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]
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.
St. John’s hard rock outfit The Hellfire Club have been hard at work on their third full length record, now known as Volume III, since at least January of 2023. The group had launched into writing mode following the recruitment of Jerry Martin as their new bassist, and as of 2024 it seems the writing process has been completed. In a post made to the group’s Instagram on Thursday, January 11th, 2024 the band stated that writing has been concluded and they are due to hit the studio in March of 2024 to begin recording.
The first month of 2023 has already come and gone. Can you believe how fast time passes these days? In any case let’s look at the awesome start that the year got off to in January!
We also released the 50th episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast! This episode focused specifically on grindcore, and as such, is a bit shorter than some of my previous episodes. You can listen to it on Bandcamp as well as YouTube.
Albums Archived – Artach – Ride… Die… Immortality! [Single / Black Metal] – Artach – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer [Single / Black Metal] – Canvas – Sweet Dreams [Demo / Alternative Rock] – Everose – Thorns / Threads [EP / Alternative Metal] – Grole – With a Pike Upon My Shoulder [LP / Black Metal] – Hakapik – Pig Skull [Demo / Grindcore] – Jaded Truth – A City Drowned [Single / Grunge] – Jaded Truth – Take a Seat [LP / Grunge] – Jaded Truth – Tsukimono [LP / Grunge] – Kaspam Cult – Samhain [Single / Crossover] – Knarl – Shed Demo ’22 [Demo / Hardcore] – Last Cigar – Don’t Tango (With the Rango) [Single / Stoner Rock] – Last Cigar – Giving It All Away [Single / Stoner Rock] – Last Cigar – Live at The Levee [Live EP / Stoner Rock] – Madison Strip – Empty Shells [Single / Hard Rock] – Mistwalker – Antichristmas [EP / Black n’ Roll] – Rick Massie – O Come, All Ye Faithful [Single / Progressive Metal] – Sick Puppy – Haunt the Hill [EP / Hardcore] – Smoke Signals – Spite You [Single / Hardcore]
St. John’s hard rock outfit The Hellfire Club are back in the jam space working on new material for their upcoming third release, which may be either an EP or a full length record. Following the release of the band’s second album, Volume II, the third release was announced to be in the works via a post to the band’s social media pages on December 16th, 2022. In the same post the band also revealed that they have recruited Jerry Martin as their new bassist following the departure of former bassist Todd Sauve.
July certainly ramped things up in terms of the stories we covered here at Heavy NFLD. There was a glut of huge stories like the introduction of ‘loading zone’ parking spaces all across St. John’s to help support gigging musicians, the unfortunate breaking and entering of Plan B Bar and Lounge, the announcement of Billy Talent and Death from Above 1979 playing this year’s installment of Iceberg Alley, and the reveal of Lawnya Vawnya 11’s lineup. Beyond the we were also treated to a bunch of new singles from the likes of Criss Rogers, Most Likely Forever, Rick Massie and others while Laxidaisy dropped their debut EP.
There was also an insane amount of new music promised from artists, including announcements of new EPs and LPs by Ratpiss, Slowpoke and Rick Massie while other groups like Vertebraeker and Chimp Apparatus hinted at what was to come. Read on below to discover what happened within our local scene in July 2021.
We also tried our damndest to catch up on the episodes of the podcast which we missed. We first did a make-up episode for May in which we did a deep dive into the underground metal, punk and rock history of Glovertown, which we followed up in August with two additional episodes. But for now you can have a listen to Episode 30: Glovertown Underground, through our Bandcamp embed below.
Albums Archived – Hung Up – Roadrunner ’70 [Skate Punk / EP]
The Hellfire Club – Volume II September 16th, 2020 Hard Rock Independently Released St. John’s, Newfoundland
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not as familiar with The Hellfire Club as perhaps I should be. These guys have been rockin’ up and down the Avalon Peninsula for half of a decade at this point, and in that time they’ve released two full length records of hard hittin’, no bullshit, rock and roll, and Volume II is no exception to that.
From the first notes of “WarBag” you get the sense that these guys are here to kick ass and chew bubblegum and they’re all out of bubblegum. The riffs on this album are all steeped in booze, weed and motor oil and it’s pretty easy to nail down the aesthetic that these guys are going for. While I’d hesitate to use the phrase “butt rock” for the insinuations that can be derived from it, The Hellfire Club do seem to draw influence from that realm of rock and roll. Artists like Hail the Villain and CKY come to mind, but what holds the group back from becoming part of that wave of artists is the soulful and powerful voice of Todd Wall.
Wall’s vocals are the most unique aspect of this band. He has a bit of a higher register than what you’d expect of a band like this, which is part of what makes his contribution to these pieces so interesting. He almost sounds like a cross between Maynard James Keenan of Tool and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die (though in this instance I’m thinking more of his vocal performances in The Damned Things), and lends himself incredibly well to the heavy as balls riffage on this record.
Speaking of riffs that are heavy as balls, did I mention that this album is absolutely dense when it comes to guitar work? I think a lot of it has to do with the production, but even though there’s only one guitarist, Chris White, who is accompanied by bassist Todd Sauve, the axemanship on this album stands out as being particularly sludgey. Songs like the opening “WarBag” and “The Struggle” seem to hearken back to the post grunge era of the early to mid-2000’s when bands like Nickelback and Disturbed were at the top of the charts while Avenged Sevenfold were just blowing up, but other songs like “Black Sky” and “Justice Through Healing” seem to tread more stoner-ish territory, embracing the Sabbathry of the genre.
Sauve’s bass playing does get a few moments to shine, such as during “The Upside Down”, when the guitars quiet down a bit and allow the bass to come through the mix a little easier. When the bass does take the spotlight it sounds fantastic. The crystal clear production on the bass allows it to have this really rustic quality to it, as if you can hear the strings reverberating against the solid wooden body of the instrument like it’s not even plugged into an amp, and is simply amplified by the wooden body of the instrument itself. My favourite bass part, however, comes during the song “Robin Graves” where it definitely steals the show with these super deep and punchy open notes that give the song this feeling of melancholic dread outside of the already mournful guitar and vocal melodies.
Drummer Pete Hanlon isn’t anything to slouch at either. While most of this album sees him wailing away at his various assortment of crash cymbals in standard, mid-tempo beats, other songs like “The Struggle” have him showcase different techniques like adding these little flittering flourishes on the ride cymbal or, during the bridge, picking up the pace to more of a fast, punk-style beat. Meanwhile “The Upside Down” contains some tricky playing on the hi-hats during the verses. Regardless of what he’s doing, Hanlon sounds like a monster on this album, as if every smash of the cymbal is performed with the weight of a dying sun.
In terms of this production this is perhaps one of the best produced loud rock records I’ve heard come out of Newfoundland in quite some time. While I’m not always the biggest fan of this style of production, I think it works really well for this kind of music and what The Hellfire Club is trying to achieve. The guitars and drums are so goddamned beefy on this album that even though I’m not partial to this particular breed of hard rock, I can’t help but get into it and bang my head a little while listening to it.
While I can’t give enough praise to the performances on this record and the production, my biggest gripe with it really comes down to personal taste and a feeling I’ve had regarding a lot of music that I’ve heard come out of the Newfoundland loud rock scene since I became a part of it. There isn’t really much originality to this album, and it oftentimes feels like something that rocketed out of the past decade into the modern era. These songs are fine for what they are, and there’s certainly an audience for them, but I can’t really say with any honesty that that audience includes me. This isn’t me coming down on any of the guys in The Hellfire Club either because, hey, I think a lot of rock and metal musicians are stuck in the past, and that includes myself. It just feels a little strange to me hearing a new album in 2020, made by a relatively new and underground artist, that sounds like the kind of stadium rock you’d hear at the halftime show at a football game in 2005.
Despite this criticism, I think that people who are seeking out this kind of shit-kickin’, beer-drinkin’ rock and roll are really going to enjoy this record. It’s got a lot to offer to the right kind of crowd, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was executed well. While it might not be for me personally, I’m sure there are plenty of people out here who will find themselves getting into this record as well as The Hellfire Club’s debut record, which came out several years beforehand.
Final Verdict:7/10 Good
Favourite Tracks: “WarBag” “Black Sky” “Robin Graves” “Justice Through Healing”
Despite the fact that Newfoundlanders have been dealing with an outbreak of the UK variant of COVID-19 since the early days of February, this month has been particularly active in terms of new music being released. We’ve got some new singles including the much hyped “Scorn” by Ultimata and “Deadman Control” by Aeria, along with a brand new live album from Jim Jones and the Kool-Aid Jammers and the debut demo from hardcore band Hollow Grave. We also did a ton of interviews this month to coincide with the Music NL Awards, of which Qyn was the ultimate winner of the Loud Artist of the Year Award. Head down below to see what happened this past month in the Newfoundland and Labrador heavy music scene!
We also recorded our 27th episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast this month in which we laser focused on thrash metal. Check it out on our Bandcamp page!
Albums Archived – Kyle Gryphon – Isolation [LP / Folk]
St. John’s hard rock outfit The Hellfire Club released their sophomore record Volume II in the latter half of 2020 to a warm reception in the local metal and rock community, leading to the band being nominated for the Loud Artist of the Year Award in the 2020 Music NL Awards. To further promote the record the band has now unveiled a brand new lyric video for the song “Pretty Possessions” which was released through the band’s Facebook page on February 16th, 2021. You can check out the video through the embed below.
HeavyNFLD 