Ti West’s X: A Critical Review

April 3 2022 // Kaitlyn Martin-DiBartolo // Film

Warning: this review contains spoilers

There are seldom things more ‘70’s than a group of young friends, clad in cowboy boots and flares, embarking on a road trip seemingly in the middle of nowhere in rural Texas to film an adult movie. Directed, written, and produced by Ti West, X is set in 1979, paying homage to the slasher films of the 1970’s; the decade’s nostalgic charm being admittedly, exactly what prompted me to buy my pass for the movie within minutes of reading about it last week, as well as the fact that slasher movies have become increasingly unpopular and I was eager to see what a modern day interpretation of the classic slasher films would look like. 

Zeal & Ardor Review

April 1 2022 // Andrew Wieler // Magazine // Music Reviews

Boy, the new Zeal & Ardor album is good.

Oh, that's probably bad. I shouldn't start out with the direct opinion, right? It defeats the purpose of you reading the rest of the article. But, then again, I can't be accused of burying the lead. Maybe what I should do is act like I didn't start with any of this. I could edit it out I guess, but... no, that seems like work.

Metal My Movie: Annette

March 31 2022 // Remi Caron // Film
Viewer discretion is advised before watching this film. Find out more information here.
 

Death Kult Over Black Congregation: The New Wave of Chinese Black Metal

March 28 2022 // Dan Yang // Magazine // Interviews

In 2019 and 2020, Pest Productions, A black metal label from China, released two compilations of emerging Chinese black metal on Bandcamp. New bands with a diverse range of black metal subgenres were introduced in the compilations, including old school bm, blackened death, dsbm, nihilist bm, black/thrash, post bm/blackgaze, symphonic bm, as well as folk bm, which gave birth to the New Wave of Chinese Black Metal. This year in January, Pest Productions have returned with the third compilation, bringing more talented Chinese black metal bands to overseas metal fans (I posted links at the bottom of the article of the three compilations which are free to download on Bandcamp).

Underoath - Voyeurist Album Review

March 24 2022 // Andrew Wieler // Magazine // Music Reviews

Are you ready for a hot take? I... am not a fan of COVID. I know, right now you're sitting there saying, "Andrew, what are you TALKING ABOUT?! COVID has made it so I know how to make bread during the upcoming climate disaster, AND I learned the very basics of a new language so I can trade as I wander the wastelands of our ruined society."

Try A Little Tenderness: Dark Folk Solo Artists As An Introduction to Metal

March 21 2022 // Chris the Frog // Magazine // Features

We get it. Not everyone loves metal like we do. The harsh vocals, heavy distorted guitars and blast beats can often be a turn off. But even the most hardened metalheads didn’t start their musical journey listening to the most brutal of death metal bands. We had to be slowly eased into the genre, beginning with something accessible before diving deep into pure aggression.

Sepultura and Sacred Reich Revive Thrash Metal at the Corona Theatre

March 18 2022 // Hunter Walwaski // Magazine // Concert Reviews

The 2022 Sepultura/Sacred Reich tour made its Montreal stop yesterday – uniting metal fans across the city. This much needed gathering came in the wake of the province’s easing of COVID-19 restrictions, with concert venues only re-opening at full capacity five days beforehand.

Metal My Movie: The Velvet Underground

March 17 2022 // Remi Caron // Film
Let me start off with my first experience while listening to The Velvet Underground’s debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, (a collaboration between The Velvet Underground and German singer Nico) which I discovered during my college days after listening to Lou Reed’s Transformer. The album has the rockabilly aspect for sure and it’s nothing too jarring at first. Skip forward to the song “Heroin” - starts off fine but closes with the most chaotic jarring sounds of Lou Reed’s electric guitar and John Cale’s electric viola.

The Cannibalization of Nomenclature in Metal Music: Will We Ever Run Out of Band Names?

March 15 2022 // Hunter Walwaski // Magazine // Features

From a sociological perspective, music genres have completely plateaued. Analyzing any style of music, from psych rock, hip hop, folk, to metal, undoubtedly reveals a past point of origination and a list of artists who founded the genre within a scene. Easy examples of these historical points are psychedelic rock and the 1967 Summer of Love, disco sprawling out of urban nightclubs in the 1970s, goth rock and the UK scene of the same name in the 1980s… you get the idea.

​Making Films and Making Family: Rhayne Vermette on Ste. Anne

March 12 2022 // Film

Content Warning: Mentions Indigenous children’s unmarked graves and residential schools

In the opening sequence of Ste. Anne, a lone figure slowly makes her way across a prairie field at dusk. A train whistles in the distance. It’s fall, and foreboding storm clouds have gathered just above the horizon. 

We learn that this is Renée (played by filmmaker Rhayne Vermette herself), a Métis woman whose family hasn’t seen or heard from her in four years, including her young daughter Athene (Isabelle d’Eschambault). 

Now, without a word of warning or explanation, she has decided to come home.

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