The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 26th, 2024

April 26, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

Despite being on the road in a completely different country I still will find the time to provide you with eight killer album recommendations because music is what makes the world go round. On that topic I’ve encountered a number of bands over the past week that definitely deserve a bigger audience.

Black

The first time I was exposed to Infant Island it was when they were added last minute to a huge mixed bill that featured the likes of Gatecreeper and Fearing. It was odd but given how mixed the bill was I guess it made sense to toss a screamo band on there. Admittedly I wasn’t all that into them for this live show but decided to check out their new record when it dropped earlier this year and was shocked to find out just how damn much I liked it. This album is fucking phenomenal, featuring tons of atmosphere, triumphant guitar work that screams out over relentless blast beats and passages of intense, cathartic screaming. Screamo and black metal may seem at polar ends of the musical spectrum but bands like Infant Island manage to bridge that gap almost flawlessly and this record is proof of that. Obsidian Wreath is a phenomenal release that deserves your attention.

Death

Eyecatcher is a four piece death metal outfit that my own band Ratpiss played with while on tour in Long Island City, New York. This Maryland quartet was amazing in the live setting and their brand of Obituary / Power Trip worshipping death metal was right up my alley. Checking them out on the recording side of things I am happy to report that their first self-titled release is just as good sounding as the live versions of these songs were. This is ripping death metal with thrash metal and grindcore influence that would not go unwelcome on a playlist next to bands like Frozen Soul and Sanguisugabogg. While this EP is “blink and you’ll miss it” short, it’s packed with more killer riffs and drum beats that you can shake a disembodied leg at. If the cover art doesn’t sell you on it already, let the song titles like “Blood Carnival” and “Wormtongue” entice into the grotesque nature that awaits.

Doom

I was first introduced to Horndal through my friend Tyler. Admittedly when I first checked it out I wasn’t sure about it but after numerous repeat listens it dawned on me: this album is fucking incredible. This thing combines elements of the bright, harmonized guitar work of groups like Thin Lizzy or Kvelertak along with the progressive riffing nature of bands like Mastodon as well as the raw sense of urban decay ushered in by bands like Tombs or Morne to create a sound I’ve never quite heard before. This thing is a beast of modern metal, and not in the same way that people describe Lamb of God. This is the pinnacle of modern metal music, utilizing every aspect of heavy music that I personally love in such a way that I’ve never been privy to. It’s experimental while also being catchy as fuck, all while the gruff caveman vocals detail stories about the history and legends of the band’s hometown for which they are named.

Prog

Orbs was a band of particular interest to me back in 2010 when they first emerged onto the scene of modern, nu-progressive artists that had readers of the blog Heavy Blog is Heavy fawning. Featuring such notable names as Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me, Adam Fisher of Fear Before the March of Flames, and Ashley Jurgemeyer of Abigail Williams, this was a supergroup of sorts that existed to blend elements of jazz, prog, and space rock with a post-hardcore affectation and approach to songwriting, and holy moly did they ever knock it out of the park. Almost 15 years after the fact I still come back to this album and can sing along to all the words like no time at all has passed. Relentlessly interesting and masterfully composed with hooks for days both on the vocal front as well as the instrumental front, it’s a shame Orbs hasn’t been more active in the intervening years.

Punk

Another band that Ratpiss has shared the stage with, multiple times now. Philadelphia’s Diuretic absolutely fucking rule. Not only are they super cool people, but their music fucking rips too. The band has released one EP and a demo as of their existence so far, with Martyrfucker being the most recent effort. Pissed off, aggressive, loud and nasty, this is grindcore as it should be. Along with the general angry vibe of the music it also sounds raw as fuck. It’s not really “pure” grindcore in a sense since most of the music on here doesn’t rely exclusively on blast beats, and there are a lot of groovier sections with two-step parts that lean them a little bit more towards the hardcore punk side of grindcore. That said Diuretic is still full of angst, piss, and vinegar, and this EP is a prime example of just what the Philadelphia grind scene has to offer.

Thrash

This Montreal thrash trio, which has since evolved into a quartet, have been slowly making a name for themselves over the past year in Quebec and the wider Eastern Canadian scene. Taking influence from both the realms of old school thrash metal legends like Slayer and Anthrax as well as newer crossover institutions, the band doesn’t really fall squarely into one category or another. There’s a hefty amount of hardcore punk influence going on here, especially on the EP’s opener “Chernobyl”, but the ripping thrash doesn’t take long to kick in. Guitarist Christophe Michaud has one goal in mind and that’s to rip your head from your neck by making you headbang like a fucking lunatic. He accomplishes that goal in spades on here, while making sure the punk influence keeps things fun and upbeat.

Trad

Vancouver’s Gatekeeper are the best kept secret in the world of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal originating from Canada. This band embraces every classic metal cliche, taking as much influence from bands like King Diamond and Mercyful Fate as they do bands like Blind Guardian. They straddle the line between old school heavy metal outfits like Dio as well as pure power metal that emerged from Europe in the 80’s and 90’s a la Helloween. Delightfully melodic and impossibly catchy, every song on this record is absolute fucking banger and deserves to be blasted at max volume. With lyrics inspired by the works of famous fantasy and horror authors like Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, listening to this album makes me feel like Conan the goddamned barbarian, riding a mighty steed across the plains of uncharted wilderness, a great broadsword strapped across my back.

Non-Metal

Com Truise – *In Decay*
**July 16th, 2012**
**Synthwave**
**Ghostly International**
**Orlando, Florida, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Data Kiss”

Have you ever been on a long-ass drive that you started early in the day, like before noon, and you keep on screaming down the highway, still having not reached your final destination as the sun goes down behind the hills and it seems like night is going to last forever? You’ve had one too many energy drinks and you’re wearing sunglasses to minimize the glare of the searing lights of the construction zone you’re passing through? Well this album is the soundtrack to that vibe. This is a night driving album if there ever was one. Much like other synthwave artists like Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, or Filmmaker, Com Truise has made a career off of perfectly encapsulating the atmosphere of the liminal space that is a highway after dark. That said Com Truise’s music is a bit more chillwave-leaning than the retro and horror inspired vibes of those other artists, but the comparison is still apt.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 12th, 2024

April 13, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

This one is coming to you a day late because life got in the way this past week and I didn’t get as much time to hammer out which albums I wanted to recommend to you all on Friday. I was also busy hosting a show at The Traxide in Montreal featuring some rather excellent bands from the Maritimes, namely the blackened death metal stylings of Paratomb and progressive metal wizardry of Omnivide, along with local thrashers Grimhold and death-sludge riffologists Obelisk. Now that I’ve got a few moments of free time to myself this Saturday (between recovery) I’m going to make up for it. Read on for some of your (somewhat) regularly scheduled riff recommendations!

Black

The first time I heard this record I was absolutely floored and to this day it continues to shock me. I’d like to thank Devon Milley for this recommendation as it was through him that I discovered this band. I’ve never heard a band so perfectly emulate the sound of Darkthrone’s early material. Everything on this record from the guitar tone to the drum approach to the production to the vocal approach is the closest I’ve ever heard a band mimic that style, and they do it wonderfully. The riffage is so pure and kvlt and trve and devoid of any bells and whistles. Even the vocals sound eerily similar to the range and tone of Nocturno Culto on those classic black metal albums as well as the post-Panzerfaust era of the band. All you have to do is listen to the first track here, “Three Desecrated Hosts”, and you’ll see what I mean. If you’re at all a fan of that style of Norwegian black metal, then Germany’s Pakkt is a must-listen, especially for Darkthrone die-hards like myself.

Death

I first discovered this band through a video made by the YouTuber known as The Punk Rock MBA. I think that guy sucks but I’d be lying if I said he hadn’t put me on to some cool music over the years. Human Remains is definitely one of those bands. The first time I put this record on I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. “A deathgrind diamond” as one Bandcamp reviewer named Brett put it, this thing is fucking weird. There are sounds on here that I didn’t even know a guitar could make before I listened to this thing. It’s exceptionally brutal, uncompromising, relentless, and unapologetically experimental. There’s plenty of moments where the music remains firmly rooted in brutalizing the listener with blast beats and atonal guitar riffs before launching into interludes that feel like they’re drawing upon bands like Mr. Bungle and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Of course Dillinger was probably influenced by this band considering that Human Remains predates them.

Doom

Wardehns – *Now Cometh the Foul*
**December 21st, 2018**
**Stoner Metal / Sludge Metal / Crust Punk**
**Independently Released**
**Wausau, Wisconsin, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Denim Dogs”

I was put onto this band through a friend of mine who just happened to be playing them out loud on a Bluetooth speaker while I was hanging with some pals at their house. I was pretty much immediately hooked by the quality of the riffage, the production value, and just how similar it felt to the kind of sludge metal that I am really drawn to: bands like Mastodon, Kylesa, and Black Tusk. The ones who are a little artsy but aren’t afraid to get deep, down, and dirty with their music. Wardehns certainly scratches that itch for me and I’ve had this record on repeat ever since that initial encounter. It’s monolithic in size, with every song imparting the image of a group of intrepid travelers and warriors climbing their way to the top of a frostbitten mountain, surviving blizzards and avalanches, and fighting horrible beasts all along the way. The album cover is indeed a perfect representation of what kind of music you’ll hear on this thing. It comes highly recommended.

Prog

I brought up Omnivide in the intro to this article not just to tell you about the show I was at last night, but also as a genuine recommendation for a band that kicks fucking ass that doesn’t live all that far from Newfoundland. This New Brunswick progressive metal outfit just released their debut album, A Tale of Fire, last month, and are currently embarking on a tour across Canada in support of it. Having seen them live a couple of times now as well as having listened to this thing all the way through time and time again I can attest to this band absolutely ruling. If you want your brain to be disassembled and then put back together wrong then this is the record for you. Their music certainly draws heavy influence from big-name prog bands like Between the Buried and Me, but there are also shades of groups like Cynic, Obscura, and Beyond Creation to be found within. If you like any of those bands you’ll almost certainly like this.

Punk

I was lucky enough to catch Flower at Varning Fest last year, an annual underground crust punk and metal festival that occurs in Montreal. They came up from New York City to play here and absolutely tore the place apart. I thought their live performance was already great but it was checking out their recordings after the fact on my own that really sold me on them. This right here is the kind of punk I like the most. It’s loud, aggressive, angry, and dirty as fuck. All the best crust punk is only a few steps removed from speed metal and black metal and Flower really embrace that vibe on this LP. The album opens with an atmospheric blackened guitar riff that reminds me extensively of Gallhammer and Darkthrone, before the unruly punk ripping starts at full force. It’s so gross and nasty, from the raw guitar tone to the punchy drums to the pissed off vocals. Flower are fantastic, and this LP absolutely slays.

Thrash

Mexico’s Phantom are pretty much everything I want from modern thrash. Their sound is supremely old school, drawing clearly upon the bands of the 80’s, with the Teutonic sound in particular being a primary influence. If you like Sodom, Kreator, or Destruction, or at least the way those bands used to sound back in the day, then Phantom may be for you. That’s not to discount the American influence in their sound either, because notes of Slayer and Metallica definitely crop up from time to time, but ultimately they keep things rooted in that more aggressive sound that veers on the edge of black metal without ever stepping forth into the blizzard. What makes this album even more impressive is that the dudes in this band are really young, most of them being around the ages of 18 to 20. For being as young as they are they’ve got a fantastic grasp of their instruments and their songwriting capability is excellent. I’m stoked to hear what they put out next.

Trad

I never thought I would unironically enjoy a NASCAR-themed metal band but then I am the Intimidator came out of nowhere and showed me the errors of my hubris. This is the new solo project of former Poison Idea guitarist Andrew Stromstad and the entire thing is lyrically and aesthetically based around the final day of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt’s life. If that wasn’t already enough to sell you on the concept, then I’m happy to report that the music contained within is just as fucking awesome. It’s old school speed metal that draws as much influence from Metallica, Motorhead, and King Diamond as it does from a blackened speed metal act like Venom and an epic doom metal band like Candlemass. While the record may be all over the map in terms of influence it is surprisingly consistent all the way through, featuring fabulous riff after fabulous riff and vocals that’ll put hair on your chest.

Non-Metal

Shpongle – *Tales of the Inexpressible*
**March 29th, 2001**
**Chillout / Psychedelic Trance**
**Twisted Records**
**Chobham, England, UK**
**Standout Song:** “Star-Shpongled Banner”

I discovered Shpongle years ago when I was still in high school. While sick and staying home from school one day I went down an enormously long musical rabbit hole on YouTube (this was back in the day before algorithms ruined everything) which eventually led me to a fan-made animated music video for the song “Star-Shpongled Banner”. I was so enamored by the combination of the music with the visuals I was experiencing made that song stick with me for years to come, and to this day I still revisit this record from time to time. While I don’t often find myself listening to electronic music, when I do I prefer the kind of stuff that’s outside the realm of the typical club fare. I don’t go to clubs often, mind you, but I have a hard time imagining that this is the kind of thing played anywhere outside of a hippie drug den. It’s not for everyone, but if you like weird electronica you should definitely check this one out.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: March 22nd, 2024

March 22, 2024March 17, 2024 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

Welcome back to The Scrolls of Akhenaten, the weekly blog segment in which I recommend a bunch of albums in different sub-genres of metal and punk, as well as few non-metal releases that strike my fancy. This week I’ve got some absolute bangers up my sleeve that everyone who reads this should absolutely give a chance at the very least. If you like your music fast and hard as fuck (with perhaps the exception of our prog selection for this week) then this is the bundle of records for you! Read on and consider giving these records a shot.

Black

I first became aware of Spiter through following the band’s guitarist and vocalist Richard Spider on Instagram, where he goes by the name Sexman Leather on account of his various leatherworking creations. I later saw the band perform live at Turbo Haus and holy shit did they knock my socks off. This power trio (which also features members of Devil Master) rip forth with the ferocious terror of a blackened assault that combines elements of black metal and thrash metal together with hardcore punk and speed metal to create an unstoppable sound that crushes all in its path. This album is absurdly fast, unrelenting, and violent in every aspect, from both the mesmerizing music to the bloody imagery present on the album cover. If you want badass music about vampires and castles that pulls no punches when it comes to speed then Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood (say that 10 times fast) is the record for you.

Death

Some of you are likely already very familiar with Øbelisk thanks to their tour in August of last year which landed them several shows across Newfoundland, including a date in Corner Brook and three dates in St. John’s. The band has been around since at least 2022 (though likely earlier), with The Architecture of Suffering being their first full length record, and boy does it fucking crush! Having seen these guys live a ridiculous number of times over the past couple of years I have become intimately familiar with these songs and they still hit just as hard now as they did when I first heard them. Like Spiter, Øbelisk is a power trio, and together they have composed a series of kickass songs that blend elements of death metal, sludge metal, and grindcore together to create a devastatingly heavy brand of concrete-heavy extreme metal that obliterates everything in its wake. Don’t sleep on Øbelisk.

Doom

Bison B.C. – *Dark Ages*
**April 13th, 2010**
**Sludge Metal**
**Metal Blade Records**
**Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “Stressed Elephant”

Taking things back to the past, I revisited this album from my youth recently and found that it still hits just as hard as it did way back then. Bison B.C. have released two albums in the intervening years since Dark Ages was initially released but this album just has something special about it that none of their other work really touched. It’s dark and brooding and even progressive at parts. Some of my favourite moments come when the band interject mournful synths into the otherwise purely metal instrumentals, making the whole piece sound like some sort of messed up funeral dirge. This record has a lot of variety and also feels like the perfect sonic representation of the kind of atmosphere that comes with living in cities in the great white north. It’s hard to describe exactly, but the vibe of Canadian urbanity is often expressed through the music of those who live in it in a way that bands from south of the border don’t quite tap into, and Bison is a great example of that.

Prog

I’ve been aware of Vulture Industries for years but never really dove into their work until the release of this record. This album is what you get when you combine the expected black metal atmosphere of a band from Norway with a Gothic vocal affectation and aesthetic and a penchant to experiment with different sounds and melodies. Equal parts Opeth and ICS Vortex, as well as Devin Townsend and Unto Others, Vulture Industries have landed on a sound that is wholly unique within the world of progressive metal, and I’m completely and utterly addicted to it. I think this album in particular will probably appeal to fans of old school goth rock like The Sisters of Mercy or Siouxsie and the Banshees while also attracting fans of the more dark and atmospheric side of heavy metal, a la a band like Cellar Darling or perhaps even Paradise Lost. The influences here are too numerous to truly list, but if you like any of the bands mentioned above this record is worth checking out.

Punk

Yet another band coming to you from the city of Montreal is Mulch, a relatively new band who dropped their first EP a scant month ago. Nothing Grows Out of Dried Flowers is what you get when you put a guitarist and drummer who are approaching punk from a decidedly more eclectic side of the music world with a bassist who primarily plays hardcore and grindcore and a vocalist who has never been in a band before. This EP is absolutely brimming with energy and exudes a feeling of pissed off angst and vitriol, yet at the same time there is an experimental edge to it that I feel a lot of other Montreal punk bands don’t quite have. Parts of this record, from the off-kilter guitars to the tone of the bass, have a slight noise rock vibe to them, which at times reminds me more of bands like Lightning Bolt and Melt Banana, despite still being a hardcore punk band. Definitely an EP worth checking out for those with a flair for the experimental!

Thrash

Thrashing their way out of the bayou of Lafayette, Louisiana, Void are a relatively newer band, having been active since 2019, and Horrors of Reality is their first full length effort in that time frame. I first became aware of them through their campy and old school music video for the song “Voodoo”, which immediately drew me in through the visuals alone. It was a pleasant surprise then that the music was quality enough to bother checking out the full record, and I greatly enjoyed what I heard beyond the anachronistic cover art. These guys clearly love the thrash bands of yore and conjure a lot of comparisons to some of the greats, with Megadeth and Anthrax perhaps being the most obvious comparisons. The guitars absolutely rip and tear, the drums are punishing, and the compositions are creative. That’s saying something in a subgenre where most of the bands sound either like a low rent Metallica, Slayer, or Municipal Waste.

Trad

Significant Point – *Into the Storm*
**February 7th, 2021**
**Speed Metal**
**Dying Victims Productions**
**Tokyo, Japan**
**Standout Song:** “Heavy Attack”

I came across the Japanese speed metal quintet Significant Point through the NWOTHM Full Albums channel on YouTube and I am so glad I clicked on that video because good lord this thing fucking rips! Japanese metal bands have always had a flair for pomp and theatrics, and Significant Point is no different. While I can’t speak to what the band’s live performances look like, the music on this record is evidence enough of how much effort and skill these guys put into their craft. The drums are ridiculously fast, never taking a second to slow down. The guitars shred with unbelievable fury, and the vocals consist almost exclusively of high pitched falsetto wailing that carries across the music like the fighter jets depicted in the cover art. If ever there was music to engage in a dogfight with enemy aircraft to, this record would absolutely be it. It’s glorious and magnificent in every aspect, including the old school style of production that gives it all an air of authenticity.

Non-Metal

Mama’s Broke – *Count the Wicked*
**June 1st, 2017**
**Celtic Folk / Americana**
**Independently Released**
**Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “The Vein Braider”

Growing up in Newfoundland I admit that there was a certain resentment that I built up against folk music since it was all that I was exposed to as a youngin’ out around the bay. As an adult though I’ve cultivated more of an appreciation for folk, especially the Celtic kind, and Mama’s Broke may be the apex of what I’ve heard in this style from Atlantic Canada. First showed to me by one of my partners who hails from Nova Scotia, I immediately fell in love with their style of music that combines the traditional Celtic instrumentation with a degree of Americana influence. It’s obvious upon a first listen to this debut record from the duo that Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler are absolute experts of their craft and their chosen instruments. Fiddles, banjos, mandolins abound on this masterpiece of the genre that only gets better with each subsequent listen.

~ Akhenaten

Precious Blood Perform Debut Show at The Abbey

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

After weeks of cryptic and eerie messages and teases across the Avalon, the Order of the Precious Blood have emerged like ghosts from the fog to haunt the masses with blistering metal.

The much hyped ‘mystery act’ took the stage at a sold out Abbey Bar in downtown St. John’s on November 19th (alongside fellow scene-favourites Kaspam Cult, Sentimentipede and the returning Smoke Signals) for the long-promised ‘blood ceremony.’

The payoff for weeks of speculation and intrigue was an all-new goliath-like super-group of notable names across Atlantic Canada’s heavy scene.

Comprised of vocalist Paul Brake (Wastecase, RocketRocketShip!), drummer Adam Hearn (Release the Hounds, Faster than Felix), guitarists Barry O’Keefe (Release the Hounds, Rivals) and Cameron Legge (Slowpoke, Anoxia) and bassist Ben Chapman-Smith (Slowpoke, Headloss), the local collective of shredders brought the house down during their debut set, belting out face-melting originals and a searing cover of Slayer’s “Angel of Death,” much to the pleasure of the frenzied fans in attendance.

Stay tuned for much more on Precious Blood in the coming weeks, including details on the next blood ceremony and new music. Follow Precious Blood at preciousblood709 on Instagram.

~ Dillon Collins

Metal Maniacs: Kenneth J. Power

June 13, 2022June 8, 2022 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

For this installment of Metal Maniacs we have Kenneth J. Power! Ken is the frontman and vocalist of groove metal band Most Likely Forever as well as the owner of Ken Power Tattoo Co. and former co-owner of now defunct bar and live music venue Valhalla Tavern. Ken has also been a controversial figure in St. John’s for his propensity for standing up for victims of all stripes, regardless of the fallout for doing so. Here are ten albums that influenced his musical journey towards the vocalist and performer he is today.

Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil

Shout at the Devil. I think I was in the 6th grade, so around 17 years old, on the bus home from school when Michael Greeley turned on his ghetto blaster and out came “Looks That Kill”. That was it. I had never heard anything like it. It was infectious. I went with my dad to the mall and bought the cassette, went home, put it in his tape player, and out came “Gimmie All Your Lovin'” by ZZ Top. Wtf? Back to the mall, bought the vinyl. I was enamored by everything about it. The costumes, the lyrics and the groovy heaviness. I immediately wanted a ghetto blaster, and a guitar. Every Crue album since has sucked. “Out go the lights, in goes my knife. Pull out his life.”

Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith

Defenders of the Faith. I bought a lot of metal records before this one. None of them had the atmosphere this had. As a young teen I did not realize that it was stuffed full of cliches and cheesiness. It was all new to me. This was around the time of my first depression. I felt every note, every mood on this record deeply. Metal had become who I was, for better or worse. My circle got smaller as I gravitated to like-minded friends. I knew we were different. We started the first band I was in called Tempest. We could not have sucked more.

Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Ride the Lightning. Sweet baby Jesus. 7th grade, I think? Fuck me. I think it was bandmate Kevin Stamp who turned on “Fight Fire with Fire” at recess. I was gobsmacked. You’ve heard the fucking record. It changed music.

Iron Maiden – Live After Death

Live After Death was my first experience with waiting for a record to drop. I was vibrating looking at centerfold spreads in hit parader with the album art. I was excited. I’m never excited. Only other thing that gave me mojo like that was my future wife, Lisa, at that age. I’m the type that nothing ever meets my hopes. This record did. It was a distraction to my befuddled mind, conflicts, fears, and issues I have only recently begun to unravel.

Accept – Balls to the Wall

Balls to the Wall. There was an awful phase in my early teens were I had an overwhelming feeling of doom. Death. I felt everything was pointless because I was going to die. I hated everything. This record was a sound track of that time. The mood of the title track and the fucked up nonsensical lyrics on the record somehow resonated. I wanted to write and record music.

Slayer – Hell Awaits

Hell Awaits. I’d wander my neighborhood with my ghetto blaster stuck to the side of my head. Still my favorite Slayer record. Played with a band called Voltage in late high-school (got kicked out without notice), but we didn’t scratch that itch for me. We were lost in the drudgery of formulated hair metal at the time. I did love me some power ballads, however.

Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime

Operation: Mindcrime. Got hooked on Geoff Tate’s voice pretty hard. Shit, I wanted to sing like that. This was early high school when I was with a band called Meanstreak. We played one show at Kelligrews Stadium in a Battle of the Bands. Later someone ripped of our name. Geoff Tate was the start of me moving from guitar to vocals.

W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P.

W.A.S.P. The rawness and shock value appealed to me. Lawless’ distinctive voice and melody were unique. The attitude seemed so familiar. “Sleeping in the Fire” was simply haunting. “I Wanna Be Somebody” was anthemic.

Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power

Vulgar Display of Power. I was with a band called Legacy when this dropped. “Walk” was the first song Chris Pomeroy played for me. Didn’t think much of the song, but fuck, that voice. The rest of the record was incredible. Grooves and atmosphere. Rage. Legacy was the heaviest band I had been in, but not what I wanted to play. Got kicked out of Legacy after 6 years without notice. Replaced by the guy on the next record.

Lost Cause

Lost Cause. Local band. This was the first time I felt moved by a local singer. Rod Evans showed me a local guy could holler with the best of them. He had a knack for a lyric and a riff. Cunt replaced me in Legacy, which quickly imploded afterwards because he was a bit of and asshole. Yeah, I’m still mad.

Most Likely Forever is the first project I have been in that scratches my itch for groove, death, thrash, and hardcore. All these records led me here. This is my home. Fuckin’ took long enough.

~ Written by Kenneth J. Power
~ Edited by Akhenaten

Metal Maniacs: Cory Fagan

May 25, 2022May 25, 2022 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

For the third installment of Metal Maniacs, we asked Cory Fagan, guitarist of local St. John’s folk metal upstarts Sons of an Eastern Moon and bassist at as-of-yet under wraps project Metaphora, to name ten albums that inspired his musical journey and led him to become the shredder he is today. Read on to discover the records that were important to him!

Good day folks, Pagan Fagan here from Sons of an Eastern Moon, Metaphora, Last Soul Down and Monolithic Sorcerer. I’m very pleased to be included in this list of Metal Maniacs and wanted to share some albums with you that helped shape me and my playing into the metalhead I am today. I mostly stuck to my teenage years when I was a budding rebellious metalhead getting kicked out of school for wearing my Zakk Wylde chain, haha. I will preface this by saying I went through my teens during the heyday of burnt CD’s and my discman so I had a lot more “mixtapes” than proper albums but I tried to include the ones I owned or stole 😉

I’ll include some of my biggest influences as an “adult” in the honourable mentions at the end 😀

Here we go!

Death – The Sound of Perseverance

What a way to start a list! Every song on this album is my favourite and the guitar work is just unequivocally amazing. Richard Cristy’s drumming is out of this world! To think Chuck wrote this album with a tumor growing in his brain could bring me to tears just as easily as the melodies of “Voice of the Soul”. One of my favourite records of all time and has been top on my Spotify since I got it.

Skid Row – Skid Row

This self-titled album is fucking killer! Sebastian’s vocals are top notch and Snake Sabo’s lead work spoke wonders to my infant brain. I can honestly say I love every song on this record! The squeals in the intro to “Rattlesnake Shake” hold a dear place in my heart, haha. My oldest brother was born in the early 70’s so I inherited his love of 80’s hair metal in the crib.

Carcass – Swansong

Damn good melodic death metal. Some bangers on this album for sure. Definitely the album that made me appreciate how good production qualities can make or break a record. Guttural vocals that you can hear every word, sexy ass guitar tones. This and Heartwork received heeeeeeavy play for years. Just listening to the track “Child’s Play” while writing this makes me smell the stale smoke of weed and cigarettes and empty beer bottles in my apartment as a teen.

Ozzy Osbourne – Live at the Budokan

Ugh, what a good live album. This is one of the concerts that really taught me as a musician that the live show can have fun with the tunes and they can be augmented to be a little more fun to play and a little more pleasing to the ear. Take a drink every time Zakk hit’s a pinch! You’ll be loaded by “Believer”! I honestly like a lot of tracks on this record more than the originals. “Junkie” and “Gets Me Through” are two prime examples. So fucking good, and trying to figure these tunes out really helped me as a guitarist and certainly helped me learn how to do pinch harmonics, haha.

Black Label Society – The Blessed Hellride

While we’re on the topic of pinch harmonics, let’s talk about this banger! Man, what a killer album. It was a toss for me between this and 1919 Eternal. Trying to learn the solos on this album certainly elevated my guitar playing without a doubt. If I get complimented on my guitar playing it’s generally either on my pinch harmonics or how clean my alternate picking is in the fast parts of my solos, I can attribute both of those to this album. And “Stoned and Drunk” describes my teens perfectly!

Slayer – War at the Warfield

I’m gonna break the rules a little bit now and go straight for DVD instead of a live album. This concert got played after school sometimes 5 times in a row everyday. It made me fall in love with Slayer, it made me fall in love with BC Rich and the tracklist is just soo good. As I’ve said before and will say again in this list it just instilled in me what a live performance is supposed to be. “Stain of Mind” on Diabolus in Musica is super meh, but on this concert one of my favourite tracks! Amazing that Paul Bostaph played that show with a fucked elbow. It’s 6:30am at the time of writing this and I’m ready to flip my desk over and start moshing with this concert on in the background as I type this. If “Captor of Sin” doesn’t get your pulse up go see a cardiologist man!

Pantera – Official Live 101 Proof

“Pure Against the Grain American Metal”. Here I go again with another live album, but saves me from have five Pantera albums on this list of ten, haha. Who knew so much energy could fit in your pocket? The playing on this album is top notch, even Phil’s voice isn’t too fucked yet, haha. Dime’s playing is exquisite and this album is why the majority of my guitars have Floyd rose bridges haha. I wear my love of Pantera on my sleeve. The “Dom/Hollow” mash up is perfect (I saw Phil Anselmo and the Illegals do this in 2013 and split the pit like the Red Sea to make it to the rail) and “Where You Come From” is one of my favourite songs! There really is a lot to learn from weed and whiskey 😉 R.I.P. Abbott Brothers.

Megadeth – Rust in Peace

Oh boy, what can I say about this album that hasn’t been said a million times? Countdown was my first Megadeth album, bought in a pawn shop in Sydney, NS visiting my grandparents, but when my buddy Eason got the tab book for Xmas around 2005-ish is when I went from a “fumbling” guitar player to a “good” guitar player. Learning these riffs you don’t have a choice: it’s get good or fail, haha. The solo in “Tornado of Souls” will always be on a pedestal for me. I’m afraid to even try and learn it at this stage of the game. I made my mom sit through me playing so many of these songs in a tiny apartment with a full stack, lol. Sorry mom!

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All

You can basically blame me being the metalhead I am today on this album. It replaced Poison and Motley Crue in my heart and led me down the path I’m still walking 19 years later. This was my first CD I bought with my own money at Walmart in Carbonear on a camping trip with my folks when I “borrowed” my brother’s discman. Right from the get go with “Hit the Lights!”, “The Four Horsemen”, “No Remorse”, “Metal Militia”, “Whiplash”, “Phantom Lord”, “Seek and Destroy”, like, come on! This lit a fire inside of me that still burns bright to this day. Learning these tunes at an early age definitely, definitely set the foundation for the guitar shredding mosh-head I am today!!!! How these songs breathe and flow are certainly still forefront in my mind as a songwriter today.

Weapon – The Forging

If this is a list of albums that made me be the musician I am today this is by far number one by a fucking mile. I probably wouldn’t be a musician in bands if it wasn’t for Weapon. I even thanked Miller for making me want to learn to play guitar in the liner notes on “L’anse aux Metals”. I can remember vividly sitting in Jimi Nugent’s shed in Kelligrews when our buddy Keegan walked in when this album first came out and we listened to it front to back multiple times. I’ve gone through about 4 copies myself. Allen and Brad’s guitar work on this album is outstanding! Trevor’s thunderous bass and Karl’s drums keep the metal flowing full force. The song writing is a straight influence to my soul as you can probably tell in my own music. The mid-to-late-2000’s was a very special time in the Newfoundland metal scene and in my humble opinion Weapon were the kings of the mountain, especially after Kevin and Jeff joined the fold. If you’ve seen them live there’s a 99% chance you’ve seen me windmilling my heart out up front and I apologize for spilling your beer in the circle pit (not really though!). I’m also pleased to say my first show as a guitar player was opening for Deadgaard.

Well this was a little foray into the mind of a fledgling Fagan’s trip down metal memory lane. I hope you enjoyed this list and check below for honourable mentions! Thanks again to Heavy NFLD for including me in Metal Maniacs and for everything Greg and the other authors do for our little scene here on the rock! Cheers!

Honourable mentions in no particular order:

Black Sabbath – Master of Reality
Pantera – I Am the Night
Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side
Clutch – Blast Tyrant
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Testament – First Strike, Still Deadly
AC/DC – Live at Donington
Eluveitie – Helvetios
Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast
Annihilator – Alice in Hell

~ Written by Cory “Pagan Fagan” Fagan
~ Edited by Akhenaten

Metal Maniacs: Andrew Marsh

May 11, 2022May 8, 2022 / Akhenaten / 2 Comments

On this new segment on the Heavy NFLD blog, we’re asking local metal and punk musicians to tell us about ten albums that influenced them as both a musician and a music fan. For this first installment of ‘Metal Maniacs’, Andrew Marsh of the bands Winterhearth and Dead Inner Youth, who originally came up with the idea for this segment, will kick things off!

Hey everyone! This is Andrew Marsh from WinterheartH! Today I have picked 10 albums that have undeniably influenced my musical playing as well as song writing executions. I have excluded anything from the local scene in Newfoundland as well as Atlantic Canada as I don’t want to seem biased because we have an amazing scene with amazing talent. I have also included 10 other honorable mentions that I just had to list and not say “man…. should have at least acknowledged that album as well”. So here we go!

Black Sabbath – Never Say Die

I know some people may be surprised by this choice. Last album to feature Ozzy (until 13 came out). The title track is one of my all time favourite Sabbath songs. So energetic I hope to cover it myself one day. If I’m having a hard day, that song will always turn my spirits around. “Johnny Blade” is quite the journey as well. “Air Dance” is also a really awesome track and so is “Over to You”. It’s just an album you wouldn’t expect from Sabbath and sadly you can feel a sense of change now looking at what album came after. Sabbath was the working class band in the 70’s. Was recorded in Toronto too I do believe!

Diamond Head – Lightning to the Nations

Legendary debut album from a legendary NWOBHM band. I have 2 copies of this album. It’s literally taking Sabbath, Zeppelin and Deep Purple and mashing it altogether. So many amazing riffs. “The Prince” is such a killer song. All the songs I can listen to on repeat for hours and never be tired of it. Brian Tatler is a huge reason why I love Flying Vs so much (along with Schenker, Mustaine and Amott to name a few others in that department). You listen to albums like Kill ‘Em All by Metallica or Countdown to Extinction by Megadeth, they’re basically sped up Diamond Head albums. This album in 1980 was definitely a foundation / blueprint of what was coming next!

Dissection – The Somberlain

Dissection are notorious for a unique blend of technical and melodic black metal. Jon Nodtveidt is definitely considered a controversial person. You can hear the darkness of his soul in his music. Dissection has a sense of nihilism I’ve never heard in other bands. Unfortunately he made some choices that had massive consequences and ultimately when he got out of prison he eventually committed suicide. Considering Dissection are a Swedish black metal band you can definitely hear a precursor to what would morph into the Gothenburg melodic death scene here. Slaughter of the Soul by At the Gates would definitely be considered ground breaking in that department to.

Sepultura – Beneath the Remains

Moving on we have arguably the most successful metal and rock act to ever come out of South America. This was also the album that gave Scott Burns his start as producer. Scott Burns and his Morrisound Studio would become a champion in death metal production. The musicianship of the Cavalera brothers as well as Paulo’s bass playing and Andreas’ amazing lead skills are all over this album. I can see how people in countries in South America as well as places like Spain or Mexico would be so into Sepultura. Their music spoke to those who thought their voice never mattered. I always saw Sepultura and Sarcofago as the warriors of, for lack of better words, “third world countries”.

Carcass – Heartwork

On the topic of producers who defined a genre we have Heartwork. Produced by Colin Richardson. Another world renowned producer. Heartwork was easily 15 years ahead of it’s time. Carcass being known as grindcore with gore influence as you seen from precious albums like Symphonies of Sickness. Now you have an album that uses borderline radio song writing formula but still have fantastic extreme metal riffs. It’s also complimented so well with Steer and Amott’s bluesy 70’s metal style solos. Another album that laid the blueprint for melodic death metal and even what became 2000’s metalcore. Phenomenal album.

Venom – Black Metal

What can I say about the first two Venom albums that hasn’t been said? Legendary is just putting it lightly. Venom, when I was a kid, actually used to scare me. I remember having “Sacrifice” on as a teen and my mother flipping out cause of the lyric “lightning strikes, a virgin dies, Satan smiles”. Venom in their day, there was nothing heavier and more sinister happening until you started to hear the likes of Hellhammer and Bathory. Like you had very sinister songs like “Heroes End” by Priest or “Baphomet” by Angel Witch but not a whole album of pure sinister evil. To this day the hair on my arm stands as soon as I hit play. The album defined a subgenre!!! Who else did that besides Possessed with the song “Death Metal”?

Immortal – At the Heart of Winter

Finally moving into the notorious Norwegian black metal scene. This was the fifth studio album by Immortal. It’s such an amazing blend of unique ambiance, meets second wave black metal meets the kind of riffs you’d expect Randy Rhoads or Ritchie Blackmore to play if they were black metal musicians. Abbath and Demonaz never get the credit they deserve for their musicianship and song writing. You can listen to this album without one word being said and you will understand what the music is portraying. For the “true raw” fans of the genre you may not like this album as much as Pure Holocaust but the riffs and structures are second to none.

Mayhem – Live in Leipzig

Another album from the notorious Norwegian black metal scene and the only live album on the list. What a raw lo-fi album from the legendary tour Mayhem did with Dead. This album will always make me wonder how different Des Mysteriis would have been if Dead never committed suicide. Dead wasn’t playing a character, that is who he was. Also, listen to “Necrolust” on Deathcrush then listen to “Necrolust” on this album. Manheim was a great drummer but what Hellhammer transformed the song into here was incredible. Easily one of the greatest drummers in Metal history.

Windir – Sogneriket

The only demo on this list. This demo tape really changed how I constructed music back in my teenage years. Windir was such a one of a kind in black metal I’m all about a mixture of amazing soundscapes with catchy riffs. This demo has it all. Valfar was as young as 16 when he released this demo tape. Listen to “Norron Seier” and you will understand what I’m having a difficult time explaining why I love this demo tape. It hits me in the heart like no other.

Mercyful Fate – Melissa

Here we have the authors of metal rhythm guitar if you will. This album is truly incredible like all Mercyful Fate or King Diamond. The structures are like taking metal and giving it a classical spin without the classical flashy lead playing. It’s progressive without being a 20 minute opus. This band also use to scare me as a kid with King Diamond being a member of Church of Satan. When you know that you feel the music itself is more than just Halloween. I would get a spiritual sense from some of the tracks. The twists and turns in songs like “At the Sound of the Demon Bell” or “Satan’s Fall”. You’d get riffs that were harder than Priest and then BAM, a really cool bluesy rock riff. Shermann and Denner are an unbelievably underrated guitar duel. More people need this album in their life. The title tracks is an eerie ballad about a witch being executed!

Well I hope you enjoyed my take on 10 albums that greatly influenced my music. Here are 10 more albums that I have to mention! Even now I’m rotted because I never mentioned a Kreator or Sodom album!

Ozzy – Diary of a Madman
Kat – 666
Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
Metallica – …And Justice For All
Master’s Hammer – Ritual
Cardinal Sin – Spiteful Intents
Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion
Slayer – Show No Mercy
Bathory – Blood Fire Death
Tormentor – Anno Domini

~ Written by Andrew Marsh
~ Edited by Akhenaten

Album Review: Devastator – Fight or Die

January 12, 2022 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

Devastator – Fight or Die
November 22nd, 2021
Groove / Thrash Metal
Independently Released
St. John’s, Newfoundland

Coming as a complete surprise to everyone in the local metal scene of St. John’s, Newfoundland, local heavy legends Devastator released their third full length album, Fight or Die, with little to no buildup or anticipation on November 22nd of last year. The album came completely out of nowhere, shocking a lot of people, myself especially, who didn’t expect to have to review a glut of new full length records coming right at the tail end of 2021. But that’s neither here nor there.

Devastator have kind of found themselves moving to and fro across the metal subgenre spectrum throughout their career. Their earlier material fits comfortably within the thrash metal world, but as their career has gone on, their subsequent material has evolved, taking influences from death metal and melding into a groove metal sound similar to that of a Machine Head or Lamb of God type of band. That being said I don’t think it’s fair to lump Devastator into either of these genres because they do a good job of combining them all together.

For example, on the song “Fight or Die”, the style of riffing present combined with the clean vocals, remind me a lot of modern Anthrax. There’s a lot of vibrato in the voice on this track as well as many of the others following suit. In fact I think the Anthrax influence is palpable on this record, as I could easily see a lot of these riffs being inspired by the work of Jonathan Donais and Scott Ian. We then come to the following track, “Creepy Feeling”, however, which seems to draw some influence from the deathcore and metalcore world with the way the leads play over the chugging guitars in the background. It stands in stark contrast with the galloping vibes of the opener.

Up next is “Invisible” which switches things up again with its speed metal esque riffs and drumming that seems to draw influence from NWOBHM era groups like Iron Maiden and Saxon or older German acts like Accept. There’s still a thrash edge to it, but the tempo and the style of riffing feels a lot older to me. I particularly like the moments on here where the guitars drop out and allow the bass to shine through the mix.

The band switches things up again on “Not for Tomorrow”, which has an almost nu metal esque vibe to it with the way the song grooves back and forth. It’s one of those tunes that almost commands you to headbang along to it based solely on the percussive attack of the guitars and bass. “The Watcher” slows things down a bit, conjuring some of the vibes of “Creepy Feeling” once again with the way the song relies on these quieter, tension-building sections before launching into the heavier parts. There are vibes of 90’s Slayer on this track with the way those creepy atmospheric sections build tension before the song’s tremolo picked bridge picks up the pace and the aggression.

Following “The Watcher” is “Legacies”, a song which previously appeared on a compilation record released by Still Heavy Productions. This song continues the slower and quieter vibes established on “The Watcher”, but goes even further down that route. The riffs on here really remind me of something that would have come out of the nu metal or grunge world, it just feels very 90’s to me. Combined with the heavy reverb that drenches the quiet guitar work, I feel like the band might even be drawing influence from a group like Tool or Karnivool on this track. Unfortunately, I think this song might have the weakest vocal performance of the entire record, which is a shame because up until now I’ve felt like the vocals were pretty decent.

Finally we come to “Even”, the last song on the album, which once again draws on the speed metal influences heard previously on the song “Invisible”, though this time things are a little bit slower. The guitar work on here reminds me immensely of Judas Priest’s modern material, as well as that of a group like Testament or Exodus. It’s very, unapologetically ‘metal’ in its most literal sonic sense.

Ultimately this album doesn’t really do anything unique or new, and in some ways you could look at it as a retread of genre tropes that have been done before by the multitude of other groups mentioned throughout this review. However, what Devastator does I think they do well. This is some pretty solid, well manufactured groove metal that brings the riffs throughout from beginning to end, even though the vocals may lack their desired impact on occasion. I might not like this album as much as I did 2013’s Fragile Messiah, but I still think it’s a worthwhile listen and I think it’ll definitely be pleasing to the die hard Devastator fans. This band has cultivated a loyal following over their three-decade-long existence, and it’s not hard to see why.

Final Verdict: 7/10
Good

Favourite Tracks:
“Creepy Feeling”
“Invisible”
“Not for Tomorrow”

For Fans Of:
Testament
Anthrax
Pantera
Lamb of God

~ Akhenaten

Album Review: Artach – Sworn to Avenge

November 9, 2021November 7, 2021 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

*“…to find the elusive Northwest Passage.”*

Artach – Sworn to Avenge
June 25th, 2021
Black Metal
Depressive Illusions Records
St. John’s, Newfoundland

The notorious St. John’s black metal duo of Artach have returned to the wintry wilds of the extreme metal world with this sophomore offering. Sworn to Avenge is the second album from this ever more raw and destructive force from the Newfoundland wilderness, released through Ukrainian black metal label Depressive Illusions Records in the summer of this year. I’ve had quite a bit of time to digest this rather monolithic release, which clocks in at just over an hour, and am finally ready to divulge my thoughts on it to you all.

Opening with the sound of gusting winds careening across a desolate tundra as the roar of a beast and the laugh of witch pierce through the ambiance, you get the feeling that what awaits you on this record is not for the faint of heart. Indeed, the opening track, “Tuiteam an Duine”, which is Gaelic for “The Fall of Man”, wastes no time assaulting the listener with a rather frantic riff playing over blast beats and coupled with the tortured screams of vocalist and percussionist Fiochmar. This opening track rumbles onwards for just over seven minutes, and showcases numerous tempo and time signature changes throughout, showcasing the group’s lack of respect for conventional songwriting standards. We even get a brief moment of cowbell playing on this track to emphasize just how little Artach wish to adhere to the rule books of black metal. Who cares about the rules anyways? Fuck the rules, says I.

Perhaps “Tuiteam an Duine” is a portent for what to expect from the rest of the record, as the songs that follow see Artach experimenting more with tempo and time signature changes, as well as invoking riff and melody ideas from across the spectrum of the metal world. “Ice Throne” involves some pretty flashy death metal riffage in its opening before launching into a kind of epic black metal galloping sound that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old school Immortal record. Similarly, “Into the Frozen Woodlands” conjures foggy remembrance of old school thrash bands like Slayer and Megadeth in the way the riffs are composed, but when the song comes together it feels like more of a melding of these disparate worlds together into a sort of blackened thrash sound.

Vocally this record sees Fiochmar stay mostly within his typical range of throaty rasping that sounds like an imprisoned demon trying desperately to break free from its chains while being possessed by the spirit of an even bigger, more insane demon. But there are some moments when he breaks free from this typical style and tries something different. I particularly like the “woah-woahs” that pop up on “Ice Throne”, which hearken back to some old school folk-infused black metal projects like Isengard. On the song “Shimmer” he even lets himself get slightly more melodic during the bridge, if only for a few lines, while he engages in a more spoken word style of delivery in the intro to “Endless Tundra”.

The guitars, however, are doing all sorts of different things on this album. While some songs may feel more grounded in the realm of epic black metal a la the previously mentioned Immortal, or even Taake, it’s clear that axeman Sruthan takes influence from many different areas. Elements of the track “Shimmer”, for example, invoke the memory of groups like Mercyful Fate or King Diamond during some riffs, before launching into more conventional, Darkthrone-esque tremolo picking. While Immortal seems to be a fairly obvious influence on Artach’s songwriting and Sruthan’s guitar playing (much like fellow St. John’s black metal alumni Winterhearth), it wouldn’t be too far fetched to bring up old school death metal acts like Death or Possessed as influences as well, especially when you hear those pinch harmonics present on tracks like “Endless Tundra”. The riffs also don’t shy away from melodic death metal influence here and there, especially on the song “She Gathers Leaves”, a Halloween-inspired ripper that I would say sounds like At the Gates meets Dethklok, albeit much more lo fi.

In regards to the drumming I think Fiochmar has upped his game here, involving lots of different types of beats throughout the record, from blast beats to slower, more plodding gallops, to war-like tom beats to thrash-style one-two one-twos. In the past I’ve felt like Fiochmar’s drumming was a bit too flashy, like he couldn’t decide which cymbal he wanted to be the backbone of any particular beat he was laying down. While I think there are still some points where he engages in this kind of playing, it feels like he’s reigned that in a bit more. Most of the songs on this record seem to have a more consistent approach to the drum tracks, which, as a drummer myself, I can appreciate. There are, however, also some moments where it seems like the drums and guitars go out of sync. For some people this can add character to a recording since it makes the performance feel more human. However, from my perspective, it feels amateurish. I can tell because I’ve done the same thing in the past. I don’t know if Artach eschew the idea of recording to a metronome, but if they do then perhaps they should consider doing so on their next full length, if only to tighten up these few instances where synchronicity seems to be an issue.

Lyrically I can’t discern what each song is about on here since the band has only posted lyrics for a few of the tracks online. By and large this collection of tracks seems to mostly about typical black metal subject matter: warriors, ice, storms, battles, kingdoms, winter, forests, tundras, etc. You get the idea. However, there are a few exceptions. The track “Endless Tundra” is a 21 minute odyssey about the many failed attempts throughout the 1800’s to locate the elusive Northwest Passage, a trade route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Canadian Arctic. I’m a slut for songs about historical subject matter like this, and I think Artach do a good job of evoking the feeling of being lost in a desolate Arctic wasteland after your ship has become trapped in the pack ice, only to die of exposure in the middle of nowhere, never to be found.

Instrumentally I think Artach have pushed the boundary of what they achieved on their previous record. The structure of the songs here are more experimental and incredibly diverse, especially with the aforementioned “Endless Tundra”. The guitars push up against the limits of what one would typically expect from black metal while also keeping a foot firmly planted in that world, so as not to stray too far from the conventions that make the genre what it is. It’s an interesting middle ground and I’d like to see Artach continue to push these ideas further on their next release. This album as a whole sees the band try different things and generally improve upon the formula established on their debut, and I look forward to seeing what they do next.

Final Verdict: 8/10
Great

Favourite Tracks:
“Ice Throne”
“Shimmer”
“Endless Tundra”
“Into the Frozen Woodlands”

For Fans Of:
Immortal
Darkthrone
Celtic Frost
Bathory

~ Akhenaten

An Interview with Michael Small

August 17, 2021August 14, 2021 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

Jaded Truth are a three piece grunge band from St. John’s, NL featuring Kyle Woodland on guitar and vocals, Aaron Jones on bass, and Michael Small on drums. The band has released two full length records so far, 2020’s ‘Rx’, and 2021’s ‘Tsukimono’. We sat down to have a chat with Michael Small about the band’s origins, their influences, and what they have coming next.

First off, tell the people who we’re talking to!

My name is Michael Small. I play drums in Jaded Truth. And we’ve got Kyle Woodland on guitar and vocals, Aaron Jones on bass. I’ve played drums in several bands in St John’s over the years, such as Winterhearth, Within the Realm, Across Darkness, and most recently Tower of Skulls

Can you tell us a bit about the history of the band? How did Jaded Truth come to be?

Jaded Truth formed in 2019. I knew Kyle and Aaron from their previous band Lying Season. So when I heard they were looking to start a new band I immediately saw an opportunity there. I didn’t know the guys that well at the time but I knew we all had similar influences, so we met up started jamming. It all took awhile to develop but over the past few years we’ve definitely became super tight as a band!

How did you decide on the name ‘Jaded Truth’? What does the name mean?

We had a hard time coming up with a name. To me, the name just represents nihilism and apathy. The world is a tough and brutal place, humans are shitty, life is going to screw you over no matter what you do… and that’s the jaded truth.

You guys seem to have some pretty obvious influences, Nirvana and other prominent grunge bands from the 90’s being among them. Can you tell us a bit about what other artists might have inspired your sound?

Nirvana and Alice in Chains are big ones. Also Primus. More of our heavy side probably comes from bands like Metallica, even Slayer and Pantera. Seether is another one. We take alot of influences from hip hop. Kyle loves Eminem, I’m a huge 2pac fan. And stuff like The Beatles & Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath. It’s a pretty eclectic mix.

A lot of people would say that the genre of grunge is long past its heyday, but there seems to have been somewhat of a resurgence in the style within the past few years. What is it about the grunge movement that drew you to playing this type of music?

Yeah I think a lot of people are in love with that era. Bands like Nirvana were just really influential to a lot of people. They identified with the attitude and the lyrics. Once a movement starts you’re gonna have copycat bands. We’ve been accused of this ourselves! We take a lot of influence from that era but I think we really developed our own style with these past two albums. I’ll proudly admit I’m a Nirvana fan boy but we definitely have a wider sound, we do things Nirvana would never have done. Those bands just started it all for me back in high school. I started wearing flannel shirts and growing my hair and never look back haha.

Your first album, Rx, was released in 2020, with Tsukimono following it up in 2021. How did you approach this record as opposed to the first?

This new album was pretty much recorded all during COVID. Once restrictions eased up, we just started jamming, writing riffs and recording. Some of the stuff on the album was recorded 10 minutes after it was written. We came up with something, practiced it a few times and recorded it. It was really spontaneous and we weren’t really thinking about anything, we’re just letting it happen. We don’t really know where these songs came from. Somehow, we channeled this music from the ethers.

As a lot of people probably already know, you record everything in your own home studio for each band that you’re in, such as Tower of Skulls. How did you get into home recording and how do you think your approach to recording has changed over the years?

So I went to Academy Canada in St John’s for music and recording arts. I pretty much learned the basics there. Over the years I’ve just been collecting gear and assembling my studio. I think I’ve learned a lot over each album that I’ve done. Every mix and recording I do gets a little bit better, I think. It’s just a constant learning experience. There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to recording.

‘Tsukimono’ was mastered by Jack Endino, famous for working with legendary grunge bands like the aforementioned Nirvana, as well as Soundgarden. Can you tell us how that happened?

Obviously we are huge fans of his work. I just messaged him on Bandcamp and he responded to me. I saw an interview, where he mentioned he was doing a lot of mastering these days so I thought it would be perfect for this project. I just sent him the files and communicated through email. He was really easy to work with and just super supportive of the underground scene.

Speaking of your newest record, how did you come up with the title ‘Tsukimono’ and what does it mean?

Tsukimono means “possessed thing” in Japanese. I think anyone who grew up in the nineties was influenced by Japanese culture. I’ve always been interested in the spiritual side and I believe in ghosts and the paranormal. Like I said, some of these songs really came from nowhere. I felt like an outside force really was driving the making of these songs. The first album Rx was more of a mental journey. We kind of approached this album as more of a spiritual journey.

Can you tell us a bit about the lyrical subject matter on this record? Grunge is known for being a relatively pessimistic and depressive genre when it comes to lyrical topics. Do you guys follow in the footsteps of the genre’s greats? Or do you approach lyrics in a different manner?

We try to make the albums really cinematic and when it comes to the lyrics I think they just add to the atmosphere that is created by the music. A lot of the songs have been described as “brooding”. There are definitely themes of frustration and struggle. Kyle writes all the lyrics so I’m sure some of them have personal meaning to him. I think his lyrics are really ambiguous so you can paint your own picture in your head

Final question about the album itself. What the hell is going on on the cover art?!

So the covered was created by Kyle and his girlfriend. They do a lot of photography and graphic design. I know it’s a merger of several photos. To me it fits the album perfectly. Its kinda trippy. You’re not really sure what you’re looking at. It looks like a figure merging with a tree? Who knows! Like I said it’s meant to be ambiguous and open to interpretation.

Now that COVID restrictions have loosened and the pandemic seems to be slowly coming to an end in North America, are you guys planning on getting back to the stage to perform live? If so, what songs from this new record are you looking forward to playing the most?

We’ll definitely have a few gigs coming soon. Sometimes it’s hard to book gigs because we all work day jobs and have different schedules. We were lucky to play a few gigs this year and people seem to really be enjoying the new tracks. “Saturn’s Refrain” is the opener and that’s a real fun one to play. “Untouchable” is really groovy and always gets the crowd boppin’!!! Another cool one is “No Space Like Home” that’s about the deck and all the great times we had at Distortion, so that’s another fun one to play!

What’s next on the horizon for Jaded Truth?

So we just dropped a new music video for a track off the album and we are doing another one real soon! Definitely be a few gigs around St. John’s coming in the fall. And right now we are just working on writing songs for album number 3! We already have over 20 demos of new songs recorded! We’re taking more time with the writing and recording for this one! We really want to evolve our sound and do some things we haven’t done before! So stay tuned for Jaded Truth album 3 in 2022!

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us here at Heavy NFLD!

~ Akhenaten

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