Carl Begai

Okay, the monthly round-up of what’s going on at home on the music front besides beer commercials during the Stanley Cup playoffs (as in hockey, our national form of relaxation).

First off, former Scarlet Sins members Cristina Bishop (guitars) and Elie Bertrand ( drums) have resurfaced in Montreal with a new band called Harbinger. They’ve actually been piecing things together for a while now but they just love teasing the shit out of me, so they’ve been taking their time about it. The search for a singer is on but new music is already in the can, and in a fit of cool weirdness they’ll be making their live instrumental debut at the Cape Breton International Drumfest in Nova Scotia later this month. It seems Elie was invited to perform because organizers got word of her awesomosity, which eventually became a band engagement. So, for anyone attending (including the band), I have one word for you: YouTubeFootageDammit!

Check them out via their official website here, which has all the necessary links to every other part of the cyberverse graced with Harbinger content. Cristina has also launched a personal official website here, which offers up updates, blogs, and recipes for world domination via the stomach.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to direct your attention to the kind of stupidity that gives responsible journalists a bad name. Click here and read through the Danko Jones review. Then come back to this page and watch my head spin around.

(Cue sarcasm, as I failed to provide an instruction manual and folks really believe I’m this dense. My own damn fault, I suppose, having expectations…)

For those that couldn’t get through more than a third of the steaming turd hanging on the end of that link, the “writer” received a promo copy of the new Danko Jones album (for free) notched into 88 tracks so that it can’t be copied onto computer or burned onto CD-R without Danko sounding like he has a stutter. It plays fine on a CD player without a hitch or a twitch, but it seems that isn’t acceptable for Fishboy. My guess he wanted to burn it for his girlfriend, boyfriend or favourite farm animal and found himself shit out of luck, thus deciding to take his frustration out on the artist by writing a “hilarious” review centered around the potential hop / skip / jump silliness that ensues when you put an 88 track CD on shuffle. In the end Fishboy deemed the album crap and not worth anyone’s time.

Reading between the lines of this so-called “review” – and there aren’t quotation marks big enough to illustrate the disgust I feel for even implying said tripe is even close to being a critique – it seems that Fishboy has an issue with the promo CD copy protection more than the music itself. (continue reading…)

An undeniably unique killing machine in the world of metal, Nevermore were on a collision course with themselves since the birth of The Politics Of Ecstasy back in 1996. Always a little bit heavier and touch more progressive with each album that followed, the band went over-the-top in 2006 with This Godless Endeavour, an album so overpowering in spots it was a chore trying to keep up with the wash of sound. That said, just how well The Obsidian Conspiracy fares depends on whether the diehards that claim heavier is always better can get past the fact the band has gone back to writing songs circa Dead Heart In A Dead World and the Politics record. Yes indeed, Nevermore have actually eased up on the group bludgeoning to allow their individual and collective performances shine rather than overwhelm people with the cold hard fact they do mayhem better than most chaos-buzzed black metal bands. (continue reading…)

By Carl Begai

I recently caught up with Annihilator guitarist / founder Jeff Waters to discuss the band’s new self-titled album (that interview can be found on the BW&BK site here). Part of that discussion focused on vocalist Dave Padden and his influence on the band since coming on board in 2003.

Officially the longest lasting Annihilator singer with seven years and four records under his belt, Padden is also the band’s second guitarist when they perform. The new DVD, Live At Masters Of Rock, showcases a very different Annihilator compared to years past, with a Waters-Padden duo trading off leads, solos, and vocals over the course of the set. An effective approach that caught the fans off guard when the band hit the road in support of the Metal album from 2007. Asked if this approach was used on the new album, Waters says it was in fact business as usual.

“It’s still the same thing in the studio, with me playing the guitars and Dave singing, but he’s the second guitarist on stage now. He’s a really good rhythm guitar player but his confidence is really low in that, so I’m trying to boost him up. I only sing live because Dave needs a break. That’s all it is. On the DVD for example, we’re standing quite stationary a lot of the time because we knew we were being filmed. If we weren’t being filmed professionally there probably would have been more mistakes and we would have had a bit more fun. Dave had to plant himself at the microphone and then back off to play, but he couldn’t go anywhere because he had to play some Waters riffs (laughs). But, I think he’s gotten used to that by now.” (continue reading…)

I don’t usually get nervous before doing an interview. Fact is I’ve been doing this long enough that I know more or less what to expect going in, and I know what’s expected of me by my intended victim (something many newbies definitely need to learn). It has nothing to with being jaded or the shine on my choice of career having faded; I just happen to be very comfortable with what I do and I’m happy in this particular comfort zone.

There have been moments of nervousness and uncertainly of course, ranging from “I’m so over my head” to “I am SO going to die sucking” depending on who the interviewee happened to be. My very first interview was a phoner with the beautiful Michelle Meldrum, guitarist for Phantom Blue (may she rest in peace), a gut-churner due to the fact I had no idea how I was going to lead a conversation with a hot woman even if she was on the other side of the continent. I was a social car crash when it came to women…. as opposed to my present day status of being mildly inept. It’s an experience I’ll never forget because I not only survived, but she made me feel like a million bucks when all was said and done. Interviews with Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson came with a prerequisite dose of the shakes because of who they are and what they represent, but in every case my fears of sticking my foot in my mouth or having a brainfart were unfounded. All three of them were gentlemen to the core yet very easygoing, making my job a hell of a lot easier than I ever would have expected. (continue reading…)

By Carl Begai

Toronto rockers Danko Jones have been a buzz band for years. Europe caught on long before Canada and the United States, turning them into an annual staple on the metal festival of your choice sandwiched with some of metal’s finest. A support tour with Motörhead and Saxon in 2008 gave them a foothold in the UK, not to mention serious credibility amongst the old metal guard. Up until now Canada and the US have devoted half an eye to the band beyond the diehard fans that have been following them for a decade, but 2010 may well be the year things change for the better. It began with a coveted opening slot on the Canadian leg of Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy tour alongside countryman Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) followed by a support tour with Clutch and select headline shows in the US. Add to this a brisk-selling Canadian headline tour announced prior to the official May release of new album Below The Belt and the rock trio seem to finally be on their way to getting the credit they deserve at home. (continue reading…)