Discoveries of the Day! Metal Gods of Thunder!

WAKE (Calgary, AB) One of Calgaryʼs best metal acts is WAKE, the sludgy grindcore quintet that could. The act has been carving their way across North America with their fiercely DIY touring regimen on the strength of the critically acclaimed. Surrounded by Human Filth 7” and are prime to release their debut full-length in the fall. Expect crusty powerviolence, malevolent screams and violent head-banging to abound. www.myspace.com/ourwake

Red Fang (Portland, OR) The video for their belligerent, aluminum-core epic, “Prehistoric Dog,” features the band binge drinking enough PBR and Tecate to build full suits of armour, only to be soundly defeated in combat by a gang of LARP nerds. Classic! Portlandʼs metal scene has an impressive sense of humour! www.redfang.net

The Sword (Austin, TX) Hailing from Austin, Texas, three-piece powerhouse The Sword is one of the most compelling interests in the world of modern metal. Formed in 2003, the bandʼs concept- driven works are as compellingly masterful as they are infectiously catchy. Charged with superior technical prowess and a penchant for lyrics that conjure richly vivid imagery, The Sword offer a welcome respite from the more commonly found mechanical chaos and demonic screams of your typical hardcore/metal crossover act. Ritualistic in its adherence to offering up larger-than-life themes, The Sword excels at constructing brave new worlds of steel and stone. Whether hurtling through space on the science fiction inspired album Warp Riders or battling it out with the Viking raiders as on the epic full-length release Age of Winters, The Sword stands apart as a band with a sound grand enough to satisfy the magnificence of its fantastical imagination. Nothing short of a top-notch thrash outfit, The Sword is capable of tearing through densest of metal armour. No manmade blade can with stand the intensity of the blows the hardcore knight of the realm reign down in the name of righteous rocking. Drawing on dark energy of the stadium, drone and stoner rock genres, The Sword manoeuvres its massive prescience with a lithe beauty that belies the eminent strength of its classically-infused being. From resplendent medieval overtures and bloody melees to cosmic road trips and supersonic gallops across extraterrestrial landscapes, time traveling juggernaut The Sword is as future-primitive as a frozen daisy on the tongue of a woolly mammoth revealed by a receding glacier. www.swordofdoom.com