No Age at Great Hall

No Age
W/ Henri Faberge and his Navel Academy Marching Band,

John Milner You’re So Boss, Lucky Dragons
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Great Hall, Toronto

Henri Faberge and his Navel Academy Marching Band opened up for No Age at the Great Hall in Toronto. The fifteen piece band clad in Vaudevillian garb marched around the floor, following a microphoned man sporting a sinister stare yelling dictatorial orders. Faberge took the mic for the group’s single song, with subject matter of letting loose and having fun, while black paint was slapped on others' nipples and a Mary Wollstonecraft look-a-like poured booze down yet others' throats. You had to be there.

Up next was Toronto spazz/noise-punk band John Milner You're So Boss. Playing on the floor in front of the stage, Milner showed the flannel-draped sea just how quick a punk track can get - some of their rip throughs lasted only thirty seconds. Singer Danielle LeBlanc trotted around with beer in hand while yelping out her vocals in time with the blast-beat mainstay and entrancing strobe light show. The fifteen minute set ended with "Toquitos,” nothing less than a spazz-ballad for the salty snack.

Before No Age went on fellow L.A.'ers Lucky Dragons transformed the entire venue into what seemed like the inside of a giant kaleidoscope. Backed by Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara's ‘everyday sounds turned alluringly other,’ the main attraction of this performance was a vivacious light display projected toward all corners of the Great Hall. People everywhere tripped out in sheer awe of the impressive visual show and ambient music which mixed Oriental and Indonesian instrumentals with spacey techno elements.

Then No Age took the stage and immediately intensified the night's tempo via Randall's raging force of murky distortion and Spunt's power drumming. They opened with "Life Prowler" off their latest LP, Everything In Between, which displays a tellingly more choreographed approach to previous No Age skate-rock infused post-punk. Spunt and Randall, along with a touring DJ, looked aggressive and anxious to keep belting out one crowd pleaser after another. They did with "Teen Creeps" off 2008's Nouns, following with the punky "Fever Dreaming" featuring a blue cyclone visual projected on a massive backdrop during the tune's shrill-fills. The visual component continued for the entire set with split second movie clips strewn about abstract multicolour shapes and silhouettes. The atmosphere achieved compares to legendary Velvet Underground acid trip-inspired visual-audio performances.

No Age filed through nearly all of Everything In Between with "Depletion,” "Common Heat,” "Chem Trails,” "Shed and Transcend,” fan favourite "Glitter,” and a rendition of "Valley Hump Crash" for which Randall traded the Brit-Glit twang for a punkier, more driving tone. They also knocked out "Eraser,” "Sleeper Hold,” and finished the set with "Miner,” all from the Nouns LP. No Age worked hand in hand in song arrangement, Spunt puttering about the stage or talking to the crowd between songs while Randall recorded the next song's loops. For the kids who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, it's impossible for Randall to play No Age's various guitar lines simultaneously. So, he records several guitar tracks with a loop pedal before each song, and kicks on the appropriate line when needed. Now that's fucking minimalist, for sure.

This article appears in Tangible Sounds

Live Review: Delinquints at Bovine Sex Club, Toronto

The 8th annual Toronto Zombie Walk hit downtown T.O. Saturday, October 23, giving Hallowe’en lovers a chance to try on their costumes a little early. I caught one of the many after parties happening that night, this one at the Bovine Sex Club, where the Delinquints laid down a gritty and captivating set.

The Delinquints’ live performance is a powerhouse of noise. A raw, electric spectacle comprised of singer Jimy Delinquint’s dark, Misfit-greaser aesthetic; Beardo and Sarah’s classic punky-garage, U.K. Subs style guitars, coarsely distorted and frantically chugging away; and Dan Arget’s blistering drums continually cycling through high tempo, four on the floor beats. The Delinquints play heavy, monstrous punk, yet simple and with enough soul to stay out of the new hardcore-cum-metal spectrum. This is hardcore punk in the classic sense: Johnny Cash down on Avenue A. Back alley Elvis wielding stiletto. Ramones on speed.

Of course, with so much punk history encroaching on their sound, the Delinquints had to pay homage to their heroes. This came with a much more core than Social D cover of Cash’s eternal psychobilly anthem “Folsom Prison Blues.” And three Misfits classics, “Horror Business,” “Hybrid Moments” and, which got everyone fist pumping, “Last Caress.” Belting out the songs at double speed, sounding almost exactly like today’s touring Misfits, all of the Delinquints’ covers were graceful nods to their forebears. This band isn’t out to prove they’re punk; they naturally strut in intimidating confidence.

Sending off guitarist Sarah Hoedlmoser in her last set with the group, plenty of Delinquints favourites were also on hand. These included “Punish The Wicked (With a 2X4),” “No Cure For” and “Criminalise The Poor.” Demonstrating their early eighties street, specifically anarcho anthem meets fifties garage sound, these tracks got local followers chanting. By the end of the set, the Bovine was packed shoulder to shoulder with people catching a glimpse of these punks who know that respect for elders trumps striking a pose.

Published by Thiz Literary Webzine

Live Review: Slayer

Slayer / Megadeth / Testament
July 29, 2010
Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto

One of America’s most underrated metal acts, Testament warmed up the crowd at Molson Amphitheatre tonight for the long awaited Toronto stop of the Canadian Carnage Tour, originally scheduled for November 2009. It’s unfathomable why Testament, thrash pioneers forming in the early eighties in LA, doesn’t break into the mainstream alongside the heavy metal “Big Four” - Megadeth, Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer. Testament has a classic, tailored thrash sound, cracking out of the Amphitheatre speakers tonight with gripping vengeance on par with Slayer intensity. And their presence is just as big-time as their counterparts.

Tonight, Testament transforms the stage into a pseudo coliseum from hell consisting of a massive backdrop of the Greek landmark upholding a huge decrepit skull. In front, atop a raised platform, Paul Bostaph mans the drums while original guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson riff below, occasionally ascending the two steel staircases on either side of Bostaph to use him for some telepathic energy. Big Chuck Billy trots around the infinite stage space below, wielding the microphone stand like a scepter, demanding attention from the thousands of onlookers. Testament play an array of old and new music, of course not leaving out “Formation Of Damnation” from their latest record of the same name. They deliver a top notch performance with all the presence of a heavy metal giant.

Megadeth rolls onstage next and, celebrating over twenty-five years as a major touring metal band, decide to throw down an intriguing set beginning, and continuing for a complete stretch, with 1990‘s Rust In Peace in its entirety, with no breaks. Mustaine, rocking a flying V and Broderick with a classic white Ibanez meet up at times and disperse at others during their captivating onstage solo duals. Eyes down with long hair draping at the necks of their guitars, feet planted wide for glimpses of classic heavy metal personas, they whip out those legendary licks with impeccable precision. Mustaine’s voice high in pitch over the thrash masterpiece’s nine song duration, at times letting the enthusiastic crowd take over and chant for “Poison Was The Cure” and “Rust In Peace.”

Finally the band takes a break, but only for a brief moment, and Mustaine returns with a fire engine red double-neck flying V. He gets the tens of thousands of fans riled by saying “Megadeth is part Canadian” in recognition of newest drummer, Quebecer Shawn Drover, who joined the group in 2006. For the latter half of the performance, they play “Symphony Of Destruction,” “Trust,” “Peace Sells” and a couple new tracks off 2009’s Endgame including “Head Crusher.”

From behind a gigantic white sheet appears two stainless steel SLAYER eagles hovering over two stacks of fifteen Marshall cabinets each on either side of the stage. The crowd yells and cheers for the night’s headliner, the world’s biggest thrash band, SLAYER. Opening with a couple tracks from their latest record, “Hate Worldwide” and “World Painted Blood,” the band instantly gets the dust flying. I’m sitting in the 300 section, about one hundred metres from the stage, and people beside me are moshing, standing on the guardrails, and head banging to every snare crack with utmost dedication.

Far below, the pit section is in chaos with bodysurfers and a fog of stray arms and torsos flailing everywhere. Fuelling the riotous atmosphere is Tom Araya at centre stage hammering away at his rumbling bass strings and spreading his anti-Christian propaganda. To his left is Jeff Hanneman towering over the front row, sporting knee high leg armour. Kerry King is opposite stage right, continually head banging along to his thrash current, decorated in long rattling wallet chains and a two-foot goatee.

The intensity level stays high for the entire performance, there are no stops for banter or wardrobe changes between songs, the classic Slayer guitar growl just keeps rolling on. The guys dip into old and new reserves of content, much from 1990’s Seasons In The Abyss with “Dead Skin Mask,” “Hallowed Point” and “War Ensemble.” Stretching further back to their debut album Show No Mercy, the band fires out “The Antichrist” with a tantric lightshow of spinning crosses. Nearing the end they pull out the big guns: “Reign In Blood” followed by “Angel Of Death,” for which the crowd is somehow heard singing along over the massive wall of sound.

After the set Araya’s conversational voice is finally revealed when thanking the crowd over and over again, and his bandmates toss their guitar picks and drumsticks to their fans.

MAXIMUM REGGAE

July 2, 2010
Lee’s Palace

In the early nineteen-sixties there was a worldwide musical revolution: Rock and roll transformed traditional three-chord blues and folk into an amped up, livelier style, taking over in the United States and United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in Jamaica, another genre took form from the foundations of traditional roots and folk music there, this is reggae music. In same evolutionary fashion as American rock, reggae takes aspects of Caribbean folk and blues as a stepping stone, and cranks it through modern electric amplifiers, usually accompanied by organs and forms of dub samples.

Sound aside, reggae stands as a bonding agent between cultures. During the first major wave in the mid-sixties, white and black members of the working class adopted reggae as a movement to break down racial borders. Labeled two-tone culture, these people hung out at reggae clubs after a hard day's work. This is the reason why ska (a derivative of reggae) and reggae fans wear checkerboard wristbands, two-tone shoes, or other black and white clothing. Many working class aficionados also sported a uniform of shaved heads, jeans and boots, and favoured reggae or pub-rock, in an effort to counteract the hippie movement. This is how the original skinhead movement began, a decade or so before its message was marred by neo-Nazi gangs stealing the skinhead name and aesthetic. (Hunt down Mr. Symarip's "Skinhead Moonstomp" at your record store for a completely sixties portrait of the movement.)

By the mid seventies, reggae was gaining huge popularity outside the Caribbean with notable bands like Toots & the Maytals, Mr. Symarip, and The Wailers hitting world charts. In the UK pub-rock and proto-punk scenes, The Clash, The Police and The Specials were among the first to infuse reggae techniques into rock music. This explains why there is still a strong tie between punk rock and reggae/ska music today. For an early Brit-reggae adaptation, listen to "Police and Thieves" on The Clash's first album. There are tons of punk bands that use reggae, ska and dub styles in their music. From the crusty ska-core of Leftover Crack, to the more traditional modern ska sounding bands like Less Than Jake, to street-ska with Operation Ivy, ska and reggae are a big part of punk.

One of the biggest contemporary purveyors of true reggae is The Aggrolites from Los Angeles, California. This five-piece has been rocking steady for almost ten years, now situated cozily on Tim Armstong's (Rancid) Hellcat Records. Fans of punk and ska know them well, perhaps just as another one of those punk bands that took on a reggae sound. But, the only thing I can say about the Aggrolites is that they are wholly and completely pure, maximum reggae. At Lee's Palace in Toronto they played to a diverse crowd of shade-sporting rude-boys, vest and tie wearing ska-kids, spiky street-punks and full-fledged brace-strapped skins.

In the nineties, Prince Perry helped form Frankie Foo and the Yo Yo Smugglers, a staple band in the Toronto ska scene over the past fifteen years. Prior to this, the Prince was tutored by one of the best, Rolando Alphonso of legendary ska group The Skatalites. Prince Perry's education shines clear with his entirely ska-themed lyrics often about meeting ladies and late night chillin'. In the music too, which is straight ahead, easy listening ska. Now, the Prince is embarking on a solo career, albeit with generous help from his backing band The Gladtones. They are a barrage of Toronto scene comrades including trumpetist Jan Hughes of Frankie Foo and guitarist Stefan Babcock of Stop, Drop N Skank. Tonight, the Prince and his Gladtones opened the show by hopping around to their light hearted ska jam "You Won't Say It" off their recent debut record, Songs About Girls. In response, the half-full Lee's Palace crowd also began grooving along with every note. Perry stood at centre stage with a handsome grin below his fedora for the entire forty minute set, occasionally kicking up his knees to the beat in exact unison with the other five Gladtones. Other songs included "Bee On The Bus,” "Girl On The Bus,” "Love At The End Of The Century,” and a crowd enthusing rendition of The Police's "Walking On The Moon.”

By the end of the Gladtones's set, there was little breathing room in Lee's Palace. The pit dense with about one hundred dirty aggro disciples waiting for their prophet. Other people lining the walls and clogging all possible walkways. The Aggrolites trotted onstage after a couple minutes of intro music. All five members clad in blue jeans and grey work shirts, they looked like a chain gang on the run, yet eager to spread their message. After lead singer Jesse Wagner gave the crowd a couple quick grimaces, they slipped into "Funky Fire" from their 2006 self-titled album. Rhythm guitarist Brian Dixon immediately started knighting people in the front row by bowing down and tapping them on the shoulder with the head of his guitar. For the rest of the set, if he wasn't doing that, he was either stomping around the stage like a giant, instigating dancing by physically approaching anyone within reach from the floor speakers which he would jump on, or hocking loogies beside him. His stature, his sneer, he is pure intimidation. By the time fourth tune, "Work To Do,” was underway, a joint was being passed around the Lee's Palace pit. I got a whiff and looked around for the culprit, but became mesmerized by the crowd: every single person dancing. People standing in the aisles pounding fists between their knees; those sitting on old wooden benches lining the walls shoulder grooving with the beat; arms and legs jetting out everywhere into the air. A reggae dance hall packed with people from all walks of life, united, entranced by the music. The band went on with a few instrumental tracks and "Time To Get Tough,” which saw Wagner lose his white Jaguar guitar and slip into his electrifying preacher persona. From the bottom of his soul he belted out his Yeahhhh's, reminiscent of James Brown intensity and stage presence.

The rest of the show went on in the same fashion. More doobies lit up in the pit, eccentric stage presence coming from the whole band, especially Wagner, and people dancing everywhere. About halfway through, the band played another instrumental, and keyboardist Roger Rivas literally judo chopped out his solo. I also couldn't stop looking at Alex McKenzie sitting low behind the drums, constantly head nodding and shoulder pulsing to his own spine rattling beats. Other tunes included "Countryman Fiddle,” "Feelin' Alright" off their latest record, Aggrolites IV, and the classic fan favourite "Don't Let Me Down" for which everyone helped out on the lyrics. After nearly an hour and a half The Aggrolites were sweaty, tipsy, and still all smiles. I recommend catching this band if you respect dedication, and just enjoy real dirty reggae.

Live Review: The Sadies with Deano Waco and The Purvs

The Sadies
W/ Deano Waco and The Purvs
May 22, 2010
Lee's Palace, Toronto

Chicago's Deano Waco of the Waco Brothers recently joined Austin, Texas alt bluegrass rockers The Meat Purveyors for a couple recordings, all downloadable for free at deanowaco.com. Tonight, with only three of the four Purveyors on hand being Bill Anderson on acoustic guitar, Peter Stiles on mandolin, and Jo Cohen providing female backing vocals, Lee's Palace transformed into a forty-five minute hoedown with Deano Waco and the Purvs. Opening with "Workin' For The Devil," the considerably packed house instantly started bopping along with the upbeat music, reminiscent of 50s and 60s pop-country with a indie-rebel twist. They went on with more tunes from the album including "Reality Blues," "Box Store," "Bottle Of Wine," "Vacant Lot" kickstarted by a four-count boot stomp from Anderson, and a crowd welcomed rendition of an old Bill Monroe number. Deano joked about how he was privileged to sit on the throne of Lee's Palace before the set, keeping the fun, low-key atmosphere alive, on par with the band's easy listening shindig music. This was my first time witnessing one of the Waco brothers live, something I have now scratched off my to do list. Seeing Deano with The Purvs made the event even better. I highly recommend downloading the album, and start swingin' around your living room turned make-believe saloon right away.

After the bout of country fever from The Purvs, the continuously growing crowd at Lee's Palace waited patiently for hometown heroes The Sadies. As the promoter said pre-Purvs set, we were about to see the best live band Toronto has to offer, the "Blue Rodeo of their time." He was right on the mark.

The Sadies have been a busy band recently. Continuing on their infamous track of backing the underground's greatest singers such as Neko Case and Jon Langford, 2009 saw the Sadies team up with legendary X frontman John Doe on Yep Roc records to showcase their best acoustic country feels. Last Tuesday, The Sadies released their ninth studio album, Darker Circles, the reason for gathering at Lee's Palace tonight. The two set performance was largely utilized to showcase the new, instant Sadies classics on Darker Circles.

The main thing about seeing the Sadies live is that you are in for a party. The Good brothers are wildly flexible at throwing out any style whenever they want - they are true bluesmen capable of captivating your attention for hours on end. Tonight they walked onstage, Dallas in a psychedelic maroon suit and Travis in all black, and laid down a vibrant surfy instrumental. The Goods fervently played off each other's energy, turning toward and getting close to one another. They were cutting heads with a spirited presence of an old school blues duo like Keith Richards and Brian Jones. They got right into new stuff from Darker Circles, with the first track off the album "Another Year Again." The tune, an explosive rain of the brothers' ever-hooky psychedelic guitar presence, soared gallantly into the packed house. It is impossible not to be amazed by The Sadies's songwriting ability, and Darker Circles proves these guys are old dogs still with great new tricks. They played a pile more of new songs off Darker Circles for the adoring lot of plaided-out cowboys and girls, such as "Cut Corners," and "The Quiet One." Older favourites featured throughout the night were "Anna Leigh" off 2007's The New Seasons, and "The 400" from 2006's Tales Of The Rat Fink.

The highlight of the night, at least for me, was a Toronto-fitting rendition of the old Canadian Squires classic "Leave Me Alone." Travis belted out the vocals with dedication, his face straining violently to do the tune justice. I must also give special mention to the rest of the band. Sean Dean, decorated in a black vest and tie, slapped the hell out of his towering brown stand-up bass until he was dripping with sweat. He stood directly right of Mike Belitsky's metallic blue drum kit. Seated behind with a happy-go-lucky smile, Belitsky looked like he was having a shit-ton of fun while adamantly keeping his band on beat. And, once again, nothing can be said to promote the Good brothers enough. Whizzing through amazing ragtime, surf, and the best of fuzzed out psychedelic guitar lines, with an unbelievably captivating stage presence, they have more than a knack for performing - they have a God-given gift.

Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine

Live Review: The Riverdales with The Creeps and The Varsity Weirdos

The Riverdales
W/ The Creeps and The Varsity Weirdos
May 15, 2010
The Mod Club, Toronto

“What is it, early or somethin'? You guys are quiet out there" Creeps singer/guitarist Skottie asked of the Mod Club crowd Saturday evening. The Ottawa band opened the early show with their punky powerpop, preparing for ultimate Ramones-revivers, Screeching Weasel spin-offs The Riverdales, who headlined the event. Maybe it was the sunlight dampering the Mod Club crowd, because these adamant fist pumping Creeps fans didn't have a dancing bone in them. It wasn't the Creeps's fault; they provided a quick-tempo, twenty-five minute set that should have triggered at least a couple moshers. Skottie was having fun right from the get-go, rocking his navy-blue Johnny Ramone Mosrite guitar and knee bopping along with the four-on-the-floor beat of "On And On." Ian, sporting a Visitors tee, held his stage-right position on the bass confidently, providing backup vocals when needed. Sticking his tongue out to the adoring front row during "Hang Around," he too tried to snap people out of their daze. The band sped through more fan favourites "All The Way Home" and the quick "A-Bomb" that begged for a pit breakout, but no such thing happened. "Goo!" Skottie screamed off-mic between The Creeps's two final songs, giving Jordy behind the drums a run for his money. He gave a split-second "Are you crazy?!" kinda look as if they missed a break, before a quick drumstick four-count and settling into their last quick paced punk joint.

Moncton's The Varsity Weirdos walked out to a more packed crowd now taking up most of the Mod Club territory. Surprisingly, though, nobody moshed for these guys either, and I think it pissed them off. Guitarist Corey, who was rocking a white Mosrite (do you smell a theme?), paced around in between songs, looking frustrated with the non-energy of the crowd. The band cracked out the title track of their latest record "Can't Go Home" which got people's attention, a few fans started pogoing. If The Creeps wouldn't incite a circle pit, then The Varsity Weirdos should have to get people amped up, but it didn't happen. "Wanted By The FBI," another tune off Can't Go Home, soared out with its catchy background vocals, and "Disconnected" saw singer/bassist Eric head-tizzying along with the chorus. They rounded out their eleven song, twenty-five minute set with a rendition of "Look At The Stars" which got more than a few arms raised and some front row fans singing along. Before leaving Eric inadvertently addressed the zombyish pit: "The Riverdales are gonna come up here," he said, "and they're gonna show us how it's done." Something to look forward to.

The floor packed in tightly pre-Riverdales and I finally got the feeling that there were some diehards kicking around: Old Ramones and Screeching Weasel tees, leather jackets, a couple spiky streetpunks and scally caps, and older guys and gals noticeable by their khaki attire and polk-a-dot mod dresses. We all waited a long forty minutes until about twenty-five after eight, and then The Riverdales blew the Mod Club crowd away. The first of three Riverdales sets, belted out in true Ramones fashion with songs spliced only by "1-2-3-4" yells, finally got some fans moshing. This set was comprised of tunes "Make Way," "Mental Retard," "Homesick," "Out Of My Heart," "Back To You" complete with surfy bridge picked out by Ben Weasel, "King Dinosaur," and a new song off their upcoming disc Tarantula, entitled "12 To The Moon." After 13 minutes of pure power chord mayhem, the Riverdales took a break.

"It's a long time since we've been in Toronto, 15 years now. Last time we played the Maple Leaf Gardens" Weasel said while the other guys toweled themselves down and Weasel's green Mosrite got a tune-up. New Riverdales guitarist Simon Lamb was rocking a Mosrite too - a red sunburst model - continuing the night's humble homage to the late great Johnny Ramone. Weasel also used the break to plug the new album, reiterating the June 8th release date a couple times, before their second pummel of eight more tunes. First was the Riverdales classic, "Atomic Brain," sung by bassist Dan Vapid of Methadones and Queers fame. Weasel sang along off-mic to the whole song. "The Prince Of Space, 1-2-3-4!" Weasel screamed and they, like every song, tightly belted out the tune, complete with pinhead bridge-rant. The rest of the set included "Red Zone Cuba," "Rocketship X-M" with minor amp-level troubles for Lamb that no one else even flinched about, and new songs "Bad Seed Baby" and "Diabolik."

The visibly sweaty Riverdales braked again quickly before their final blastout, starting with a four-count yelp from Vapid setting up "Countdown" which forced Weasel into a frown-mouthed downstroke blast for the intro. "Outta Sight," "Wanna Be Alright," and "Teenage Strangler" led to the band leaving stage for a minute or two before an encore. "We got three more" Weasel confirmed when they reappeared, met with house rattling cheers. "Don't Wanna Go To The Party" triggered body surfing and the first full-floor moshpit of the evening. Now, in the encore, people were excited. "Last Stop Tokyo" was the second last song to which everyone in the Mod Club helped out with the chorus. One final Tarantula plug from Weasel before the classic "Riverdale Stomp" that drummed up another huge pit and group of body surfers. One of those streetpunks managed to get on stage, thrash his fist around to his favourite tune, and then dive back into the mayhem. The Riverdales were impressively tight for the live Ramones-esque speed, drummer Adam Cargin never missed a beat. Let's hope to see them in town again soon.

Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine

Cannibal Corpse with 1349 and Skeletonwitch @ The Opera House, April 28 (Live Review)

Cannibal Corpse

with Skeletonwitch and 1349
April 28, 2010
Opera House

Cannibal Corpse drew a pilgrimage of diehard metal fans at the Opera House stop of their Evisceration Plague Tour Wednesday night. Skeletonwitch from Athens, Ohio opened the bill to a diverse crowd of cretins sporting everything from original Death t-shirts and knee high shitkickers, to black and white zombie makeup and the odd street punk rat-tail. “Alright, let’s see an old school circle pit” Skeletonwitch front man Chance Garnett summoned during the double bass backed breakdown of “Repulsive Salvation” with a rotating outstretched arm toward the pit, fairly tightly packed for an opener. Rightly, though, because Skeletonwitch’s thrashy half hour performance was like a travelling edition of Headbanger’s Ball. Chance circling around the stage and chugging beers like a possessed ring leader, and N8 Feet Under and Scunty D. funneling out continuous guitar riffs in front of bull skull-and-horns on their amps. Skeletonwitch got all the corpse-grinder lovers partying with “Stand, Fight, and Die” off their newest record Breathing The Fire, which induced propellerish hair swirls from Chance and hundreds of devil horned arms from the pit. The house party atmosphere reigned on with Chance’s pre-song wisecracks of “Smoke weed Toronto” and “We got any beer drinkers out there?” met with yells and whistles from the crowd. Ripping versions of “Crushed Beyond Dust” also off Breathing The Fire and “Beyond The Permafrost” off the 2007 record of the same name got plastic beer cups flying as fans danced to their favourites. The ravenous double guitar harmony of “Within My Blood” off their first album At One With The Shadows ended the energetic set, Chance at centre stage with devil horns extended high overhead. “Drink beer, smoke weed, and for the love of God, eat some fucking pussy” he lastly demanded in his demonic metal hiss, and the beer chugging party was over.

By the end of Skeletonwitch’s set there were double the people roaming around the Opera House in anticipation of black-metal heavyweights 1349. I skittered upstairs to the Opera House balcony to find some breathing room, where I scored an impeccable view of the stage. A floor rattling cheer erupted as the house darkened and reverberating thunder noises echoed around, and someone on the balcony sparked up a skunky joint. Clouds of dry ice fogged up the stage as 1349 laid down their first track which drew more attentiveness than moshing from the crowd below. Vocalist Ravn was in full black-metal garb with spiky forearm bondage gear and mid-thigh warrior boots, bassist Seidemann lurked around in a black wizard cloak, and all four 1349 guys were sporting black and white face makeup. Touring guitarist Sechtdamon outstretched a grappling talon toward the crowd before “When I Was Flesh” off this year’s Demonoir which fractured the continually used inter-song storm sound samples allowing the band to catch their breath. The lightning fast snare buzz-blasts of “I Am Abomination” off 2005’s Hellfire finally got about fifteen to twenty pitmen thrashing hard, and Ravn slowly sauntered around the stage like a cocky, satanic Mick Jagger. “Sculptor Of Flesh” opened up the pit some more, and “Atomic Chapel” got all three frontmen and several crowd members head banging hard for the end of the forty minute set.

The now amply warmed up crowd cheered as a massive banner reading Cannibal Corpse in dripping blood red letters elevated behind the drum kit. Corpsegrinder opened with a four song inferno that saw the sardine-can-like dance floor break out into a chaotic slam pit - arms, legs, and beer cups jetting out from every direction. “You guys are fuckin’ rowdy tonight, let’s keep it goin’,” singer George Fisher said before introducing “The Wretched Spawn” with a growl, triggering an eruption of cheers. A punching rendition of “I Will Kill You” led to the band’s first of many breath-catcher breaks, during which Fisher, dressed simply in a black t-shirt and cargo-pants tucked into mid-shin combat boots, raised and lowered cheers from the crowd with orchestra conductor arms.

“Don’t make me vertically destroy you, ‘cause it’s quite obvious I can kick your head in” Fisher said before the title track of Corpse‘s latest album Evisceration Plague, laying out his violent, vengeful rhetoric for the set. He was largely concerned with keeping up pit energy, introducing other songs with “This is for anyone giving you shit,” “I wanna see a fuckin’ circle pit for this one,” and “This is Cannibal Corpse’s time, so if you see anybody on the outside playing with their pecker, pull them in and start slammin’.” A mid-set execution of “Death Walking Terror” off 2006 album Kill got everyone grooving with its slower-tempo head banging opportunities and thunderous tom drum fills beat out by original Corpse-ster Paul Mazurkiewicz.

Then came the first song ever played by Cannibal Corpse, “Splattered Brains, Scattered Remains,” one of many old school offerings for the first wave Corpse diehards represented by original 90s tour shirts. “Pit Of Zombies” off 2002’s Gore Obsessed brought the show back to current era and got the pit swaying from wall to wall in crashing waves of people. Original Corpse bassist Alex Webster approached the stage monitors afterward to give a frown-mouthed nod and air-props of approval to the adoring fans. Next was a wicked rendition of “Make Them Suffer,” during which Fisher pointed at all corners of the Opera House, considerately pulling all into the song’s sentiment. “This goes out to everyone in the pit. And for those not in it, buy them a beer or a shot later, or I’ll kill you myself,” he then threatened before another old school offering of “A Skull Full Of Maggots” from first Corpse album, 1990’s Eaten Back To Life. Thrashing drums rolled out from the stage while Fisher once again conducted the crowd for the hair raising “Maggots” chants . Fisher growled “Keep supporting death metal” before sending off the insanely long hour and twenty minute set with “Hammer Smashed Face,” which no doubt got the most erupting response from the crowd, notably during the bass fill from Webster somewhat answering the crowd’s previously unanswered calls for a bass solo. The Corpse was tight, and needless to say, my ears were bleeding when I left the Opera House.

Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine

Fuck The Facts at The Alex in Brantford (Live Review)

Fuck The Facts
The Alex, Brantford
April 23, 2010

“Move the fuck up here,” beckoned Fuck The Facts bassist Marc Bourgon at the Alex in Brantford last Friday night while lead vocalist Mel Mongeon skittered around the empty front row pit-space. The audience of local punk and metal-core diehards quickly filled the floor’s void for the intimidating 10-song mudslide of drop-B tuned guitars and blast-beat infernos leaving a grind core bullet hole in the Brantford scene.

The quintet slipped ferociously into “Wake” off their latest release which came out in February. You can’t find the limited 1000 copy pressing in stores, aptly titled “Unnamed EP,” no doubt playing on Fuck The Facts’s fractured metal style most closely associated with grind, but ever indefinable with varying genre injections of industrial, punk, and stoner groove. Further personifying the confusion record buyers face when encountering their music, the band played on a continuously unlit stage at the Alex with minimal banter between songs that often seamlessly melded into one another. The distortion dripping chaos is faceless to the average heavy rock listener, empowering FTF’s niche noise to its fullest intentions.

They slowed the set’s tempo with “My Failures (Just Like Yesterday)” off their 2008 split with Belgium deathgrinders Leng Tch’e. Then a quick, audacious rendition of “The Sound Of Your Smashed Head” off Stigmata High-Five triggered more slam-moves in the pit, and Mongeon couldn’t help but tizzy-groove her growl spewing noggin with the blast beat crash along. “Kelowna” off 2008 full-length Disgorge Mexico and “Ballet Addict” from 2003’s Backstabber Etiquette rounded out the performance that gave Brantford a glimpse of what‘s going on around Ottawa right now: original hardcore metal that knows no borders and plays into no commercial agenda. Or, real art.

Bleeding Through, Born Of Osiris, Sleeping Giant, Oceano, Stray From The Path @ Opera House (Show Review)

Bleeding Through
with Stray From The Path, Oceano, Sleeping Giant, Born Of Osiris
April 26, 2010
Opera House

Long Island’s melodic metal-hardcore upstarts Stray From The Path kicked off the Toronto installment of the Spring Breakdown Tour with singer Andrew Dijorio’s crowd-waking stage presence, marking his territory by constantly pacing back and forth between bassist Ryan Thompson and guitarist Tom Williams. The band slipped into the ferociously fast “Damien” off their latest album Make Your Own History, and got some help from a dedicated fan on the breakdown vocals. After giving props to the rest of the bands on the bill, Stray From The Path punched out “White Flag” off their 2007 release Villains which instigated high-raised leg-slams from all three frontmen. “You guys havin’ a good fuckin’ time tonight?” asked Dijorio after a quick two minute breath catcher intermission. Then the guys offered a cover of “Bulls On Parade” by Rage Against The Machine that saw the whole dance floor hopping along and huddle jumping toward Dijorio’s outstretched mic hand. The set ended with “Comrades,” inducing a telltale hardcore rant from Dijorio of “Male, female, black, white, I don’t give a fuck. You can joint this shit, be a part of music.”

Next was renowned four-piece Chicago death metal powerhouse Oceano who unleashed a quick twenty-five minute, yet wildly impressive set. Singer Adam Warren’s gut-wrenchingly low growls sounded like those of an angry froth-mouthed hellhound looking for a rage outlet. The distortion drenched drop-A tuned bass and lead guitars manned by Kevin Colabuono and Andrew Mikhail (respectively) provided a perfect match for Warren, pulling out of him the most intimidating underworld growls and high-pitched metal spews of the night. After a couple numbers Warren demanded “Let’s open this fuckin’ pit up,” and onlookers followed queue by breaking out in massive wind-mill arm throws and floor-cracking boot-stomps. The band belted out a thrashing rendition of “A Mandatory Sacrifice” off their recent debut album Depths, and also debuted a new song in their audience pressured encore. One word describes the feel of Oceano’s set: devotion. With minimal inter-song banter and ravenous death metal offerings, these guys had an explicit ‘no guff, let’s fuckin’ throw it down’ air.

Christian hardcore group Sleeping Giant was up third. They opened their set with “Gang Signs” off their latest 2009 record Sons Of Thunder during which there was an issue with microphone levels. Singer Thom Green didn’t let it bother him, though, continuing to instigate the crowd by approaching the stage monitors and beating his chest while mouthing the lyrics. “No One Leaves This Room Sick” got the five-piece’s guitarists head banging which spread contagiously. But some members of the audience grew uneasy when Green set up their next tune “Whoremonger.” “Religion has ruined who Jesus really is,” he said, “you won’t find the real Jesus in a church.” Some booed, some cheered, and Green attempted to justify his stance: “We’re not here to preach religion to you, but we’ve made friends with a God we didn’t know before.” Then during the song’s breakdown Green busted an odd lip-biting and ball-grab move.

Next was symphonic metal sextet Born Of Osiris, who were the clear crowd favourite evident by the fullest mosh pit of the evening. “Now Arise” off their latest full-length album A Higher Place got singer Ronnie Canizaro and guitarists Lee McKinney and Jason Richardson standing uniformly with left feet high on the stage monitors. Keyboardist/backup vocalist Joe Buras abandoned his instrument for a centre stage headbang before returning to his mark. Stage monitors were often used for a dominating, yet interactive presence, like during fourth song “Exist” for its attention grabbing guitar solo battle and fifth song “Abstract Art,” off 2007’s The New Reign, which saw both guitarists and bassist David Da Rocha standing tall above the crowd. The technical doubled guitar leads of “The New Reign” solidified the talent of Born Of Osiris’ guitar section. “Bow Down” sent the Opera House into a whirlwind of slam-dancers demonstrating the best of their style. And there were high-fives all around for front row fans from Born Of Osiris as they outro’d “Open Arms To Damnation,” another audience pleaser notable by numerous arms and bodies flailing around the pit.

After a few scenesters filed out from the pit and the bar filled with older metalcore diehards, Bleeding Through graced a blood red-lit stage. Vocalist Brendan Schieppati, scantily clad in mere gym-shorts in My War era Rollins fashion, hopped around the stage monitors creating a larger than life persona. “I wanna see a circle pit” he beckoned, and an honest attempt by those left on the floor was made. Third song “Declaration” got keyboardist Marta Peterson rocking into an air-filling hairswirl stance amidst bright white strobe-lights creating dark silhouettes of the band members. The strobe-light effect was used throughout Bleeding Through’s set, notably in “Rise” that saw Schieppati raise an inspiring fist high above his head. “We’re real fuckin’ happy to be on a Canadian label,” Schieppati explained in his set-up for “Anti-Hero” off the band’s 2010 self-titled album, out on Distort records. He let some crowd members help out on the I’ve Seen Enough vocals for the first breakdown, and the version also featured a tweaked drawn out feedback session before the second and final breakdown.

Schieppati reminisced about Bleeding Through’s early days as a “new band” before a smashing rendition of “Breathing In The Wrath.” “Now we’re the old band that can look down on all the new bands and say who the fuck are these guys,” the tattooed hardcore hero chuckled out before thanking all the bands on the bill by name, whom he called “the bands of the future.” Their next song, “Beneath The Grey” off 2008’s Declaration, was dedicated to Toronto’s own Cancer Bats, who now have a new title from Bleeding Through as being “bitchin’ dudes.” The set finished with “Kill To Believe” from 2006 full-length The Truth, during which guitarist Brian Leppke faced the drums for some feedoff energy. The band came back for an encore song determined by a coin toss, turning out to be “Sister Charlatan.”

Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine