Pandemic Dispatches with Junkowl

Montreal seems to be the city where I'm getting the most pandemic dispatches.

Check out Junkowl on BANDCAMP and find out how they're coping below.

1. How are things going where you are? The laws and such.

I think things are starting to relax a bit here in Montreal, businesses are slowly starting to re-open and we’re now allowed small gatherings of people. 

Still no date set for the re-opening of bars or venues though.

2. How long have you been sheltering in place at this time?

I started self-isolating at the end of March, and just starting seeing some close friends, while still being careful. 

Vinyloscopy with League of Corruption

Whilst you and I sit here worrying about what is coming next...remember MURDER HORNETS? Now it's secret police...

Well, while all that's going on and the world is burning around us, let's focus on the positives and get to know a band and their record collection.

Hailing all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia, we have League of Corruption giving us a look into their racks.

In the meantime, check out their southern sludge over on BANDCAMP, I'd say you should stream that stuff while you're reading.

Tell me I'm wrong.

5 Min Origin Stories with Kavorka

I want to show you this band Kavorka and find out how they got it all started. They're from my favoritely named city in the world...

Reykjavik, Iceland.

Now, do you think they had anything to say about Icelandic Honey Week? It's almost like the Icelandic metal bands don't even give two craps about their honey.

Anyhoo...they'll be releasing their debut, Internal Rituals on glorious vinyl.

Keep an eye on their BANDCAMP in the meantime.

It's time to learn more about what makes them tick.

1. Is there an event you can point to you that made you say, wow, that's the instrument I want to play? Not like guitar or drums, but the reason why you play the model you do?

My answer is Kurt Cobain´s Fender Mustang. 

Pandemic Dispatches with Black Pestilence's Valax

Check out the latest record from Calgary's own, Black Pestilence.

It's all up there on BANDCAMP.

1. How are things going where you are? The laws and such.

After about two and a half months of quarantine, various provinces in Canada have lifted restrictions. 

This has resulted in the re-opening of various nonessential businesses and restaurants. 

Overall, I think Canada has reacted to the virus quickly and efficiently. 

Social distancing rules are still in effect but it is obvious that even in common places such as grocery stores, people are starting to not care as much. I am sure this is due to the fact that overall cases of the virus have started to decline significantly within Canada. 

The laws haven't been as strict as other countries (no mandatory masks, no curfew, no special ID cards, etc.) because most people, at least in Calgary, have been following the guidelines.

Meowtal with Andy Dowling of LORD

To be perfectly honest, when our little Kitten, Randall Pink Floyd died in April...I couldn't do this column anymore. It was largely written in his honor.

But now, we are a few months on and our tears for Floyd have dried. He's gone but never forgotten. We also adopted a new little kitten named Jiji.

So, in that vein, it seemed right to revive this column and find out again what those metal guys with their cats were doing.

I think we're going to find that Andy Dowling's cat is a bit on the ugly side, but we won't cat shame.

Presently, Andy holds down the bass notes with Australian Power Metal institution, LORD, and he's podcasting like nobody's business.

He was also kind enough to join me on my weekly Instagram Live.

Check out what's he kicking over on his WEBSITE.

1. In my house, we have three cats named Wickett, Louis IX, and Jiji. How many do you have and what are they called?

I have a pet Cockatiel named Larry Birb.

Pandemic Dispatches with Dyatlove

On May 29th, Dyatlove released their self-titled, debut EP, it comes it about a minute less than 1 Reign In Blood, via BANDCAMP.

1. How are things going where you are? The laws and such.

In Vancouver BC we have done quite well with the pandemic.

We are through phase 2 of reopening and are hoping to be at phase 3 by July.

With phase 2 retail stores are all back open, parks are up and running and restaurants and bars are open to limited capacity.

Review Round Up 7/10/20

On a personal note, it's been really hard to maintain my standard content output and I'm sorry. I have figured out how I can get back to at least getting some reviews out there.

For the moment, I'm sticking with the round up style of reviews.

King Gorm by King Gorm (7/31/20)

So, this was a band I'd been seeing things about on Twitter. With my situation being what it is, I've not kept up on my emails. With that said, their style was still unknown to me. So, when pressing play for the firs time, it's hard to precisely describe the music I'm hearing.

Without going into all of the costumes, mythology, and origin of the name, let's just talk about this music. Vocally, there's a bit of Ghost in there, along with some Ghost-ish, instrumentation. Keyboards and such.

But musically, it's far closer to Iron Maiden on the metal spectrum. This band sounds like what I what hear in my head when I see Ghost.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Vinyloscopy with Kore Rozzik

When deciding what music to purchase or what to listen to, I feel like it's important to support the musicians who support your values.

For me, the scratch of the diamond on the wax, the slight pop of the static, and the old school sounds crushing me in the face is what I need when I'm ready to listen to some music.

Kore Rozzik embodies all of these things for me...so let's find out more.

1. Listening to Black Sabbath's eponymous debut the night I got it blew me away. 

What's the album that sounds the best on vinyl compared to digital sources?

This is just for whatever reason the first thing that popped in my head was Cinderella Night Songs. It just sounds so much crisper and alive on vinyl compared to cd or even cassette.