Along with Devin Townsend, 3 Inches of Blood and Rush, one of Canada’s greatest contributions to the world of metal is Ottawa thrash band Annihilator. For the past 20 years, Annihilator have pumped out killer metal tunes, many of which easily make it on my personal favorites list (Alison Hell!). Check out the video above for some song clips from Annihilator’s upcoming self-titled album. Holy shit, Annihilator mainman Jeff Waters can fucking shred. If these clips are any indication of what this new album has in store, it’s going to be leaps and bounds better than their last effort, ‘Metal’ (which is honestly an alright album, but not all that impressive). Sounds like Jeff really pulled out all the stops for this one and I’m excited as hell to get my hands on this album when it drops May 17th.

Some fan-filmed videos of Jeff playing two of the new album tracks – “The Trend” & “Betrayed” – during a guitar workshop on March 11, 2010 at Italmélodie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (and from the looks of it, having a hell of a good time doing so) after the jump…

Wailin is all about the gear, the threads, the performance, the groove and the vocal. And CYMBALS! He needs cymbals! More cymbals… dear god, MORE CYMBALS!!

Come on. No self-respecting band would ever play with this guy. He takes the term “overkill” and brings it to an absurdly horrible new level. Plus he dresses like a 16 year old girl. Is that a… is that a choker? Ah jeez.

Hit the jump for another video featuring some songs you may actually know (if you can withstand the vocals)…

Ah, Eluveitie… my favorite fiddling, fluting, hurdy gurdying heavy metal motherfuckers around. Hot off the heels of 2009’s acoustic album “Invocation I: The Arcane Dominion”, Eluveitie is ready to drop another hot discload of folksy metal on our eager and wanting faces. The band’s 5th album, “Everything Remains (As It Never Was)” will be released February 15th, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records, and included on that album will be a little rocker called “Thousandfold”. And wudyaknow… they have a music video for it!! And it’s here on this page!!! So fucking watch it already!!!!

Fledgling guitar virtuoso Antoine Dufour and his pal, fiddler extraordinaire Tommy Gauthier, may have become webfamous from their amusing (and pretty freaking impressive) “Four Hands Guitar” YouTube video, but these guys are certainly no joke when it comes to jamming on their own tunes. Best showcasing both of these artists’ immense talents is a track from Antoine’s 2006 album, ‘Development’ entitled “Spiritual Groove”. Sure, this may not be metal, but I’ll be goddamned if it isn’t fucking awesome.

To see the 2 man 1 guitar rendition of Jerry Reed’s “Jerry’s Breakdown” that brought these guys into the netnerd spotlight back in 2007 (and which has since reached nearly 9 million views), continue on with the post…

If you’re not familiar with the fantastic acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, you should be kicked square in the teeth. These fiery Mexicans know how to crank out the jams! They may not be “metal” in the usual sense of the word, but they sure know how to take a classic heavy song like Metallica’s “Orion” and create one kick ass cover tune. More kickassingly, as rumored on several metal blogs across the net, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s Oct 17th performance had a very special guest… Rob Trujillo, bassist for Metallica, who joined the band onstage for a very special performance of that very tune! Check out the video below for some groovy guitar goodness:

More Rodrigo y Gabriela y Trujillo Videos: Metal Insider
Rodrigo y Gabriela – “Ixtapa” (live): YouTube

Well, as I’m sure no one has noticed, it’s been a long damn time since I’ve posted anything on this here site of mine. For some reason I just haven’t felt all that inclined to write about much. Sure, I’ve seen some damn good flicks over the past few months, and yes, I’ve had a few adventures… hell, I guess you could say I’ve been a lazy, lazy fuck. So… well… sorry I guess. Now, back to business.

Over the past few months I’ve really been getting into a little-known hard rockin’ outfit by the name of Volbeat. These Danish s.o.b.s know what’s up when it comes to some oldschool hard-rock-and-freaking-roll! With obvious influences from classic rock ‘n roll bands of old, it’s a tad hard to categorize their sound… I’ve heard them referred to as Elvis-Metal, and with some songs I could justify that comparison. But don’t be fooled. Volbeat can be some heavy, heavy mufuckas. You just have to look past a few somewhat ridiculous lyrics and some English mispronunciations on their singers part (personally, I give him a break considering English isn’t his first language). “Keep it on my baby sukupa dupa lupa dup pop”? Okay man, I’ll let it slide, just make sure you blow my face off with some rocking tunes to accompany that mouthful of nonsense.

And with that I present exhibit A: “A Moment Forever” from their second album ‘Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil’:

Sure, like most bands, Volbeat likes to mix it up a bit. They have slow songs, fast songs, heavy songs, soft songs… but without a doubt, they all have one things in common: they’re all really fucking good. So do your earholes a favor and check these guys out already.

On one quick final note: I experienced a truly jubilant morning a few weeks back when I found out that, beyond all of my expectations, these guys were added as the openers for the Metallica show I’m hitting up this November. Will I be getting to the venue early to check these guys out? You damn well better believe it.

Official Website: www.volbeat.dk
Official MySpace: www.myspace.com/volbeat