Friday, April 28, 2017

Where the Buffalo Fall: Metal in Alberta


Canada is a wellspring of great music, but not all provinces are created equal. I reckon the vast majority of bands you're into are going to be coming out of Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. But every country has its overlooked prairie. Here in America, it's the Midwest. In Canada, it's Alberta.

Midwest America and Alberta have a lot in common. Besides Calgary and Edmonton, there aren't too many cities; nearly 200 miles separate them and the towns are scattered far and wide. It's gonna be a rough time if you want to tour, especially during harsh winters.

Yet despite this, Alberta has a thriving scene going on with men and women kicking ass in all subgenres. Don't believe me? Check this shit out!


Calgary
Post-Black Metal

Edmonton
War Metal

Edmonton
Deathly Black Metal

Calgary
Death Metal

Grande Prairie
Proggy Death-Doom

Calgary
Blackened Death Metal
Calgary
Heavy Metal

Calgary
Blackened Death

Medicine Hat
Brutal Death Metal

Calgary
Blackened Post-Metal

Devon
Nomadic Folk Melodeath

Calgary
Black Metal

Calgary
Death Metal

Edmonton
Epic Death Metal

Calgary
Crossover Thrash

Calgary
Melodeathcore

Edmonton
Power Metal

Edmonton
Crusty Grind

Edmonton
Melothrash

Edmonton
Black Metal

Calgary
Thrash Metal

Calgary
Post-Sludge

Calgary
Blackened Melodeath

Calgary
Folk Metal

Edmonton
Power/Thrash Metal

Grand Prairie
Deathcore

Edmonton
Melodeath

Stony Plain
Death Metal

Edmonton
Crossover Thrash

Calgary
Death-Doom

Edmonton
Blackened Doom

St Albert
Melodeath

Edmonton
Power Metal

Calgary
Tech Death

Edmonton
Black Metal

Calgary
Blackened Melodeath

Calgary
Blackened Crust

Calgary
Blackened Thrash


There ya go! Put a few more bands than usual in here since I've been in active for a while. Hope ya dig it! Gonna try to get back to my monthly flow. Know any other great bands? Let me know!

Stay heavy, my friends.
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Metal Metal Land: Where the Slime Lives: Heavy Metal from Florida


To some people, it's a gator-and-mosquito infested Hellscape where the moisture-thick air suffocates and cocaine addled folks do the craziest shit; to others, it's home. Rich in snakes, swamps, and senior citizens, Florida has gotten a bad rap over the years. I mean, come on... it's shaped like a dick. Despite these unfortunate circumstances-- or maybe thanks to them-- the Sunshine State held one of the most important bastions for heavy metal.

If you love death metal, it's unquestionable you fell in love with at least one band to emerge out of the Tampa metal scene. Death, Deicide, Morbid Angel, and Obituary bellowed and brutalized their ways to the front-lines in the Eighties, leaving thousands of whiplashed necks in their wake. A plethora of bands inspired by their unholy lyrics and savage riffs answered the call, including Six Feet Under,  Dark Sermon, Hate Eternal, Hibernus Mortis, and Acheron. On the other ends of the spectrum were progressive and power metal, often times coming together in an epic swell. Jon Oliva would put together near operatic albums through his bands Savatage and Pain. Crimson Glory pierced the thick swamp air with the soaring screams. Iced Earth charged into the fray along with Circle II Circle. Chuck Schuldiner also dabbled with prog-power in Control Denied.

As the band matured, Death found the happy middle ground between straight up death metal and prog. There was a wedding of low demonic vocals with more complex songwriting and instrumental technicality. Out of Death would emerge Cynic, and soon too would be Atheist and Nocturnus. Tech-death has gained prominence this past decade, with tons of new bands emerging across the globe, including Abiotic.
Of course there's a load of other bands of all varieties stirring things up in the Sunshine State. Going the alternative, industrial, and nu metal route, you'll have Limp Bizkit, Nonpoint, Genitorturers, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, and Marilyn Manson to choose from. Want something a bit punky? Trivium, Assück, Underoath, Poison the Well, and A Day to Remember will cover the spectrum for you. Dark Castle and Torche give you a little something to take things slow while Black Tide and Nasty Savage will speed things up for you

So what makes Florida ripe with metal? Well, you have the whole Bible-belt thing going on; the South in general is pretty religious. Economically, has one of the biggest growth disparities in the nation. Drugs have ravaged lower income areas, with a synthetic drug called Flakka being the "hip" new alternative to cocaine.

And now let's go to my favorite part: looking into the bands rockin' the bars, basements, and backyards across the great swampy state.


Orlando
Death Doom 

Tampa
Alternative Metal

 Fort Lauderdale
Progressive Metal

Miami
Latin Metalcore

Jacksonville
Black Metal

Saint Petersburg
Doom Metal

Gainesville
Death Metal

Jacksonville
Death Metal

Gainesville
Sludge Metal

 Ocala
Metalcore

South Florida
Blackened Death Metal

Bonita Springs
Progressive Gothic Metal 

Jacksonville
Blackened Death Metal

Orlando
Metalcore

Miami
Blackened Sludge Metal

Deland
Deathgrind

Crestview
Death Metal

Gainesville
Blackened Doom Metal

Miami
Blackened Crust

Miami
Progressive Black Metal

Orlando
Thrash Metal

Winter Springs
Blackened Death Metal

Tampa
Death Metal

Fort Lauderdale
Technical Thrash Metal

Winterpark
Progressive Metal
Coral Springs
Stoner Metal

Tallahassee
Post Metal

Miami
Psychedelic Tech Death

Gainesville
Symphonic Black Metal
 
Orlando
Black Metal

Sarasota
Stoner Metal

Orlando
Symphonic Black Metal

Miami
Blackened Thrash

Tampa
Death Metal

Orlando
Tech Death

Fort Lauderdale
Sludge Metal

Gainesville
Stoner Doom 

Deland
Power Metal

So yeah, a lot of pretty great stuff right here. Hope you like. I really hope to bang my head to some of these kickass bands sometime in the future. If any of the big bands are in your neck of the woods, ya gotta see them.  Keep on kickin' ass, Florida.

Stay heavy, my friends.
Posted by at 3 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)