best metal 2001

If you're curious about my thoughts on recorded metal in 2011, you'll find some of my year-end commentary at Exclaim and Hellbound. (more on Canadian metal picks to come at hellbound.ca, and I may post my full year-end list here if it doesn't show up anywhere else - stay tuned)

But in good old Kill Eat Exploit the Weak tradition, the approach of the new year is not just a time for reflecting on the year gone by. As I get increasingly more old and nostalgic, this annual event provokes me to step deeper into the past, reminiscing about what I was enjoying ten years before.

It's been a few years since I've been able to play you my favourite songs on campus radio on New Year's Eve. However, I can list some of the best metal albums that came out in 2001. Without further ado (and in no particular order) here they are (according to me, of course). I grant, good things are missing from this list, but my tastes are ever peculiar and arbitrary, then and now. Plus I could have forgotten something (my memory is reliably unreliable).

• Opeth – Blackwater Park (Koch)
• My Dying Bride – The Dreadful Hours (Peaceville)
• Katatonia – Last Fair Deal Gone Down (Peaceville)
• Virgin Black - Sombre Romantic (The End Records)
• Killswitch Engage – Alive Or Just Breathing (Roadrunner)
• System Of A Down – Toxicity (American)
• Cathedral – Endtyme (Earache)
• Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin (Century Media)
• Iced Earth - Horror Show (Century Media)
• Savatage - Poets and Madmen (SPV/Steamhammer/Nuclear Blast)
• Annihilator - Carnival Diablos (SPV/Steamhammer)
• Soilwork - A Predator's Portrait (Nuclear Blast)
• Dragonlord - Rapture (Spitfire)
  
• Moonspell - Darkness and Hope (Century Media)
  
• Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (Nuclear Blast)
  
• Cradle of Filth - Bitter Suites to Succubi (Spitfire)
  
• Lacuna Coil - Unleashed Memories (Century Media)
  

In memoriam: David Gold - Woods of Ypres

It seems so many years ago now my first introduction to Woods of Ypres. Ever mining the latest Knuckletracks compilation from Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles I happened upon some promising looking CanCon for Kill Eat Exploit the Weak. Was it "Crossing the 45th Parallel"? I think so, but in no time at all I sought out the EP the song belonged to - Against the Seasons - and was playing every track on my show (though I admit, "A Meeting Place and Time" got a little extra attention).

The band's live line-up wasn't the most stable, especially in those years, so my efforts to get them to play live on air never panned out. But I began my own small campaign of support nonetheless, starting with my reviews of Against the Seasons for a metal webzine called Urkraft and for Exclaim. And after corresponding with Dave Gold for a while, I saw Woods perform and met the man behind the band for the first time - at the inaugural Northern Lights fest in Toronto. Dave gave me a Woods shirt and asked me to wear it on my upcoming European metal adventure and I did. In fact, Mark Coatsworth and I showed up at Summer Breeze 2003 in Germany with matching Woods of Ypres logos plastered across our chests.

Oddly the band seemed to be there for some of my most memorable metal moments, from the celebratory to the indescribably sad - their live performances at Day of the Equinox (2005) and the memorial to Adrian Bromley (2009) representing two of the most momentous of such momentous occasions.

I saw them live several times, mostly in Toronto but once in glorious close-up and Ontario camaraderie at Heathen Crusade in Minnesota (2008). I reviewed their albums repeatedly and played them on air as long as I had air time to offer. And I even discussed them in a recent IASPM-Canada conference paper. Strangely I only interviewed Dave Gold once, and that only by email. But he was a meticulous and eloquent correspondent, giving me lots of moving material to work with.

By now a longtime fan of the band's work, I was looking forward to getting better acquainted with Woods 5. And I still will. But sadly, it's the last full Woods of Ypres album I'll ever get to know.

RIP David Gold (1980-2011) and Woods of Ypres (2002-2011)

a concert year in review of sorts (including Devin Townsend Project live x2)

2011 wasn't the busiest of concert years for me... Does that mean I was working harder than usual, or budgeting myself for key events? Hard to say. Maybe the latter, since I was thinking of running down some highlights from this list of live shows but couldn't decide what to leave out. Then again, there were also lots of killer performances I missed...

My own schedule and concert choices aside, it's pretty sweet when too much quality live metal becomes a serious dilemma. And to mark that sweetness, here's a retrospective and chronological look at what 2011 in live metal looked like for me.

I took a break from live music in January but got back at it in February with some serious Finnish metal representation.

• Eluvietie, Death Angel, Lazarus AD, 3 Inches of Blood @ Opera House, Toronto, Feb 6
• Finntroll, Ensiferum, Rotten Sound, Barren Earth @ Opera House, Toronto, Feb 22
• Cradle of Filth, Nachtmystium, Turisas @ Phoenix, Toronto, Feb 26

Only one event for March and April but it was one hell of a memorable show:

• Agalloch, Worm Ouroboros, Musk Ox @ The Music Hall, London, March 25

Something a little lighter and punkabillier in mid-May:

• The Creepshow @ The Casbah, Hamilton, May 14

And then a mega-metal-event to end off the month:

• Maryland Deathfest IX @ Sonar, Baltimore, May 26-29

On a smaller scale in Montreal, some intimate indie metal:

• Unborn Dead, Forsaken Flesh @ Pub La place Dupuis, Montreal, June 18

Then some metal and poetry:

• The Wrecking Ball with Vilipend, Sylvus, and more @ Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, July 9

A delicious dose of summer doom:

• YOB / Dark Castle / Sons of Otis @ Courthouse, Toronto ON July 15

And Toronto's idea of heavy metal festing:

• Heavy TO (Megadeth, Rob Zombie, Slayer, Motorhead, MAdM, Opeth, Diamondhead, Testament, Anthrax, Death Angel, Billy Talent, etc...) @ Downsview Park, Toronto, July 23-24

Some heavy sounds in my hometown:

• Mares of Thrace, Enabler @ Casbah, Hamilton, August 13
• Secret Chiefs 3 @ Casbah, Hamilton, August 31

And a road trip!:

• Katatonia @ The Montage, Rochester NY, Sept 24
  

With headliners ranking high on my list of best live metal bands:

• Enslaved, Alcest, Junius @ Opera House, Toronto, Sept 30

Two of my favourites (after a vegan dinner at The Cornerstone):

• Opeth, Katatonia @ The Guelph Music Hall, Oct 30

And what more fitting conclusion to a year's live music adventures than watching the Devin Townsend Project perform two nights in a row?

• Devin Townsend, Today I Caught the Plague @ The Opera House, Toronto, Dec 10
• Devin Townsend, Today I Caught the Plague, MDM (& American Hell) @ L3, St Catharines, Dec 11
  

(Note, as pictured, the latest additions to my Hevy Devy merch collection: a DTP wooden puzzle, and a tour shirt featuring a live photo by the one and only Adam Wills.)

...and again with the Devin Townsend

Look at this concert list, every show a headlining date by the infamous Canadian musical mastermind Devin Townsend!

Dec 09 London, ON – London Music Hall
Dec 10 Toronto, ON – Opera House
Dec 11 St. Catharines, ON – L3 Nightclub
Dec 13 Kingston, ON – Mansion House
Dec 14 Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electriques
Dec 15 Ottawa, ON – Mavericks

I'm still trying to figure out how I can squeeze multiple Devin Townsend concerts into my weekend. It's a rare treat, at least for me, to have the chance to see the man perform several days in a row.

I haven't quite worked out those details yet, but I did manage to pull together some more interview material to get myself (and hopefully other people too) into the Hevy Devy spirit:

http://www.hellbound.ca/2011/12/devin-townsend-talks-seriousness-humour-and-interesting-art/.

scimetalvegan holiday guide for the last-minute shopper (2011 edition)

I have mixed feelings about this whole Christmas/xmas thing. I enjoy celebrations, excuses to get together with people, maybe dress up, and eat and drink decadent things. And I'm a sucker for things with schnazzy lights (even if I cringe at the energy getting sucked up into strings of plugged-in xmas decorations). But sometimes it's all a bit much in too short a time.

It's a similar deal with the xmas gift exchange. I get a kick out of the challenge of finding the right present for the people I care about, but there are more people I care about than my time/money budget can cope with. And, like many folks, I take issue with the uber-consumerist insanity that this time of year has a tendency to perpetuate.

In a lot of cases, I just try to see people, share some good food and drink, and enjoy the company. But there are still a few people I need (and want) to buy for, which raises a whole string of related quandaries... How do I satisfy several important, but often competing criteria, while on the quest to find the right gift?

My main goals:

• support local and independent businesses, especially socially-conscious and vegan-friendly ones (or use gift-giving as a way of supporting important charities)
  
• get people something they can actually use, need and appreciate (and avoid contributing to unnecessary clutter or waste)
• be generous but thrifty (and I don't have any particular talent for making gifts)
  

I can't check off all these ideals with every gift, but I make an effort. So, in the spirit of ethical giving, here are some holiday shopping resources it can't hurt to keep in mind.

• Bazaar of the Bizarre: neat, usually handmade stuff, much of it vegan-friendly. The holiday version takes place in Toronto on December 11.
• Vegan Etsy: discovered this through Sick on Sin. The worldwide shipping might be a turn-off for the greener shoppers, but there's also a chance there's a member nearby, wherever you may be.
• Local farmer's market (Hamilton version): aside from the usual fruits and veggies, local markets tend to be a go-to source for delicious baked and prepared treats, but they often feature great homemade crafts as well.
• Artists' co-ops and galleries: Hamilton features at least a couple of stores run by or supporting local artists and filled with their unique creations, and I expect this is true of many cities. I've happily perused the goodies at Textures and AllSorts Gallery.
• Simply Zen: begun as an online business, this eco- and vegan-friendly shop in Hamilton has an amazing array of gift-giving possibilities packed into a relatively small space. Smells good too!
• Animal shelters and wildlife protection: as a Burlington Humane Society volunteer I came home with several gift baskets designed for friends' and family members' pets. But there are other ways to support groups that care for animals while working through your xmas shopping list, and donations are only the start! (but giving someone a surprise pet is NOT recommended)
• Metal: how could I complete any list of gift giving suggestions without at least one shout-out to metal? From a heavy-metal playlist designed with someone's particular tastes in mind, to an independent/underground artist's merch, to concert tickets or a music DVD, it's hard to go wrong with metal (well, as far as I'm concerned, anyway). A few potential sources - Sonic Unyon Metal, Catacombs, Dr. Disc.
  

This list (just a start! - there are many more deserving places for your holiday business!) comes a bit late for online shoppers (many small online businesses have to set a fairly early xmas order deadline). Maybe next year?