Review: Alkaloid – The Malkuth Grimoire

by Dæv Tremblay

Alkaloid is the union of members from Necrophagist, Obscura, Spawn of Possession, Aborted, Dark Fortress, God Dethroned, Blotted Science and Noneuclid to create, allegedly, “the most extreme prog metal” band. I’ve already expressed my concerns about this record, but I still decided to give my money to the fund-raising campaign and finally got the fruit of my investment today in the mail. I can’t say I’m unsatisfied.

The album, considerably long, at 73 minutes, begins starkly with Carbon Phrases, which was the first song the band streamed before the album came out. It’s a rock-solid, or rather metal-solid, 9 minute … Read more

Gear: Ibanez to make cheap fanned-fret bass

by Dæv Tremblay


The SRFF will come in both 5 and 6 strings. I always wanted to have a fanned-fret instrument, as I play 6- and 7-string bass. The different scale, depending on the string, is supposedly more ergonomic, and gives a better intonation and control over the tension of the strings. With that new model up, I bet we’ll begin to see way more fanned-fret basses in the future, as it’s way more accessible now than before.
… Read more

Review: Becca Stevens Band – Perfect Animal

by Dæv Tremblay

Becca Stevens‘ crowdfunding campaing was probably the most infuriating one I’ve ever participated in. Their new album, Perfect Animal was set on being released in fall of 2014, and was crowd-funded to cover the expenses of recording, mixing and mastering (which was already made at that point), and to fund the promotion, album art, and printing vinyl and CD. I am really fine with this kind of crowdfunding: the album’s [almost] ready for delivery, and even if the goal was not met, it would still get released, not like other shitty campaigns.

And then we were left in … Read more

Review: Stonebringer – Those Winds

by Dæv Tremblay
I once considered myself a fan of stoner rock and metal. And that’s mostly because Mastodon slayed (to each his own opinion, but the latest album was crap). However, when I tried and ventured into the deep haze of the genre, I found out that almost every band in the stoned area was pretty much just that: stoned, and deserved to be just that: stoned. Of course I found a few, but that are good and worthy: Colossus, or Chiefs, for example, make great stuff! But that’s probably one in a hundred band, if not one in… Read more

Review: Red Seas Fire – Exposition/Confrontation/Resolution

by Dæv Tremblay

Red Seas Fire originally intended on releasing one album’s worth divided into three EPs throughout one year. However, mostly due to band members changes I suppose, they ended up releasing one EP per year, throughout three years. What you’ve got is Exposition, Confrontation, and Resolution, a 3-EP, 12-track collection of about 60 minutes worth of music. I’ll begin by reviewing the latest one.

RSF make djent music but only to an extent. They don’t solely rely on riffing arrhythmia to build their songs. They put a good deal of chordal progression and melodies, kind of like how … Read more