Hello John,

I have to say that I am a huge fan of your site. I don't always agree with you (Lizard kicks ass), but I like your style of criticism nonetheless.

I have a couple of bands that you might be interested in, if you haven't heard them already.

One is Voivod, a Canadian band that started out playing straight trash metal, but then developed their own style that can't really be categorized. I consider the albums Dimension Hatross, Nothingface, and Angel Rat to be some of the more brilliantly conceived hard rock/metal albums that I have ever heard. Their late guitarist Denis D'Amour was from another planet. I have no idea what he was playing or how he was playing it.

The other is The Groundhogs, who were a blues rock band from the 70's. That may not sound all that exciting, but I'll tell you they are far from generic. They have a lot of prog elements in their music, and the melodies are unconventional. I consider Who will Save the World to be their best and most creative album. The brains of the band, T.S. McPhee, is a bit of a genius in my opinion.

Anyway, thank you for your work on the site, and I hope you get a chance to listen to these bands.

Wes