Tour of Duty: Hockey Canada

It's hard to remember that Canada has more to offer than Hockey, but when you search hard enough there's a lot of black metal to be found. There's actually quite a diverse amount of sounds and scenes throughout the Maple Leaf land, but I've decided to narrow in on what put them on the map; War Metal.

For those who don't know Blasphemy, it's basically black metal aesthetic, 80's death metal guitars stripped down to simple tremolo riffs and a complete lack of melody or anything nice and an overall need to constantly thud and thud quickly. With that in mind, basically any "war metal" band just sounds like Blasphemy (I'm only partially kidding). While nearly anything J. Reed's involved with will sound similar, this compilation hosts some varied stuff (not all strictly war metal for you nitpickers). That said...

There's Conqueror who I think of having written the one of the most extreme albums ever simply because it always on, always abrasive, doesn't allow room to digest anything, and is just plain torrid.It's an album that I love, yet rarely listen to in its entirety, however contradictory that might sound, War Cult Supremacy's the kind of album that makes you listen to Kenny G for weeks afterwards to even out the violence. There's Axis of Advance and Revenge who also have J.Reed on drums and offer a bit more coherence than Conqueror, but sound very similar. Rites of Thy Degringolade's got a strange uncomfortable and clunky sound to it that's really grown on me, Lust's a complete mess that could be a great if it weren't for some extremely out place and terrible vocals (and their regrettable NS bullshit). Antichrist's a great carbon copy of Blasphemy with a bit more of a penchant for cohesive song structures.

It pains me to leave out great acts like Skagos, Menace Ruine, Akitsa, Trails of Anguish and others, but THE MOTIF MUST STAND.

Download
1.Blasphemy - "Nocturnal Slayer" - Gods of War
2. Conqueror - "Chaos Domination (Conquer the Enslaver)" - War Cult Supremacy
3. Revenge - "Blood of my Blood" - Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist
4.Axis of Advance - "The Torture" - The List
5.Rites of Thy Degringolade - "Of Purist Impurity" - An Ode to Sin
6. Lust - "Spear of Destiny" - Genesis of a Satanic Race
7. Antichrist - "Chopped and Chewed" - Sacrament of Blood
Download

Ruin Lust- Unittled

Ruin Lust's set at The Brooklyn Union Pool Hall last Saturday was one of the most driven and intense performances I've seen in awhile.This artillery barrage of a show forced me to pick up what I can only assume to be their only release, a titleless demo cassette.

Usually a band has either its recorded experience to live up to, or vice versa; here, Ruin Lust had the latter. What you get with this cassette is 5 tracks of uncompromising black metal that is as heavy as it is fast. Nothing atmospheric, nothing artsy or progressive, instead, it's a vehement, laconic curbstomping that starts as quickly as it ends.

Critics often make the mistake of using absolutes when they're ignorant of what else exists, I myself have probably made the mistake. I say this because I remember reading ages ago a copy of Revolver which stated Nirvana was the 19th heaviest band of all time (Obituary was 45th, just for comparison's sake). So I keep that in mind when people say "heavy" as it's lost its meaning, just like "epic." Well, for what it's worth, I can assure you that Ruin Lust is one of the heaviest bands I've heard in recent memory. The ferocity of Conqueror's s War Cult Supremacy meets a more level headed production and an uncompromising desire to offer something that countless Blasphemy clones can't; decent song writing and varied song structure. Dramatic build ups and primal grunts fly right into Blasphemy pounds (all drums are hit at the same time as fast as possible) as the most perfect guitar tone saws meaty, wet riffs in rapid fire succession. Much like successful grindcore bands, the emphasis on rhythm and structure propels Ruin Lust through dirge like build ups into razor walls of sound and brooding intensity.

While I talked with their drummer briefly about an upcoming Fell Voices release (one of his many projects), I'll be honest in saying I'm much more excited to see what happens with Ruin Lust and hopefully we can see a full length down the road.

Yes I have to bring up Blasphemy, no Ruin Lust isn't some trite clone. Catch the band if you can and look around for their demo, I'm sure it's out there somewhere to buy.