Articles by Laura Wiebe Taylor

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  Kamelot

  Ghost Opera

  PUBLISHED Jun 20, 2007

  Though wary of Kamelot to begin with, I eventually fell prey to the diabolical magnetism of "March of Mephisto,” the band’s 2005 single (fr...

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  Sigh

  Hangman's Hymn

  PUBLISHED Jun 20, 2007

  In a superficial sense, Sigh’s latest exploration of the heavy and bizarre might be described as "symphonic black metal,” but Hangman’s Hym...

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  Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

  In Glorious Times

  PUBLISHED May 29, 2007

  The opening strains of In Glorious Times move subtly from lullaby serenade to dissonant threat, slipping past the sonic defences to intensi...

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  Various

  Metal Mania 2006 XX Edition

  PUBLISHED May 25, 2007

  The Metal Mania DVDs are always a fun jaunt, a taster platter of live music performances and a brief glimpse into the big Euro-metal fest e...

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  Lacuna Coil / The Gathering / In This Moment / Stolen Babies

  Opera House, Toronto ON May 16

  PUBLISHED May 24, 2007

  With no line-up snaking around the corner, it was a surprise to find the Opera House well filled so early for the (laughably and demeaningl...

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  Manes

  How the World Came to an End

  PUBLISHED May 23, 2007

  Manes’s third full-length album suffers from an identity crisis but rather than offering up incoherence and confusion this schism provides...

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  Octavia Sperati

  Grace Submerged

  PUBLISHED May 23, 2007

  Octavia Sperati’s second album is both a logical step forward and a surprise, falling somewhere between Madder Mortem, Lacuna Coil and even...

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  Vintersorg

  Solens Rötter

  PUBLISHED May 23, 2007

  It’s been three years since the last (unfulfilling) Vintersorg record, and Solens Rötter isn’t a heroic successor. The album is more cohere...