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There will soon be help for new First Nations mothers.

CBC News reports that much needed aid will be provided to new mothers and their babies from Confederation College and Sioux Lookout hospital to assist with the birthing procedure and aftermath.

Like many fans of heavy metal in the past decade or so, I was happy to see thrash metal enjoy a resurgence in popularity. There was a dark age that lasted for a number of years after the style's original decline in the early '90s, but the next decade saw a slow revival. Lots of bands reunited, new and talented thrash bands formed, and the audiences returned. However, I do have a pet peeve concerning many of the newer releases of thrash metal acts. Namely, I believe that new thrash releases all too often make use of the modern tones associated with metalcore styles when they ideally should not.

Some time ago, I played a track from the latest Destruction album on my show. It was terrible. The track might have had some good guitar riffs, but it was ultimately spoiled by the guitar's tone. The guitars sounded like something from every other mall-metal album, those bassy tones that come from the dual rectifier or some other modern high-gain guitar amplifier. That album is a prime example of a thrash metal band failing. There are, however, some more enlightened acts out there.

I think that Ottawa's Iron Dogs are an example of a speed/thrash metal band getting the style right. Their new album Free and Wild has been getting a lot of spins on my show, and for good reason. It's an album with some old school tones, memorable riffs, and excellent man-yells. Their album makes me want to raise the horns and bang my head. Another favourite of mine is Calgary's Gatekrashor. Their 2012 EPFear of Attack is an all-out old school thrash metal assault, and it is full of excellent jams that will incite headbanging. It has a sound that is straight from 1985, and you definitely want to check it out.

Modern tones on thrash albums are something that should be avoided. They make an album sound cheap, and they might make audiences believe your band to be one that advertises itself as "old school metal with modern sensibilities," which is the worst kind of metal band that there is. Just follow the example of the bands that have made artistic successes in the past couple of years, or don't bother trying to play thrash metal. The choice is yours.

--Sean Z. hosts the Sublime State of Doom, every Monday at 8 PM on CJLO.

Heavy snowfall over the weekend into Sunday night means driving on Quebec roads will be difficult until snow clearing operations are completed.

According to CTV, about 35 centimetres of snow have fallen on Montreal since the pre-official-winter snowstorm began Saturday.

And while there have been accidents and closures, the Sûreté du Québec and Transport Quebec have reported no fatalities.

Transport Quebec spokesperson Denis Arsenault advised drivers to delay their trips until Monday if possible to avoid possible accidents.

As for the clean-up, the entire snow-removal operation is expected to take about eight days, as the city has ten thousand kilometers of roads and sidewalks to clear.

Anie Samson of Montreal's executive committee is urging car owners to obey orange parking restrictions to help speed-up the process.

The Montreal police have also issued a warning to pedestrians to be aware of large vehicles to prevent any unfortunate incidents.

Beat the World radio is proud to announce an interview with New York based producer POLICY! Policy rocked Bleury Bar-a-Vinyle following CJLO's weekly 5 a 9 last Friday! His first time in Montreal, let alone Canada, Policy was pumped to share a copy of POSTSCRIPT, his recent vinyl EP,  with CJLO. Listen to Beat The World this Saturday, December 14th at 12-2 pm EST for a more in-depth look into his disco and house-rooted grooves, and more about his remix of "Something You'll Never Forget" by the now-famous African electronic music pioneer, William Onyeabor.