and April just flew by (metal reviews but no show for me)

April is turning into a dead month for me in terms of live music (at least two years running). It's not that the music isn't happening. The problem seems to be that the paths I'm moving on this month (and for many Aprils past) don't support my concert-going habits.

In the meantime, I've spent a fair number of hours listening to new music. And if I've bothered to listen to it, chances are I liked it, at least a little. In some cases, a lot.

So here I offer a little taste of what I've been hearing...

I have a nostalgic attachment to Primordial's Storm Before Calm, a re-release this year, so that album keeps showing up on my playlist. But, as you can read at exclaim.ca, I'm enjoying their new one too: Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan's Hand (Metal Blade).

A few other releases from last week caught my ear as well: the neo-folkishness of Aerial Ruin (Valleys Of The Earth, Vendlus), the black metallishness of Krallice (Diotima, Profound Lore), and the science fictionality of Graviton (Massless, Translation Lost).

The week before it was SepticFlesh that sparked my most alert attention, as my review at hellbound.ca explains: SepticFlesh – The Great Mass (Season of Mist). For a little contrast, I was also enjoying Graveyard's blues retro hard rock (Hisingen Blues, Nuclear Blast), and dipping into three (industrial/gothic) Lacrimosa re-releases.

Now onto a new month, more new releases, and more live music!

pentagram vs believer vs conflicted = pentagram for the win

I went to sleep with a rotten throat and woke up will a full-blown virus infestation, so I did not imagine today was set to be a particularly good day. Surprise, surprise! It's a little chilly, but sunny. And the email gods have delivered the new Primordial album to my inbox!

Plus I remembered that Pentagram's Last Rites comes out today, and I like it. (see my Pentagram review at exclaim.ca, but for more background info you might also check out Sean Palmerston's review of Last Rites at hellbound.ca).

I discovered Pentagram late – courtesy of Max the Axe, a metal-loving, radio-listening taxi driver in KW. The discovery, not the lateness, was Max's doing when he requested I play the band on Kill Eat Exploit the Weak. Having gotten a sense of my doomy tastes from regularly hearing the show he figured I ought to know the band, or if not, that I should. Wherever you are, Max, thanks for the recommendation!

I was also considering reviewing Believer's Transhuman this week, but I couldn't settle into the record. It, and Conflicted's Never Be Tamed were grating on my nerves, but I can't tell if it's entirely due to the music or if I'm just predisposed to be edgy right now. Either way, I was disappointed. I wasn't familiar with Conflicted before but they had seemed promising. Knowing Believer, though, I had high hopes for that one. And the concept is an immediate draw for me:

"Transhumanism: The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies." (www.believerband.com)

I like the opening track, "Lie Awake," but from there begins on in the complexity Maybe I'll let a few weeks go by, read the lyrics, and give it another try.

april 9 is love a cat day

Here at the keew household I have declared April 9 annual Love A Cat day.

It's been one year since one of the awesomest cats ever, Xavier, passed away. Rather than being sad about it, I've decided to celebrate his memory by spreading and encouraging a little extra cat love. (though feel free to include in the affection any dogs or other critters you come across today as well)

Love A Cat day is also a good excuse to highlight some cats in particular need of love and some of the organizations making an effort to help them. (other recommendations welcome)

Close to home, the Burlington Humane Society is a no-kill shelter for cats and dogs. I happily volunteered there for a short time when I had the chance, and I can attest to the quality of care and attention the animals receive until they find humans to bond with and take them home. All the cats (and dogs) available for adoption are profiled on BHS's website, but you can also go and visit them in person during operating hours. Besides donating volunteer hours and cash, you can also help out BHS by shopping in or donating to either of their two volunteer-run second-hand stores.

A few years ago I worked in a Waterloo Pet Valu location where we regularly fostered cats and kittens who were looking for homes. The organization we partnered with is still in operation - a KW-based cat rescue and adoption group called Pet Patrol, though now they also have a website profiling all their adoptable felines. The cats that came into the store were always well cared for and I got a chance to visit Pet Patrol headquarters while profiling cat rescue groups for local alternative weekly Echo. Founding volunteer Jan rescued and adopted out numerous cats, providing clean and healthy accommodations for them in her own home or finding foster care with other caring volunteers.

While living in St. Catharines I also had a chance to get involved, in the tiniest of ways, with local organization Niagara Action for Animals. NAfA has a much broader animal protection mandate but their actions include adoption and spay-and-neuter programs for companion animals (as well as a monthly vegan potluck social). Checkout Petfinder for info on NAfA-connected adoption-ready animals.

Several years ago, through the yearly Vegetarian Food Fair in Toronto, I also discovered Toronto Cat Rescue, another volunteer-run, no-kill organization dedicated to finding homes for homeless cats. Like many similar groups, Toronto Cat Rescue features photos and descriptions on their website of cats who are up for adoption.

These are just a few of the groups in Southern Ontario that are involved in spreading a little cat love. I thank them for their hard work and encourage you to show them a little love and support too.

which blue moon?

Sometimes I think I'll just give it all up and become a country singer.

(because I'm practical that way)

So last night I was listening to Patsy Cline for some inspiration, but found myself slightly less than inspired by her version of "Blue Moon of Kentucky." But I couldn't think which version I had in mind as 'the' authoritative recording, making her version fall short by comparison. Hence a little (youtube) research ensued.

The song has been recorded and performed by more artists than I care to hear. These are what I consider to be the three 'classic' recordings.

Bill Monroe wrote and released the song in '46/'47, so you might think I would let him lay claim to it. But his bluegrass invention (and re-iteration ) of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" isn't the one for me.

early Monroe

later Monroe

Patsy Cline's version isn't either. My problem with her recording isn't with her vocal performance but the 60s Nashville arrangement. The hip-shaking vibe and sax/vocal/guitar call & response, especially, fail to do the song's blue melancholy justice.

Patsy Cline sings "Blue Moon..."

I think the Elvis Presley recording may win my vote. The reverb on his voice, the clickety percussion, the busy electric guitar, and especially the rockabilly groove...

Presley's Sun Sessions version

Now I've got a hankering for a road trip.

just another tweeter (and more reviews)

Now on twitter. More to follow.

scimetalvegan

an opinion or a few:

Vintersorg – Jordpuls @exclaim.ca

Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising @exclaim.ca

Agalloch live in London ON @exclaim.ca

Turisas – Stand Up and Fight @hellbound.ca

a tribute to dogs

I'm a cat person, not a dog person. But over the years I have encountered a few dogs who get past my defenses and nuzzle their way into my heart. Recently, I've found myself more susceptible than ever.

Today's post is a tribute to one dog in particular, an aptly named black and white darling (Flash) who recently lost his life.

Dogs, like many other animals, communicate without needing to resort to human speech. And we are capable of apprehending some of that message, partially through interpretation and translation, but affectively as well, without needing to frame that apprehension in recognizable words.

This potential for communication, its visual dimension at least, is captured in a poignant series of photos of dogs in cars, by Martin Usborne (thanks to Boing Boing for the link).

Dog-human, especially dog-woman, intimacy is the subject of a deeply-moving intellectual study by Alice Kuzniar – Melancholia's Dog: Reflections on our Animal Kinship. I recommend it.