Posts Tagged ‘Adrien Begrand’

PopMatters Picks: The Best Metal Albums of 2009

Posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009

It seems every year I say it, but this year it’s truer than ever: this was one hell of a year for metal. Sure, we had our share of high profile duds come our way (Heaven and Hell, Ensiferum, Pelican, Killswitch Engage) and more than enough popular records that had many of us wondering if this was the end of not only metal, but music in general (Suicide Silence, Five Finger Death Punch, Winds of Plague), but when we got good albums, a very surprising number of them turned out to be great ones. In fact, not only was this year’s list of 20 the most difficult to compile in a long time, but I could easily take the next 20 that didn’t make the cut and make a formidable list out of those discs (come to think of it, that’s just what I’ll do).

Cobalt - Gin

There was an embarrassment of metal riches in 2009, so much so that the rankings below don’t mean anything whatsoever; you cannot go wrong with any of the titles I mention. That said, if you merely dabble in heavy music and think the Mastodon record is good (which it most certainly is), just wait until you hear this list’s top three –Adrien Begrand, PopMatters.

Continue reading: The Best Metal Albums of 2009 < Columns | PopMatters.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Playlists, Roadburn Recommended | No Comments »

YOB: Zen and the Art of Crushing Skulls

Posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Adrien Begrand of Hellbound recently conducted an interview with Yob  guitarist / frontman Mike Scheidt. An excerpt from the article follows below.
“It was an education, to say the least. Legally we can’t even say the band name.”
No matter how lousy your 2008 might have been, chances are it wasn’t anywhere ...read more