November(+) recap and round-up

I usually tweet what I've been writing for other venues, but I may have missed an item or two this month... With that in mind, along with a nod to the non-twitter folks, a month-end review of reviews (and other stuff) seems in order.

This is a modest list, but probably the last of my reviewing for 2011. It's all year-end coverage from here on in! (and check the latest Exclaim in print for the beginnings of it)

My exclaim.ca contributions, ranging from late October throughout November:

• Opeth and Katatonia live in Guelph (quick summary: I loved the performances but not the audience)
  
• My Dying Bride The Barghest O'Whitby (a good fix, but not a full meal)
• Vallenfyre A Fragile King (part of my recent death metal appreciation bonanza - I also very highly recommend The Tomb Awaits by Entrails)
• Cradle of Filth Evermore Darkly (my experience of the visual component was delayed - fun stuff, British humour, solid live performance, but not an absolute must-have)

And for hellbound.ca:

• It's Kvlt to Eat Your Vegetables (a much delayed report of a group cooking effort inspired by Vegan Black Metal Chef)
  

Stay tuned for December liveliness, what with that aforementioned year-end coverage and other festive nonsense.

Dan Swanö and Ohio Prog 2012 (pledging to help a festival)

In the late 90s (maybe 1998?), Edge of Sanity played the US, appearing at Milwaukee Metalfest. Without Dan Swanö. I almost went. My Edge of Sanity appreciation transcends Swanö as an individual, though just barely. But the stars were not aligned in favour of me making the trip, and really, it wouldn't have been the same.

In November 2001, it was a reverse sort of scenario. Swanö's solo-ish band, Nightingale, were booked for their first North American performance – at Atlanta's ProgPower festival. I wanted to go. I began to plan. But things happened. My plans never came to fruition. And as it turned out, the airline I would have tried to fly on went belly-up days before the fest. Once again, the stars weren't aligned. I did, however, manage to snag a copy of the limited release live recording of the show (signed and numbered by Dan Swanö himself).

In the summer of 2003 I had the honour and pleasure of meeting Swanö in person, and received a personally-guided preview of his about-to-be-released Edge of Sanity comeback-of-sorts, Crimson II. But no live performances were in the cards.

But in September 2012 I may have another chance to see Swanö live. Nightingale is booked to play North American soil once again, this time at the in-the-works OhioProg 2012, presented by the Ohio Progressive Rock Association. The tricky bit is, the festival organizers are looking for funding help, in the form of pledges, to get the festival off the ground.

Making a pledge is only a commitment if the fest takes place, and though you can make a donation, you can also get stuff in return: fest merch for smaller pledges, tickets and merch for larger pledges, and if you've really got some cash you could introduce your favourite artist on-stage, or even join them for dinner.

Where the things getting tricky bit comes in is that the organizers have a pretty big funding goal and a long way to get there in very little time. Interested in helping? Swing by funding platform KickStarter to make your pledge.

For more info, including the list of bands confirmed for the fest, visit OhioProg.com.

more free metal (UK thrash this time)

According to PR for Earache records and UK band Savage Messiah, the thrashers' latest album is available to fans as a free download.

Collectors will have to wait until the new year to get their hard copies of Plague of Conscience, but in the meantime the band and label are encouraging a little viral record promotion. Savage Messiah's frontman explains (in video format).

Check out the download option here: www.earache.com/savagemessiah.

NAfA fundraiser: online art auction

Niagara artist Jan Yates is donating a portion of her proceeds from online art sales to Niagara Action for Animals this holiday season. If you want to bid (this is an auction rather than shopping cart-style deal), or even just see what's up for the bidding, check out her website.

Some info about Yates:

For the past decade Jan Yates has been compelled to create work directly from the land. Inspired by Canada's Emily Carr, Yates paints almost entirely plein air, enabling her to engage in an intimate dialogue with our natural and agricultural world. She examines the correlation between her own practice and the cycle of harvest- each having faith in what the land will give. Protection and the importance of maintaining ecological integrity concerning protected land also informs her work.

vegan events in st. catharines

From Niagara Action for Animals, two events of interest to socially-conscious vegans and their political allies...

First:

Wednesday, November 30 at 7 pm, Brock Animal Rights Collective Film Screening Series presents, along with the Live Free Collective and Queer Action Niagara, MARK, winner of the Best Feature Documentary, The Accolade Competition, La Jolla, CA, 2010.

Director Mike Hoolbloom, who will be at the screening, introduces us to "an impassioned animal rights activist, political vegan, [and] dedicated mental health worker," through visual remains and interviews with family, friends, and "his life-partner of ten years, trans performance artist Mirha-Soleil Ross." Mark Karbusicky committed suicide in 2007.

The event is free to the public and everyone is welcome. Vegan treats will be provided. Contact dylanjamespowell@gmail.com or checkout the event page on Facebook.

And a regular event with a special guest:

NAfA Potluck Series presents Justice for Migrant Workers, Friday December 2, 7 pm at the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara, 223 Church St., St. Catharines (Beside Delta Bingo).

This event features guest speaker Tzazna De Las Tunas from non-profit collective Justice for Migrant Workers.

The potluck is free to the public, but all food must be vegan and marked for common allergens.

Also accepting non-perishable food donations for a vegan food serving program at The RAFT!

More information on the event page.

cats and metal (like birds of a feather)

I know a lot of cat-loving metalheads, so I was pretty confident I'm not the only crazy cat freak in the metal world. (Apparently I would have understood this better had I been a more dedicated Decibel reader, since they published a feature on metalheads and cats in 2009.)

My contributions to cat rescue have been modest so far – sharing my house with cats, being nice to strays, donating and spreading the word when I can (in print and online), and volunteering for a short time at Burlington Humane Society. Compared to Nuclear Blast USA accountant, Tanja Schoor, I'm a complete amateur!

Nuclear Blast announced this week that Schoor has opened her own cat shelter in Virginia: Clover Cat Rescue. The mandate is to save cats from euthanasia and other sad fates, adopt them out to good homes, and to promote spaying and neutering to help reduce the numbers of uncared for and unwanted cats.

The main ways of helping are adoption and donation - check out their Facebook page for more info (website to come). Perhaps we'll see Clover Cat Rescue benefit shows or recordings in the future as well...

free music: farsot's insects

The album isn't out until early next year, but you can hear the whole thing already:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1D98C4F322A0640A

Not familiar with Farsot? Maybe you are, but I wasn't, though I'm kind of digging their new record on first listen. They're German, vaguely black metal (assuming you have a flexible sense of what that might mean).

Insects (Lupus Lounge) is only their second full-length release, following two demos. They credit Kafka, among others, with some atmospheric and thematic inspiration, although I'm not sure I would have picked that out on my own.

Also of note - I haven't heard it, but they covered Katatonia's "I Break" on the December Songs tribute album (Northern Silence, 2006), or so the Encyclopaedia Metallum tells me.

heavy metal window onto Occupy Oakland

Forbidden guitarist & songwriter Craig Locicero wandered into Occupy Oakland with a mic and a video camera on November 2. A link to the resulting YouTube video made its way into my email inbox today via Nuclear Blast.

I haven't had a chance to watch more than the first ten minutes (the clip I linked is more than 40 min long), but I'm interested so far. In between ultra-short heavy metal interludes, Locicero gives us a glimpse of Occupy Oakland, asks people about their experience and reasons for being there and what they hope to accomplish.

In the bit I've seen so far, Locicero seems to have a pro-action stance on the movement, suggesting that his interest is in the possibilities of the Occupy movement rather than in undermining or belittling this wide-scale attempt at political action. (I'm hoping that persists through the whole video...)

This is advertised as part of Locicero's Omega Wave program. Does that mean Forbidden's latest album is political too?

opeth: heritage recorded and live (belatedly)

An exclaim.ca review recap (in case you missed the tweets or facebook posts):

• I like Opeth's new album, Heritage. Here's where I attempt to explain why.

• Both Katatonia and Opeth are on top of their live game (Heritage sounds nearly as good in concert as on record). If only the entire audience would shut up and listen...

scimetalvegan and friends meet vegan black metal chef

As the weather gets cold and autumnal (I'm ignoring the fact that, despite the rain, it was actually kind of warm in Hamilton today), it's nice to recall warm summer evenings spent dining and drinking in the back yard with friends.

Keeping that in mind, here (at Hellbound) is a four-month late report on my vegan black metal cooking adventure with Adam Wills and Mark Coatsworth.

(and the recipe, in case you're inclined to view or try it yourself)

pop culture meets academia in Canada (call for papers)

In some circles I'm known as an academic conference junkie. I've been trying to get a handle on my habit, but the constant temptation as I see one tantalizing call for papers after another come through my email in box... Well, I am learning to exhibit (what I would call admirable) restraint.

The first half of my 2012 is more for writing and teaching than presenting and networking, but I expect to make an exception for this event:

CFP: Popular Culture Association of Canada (PCAC) 2^nd Annual Conference, May 10-12, 2012

Last year's conference was a blast (intellectual stimulation included), so a follow-up visit seems entirely in order.

punk is still political (or can be, anyway)

Remember Canadian punk band D.O.A.? Following any of their 21st-century activities?

A recent press release from D.O.A.'s Sudden Death Records (describing the band as the "godfathers of hardcore") is a reminder that some punk and hardcore retains its active political edge.

Apparently D.O.A. member ("band leader") Joe Keithley is expressing his current politics by supporting the Occupy movement in multiple Canadian locations - activism enabled by the band's recent cross-Canada tour. After performing acoustic sets for Occupy Ottawa and Occupy Regina, Keithley now plans to keep the momentum going while back home in Vancouver. Here's the info for you West Coasters:

• D.O.A. performs on Guy Fawkes Day (Saturday November 5) at Occupy Vancouver. This event also features a pre-D.O.A. talk by Rex Wyler, one of the founding members of activist organization Greenpeace. From the band and Sudden Death:

"See you there this Saturday and remember friends, that we can, we will and we must make this world into a better place than it is now!"

That's an impulse I can support.