth! The slow march of time won’t stop me from catching up on all the stuff I missed, so here’s the in review segment for January of 2024.
We also released Episode 62 of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast in which we recount some of the best heavy music to come out of Newfoundland and Labrador throughout 2023.
Albums Archived – Aaiesieux – A.C.U. Volume 1: How to Kill an Idea [LP / Harsh Noise] – Aaiesieux – A.C.U. Volume 2: Hubris, as Shown by the Audience [LP / Harsh Noise] – Aaiesieux – The Monster Mash Vol. 1 [Compilation / Harsh Noise] – Bad Plan – EP 2016 [EP / Hardcore Punk] – Guntmold – Blackened Infection [EP / Blackened Thrash Metal] – Guntmold – Munging [Single / Blackened Thrash Metal] – Icefog – Firharbour [EP / Dark Ambient] – Lithops – ((BendeR)) [LP / Dungeon Synth] – Neko Suicide – Neko Suicide Suicide Neko [LP / Harsh Noise] – Nemophilist – The Forest was Silent and Clear [Single / Dark Ambient] – Nemophilist – The Nightlight Man [EP / Dark Ambient] – Outta the Basement – Outta the Basement [LP / Hard Rock] – Pretty Little Flowers – 11:39 – 2:20 [Single / Drone] – Pretty Little Flowers – A Tribute to Hoedh [Single / Drone] – Pretty Little Flowers – Betrayal in August [Single / Drone] – Pretty Little Flowers – Litani Til Satan [Single / Black Metal] – Pretty Little Flowers – Pretty Little Flowers [Single / Drone] – Pretty Little Flowers – Truly Alone [Single / Drone] – Pretty Little Flowers – Wits End [Single / Drone] – Scary Haunted Castles – Those Damn Castles are Scary [Single / Dungeon Synth] – That Night a Forest Grew – Demo [Demo / Metalcore] – Wet Cheeze Delirium – Live at Bar None – November 10th, 1999 [Live LP / Noise / Experimental] – Wretched Invention – Wretched Souls [EP / Groove Metal]
St. John’s grunge trio Jaded Truth are back with a brand new EP, entitled Sweet. Sweet follows the band’s last EP, Bitter, which was released in September of 2023. This new EP was released on April 12th, 2024 through Bandcamp and streaming services and features six tracks.
You can listen to Sweet through our Bandcamp embed below.
2023 has been over for a little over a month now so I think it’s time we took stock of all the cool stuff and not so cool stuff that happened over the course of the last year. Let’s dive in!
This year was another rough year for businesses as both Bar None and The Abbey were forced to shut down, nixing two venues for live music and other events from the underground music community in St. John’s. Aside from that, things got rougher as members of the music community mourned the loss of Will Hapgood, the owner of The Deck who passed away suddenly earlier in 2023. His loss sent shockwaves throughout the community and resulted in an enormous show happening at the Bowring Park Amphitheater to celebrate his life and memory.
An absurd amount of new music was released throughout the year, perhaps more so than any year prior since I’ve been involved in this scene. A slew of new records from bands like The Skeats and Category VI were joined by a cavalcade of EPs from the continuously exploding hardcore punk crowd that seems to churn out new bands at the same frequency that rabbits reproduce.
There were also a ton of mainlander bands who came through Corner Brook and St. John’s this year, including Montreal black metal bands Akitsa and Infernach, Halifax d-beat warriors Black Dog, long time Newfoundland expats Brutal Youth, Montreal hardcore group Deadbolt, New Brunswick stoner punks Diner Drugs, Montreal death metal power trio Obelisk, Toronto thrashers Ammo and Californian NWOTHM upstarts Night Demon, as well as Halifax deathcore ensemble Pale Ache. For a province that sees precious few touring acts pulling through, this past year was exceptionally great.
We also held the very first edition of the Heavy NFLD Fest this past year! This was something that was a long time coming, and has always been my ultimate goal for this project, so finally seeing it come to fruition was a triumph. We’re hoping to do it again this year so stay tuned for Heavy NFLD Fest Vol. II!
Here’s hoping that this year brings with it more good news and less of the bad. Here’s to a kickass 2024.
Biggest Stories – Bar None Closes Its Doors – Big Space Win Jazz Recording of the Year at the ECMAs – Da Slyme Wins Music NL ‘Loud Artist of the Year’ Award – The Deck Renamed to Pavlov’s Electric Verandah – Friends Hold Raffle for Sheavy Frontman Steve Hennessey’s Recovery Following Cancer Diagnosis – Grenadier Release Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory on Vinyl – Heavy NFLD Fest Vol. I – Ken Power Tattoo Company Reopens at New Location – Lawnya Vawnya 13 Announces Lineup – Madison Strip Calls it Quits – Memorial Show for Will Hapgood to Happen at Bowring Park Amphitheater July 9th – Precious Blood Announce 2023 Maritimes Tour – Precious Blood and Da Slyme Nominated for Music NL Loud Artist of the Year – R.I.P. Will Hapgood – Stanley’s Pub Now Hosting Heavy Metal Karaoke Nights – Triskelyon Signs to Moribund Records – Triskelyon Resigns to Moribund Records in Two-Album Deal – Yes, Officer Signs to Scilly Cove Records
Come from Aways – Akitsa and Ifernach to Perform at The Rockhouse in September with Grole and Grenadier – Black Dog (HFX) to Play at First Light CPAC on July 15th – Brutal Youth to Return to the Rock for Two Shows in August – Deadbolt to Play The Rockhouse & First Light CPAC on September 8th and 9th – Diner Drugs to Play The Deck and The Abbey on May 12th and 13th – Mistwalker and Øbelisk Announce 2023 Tour with Shows in St. John’s, Corner Brook, and Glovertown – Night Demon and Ammo to Perform at the Bella Vista Events Venue on August 25th – Pale Ache Announce Fall Tour Including Multiple Dates in Corner Brook and St. John’s – Slaughter, Quiet Riot, and Great White to Perform at Iceberg Alley Performance Tent 2023
New LPs Released – 6000apez – January 12 – Beereaucracy – Beereaucracy – Beereaucracy / Catshit – Split – Brutal Youth – Rebuilding Year – C.A.R.E. – Creating a Righteous Energy – Category VI – Firecry – Chris McGee – The Strange Ritual of the Golden-Faced Man – Count Cromulent – Thrillhouse – Desperta – Desperta – Falter – Salt in the Soil – First Frost – It’s Dangerous to Go Alone – Lithops – ((BendeR)) – Mike Fisher – Diary of a Psychic Vampire – Mistwalker – Oceanic Heritage – Mistwalker – Under the Fallen Sky: 10 Years in the Mist – Needle Crafts – Frow’d Up – Neko Suicide – Bound by Chains and Ripped in Half – Neko Suicide – Midtown – Neko Suicide – St. Georges, Hell 3:00 AM – Nfrared – Under the Stairs – The Skeats – The Skeats IV – Triskelyon – Artificial Insanity – WXO – Waxsongs – Zack St. John’s – Prince of Fogtown – Zackary Anderson – Graveyard Filled with Snow
New EPs Released – 6000apez – Farmlife – 6000apez – Glauchoma! – 6000apez – Mule Touch – Adam Sharr – To the Woods – A Body Without Organs – Broken Terminal III: Milk Blood – Bog Rot – Sex, Drugs, Bog N’ Roll – Canvas – Down Horrendous – Carnage – Free at Last – Cerebral Palsy – Seas of Bloody Mist – Chimp Apparatus – Sober – compareyourself – Mary and the Misanthropic Buzzard – Cortex Strikes Back – Cortex Strikes Back – The Crevice – 11th Hour / Valley of Flies – Foundation Chain – Sanrio-core – Fucked to Death – The Penile Code – Glitterglue – Friends Club – Jaded Truth – Bitter – Knarl – Bad Luck – Lil Dirtbag – It’s Been Too Real – Love Letters to Lewis – Letter One: Vemödalen – Mistwalker – Pumpkinsmasher – Mistwalker – War on Christmas – Neko Suicide – Cross – Ninth Quarter – Below Knee – Nuclear Casket – Irascible – Of Wilds – A Ghost at the Strid – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation – Pouch Dweller – Goes to the Movies – Ratpiss – Misanthropy Now! – Roach Smoking Buddies – Roach Smoking Christmas – Sex Hole – Kill or Be Killed – Shit Dildo – Odes to the Fecal Phallus – Skreeched In – Skreeched In – Smoke Signals – Send Me Flowers While I’m Still Here – Sons of an Eastern Moon – Borealis – Winterhearth – Beyond the Frosted Graves – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden – Wiremouth – EP2 – WXO – Albert Rolling Down the Magical Infinite Hill
New Singles Released – Amer Ali – “Face in the Clouds” – Amer Ali – “Forever” – Amer Ali – “Never Say I Don’t Care” – Artach – “Black Metal Drummer Boy” – Artach – “Hell on Halloween” – Bonewing – Assorted Singles – Category VI – “Firecry” – Cerebral Palsy – Assorted Singles – Chimp Apparatus – “Garfield” – Choplicker – “Brigandine” – Choplicker – “Heliouroboros” – CR – “Last Address” – Dendron – “The Glass Spire Redux” – Disposition – “Decomposed” – Disposition – “Slow Haze” – Drop Your Trust – “Hacked” – Drop Your Trust – “Think for Yourself” – Elder Caius – “Alien Space Bats” / “From Below” – Elder Caius – “Kailash, When It Rises” – Everose – “Flourish” – Ex Press – “The Island” – Guntmold – “Menstrual Shark” – Guntmold – “Munging” – Guntmold – “You Suffer” [Napalm Death Cover] – Homesick N’ Wanderlust – “When I Grow Up” – Jaded Truth – “Bottom of the Bottle” – Jaded Truth – “Samsquanch” – Jaded Truth – “The Shake-Up” – Last Cigar – “Pitchforks” – Love Letters to Lewis – “I, the End” – Needle Crafts – “Worried Sick” – Neko Suicide – “2015” – Nemophilist – “Aurora” – Nemophilist – “Failure, Goodbyes. Isolation” – Nemophilist – “Put Me on a Ship That is Sinking” – Nemophilist – “Tragedy and Loss Never Known” – Nerve Shack – “Ash” – Nerve Shack – “Forever in Your Lie” – Nerve Shack – “Yellow Teeth” – Nfrared – “Betrayed for the Better” – Nfrared – “Innocent Criminal” – Nfrared – “Piece of Mind” – The Order of the Precious Blood – “Suffer and Die” – Qyn – “Ideologue” – Rot – “Rupture” / “Delight” – Sex Hole – “Stay Out of My Way” – The Skeats – “Fine Wine” – The Skeats – “Torch” – The Skeats – “Twitch” – So Violento – “Elegia Moderna” – Sought – “Samqwan” – Sought – “Valorous Asinus” – This Day – “Euphoric State” – Triskelyon – “Visionaires” – Vertebraeker – “Buried Again” – Winterhearth – “Winter Punks” – WXO – “A.I. Instincts”
New Demos Released – 6000apez – The Consequential Mudhole – Bazooka – Demo 2022 – Beereaucracy – Vote for Us – Blender – D03s 1t Bl3nd? – Choplicker – Rollercrisis – Disciplinary Action – Floor Demo 2023 – Doberman – Shed Demo ’23 – Glitterglue – Shed Demo ’23 – Guntmold – Guntmold – Kicker – Kicker Demo – Kris Butt – Old Path Demos – Life Jolt – Floor Demo ’23 – Malpractice – We Don’t Go to Church – Nerve Shack – Sheep Kill – Paranoia – Paranoia – Vehement Slaughter – Demo – Vomit Denial – Demo ’23 – Wannabe Erudite – Remembered Demos – Winterhearth – The Rehearsal Session
New Compilations Released – Aeria – The Deadman Collection
New Live Albums Released – Defense Force – Live Like Death – Killer9000 – Live at The Deck 02/11/23 – Malpractice – Live June ’89 – Smoke Signals – Live at The Rockhouse 01/28/23
New Music Videos Released – Artach – “Hell on Halloween” – Beereaucracy – “Beerboarded” – Category VI – “Coven” – Category VI – “Valkyrie” – Hakapik – “Don’t Make Me Laugh” – Jaded Truth – “Bottom of the Bottle” – Jaded Truth – “Riders” – Jaded Truth – “The Shake-Up” – Jaded Truth – “Worthless Meek” – Nerve Shack – “Forever in Your Lie” – Nerve Shack – “Yellow Teeth” – The Order of the Precious Blood – “Bastard! Rejoice!” [Live] – The Order of the Precious Blood – “X You Out”
Album Announcements – Artach – Untitled New LP – Bog Rot – Untitled New EP – Da Slyme – If There’s No Rubble, You Haven’t Played! – Grole – Untitled New LP – Guntmold – Blackened Infection – The Hellfire Club – Volume III – Jaded Truth – Bitter – Mistwalker – Oceanic Heritage – Nocturnal Prayer / Funeral Fullmoon – Disciples of the Moonlight Worship – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation – Qyn – Untitled New Release – Riproar – Untitled New Release – The Skeats – The Skeats IV – Smoke Signals – Send Me Flowers While I’m Still Here – Triskelyon – Artificial Insanity – Wendigo – Untitled New Release – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden – Yes, Officer – Untitled New LP
Live Sets Filmed – Bazooka – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Defense Force – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Dendron – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Everose – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – InfectDead – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – Jaded Truth – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Kaspam Cult – Live Set @ Gower Street United Church – August 19th, 2023 – The Mill – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Needle Crafts – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Obelisk – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – October Wasp – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – Shit Dildo – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Sick Puppy – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – The Skeats – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Tunnel Vision – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Wretched Fiend – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023
New Merch Drops – Artach Reveal New T-Shirts – Everose Reveal New Patches – Fog Coffin Reveals New Pins – Fog Coffin Reveals New Stickers – Grole Reveals New Hoodies – Grole Reveals New T-Shirts – Guntmold Reveals New Stickers – Heavy Metal Karaoke Reveals New Stickers and Pins – Metaphora Reveal New T-Shirts + Other Merch – Mir Reveals New T-Shirts – The Order of the Precious Blood Reveal New T-Shirts – Ratpiss Reveal New Black on White Patches – Ratpiss Reveal New White on Black Patches – Sea Shanty Studios Now Offering Patch Services – The Skeats Reveal New Hats – Skreeched In Reveal New Patches – Smoke Signals Reveal New Circular Patches – Winterhearth Reveal New Diamond Patches
Album Reviews – Category VI – Firecry [by Akhenaten] – Count Cromulent – Thrillhouse [by Akhenaten] – Dead Inner Youth – Dead Inner Youth [by Stephen] – Jaded Truth – Take a Seat [by Akhenaten] – Triskelyon – Triskelyon [by Akhenaten] – Vertebraeker – Spinal Sword [by Akhenaten]
EP Reviews – Bog Rot – Sex, Drugs, Bog N’ Roll [by Akhenaten] – Chimp Apparatus – Sober [by Akhenaten] – The Crevice – 11th Hour / Valley of Flies [by Akhenaten] – Glitterglue – Friends Club [by Akhenaten] – Foundation Chain – Sanrio-core [by Akhenaten] – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation [by Akhenaten] – Ratpiss – Misanthropy Now! [by James Titford] – Ratpiss – Vermin Urine [by James Titford] – Sick Puppy – Haunt the Hill [by Stephen] – Skreeched In – Skreeched In [by Akhenaten] – Sons of an Eastern Moon – Borealis [by Akhenaten] – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden [by Akhenaten]
We also released twelve new episodes of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast this past year. We did our typical installments such as the RPM Re-Cap in March, Heavy Halloween in October, and Merry Fucking Solstice in December, but we also had genre-specific episodes focusing on grindcore, hard rock, hardcore, and grunge. Other episode topics included focuses on metal and punk from Prince Edward Island, a smattering of new metal and punk released in Newfoundland and Labrador over the past year, bands who have come to Newfoundland from elsewhere in recent years, a re-cap of artists that my own band played with during the Atlantic Annihilation Tour, and a re-cap of the bands who played this past year’s installment of Heavy NFLD Fest. You can listen to all these and more on the Heavy NFLD Bandcamp which will be linked down below.
On this episode we recap the best of all the awesome metal and punk that emerged from Newfoundland and Labrador throughout 2023!
Released January 31, 2024
All songs belong to the original artists. Podcast recorded by Greg “Akhenaten” Ravengrave.
Tracklist:
The Skeats – “Full Grown Now” [The Skeats IV] Lil Dirtbag – “Armageddon” [It’s Been Too Real] Count Cromulent – “The Front Door (Kicked In)” [Thrillhouse] ~Break~ Glitterglue – “Complicit” [Friends Club] Carnage – “Separation Anxiety” [Free at Last] Jaded Truth – “Bottom of the Bottle” [Bitter] Triskelyon – “Tektyrrany” [Artificial Insanity] Category VI – “The Vultures Never Came” [Firecry] Winterhearth – “Wormwood” [Rape of Eden] The Order of the Precious Blood – “Bastard! Rejoice!” [I No Longer Wish for Salvation] ~Break~ Chimp Apparatus – “Beermobile” [Sober] The Crevice – “11th Hour” [11th Hour / Valley of Flies] Nfrared – “Crash” [Under the Stairs] Desperta – “Complices” [Desperta]
Jaded Truth – Bitter September 8th, 2023 Grunge / Alternative Rock / Hard Rock Independently Released St. John’s, Newfoundland
Jaded Truth, the St. John’s grunge trio, are perhaps one of the most prolific heavy groups in the city. Having released three full length records and a slew of singles in between, this is the band’s first foray into the EP format. Despite that this thing still clocks in at just under half an hour so its still quite long by EP standards. I’ve been a fan of the band ever since their debut record Rx which was one of my favourite local releases of 2020. I’ve rated all of their releases differently for different reasons, and I found their last album, Take a Seat, to be one of their weaker outings. Heading into Bitter I was hoping this thing would be a bit more my speed and I was happy that it did indeed meet those expectations.
Bitter is, from the get-go, clearly a heavier release than Take a Seat. The songs on this thing are crunchier, louder, and much more aggressive, hearkening back to the vibes of the band’s first and second records. The riffs from guitarist Kyle Woodland and bassist Aaron Jones dig further into the heavier elements of the 90’s grunge scene like Alice in Chains, perhaps more so than any of the group’s past material. Still, even with the chunkier riffing there’s a degree to which this EP still takes influence from punk, especially with some of the chord progressions.
Perhaps what is most interesting about Bitter is the amount to which Jaded Truth have fiddled around with time signature and tempo changes. A lot of the songs on this release feature moments where the previously slow tempo will suddenly pick up pace. These transitions happen relatively seamlessly, and drummer Michael Small, who has also been the band’s producer since their inception, does a great job at making these transitions feel natural and proper, while still maintaining a loose “punk” attitude to them. It’s cool to hear the band experiment with these things.
I feel like the songwriting here, while it has gotten a little bit more experimental, has also improved in the catchiness department. I definitely remember more of the songs on this thing and can recall their melodies while not actively listening to the EP more so than I could for Take a Seat or Tsukimono. The songs are heavy, loud, in your face, and have a detached melancholy to them that captures the atmosphere of the band’s earlier material as well as the 90’s music they try and succeed to emulate. This is a solid EP from Jaded Truth, and while it may be a little on the longer side for an EP, I still enjoy the individual songs on here quite a bit.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5 Great
Favourite Tracks: “Control” “The Shake-Up” “I Never Ment” “Bottom of the Bottle”
We also released the 60th episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast in which we take a journey through the surprisingly vibrant grunge revivalist movement in Newfoundland. You can listen to it on Bandcamp and YouTube.
Albums Archived – Amer Ali – Chasing the Sunrise [Hard Rock / Single] – Amer Ali – Face in the Clouds [Hard Rock / Single] – Amer Ali – Flying Bee [Hard Rock / Single] – Amer Ali – Forever [Hard Rock / Single] – Amer Ali – Never Say I Don’t Care [Hard Rock / Single] – Arrested Development – Arrested Development Demos [Hardcore Punk / Demo] – Artach – Hell on Halloween [Black Metal / Single] – Bazooka – Demo 2022 [Beatdown / Demo] – Chimp Apparatus – Beermobile [Rough Mix] [Hardcore Punk / Single] – Chimp Apparatus – James, Give Me Your Skateboard… [Remix] [Hardcore Punk / Single] – Defense Force – Live Like Death [Garage Punk / Live EP] – Jaded Truth – Bitter [Grunge / EP] – Knarl – Demo 2022 [Hardcore / Demo] – Nemophilist – 62.8084 N 92.0853 W [Dark Ambient / Single] – Nuclear Casket – Acrimony [Dungeon Synth / EP] – Nuclear Casket – Irascible [Dungeon Synth / EP] – Wiremouth – EP2 [Hardcore / EP]
As usual life has gotten the best of me, and keeping up with these month in review segments has proven to be difficult. Yet, we maintain the structure. Here’s all the cool stuff that happened in September 2023. October and November review segments will follow suit throughout the week.
We also released the 58th episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast in which we recapped all the bands that played at the very first installment of Heavy NFLD Fest. This episode was released on September 30th and features cover art created by Airline Bourbon. You can listen to this episode on Bandcamp and YouTube.
Albums Archived – Dirt Stache – Bitter IV: Smoke Break [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Indecisive [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Playing God [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Salutations [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Twelve Days of Xmas: As Told by Dirt Stache [Single / Post Hardcore]
St. John’s grunge trio Jaded Truth have releasedtheir brand new EP, Bitter. This EP is the follow-up to the band’s third full length record, Take a Seat, from November 2022. Bitter features six tracks that clock in at around 25 minutes in length. It was released through Bandcamp and streaming services on September 8th, 2023.
You can listen to Bitter through our Bandcamp embed below.
HeavyNFLD 