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Adrien Begrand

About Adrien Begrand

Adrien Begrand was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, but has spent the majority of his life in the Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Before he joined PopMatters, he dabbled in literary criticism, focusing primarily on the Beat Generation literary movement of the '50s and '60s, writing articles, essays, and book reviews for several websites and print publications. During his time at PopMatters, he has written countless music-related reviews and essays, ranging from indie rock to pop to electronica, and all things in between (he also has a fascination with '80s heavy metal that borders on unhealthy). In 2003, an anecdote of his was drawn by comic artist Joel Orff, and was published in Orff's book, Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock 'n' Roll. He currently resides in the city of Saskatoon. And yes, he has a weblog.

Features

Featured Article

Music

Fun & Games: Killing Joke in the mid-'80s

[1.May.08] :. Though lumped in with post-punk acts, Killing Joke were considerably less edgy than their peers, their blunt, pulverizing music echoing the rage and cynicism expressed in the songs making them somewhat of an anomaly.

Recent features

 

Music

By:Larm 2008: Pining For the Fjords

[3.Mar.08] :. PopMatters surveys the smorgasbord of Scandinavian pop, metal and everything in between at the by:Larm Festival in Oslo, Norway. Great music, splendid weather, $12 beers and lots of hot dogs later, we emerge already looking forward to next year.

Recent features

 

Music

A Crash Course in Heavy Metal for Neophyte Heshers

[5.Oct.07] :. If ever there was a genre anthology just begging to be picked apart and criticized by obsessive fans, it’s a metal collection; Rhino's The Heavy Metal Box, an introduction to the music circa 1968-91, gets its share of disassembling, here.

Recent features

 

Columns

Blood and Thunder

Into the Void: John Darnielle on Sabbath, Extreme Metal, and Indie Rock

[18.Apr.08] :. Begrand dives into metal fandom with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who discusses the Mighty Riff, the uneasy relationship between indie and metal camps, and the life experiences behind his new book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder

Shining in its Evil Splendor

[20.Mar.08] :. PopMatters' Adrien Begrand talks with Tomas Haake about Meshuggah's State of obZen.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder

Just Let Go: An Interview with Jarboe

[12.Feb.08] :. J2 is what happens when artists like Jarboe and Justin Broadrick meet halfway, then feed off each other.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder

In Through the Outré Door

[17.Dec.07] :. At the beginning of 2007 as the metal albums started pouring in, it quickly became abundantly clear that two record labels were going to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder

Business is Still Good: Inside Megadeth's Warchest

[28.Nov.07] :. With 11 studio albums behind them, including the very good United Abominations this past summer, Megadeth's sound has become so ubiquitous that it's easy to forget just how unique they sounded when they started making waves in the metal scene more than two decades ago.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder   Sun and Air: An Interview with Anneke van Giersbergen and Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg

Blood and Thunder   Many Happy Returns

Blood and Thunder   Bruce Willis, Genghis Khan, and Ravioli: Inside the Red Chord's Prey for Eyes

Blood and Thunder   Everything Is Permitted

Blood and Thunder   Dreams, Nightmares, and Sonata Arctica

Blood and Thunder   Out of Shadows, Shining Ever-Bright

Blood and Thunder   Fight or Flight: The Dichotomy of Manowar

Blood and Thunder   Welcome to Helluary

Blood and Thunder   The Best Metal Albums of 2006

Blood and Thunder   Open Wide, the Gates of Hell

Blood and Thunder   Blind Guardian's Twisted Myths

Blood and Thunder   Notes from Underground

Blood and Thunder   Postmortem

Blood and Thunder   Complex Simplicity

Blood and Thunder   The Great Beast Resurrected

Featured Article

Blood and Thunder

The Time to Kill Is Now!

[17.Apr.06] :. The least poetic of metal bands, Cannibal Corpse has gone to disturbing lengths to make gruesomeness its cold, calculated calling card.

Recent columns

 

Blood and Thunder   The Queen Isn't Dead

Blood and Thunder   The Profits of Doom

Blood and Thunder   Sweet Relief

Blood and Thunder   The Best Metal Albums of 2005

Blood and Thunder   Forever Undying

Blood and Thunder   Regeneration

Reviews

Music

Children of Bodom: Blooddrunk

[9.May.08] :. On their sixth album, the Finnish metal greats remember to provide a little substance underneath all the flash.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music

Airbourne: Runnin' Wild

[6.May.08] :. There's always room for a fun AC/DC rip-off, especially when it's this good.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music

Rush: Snakes & Arrows Live

[30.Apr.08] :. Yeah, another live Rush album. And yeah, they sound as good as they ever have.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music

Korpiklaani: Korven Kuningas

[28.Apr.08] :. Another year, another joyous blast of humppa from the perpetually lovable Korpiklaani.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music

El Perro Del Mar: From the Valley to the Stars

[24.Apr.08] :. The Swede's third album is far from depressing, but it sure as hell is miserable.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   In Flames: A Sense of Purpose

Music   The Sword: Gods of the Earth

Music   Hermano: … Into the Exam Room

Music   Lykke Li: Youth Novels

Music   Goldfrapp: Seventh Tree

Featured Article

Music

Botch: We Are the Romans

[22.Feb.08] :. One of the most influential extreme albums of the last decade has been deservedly given the reissue treatment.

Recent Music reviews

 
Featured Article

DVDs

Iron Maiden: Live After Death [DVD]

[18.Feb.08] :. Set aside those old VHS tapes for good, Maiden fans. This visceral spine-tingling, example of classic metal at its very finest has finally arrived on DVD.

Recent DVD reviews

 

Music   Primordial: To the Nameless Dead

Music   The Evaporators: Gassy Jack and Other Tales

Music   Nadja: Guilted By the Sun

Music   Saviours: Into Abaddon

Music   Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Music   Xasthur: Defective Epitaph

Music   Jesu: Lifeline

Music   Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same

Music   Serj Tankian: Elect the Dead

Music   Dethklok: The Dethalbum

Music   Queensrÿche: Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche

Music   Chiodos: Bone Palace Ballet

Music   The Acorn: Glory Hope Mountain

Featured Article

Music

The Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works

[16.Nov.07] :. Not only does this long-awaited new album cap off an outstanding year for metal music, but Ire Works just might be the best of the lot.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   The Donnas: Bitchin

Music   Arch Enemy: Rise of the Tyrant

Music   Between the Buried and Me: Colors

Music   Portal: Outré

Music   Die Mannequin: Slaughter Daughter

Music   Witchcraft: The Alchemist

DVDs   Ratt: Videos from the Cellar: The Atlantic Years [DVD]

Music   Epica: The Divine Conspiracy

Music   Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala

Music   Richard Hawley: Lady's Bridge

Music   High on Fire: Death is This Communion

Music   Plastiscines: LP1

DVDs   Heaven and Hell: Live at Radio City Music Hall [DVD]

Music   Ratt: Tell the World: The Very Best of Ratt

Music   Good Charlotte: Good Morning Revival

Music   Darkest Hour: Deliver Us

Music   Botch: American Nervoso

Music   Baroness: The Red Album

DVDs   Waking Up Dead

Music   Job For a Cowboy: Genesis

Music   Cephalic Carnage: Xenosapien

Music   Wax Mannequin: Orchard & Ire

Music   Raising the Fawn: Sleight of Hand

Music   Turbonegro: Retox

DVDs   The Dresden Dolls: Live at the Roundhouse, London [DVD]

DVDs   Kiss: Kissology Vol. 2, 1978-1991 [DVD]

DVDs   Twisted Sister: Twisted Sister: The Video Years [DVD]

Music   Caïna: Mourner

Music   Neurosis: Given to the Rising

Music   Twilight Revival: Twilight Revival

Music   The Angelic Process: Weighing Souls with Sand

Music   3 Inches of Blood: Fire Up the Blades

Music   Graf Orlock: Destination Time Tomorrow

Music   Sick Puppies: Dressed Up As Life

Music   Big Business: Here Come the Waterworks

Music   Immaculate Machine: Immaculate Machines Fables

Music   The Best of Atreyu

Music   Watain: Sworn to the Dark

PopMatters Pick

Music

Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation

[12.Jun.07] :. Sonic Youth's masterpiece finally gets the deluxe treatment.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   In This Moment: Beautiful Tragedy

Music   Priestbird: In Your Time

Music   Boris with Michio Kurihara: Rainbow

Music   Megadeth: United Abominations

Music   Travis: The Boy With No Name

Music   LoveHateHero: White Lies

PopMatters Pick

Music

Dungen: Tio Bitar

[16.May.07] :. The band that taught indie kids that it's okay to enjoy jazz flute makes a triumphant return on its fifth album.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Skeletonwitch: Worship the Witch

Music   Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5: 55

DVDs   Grave: Enraptured [DVD]

Music   Machine Head: The Blackening

Music   Rush: Snakes & Arrows

Music   Various Artists: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof

Music   Dimmu Borgir: In Sorte Diaboli

Music   Xiu Xiu: Remixed & Covered

Music   Trap Them: Sleepwell Deconstructor

Music   Temple of Brutality: Lethal Agenda

Music   The Band: The Best of A Musical History

PopMatters Pick

Music

Bloody Panda: Pheromone

[25.Apr.07] :. Don't let the name fool you; this is some of the most riveting doom metal you'll hear all year.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Black Sabbath: The Dio Years

Music   Madina Lake: From Them, Through Us, to You

DVDs   Apocalyptica: The Life Burns Tour [DVD]

DVDs   Dokken: Unchain the Night [DVD]

Music   Maylene and the Sons of Disaster: II

Music   Rwake: Voices of Omens

Music   Dälek: Abandoned Language

Music   Robbers on High Street: The Fatalist and Friends

Music   Vixen: Live and Learn

Music   Holy Moses: Queen of Siam

Music   Lordi: The Arockalypse

Music   Jesu: Conqueror

Music   Fu Manchu: We Must Obey

Music   Arcade Fire: Neon Bible

Music   Between the Buried and Me: The Silent Circus

Music   Arsis: United in Regret

DVDs   Various Artists: Metals Darkside [DVD]

Music   Azrael: Act III: Self + Act IV: Goat

Music   Walls of Jericho: With Devils Amongst Us All

Music   Unexpect: In a Flesh Aquarium

Featured Article

Music

Meshuggah: Nothing

[23.Feb.07] :. On this revamped edition, Meshuggah destroys, erases, and improves upon an already great album.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Bleeding Through: The Truth

Music   Various Artists: Family Values Tour 2006

DVDs   Detention Lounge: Detention Lounge, Vol. 1 [DVD]

Music   Angra: Aurora Consurgens

Music   Echoes of Eternity: The Forgotten Goddess

Music   Titan: A Raining Sun of Light and Love For You and You and You...

Music   Lily Allen: Alright, Still

Music   Jon Oliva's Pain: Maniacal Renderings

Music   Circle II Circle: Burden of Truth

Music   Anthropia: The Ereyn Chronicles, Part I: The Journey of Beginnings

Music   Made Out of Babies: Coward

Music   Neko Case: Live from Austin, TX

Music   Wolf: The Black Flame

Music   Lullaby Baxter: Garden Cities of To-Morrow

Music   Takota: The Ivory Tower

Music   Totimoshi: Ladrón

Music   Ludicra: Fex Urbis Lex Orbis

Music   Loverboy: Get Lucky

Music   Victory: Fuel to the Fire

DVDs   Diamond Head: To the Devil His Due [DVD]

Music   Rhapsody of Fire: Triumph or Agony

Music   Wednesday 13: Fang Bang

Music   Ultra Dolphins: Mar

Music   Lemonator: At the Presence of Great Beauty

Music   Parkway Drive: Killing With a Smile

Music   Manowar: The Sons of Odin

Music   Converge: No Heroes

Music   Danava: Danava

Music   Black Label Society: Shot to Hell

Music   Isis: In the Absence of Truth

Music   Daughters: Hell Songs

Music   Sunn O))) & Boris: Altar

Music   Deftones: Saturday Night Wrist

Music   MSTRKRFT: The Looks

Music   Malajube: Trompe-LOeil

Music   Goldfrapp: We Are Glitter

Music   Jucifer: If Thine Enemy Hunger

Music   Grave Digger: 25 to Live

Music   Alexisonfire: Crisis

Music   Bludgeon: World Controlled

Music   Jeff Walker und die Fluffers: Welcome to Carcass Cuntry

Music   The Killers: Sams Town

Music   OSI: Free

Music   Black Stone Cherry: Black Stone Cherry

Music   On the Last Day: Meaning in the Static

Music   Hatebreed: Supremacy

Music   Lamb of God: Sacrament

Music   Artimus Pyledriver: Artimus Pyledriver

Music   The Cardigans: Super Extra Gravity

Featured Article

Music

Mastodon: Blood Mountain

[18.Sep.06] :. Mastodon is on the cusp of something huge, with a hotly anticipated CD that threatens to turn metal on its ear and bring another underground sound to the mainstream in the process.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Junior Boys: So This is Goodbye

Music   Silent Civilian: Rebirth of the Temple

Music   All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals

Music   Iron Maiden: A Matter of Life and Death

Music   Nights Like These: The Faithless

Music   Various Artists: Warped Tour 2006 Compilation

Music   Nina Gordon: Bleeding Heart Graffiti

Music   Motörhead: Kiss of Death

Music   Strapping Young Lad: The New Black

Music   Moonspell: Memorial

Music   Carina Round: Slow Motion Addict

Featured Article

DVDs

Motorhead: Stage Fright [DVD]

[18.Aug.06] :. Everything louder than everything else. Way louder.

Recent DVD reviews

 
PopMatters Pick

Music

Agalloch: Ashes Against the Grain

[15.Aug.06] :. Agalloch's third album continues to tread new ground, and the results are electrifying.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Vanna: The Search Party Never Came

Music   Astral Doors: Astralism

Music   Godsmack: IV

Music   Bury Your Dead: Beauty and the Breakdown

Music   Slayer: Christ Illusion

Music   Silversun Pickups: Carnavas

Music   DragonForce: Inhuman Rampage

Music   Korn: Live & Rare

Music   Priestess: Hello Master

Music   Enslaved: Ruun

Music   Run Chico Run: Slow Action

DVDs    Rush: Replay x 3 [DVD + CD]

Music   The Forecast: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen

Music   Various Artists: Invaders

Music   Rammstein: Rosenrot

Music   Killing Joke: Hosannas From the Basements of Hell

Music   Yakuza: Samsara

Music   Wolfmother: Wolfmother

Music   Korpiklaani: Tales Along This Road

Music   Lacuna Coil: Karmacode

Music   The Dresden Dolls: Yes, Virginia...

Music   Tool: 10,000 Days

Music   Rammer: Cancer

Music   Young and Sexy: Panic When You Find It

Music   Sing-Sing: Sing-Sing and I

Music   Faktion: Faktion

Music   Katatonia: The Great Cold Distance

Music   Edguy: Rocket Ride

Music   Atreyu: A Death-Grip on Yesterday

Music   Raising the Fawn: The Maginot Line

Music   Amorphis: Eclipse

Music   Sepultura: Dante XXI

Music   The Ocean: Aeolian

DVDs   Nardwuar the Human Serviette: Doot Doola Doot Doo... Doot Doo! (2006)

Music   Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Music   Sevendust: Best Of (Chapter One 1997-2004)

Music   Burst: Origo

Music   The Sword: Age of Winters

DVDs    Can: Can DVD

Music   In Flames: Come Clarity

Featured Article

Music

The Gathering: Mandylion

[8.Feb.06] :. A decade later, The Gathering’s breakthrough album remains as powerful as ever.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   controller.controller: X-Amounts

Music   Dimmu Borgir: Stormblåst

Music   Green Carnation: Acoustic Verses

DVDs    Killing Joke: XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together... Stays Together [DVD]

Music   Morningwood: Morningwood

Music    Bolt Thrower: Those Once Loyal

Music    Deep Purple: Rapture of the Deep

DVDs    Rush: R30: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition [DVD]

Music    The Whigs: Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip

Music    Various Artists: Only in Canada, EH: 77-81

DVDs    Judas Priest: Rising in the East [DVD]

DVDs    Cradle of Filth: Peace Through Superior Firepower [DVD]

Music    Slipknot: 9.0 Live

Music    System of a Down: Hypnotize

Music    Jens Lekman: Oh, You're So Silent Jens

Music    Sunn O))): Black One

Music    Art Brut: Bang Bang Rock and Roll

Music    Early Man: Closing In

Music    Broadcast: Tender Buttons

Music    Constantines: Tournament of Hearts

Music    Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better

Music    For Against: December

Music    Ladytron: Witching Hour

Music    Leaves' Eyes: Vinland Saga

Music    Killing Joke: Pandemonium / Democracy

Music    Stryper: Reborn

Music    Grand Magus: Wolf's Return

Featured Article

Music

Opeth: Ghost Reveries

[21.Sep.05] :. If you're going to buy one metal album this year, make it this one. If you're a metal fan, what are you waiting for?"

Recent Music reviews

 
PopMatters Pick

Music

The Fall: Hex Enduction Hour: Expanded Deluxe Edition

[20.Sep.05] :. The lavish reissue of the seminal 1982 album by The Fall sounds just as potent today, or perhaps even more so.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music    Goldfrapp: Supernature

Music    Diamond Nights: Popsicle

Music    Fates Warning: Awaken the Guardian (Expanded Edition)

Music    Natasha Bedingfield: Unwritten

Music    Turbonegro: Party Animals

Music    Richard Hawley: Coles Corner

Music   Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack

Music    North Mississippi Allstars: Electric Blue Watermelon

Music    Darkane: Layers of Lies

Music    The Black Dahlia Murder: Miasma

Music    Alice Cooper: Dirty Diamonds

Music    Slough Feg: Atavism

Music    Idlewild: Warnings/Promises

Music    Cephalic Carnage: Anomalies

PopMatters Pick

Music

X-Ray Spex: Germ Free Adolescents

[10.Aug.05] :. This reissued, oft-overlooked punk classic has never sounded more relevant.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music    Nevermore: This Godless Endeavor

Music    Arch Enemy: Doomsday Machine

Music    Megadeth: Greatest Hits: Back to the Start

Music    The Offspring: Greatest Hits

Music    The Forecast: Late Night Conversations

Music    Mudvayne: Lost and Found

Music    Torche: Torche

Music    Primordial: The Gathering Wilderness

Music    Xiu Xiu: La Foret

Music    GWAR: Live From Mt. Fuji

Music    Clutch: Robot Hive / Exodus

Music    Darkest Hour: Undoing Ruin

DVDs    Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South: Live at the 40 Watt [DVD]

Music    Coldplay: X & Y

Music    Meshuggah: Catch Thirtythree

Music    Brand New Sin: Recipe For Disaster

Music    The Locust: Safety Second, Body Last

Music   Oasis: Don't Believe the Truth

PopMatters Pick

Music

Nile: Annihilation of the Wicked

[26.May.05] :. The American death metal masters return with what could be their best album to date.

Recent Music reviews

 
Featured Article

Music

System of a Down: Mezmerize

[25.May.05] :. System of a Down have exceeded expectations, and they're only halfway done.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music    Maximo Park: A Certain Trigger

Music    The Ponys: Celebration Castle

Music    Candlemass: self-titled

Music    The Nein: Wrath of Circuits

Music    13 & God: self-titled

Music    P:ano: Brigadoon

Music    The Russian Futurists: Our Thickness

Music    Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness

Music    The Raveonettes: Pretty in Black

Music    Guapo: Black Oni

Music    Emiliana Torrini: Fisherman's Woman

Music    Athlete: Tourist

Music    Napalm Death: The Code Is Red... Long Live the Code

Music    Corrosion of Conformity: In the Arms of God

Music    Fantomas: Suspended Animation

Music    Samael: Reign of Light

Music    Strapping Young Lad: Alien

Music    Ash: Meltdown

Music    Leeroy Stagger: Beautiful House

Music    Judas Priest: Angel of Retribution

Music    Louis XIV: Illegal Tender

Music    Doves: Some Cities

Music    Dark Tranquillity: Character

Music    Drive-By Truckers: Gangstabilly / Pizza Deliverance

Music    Various Artists: Alone in the Dark: Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture

Music    Buried Inside: Chronoclast: Selected Essays on Time-Reckoning and Auto-Cannibalism

Music    The BellRays: The Red, White & Black

PopMatters Pick

Music

M.I.A.: Arular

[18.Feb.05] :. To Congo, to Colombo, can't stereotype her thing, yo. Ms. Arulpragasam has delivered the best UK debut since Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner.

Recent Music reviews

 
Featured Article

Music

Behemoth: Demigod

[15.Feb.05] :. Extreme metal is rarely ever this classy.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music    Flat Earth Society: ISMS

Music    Cursed: Two

Music    Dälek: Absence

Music    Stereo Total: Do the Bambi

Music    High on Fire: Blessed Black Wings

Music    Nightwish: Once / Over the Hills and Far Away

DVDs    Goldfrapp: Wonderful Electric: Live in London [DVD]

Music    Amorphis: Far From the Sun

Music    Mnemic: The Audio Injected Soul

Music