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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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[20.Mar.08] :. PopMatters' Adrien Begrand talks with Tomas Haake about Meshuggah's State of obZen.
Recent columns
Blood and Thunder
[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
[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
[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
Featured Article
 Blood and Thunder
[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
Reviews
Music
[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
[6.May.08] :. There's always room for a fun AC/DC rip-off, especially when it's this good.
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Music
[30.Apr.08] :. Yeah, another live Rush album. And yeah, they sound as good as they ever have.
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Music
[28.Apr.08] :. Another year, another joyous blast of humppa from the perpetually lovable Korpiklaani.
Recent Music reviews
Music
[24.Apr.08] :. The Swede's third album is far from depressing, but it sure as hell is miserable.
Recent Music reviews
Featured Article
 Music
[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
[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
Featured Article
 Music
[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.
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PopMatters Pick
 Music
[12.Jun.07] :. Sonic Youth's masterpiece finally gets the deluxe treatment.
Recent Music reviews
PopMatters Pick
 Music
[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.
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PopMatters Pick
 Music
[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
Featured Article
 Music
[23.Feb.07] :. On this revamped edition, Meshuggah destroys, erases, and improves upon an already great album.
Recent Music reviews
Featured Article
 Music
[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
Featured Article
 DVDs
[18.Aug.06] :. Everything louder than everything else. Way louder.
Recent DVD reviews
PopMatters Pick
 Music
[15.Aug.06] :. Agalloch's third album continues to tread new ground, and the results are electrifying.
Recent Music reviews
Featured Article
 Music
[8.Feb.06] :. A decade later, The Gathering’s breakthrough album remains as powerful as ever.
Recent Music reviews
Featured Article
 Music
[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?"
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PopMatters Pick
 Music
[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
PopMatters Pick
 Music
[10.Aug.05] :. This reissued, oft-overlooked punk classic has never sounded more relevant.
Recent Music reviews
PopMatters Pick
 Music
[26.May.05] :. The American death metal masters return with what could be their best album to date.
Recent Music reviews
Featured Article
 Music
[25.May.05] :. System of a Down have exceeded expectations, and they're only halfway done.
Recent Music reviews
PopMatters Pick
 Music
[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
[15.Feb.05] :. Extreme metal is rarely ever this classy.
Recent Music reviews
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