While attending a photography class at Metro Campus, a self portrait for a final project “took on a life of it’s own,” says Edmonton-based performance artist Madeleine Horn.
“I had so much fun. Getting carried away with dolling myself up and posing.”
Since that first foray in front of the camera in 2004, Madeleine has made many appearances in front of the camera, but also an audience.
“It’s no secret that I was a stripper for a few years while I started modeling. I loved being on stage, and many of …

1997 marked the start of something special: the coming together of a group of very different individuals to make one fleshy sound rooted in the belief that all organized religion is detrimental to human existence and should be buried, along with… well, other stuff. But definitely not their creativity especially of the on-stage variety, which has brought them both popularity in the Alberta metal community, and notoriety with the kinds of people who think Pamela Anderson knows the first thing about chicken farming.
More than a decade has passed since Dead …

A Bloodshed Nightmare conjures images of blood, guts and gore through their lyrics – and a bit of partying. And with Halloween coming, who doesn’t like celebrating the macabre by rocking out and partying in the most of gory of ways.
Hailing from Siksika Nation, just 30 minutes southeast of Strathmore, Alta., the quintet describes their sound as deathcore with a bit of metalcore and death metal thrown in for good measure as inspired, and counts The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence and Carnifex as their biggest influences.
A Bloodshed Nightmare are …

Few metal bands have the mystique surrounding them that Cynic does. Originally formed in 1987, the band made a splash on the scene with their highly acclaimed first album, Focus [Roadrunner Records] in 1993, and then broke up shortly after its release. The band was one of the first to blend different genres, taking death and progressive metal and joining it with jazz and fusion. That mixture, along with liberal uses of female vocals and a vocoder is the core of Cynic’s sound.
In 2006, after 12 years apart, the band …

The Blackout Brigade emerged from the ashes of two other bands that went up in flames when members quit in the quintet’s hometown of Winnipeg, Man. According to guitarist Danny Ransom, the remaining members seamlessly joined forces to form a new band fueled by rage, whiskey, and a passion for the hardcore sound.
“We’re all buddies, and this is a labour of love, so if we got into quitting/hiring nonsense it wouldn’t be fun, plus we’re way too lazy and disorganized to teach these songs to other people, so if someone …

The Black Dahlia Murder first unleashed their crushing take on melodic death in 2000, and the Michigan-based quintet hasn’t let up since.
A six-song demo, What A Horrible Night to Have a Curse [The Black Dahlia Murder, 2001], and the four-song EP A Cold-Blooded Epitaph [Lovelost Records, 2002] introduced metal fans to the unforgiving brutality of a truly original sound. That sound, and a relentless passion for playing live, brought about a new relationship with Metal Blade Records, one that still exists today with the late-September release of the band’s highly …

“13 Arcane Hymns” Track List:
1. Move Forward Until You Are Dead
2. Becoming Chaos
3. Fire Breather
4. Open Skull
5. Last Rights Protest
6. Revived
7. Unscripted Disclosure
8. In The Safe House
9. Where Will It End?
10. Disconnect-Connect
11. My Resignation
12. Arjuna
13. Victory Song
It was a cold, gray afternoon in the fall of 2008 when the paths of two musicians crossed.
“It was one of my first experiences of this season in Calgary and I remember how enthralled I was with the energy in the air,” recalls The Unravelling’s founder and instrumentalist Gustavo De Beauville, who moved to …

To think of shredding conjures up images of famous guitarists like Ulrich Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen, just to name a very small few from the world stage.
Alberta has its very own league of shredders that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Joe Sikorski, guitarist for Calgary grindcore act Exit Strategy, has been known to shred things up a time or two.
“Cornflakes, guitars, paper, miscellaneous odds and ends, you know,” laughs Sikorski, who was also a member of Thorazine, Caveat and Blacksky.
But what about shred guitar?
“I can give the clinical definition, which …

Do you dress up for Halloween?
Absolutely! It’s my favourite time of year.
Where is your favourite place to party at Halloween?
For the past few years, I’ve been going to New City Suburbs. It seems like people there put a lot of effort into their costumes and you’re bound to see something really original. House parties are always a blast as well.
What’s your costume gonna be this year?
I’d like to be mysterious and say that you’ll just have to wait until the 31st, but at this point I haven’t …

Harvesting Hell Open Air Festival, changed last minute to an indoor event, brought a diverse line-up of heavy metal and punk from regional to international scales to Edmonton, Alta.
Originally proposed as a “cultural gathering” for the growing metal communities across the province, the two locations considered to host the show outdoors were in counties which decided not to proceed due to concerns over permits and security. Regardless of those events, the Harvesting Hell crew did an impeccable job with the last minute changes, and put on a “hell” of …

October always has that icy snap in the air and the haunting feeling that snow could happen at any moment – if you’re lucky enough to live in a part of the world that has four seasons, which, in Alberta, we are.
I evolved from the komatiite of a dormant Canadian volcano, and have been in the Great White North ever since, so for me, October just wouldn’t be the same without that imminent frosty threat. And I really like the crunchy sound of dead leaves under my feet. And, naturally, …

Finland’s symphonic power metallers Stratovarius played to a small but enthusiastic crowd on Sept 29th at the Warehouse in Calgary Alta. With the original openers Pagan’s Mind dropping off the bill, two local bands were called in. Kobra and Lotus, a mix power metal, thrash and a bit of rock’n’roll, played first and had a lot of fun playing to the Warehouse crowd. Vocalist Brittney Paige is a captivating frontwoman she was full of energy and even got up to the barrier to interact with the crowd. Progressive metal …

Marilyn Manson finally got to perform in Calgary, 12 years after the shock rocker was first scheduled to appear in the Alberta city. His controversial stage antics and lyrical subject matter proved to intense for Larry Ryckman, former owner of the Calgary Stampeders football team and owner of the Max Bell Arena ,where that 1997 show was to take place, and the concert was derailed forcing Manson to skip the tour stop.
This time around, in support of his latest musical offering, The High End of Low [Interscope, 2009], Manson had …