Doom Metal

by Akshay Sharma

Doom Metal

 

 

Science Fiction and Metal

by Austin Penner

Science Fiction and Metal

Fuck the Facts Interview

Interview by Dominik Pachala with Topon Das of Fuck the Facts

For the readers who don’t know who you guys are who and what is Fuck the Facts?

Topon Das: We’re a band from Ontario. We’ve been around for a little while, we started years ago. There’ve been a few band member changes over the years.

So you guys have done a bunch of splits with a bunch of different bands, is there a band in particular you guys want to do a split with and are there any upcoming splits with any bands we should know about?

Topon Das: We don’t have any upcoming splits lined up but , yeah, we definitely have talked with a few bands about doing something. It would be cool to talk to the guys from Kill the Client to try doing something. Yeah there are a ton of bands we’d like to do something with but it all comes down to finding the time on our end and on their end to get the things worked out. The last split we did was with Leng T’che, that was really cool because after we became friends and we really liked the band.

So somewhat similar to the question before, what bands would you guys like to tour with?

Topon Das: We did a tour with Anti-Gama in Europe and that was really awesome because I was a fan of the band beforehand. So that was the first time I was a fan of the band before we toured with them. I know that when you tour with a band and you see them for 30 nights, that’s when you really start to get into their stuff. That’s how I got into few bands like Unearthly Trance. There aren’t a lot of offers that we get to tour with bands like the tour we’re going to be doing with Ken Mode. Me and Jessie (Ken Mode) have known each other for quite a bit and we got in touch with each other and talked about doing something. That’s what we’re used to when it comes to touring.

You guys are playing free show in Edmonton on May 2^nd at Filthy McNasties. Will you guys be concentrating your set list on the newer material or are you guys gonna play older material also?

Topon Das: When we started doing shows this year, we did a bunch of 10-year anniversary shows. So we went back and played a bunch of really old songs. So for this tour we’re really focusing on the newer stuff, we’re playing stuff from Disgorge Mexico, the split with Leng T’che, the unnamed EP and a couple new songs that are going to be on our next album.

So how do you feel your music has evolved since Vagina Dancer?

Topon Das: Every time I hear that album title, I try figure out what I was thinking. For one, that tape was basically noise. That dates back to pre-band era. Like when I was talking about the 10 year anniversary, that’s when the band started around 2001. The tape came out sometime around 1998. So from then, it was a solo project, it’s changed a ton. Our music is always evolving we don’t want to limit ourselves to just one thing. I’m happy with the evolution of the band, it’s definitely been influenced by the different members that have come into the band even from 2001. One of the main purposes of the band is to keep evolving.

So you guys have been signed on Relapse, what sort of difference have you guys noticed between releasing records with labels vs DIYing?

        Topon Das: It’s been a long time since we worked with Relapse, I think its been 5 years. I think a lot of people thing that when you get signed to a label, management will deal with more stuff. But you end up doing a lot more stuff than you would do otherwise. We have a huge DIY ethic, we released a couple of DIY things while we were on the label. I think it was awesome that we could work with them since the label is recognized in the scene and they have contacts that we don’t have, but at the same time they didn’t allows to do whatever we wanted even for other realizes and independent stuff .

 Can you talk about John Zorn’s Naked City and how it influenced Fuck The Facts?

Topon Das: I pulled the band name off of a Naked City album. This was a long time ago… I was really into the album, I still think it’s a really awesome album. I haven’t listened to it in a while but it has a lot of really cool shit going on. When I heard that, I just really want to have an extremely open mind to music and do whatever I wanted to and not worry about being a grindcore band, a metal band or even a really weird experimental band. I felt that that album mixed the noisy stuff with the smoother stuff. I feel that we’re kinda like that. We’re doing the stuff we want to do and not really forcing ourselves to do anything weird or different or anything.

Female Vocals in Metal

by Natalie Ross

Female Vocals in Metal

Non-Traditional Black Metal

Non-Traditional Black Metal
(or, Black Metal for Those
Who Don't Like Black Metal)

by Ryan Lagerquist

Non-Traditional Black Metal

Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend and Guests Concert Review

Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, Obscura, Septic Flesh 

Concert Review Calgary  June 30th, 2011

By Lacy W.

After a few minor mishaps, including a holiday trailer that had come off the hitch and flipped somewhere before Red Deer, we finally arrived in Calgary. After a quick stop at Charisma, where we were pestered by one of the shop owners non-stop, we checked into the hotel, had a drink and headed to the C-train. Although we could have easily walked to the University, we weren’t familiar with Calgary and wanted to make sure we actually made it to the show. 

After a short walk to the venue, we finally got inside to witness the live brilliance that is Septic Flesh. I have always held the opinion that Septic Flesh live does not even compare to listening to their recorded albums, but once again that’s only my opinion. Considering that they were the first band of the night, Septic Flesh gained a very warm welcome, helped by a frontman who knew how to engage the crowd. 

A quick trip to the merchandise table proved slightly disappointing, although not surprising. Needless to say, I am not a fan of the new Children of Bodom artwork and their merchandise greatly reflected the new artwork. They were also selling autographed setlists at the Bodom table. Having a genuine autographed setlist from a Finnish festival several years ago, I had to laugh at the very idea. In terms of merchandise, Septic Flesh seemed to be the winner for the night, having a few decent shirts along with having a few albums for sale. I heard a few complaints about the lack of good Obscura and Devin Townsend merchandise, although I was not looking to purchase any to begin with. 

I am not able to provide much comment on Obscura’s set as I used it as an opportunity to have a couple of beer and cool down on the patio. From what I heard, and from what a friend mentioned, they were well worthy of being on the bill. They seemed well received by the crowd.

If Septic Flesh and Obscura were well received, the reception Devin Townsend walked onto stage to was through the roof. There were obviously many Devin Townsend fans in the crowd, perhaps helped by the fact that he hails from the Vancouver area. A few Strapping Young Lad shirts were present, indicating that new and old fans alike had come out to witness the spectacle. Even for those not familiar with Devin Townsend’s work, the anticipation was clearly present after hearing nothing but good things about the brilliance of Townsend’s live performances. Calgary’s show certainly lived up to the hype as Devin’s comedy in between songs proved to pull together an already excellent set. Wearing a bra thrown from the crowd on your head while doing stand-up comedy? Small things like this metamorphosed a solid performance into one verging on sheer brilliance, even for those who weren’t previously Devin Townsend fans. At least if his music career ever fails (which should never happen), Townsend will have a promising career in comedy to fall back on. 

After Devin Townsend, the mood was slightly subdued before Children of Bodom were set to take the stage. Wondering how Bodom would live up to the awesome display of metal madness that had just ended, the crowd began to chant for the appearance of the Finns while their techs were still working on final adjustments. Almost simultaneously with the first notes being played, the mosh pit was in full force creating a huge opening in the middle of the floor. (I tend to think of mosh pits as ‘idiot pits’, but this is a slight digression and a separate topic for discussion). The entire band, especially guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho, seemed to be upbeat and jovial, reinforcing a comment made by Devin Townsend earlier in the night that everyone on the tour was in a particularly good mood that evening. Perhaps it had something to do with the good weather, recognized and commented on by Laiho, after having being met by miserable weather seemingly every other time Bodom has come through Alberta. Musically, Children of Bodom sounded the tightest that I have ever heard them in the seven or eight times I’ve witnessed their show live. Unlike another show I attended at the MacEwan Ballroom, there were no problems with the sound as each song and the vocals were clearly distinguishable. A slight difference from the recordings could be noticed in the tempo of the songs as they seemed sped up, but this did little to detract from the overall performance. Bodom dedicated a large part of their set to material from their latest album, Relentless Reckless Forever. This appeared to please a large percentage of Bodom fans present as many seemed to be young and unfamiliar with some of the older material that was played. Of course older crowd pleasers like Follow the Reaper, Downfall,Needled 24/7 and Angels Don’t Kill were integrated into the set. Earning a final wild send-off from the crowd, the Finns ended the encore with a rendition of Hate Crew Deathroll, gaining the usual enthusiastic singing of the well-known chorus from the crowd. Being a fan of the older Children of Bodom material, my only disappointment was that they neglected to play more of it. All in all, Children of Bodom played one of their best sets that I have witnessed and provided an appropriate ending to a solid night of metal. 

Presentation: Local Specialty

Local Specialty

by J. Duma

Local Specialty