Carl Begai

Hails, hosers! For those that care about metal happenings in the first nation of poutine and disgraceful postal “service”, read on…

Calgary-based Kobra And The Lotus – a band that I loved to hate once upon a time – recently released a video for the new song ‘Welcome To My Funeral’, the second track featured on their forthcoming album, Visionary. To say that big things are brewing in the Kobra camp is an understatement, as the video showcases a much darker and heavier side of the band. While their metal roots have never been in doubt given the old school approach of their debut, Out Of The Pit, folks that are expecting the same will be pleasantly surprised by the new and improved sound. Vocalist Brittany Paige’s voice has gone through a startling transformation, as she’s ditched what she calls her “character voice” for a deeper and rich natural voice. No operatic crap, no worries. Just… balls. Not the first thing you think of when you see the lovely lady, but you get my meaning.

Stay tuned for an interview with Ms. Paige, coming soon. In the meantime, check out the new video here. (continue reading…)

Some loud and obnoxious activity in and coming out of Japan these days; check out the rundown below. And for the record, we finish things off with an exclusive X Japan-related history lesson…

Veteran bashers Anthem are gearing up for the release of their new album, Heraldic Device, due to hit shelves (yes, I still have a record store mentality) in July. Fans outside Japan can pre-order it here. This marks the band’s 14th studio album since 1985 and in reportedly in the vein as their last few records. So, no big surprises, but a guarantee of quality shred.

Click here for the complete tracklist and the band’s tour schedule for Japan. No word as to whether Heraldic Device will receive an official release outside Japan, but it’s doubtful considering they haven’t had one since No Smoke Without Fire in 1990.

X Japan are due to release their first ever internationally distributed single, ‘Jade’, on June 28th in all available digital formats. Live recordings of the song have been plastered all over YouTube for months, and I believe a rough studio mix is floating around as well, but a properly mixed sample of ‘Jade’ is now available at this location. The song is the precursor to X Japan’s full length international debut, which is still a work in progress at the moment.

In the meantime, check out my interview with drummer / founder Yoshiki, conducted in the fall last year, available in two parts here and there.
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As we prepare for Heavy MTL and Heavy T.O. to steal seemingly every metal band on the planet for a weekend (July 23rd – 24th – details here), there’s a bunch of other stuff going on that I also give a damn about. Read on…

Woods Of Ypres frontman / founder David Gold recorded drums for a folk / black metal outing with chaos driven east coast-er Joel Violette last year under the name Thrawsunblat. The demo, entitled Canada 2010, is now available for purchase via iTunes. Go to this location to check out audio samples and put some extra beer money the duo’s pockets.

Speaking of Gold, he saw fit to shoot a video for the track ‘I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetary’, taken from Woods Of Ypres’ classic Woods 4: The Green Album. Check it out here; note the extremely rare Headstones ring that turns up here and there. Somebody tell Hugh Dillon it’s been found
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So, I’ve finally done something useful with my life.

A couple months ago and Irish friend of mine by the name of Kevin Murphy, who moonlights as a damn fine musician and feared quizmaster, asked me if I’d supply him with some metal-oriented questions for one of his quizzes. Task done, the positive feedback from his gathering of regular victims set off a fire in Murphy’s brain, which eventually exploded into the idea of a full blown music quiz. I was intrigued by the offer to help him come up with material, agreeing to jump in even before the offer of free beer was put on the table.

Initially the plan was to have me comb through the realms of metal and rock and come up with various forms of torment, while Kev focused on blues / blues rock-based questions for the masses. When all was said and done we had a pot filled everything from The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Pixies and B.B. King to Cradle Of Filth, Theatre Of Tragedy, Van Canto, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Halford. Not to mention a few “This is happening in music right now, don’t ya know…” questions. All in all, a wide playing field that folks had a good time tearing up. Including the one particular Lord Of Doodness who hates these quiz-type things. (continue reading…)

Hails! More Maple Leaf Metal (and Rawk) is upon you…

My good buddy / wingman Paco recently bounced a new band off my head and it stuck on the return shot. Turns out there’s life in Keswick, Ontario in the form of a band called Manahan. Not just another band either, as it’s fronted by a 17-year-old guitarist / vocalist named Cory Manahan, who has a definite head for shred and top-notch songwriting. Depends on your taste in sonic violence, of course, but I remember being 17 and it didn’t involve or include me displaying talent like this (I was all about geekdom’s Limited Edition X-Men this and mindless action movie that). An indie band for the moment, they released their debut album in August 2010 and have started make the live rounds, including a support gig for the one and only Devin Townsend back in November. Nothing like starting small . Normally I’d recommend checking out the band on MySpace here, but for those that don’t want to pull out a GPS in order to navigate the endlessly deteriorating MySpace realm, check out some audio samples on YouTube (here and here). (continue reading…)

One of the things I enjoy most about being a part of the insane asylum known as the music industry are the people I meet / have met along the way. Not just the musicians, but the people behind and around the artists that make the machine work. Journalist / author / drummer Joel Gausten is one of these personalities, whom I initially got in touch with via MySpace when I asked him if he’d mind if I stole a piece of his writing for a BW&BK news piece. We’ve been in constant contact ever since, which resulted in me picking his brain on a variety of subjects (here and here). With the launch of his new radio show, Glory Is Noise, Joel invited me to be on the show for a round of shop-talk and brainstorming, the result of which can be found below.

Topics of discussion include my humble beginnings as a diva writer, record labels, the pros and cons of being an independent band, how not to frickin’ write a band biography, I share a couple war stories, we delve into the future of Heaven & Hell, decide on a new singer for Anthrax, and offer some healthy praise for Stryper’s new cover album, The Covering. (continue reading…)

Okay, so it isn’t a monthly update as I’d planned, but feast your eyes and ears on some righteous noise news out of Japan… the island nation where I will one day spend far too much money on fattening up my metal collection…

Loudness recently contributed a song entitled ‘The Eternal Soldiers’ as an intro theme for the new anime movie, Mazinkaizer SKL. The single was released on December 15th with a B-side entitled ‘The Danger Zone’; both tracks fall in line with the band’s current thrash-oriented attack, as heard on their latest album King Of Pain. Click the following links for audio samples: ‘The Eternal Soldiers’, ‘The Danger Zone’.

The single is now available for order via CDJapan.com here.

Click here for look and listen to ‘King Of Pain’, the first single from the album. King Of Pain is Loudness’ second album with new drummer Masayuki ‘Ampan’ Suzuki. He replaces founding skinbasher Munetaka Higuchi, who lost his battle with liver cancer in November 2008. (continue reading…)

Hails and all that happiness in the new year stuff. Too bad about your failed New Year resolutions, though. Anyway, drown your sorrows with beer and a few updates from the Great White-In-The-Winter North…

Devin Townsend, the original Strapping Young Lad, is gearing up for the release of two albums in April. InsideOut will issue the Deconstruction and Ghost records simultaneously, thus completing Townsend’s four part look inside his Hevy Devy persona (check out my previous interviews with him about the Ki and Addicted albums). Prior to the releases he will do a headlining tour through Europe; dates can be found here. The Devin Townsend Project, as this particular era has been dubbed, also features Terror Syndrome members Ryan Van Poederooyen, Mike Young, and Dave Young. More on them and Townsend’s escapades in the coming weeks and months, as they’re due to spend most of 2011 on the road.
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Busy month, lots going on musically (metallically) in the country that I’m happy to call home (that’s Canada for you heathens, not Canadia… jeez ). And on that note, onward….

Big news out of Toronto has the Headstones reuniting for two shows in St.Catharines and Toronto on February 3rd and 5th respectively. More punk-meets-Johnny-Cash than metal, the band had noteworthy success through the ’90s and into the 21st century before breaking up in 2003. Their upcoming Toronto show was sold out in approximately 20 minutes if one believes radio reports that came down after tickets went on sale (and the Sound Academy is not a small room). Folks that may not know the Headstones (silly people, click here for a taste) may recognize frontman Hugh Dillon from his current starring roles in Flashpoint and Durham County.

For information on the Headstones go to this location. Check out their catalogue on Amazon.ca here. Further your education with ‘Smile And Wave’ and ‘It’s All Over’.
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Yes, I’m early. Lots to do in the coming month and they have yet to invent the 27 hour day outside of Japan. So, onward with some Canucklehead news…

With all due respect to my Prairie-living brethren, whenever I come across a band hailing from the flatlands of Canada that raises 10 kinds of hell in spectacular fashion I’m amazed. Must be a big city diva thing on my part. Hats off to Saskatoon-based Untimely Demise for opening my ears a bit more, as their seven song debut City Of Steel is a full-on death thrash shredfest. My running joke at the moment is that frontman Matthew Cuthbertson sounds like a girl… but when that girl happens to be Anegla Gossow of Arch Enemy fame this is a very good thing. Throw in comparisons to Death and Children Of Bodom and you get some idea of the level of mayhem these folks aspire to.

City Of Steel was produced by ex-Megadeth guitarist Glen Drover, an interview with Cuthbertson is on the way. Check out audio samples at this location. (continue reading…)