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My Montreal Weekend of Metal

mister slippery

By mister slippery
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mister slippery Newbie

mister slippery

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Hi there,

thought I'd drop in and share some thoughts on my weekend at Metal Montreal. I know, metal isn't everyone's favourite genre, but hey, am I putting a F**king gun to your head? No. Read it or don't, whatever.

Parc Jean Drapeau is a great venue for a multi-stage festival(2 side by side, alternating, room for 2 smaller ones if the fest was to grow and return in future years) with easy access in and out of the venue, once you realize the metro goes right to the entrance. If you walk from Ste-Catherines and Atwater and cross the Cartier Bridge, it takes more work, but a very nice walk.

Beer? $5.75 for Molson Dry, not too bad. Food? Ugh, nevermind.

Bands? Here we go.

Unexpect - sorta getting settled, good drummer, but nothing too interesting.

Lauren Harris - Daughter of Maiden's Steve Harris, her band played good tight riffs, but she was awful. She's pretty hot though, so that and nepotism seem to be getting her gigs.

Overkill - half hour late, but they were on fire. I wanted to see Wrecking Crew, and they hit me in the face with it. Plus, the set closer was F**k You, so how could I go wrong.

3 Inches of Blood - Their name is, by far, the best thing about them.

Symphony X - Euro Shred-Heads, what they do, they do very well, not my scene, but the crowd loved em. Really good sound quality for the set, so that brought out the guitar wankery hystrionics.

Hatebreed - Really poor band, more of the sorta Korn-core nu-metal crap that can go and eat from it's own ass. They played a song that had them yelling "destroy everything" over and over and over and over again, and it seemed just to be Slipknot's "people = Sh*t", just with different words.Almost saved face by closing with Slayer's "Raining Blood"

Hammerfall - felt the brunt of Overkill's delay, set cut from 45 mins to 1/2 hr. Thats gotta suck when youve come from sweden. still, they were really good, maidenesque power metal, gave everything they had for the shortened set.

Mastodon - really heavy, but it was time to chill and get ready for the evening. Ive seen em a bunch, so didnt feel too bad missing them.

Type O Negative were fantastic. This again brings the disclaimer that metal isnt for everyone, cuz Pete Steele's sense of taste and tact isnt for everyone either. I love these Brooklyn Bastards, so that's why I went to see em, nuff said.

Setlist : Swirly intro stuff > Jackhammer Rape > Kill all the White People > ??? > Christian Woman, Hallowe'en in Heaven*, Black no.1

*dedicated to Dimebag Darrell of Pantera

Dethklok were fun. As a made-up cartoon band (from Adult Swim's "Metalocalype") its a pretty silly concept, but one built around some pretty brutal Death Metal.

Setlist : Screen intro, Dethklok theme, Briefcase Full of Guts, Happy Birthday, Awaken, ???, ???, ???, Keep my Money, Murmaider, Thunderhorse

Then, Iron Maiden. No, they are not too old. They were playing like they were kids again, tight as anything. You gotta laugh at Bruce Dickinson, though, guy had as many costume changes as Cher.

I hadnt seen Maiden since 7th Son in 1987, and man, it was probably better this time, so awesome.

Setlist : Churchill Speech overhead > Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, ??? , The Trooper, Wasted Years, Number of the Beast, Can I play With Madness, RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER!!!!!!!, ???, Run to the Hills, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden

e :Moonchild, ???, Hallowed be Thy Name

Wow, I loved it all, even the parts i hated. I have to go to work now, day 2 review tomorrow, maybe.

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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Dethklok were fun. As a made-up cartoon band (from Adult Swim's "Metalocalype") its a pretty silly concept, but one built around some pretty brutal Death Metal.

Setlist : Screen intro, Dethklok theme, Briefcase Full of Guts, Happy Birthday, Awaken, ???, ???, ???, Keep my Money, Murmaider, Thunderhorse

Mike Keneally (who played in Zappa's 1988 band, and has also been in Steve Vai's touring band, as well as having a strong solo) is touring with Dethklok.

Aloha,

Brad

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Uncle Chaos Newbie

Uncle Chaos

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Holy FAWK!!

i cant believe it. I totally forgot this was so early in the summer, spaced on it i guess.

sounds like fun, cant wait to hear about Voivod on Day 2.

Plus, you lucky bastard, Type o played Jackhammer?? I cant even believe it. }:(

i r jealous.

oh and bouche, if you see maiden anywhere you better throw some horns. Metal isnt for everybody, but if you were there, you dug it.

good review, and great name, mister slippery.

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ollie Newbie

ollie

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Unexpect - sorta getting settled, good drummer, but nothing too interesting.

Popular local band, they were decent but noisy and all over the place. Good opener.

Lauren Harris - Daughter of Maiden's Steve Harris, her band played good tight riffs, but she was awful. She's pretty hot though, so that and nepotism seem to be getting her gigs.

The band looked like Iron Maiden roadies. I don't think anyone took her seriously. Too bad for her but if you're going to use your daddy's name and connections then at least be good.

Overkill - half hour late, but they were on fire. I wanted to see Wrecking Crew, and they hit me in the face with it. Plus, the set closer was F**k You, so how could I go wrong.

The delay was a bit of a buzzkill. This festival was not as tight as the first Osheaga I attended. Bobby Blitz is remarkably ripped for a guy pushing 50.

3 Inches of Blood - Their name is, by far, the best thing about them.

I like these guys a lot on record and they were good live but I got distracted by a mosh pit altercation between a family with kids and some heshers. Cooler heads prevailed but the mood was done.

Symphony X - Euro Shred-Heads, what they do, they do very well, not my scene, but the crowd loved em. Really good sound quality for the set, so that brought out the guitar wankery hystrionics.

They're from New Jersey. It's over-the-top symphonic prog metal which, if you go along for the ride, is pretty wicked. Buddy has a great voice and command of the stage.

Hatebreed - Really poor band, more of the sorta Korn-core nu-metal crap that can go and eat from it's own ass. They played a song that had them yelling "destroy everything" over and over and over and over again, and it seemed just to be Slipknot's "people = Sh*t", just with different words.Almost saved face by closing with Slayer's "Raining Blood"

Very negative music. Not for me.

Hammerfall - felt the brunt of Overkill's delay, set cut from 45 mins to 1/2 hr. Thats gotta suck when youve come from sweden. still, they were really good, maidenesque power metal, gave everything they had for the shortened set.

From Alfie's home town of Gothenburg, Sweden no less. I didn't get into these guys as much as I expected. The crowd was pretty tame and the singer seemed really bothered by the cut set. To be expected but play for the crowd.

Mastodon - really heavy, but it was time to chill and get ready for the evening. Ive seen em a bunch, so didnt feel too bad missing them.

I thought they were decent, I like them on record but wasn't feeling them on the night. It was maybe a little too alternative for what I look for in metal. I think I'd like these guys more in a setting where they'd be the heaviest band on the bill.

Type O Negative were fantastic. This again brings the disclaimer that metal isnt for everyone, cuz Pete Steele's sense of taste and tact isnt for everyone either. I love these Brooklyn Bastards, so that's why I went to see em, nuff said.

You know I never gave these guys much credit during their heyday and I think I missed out on some good concerts. Much more hardcore influenced than I imagined and not as serious, as dour as they can be. Pete looked like a ghoul and pointed it out by apologizing to the crowd for playing in the daylight. I also loved his morose opening line, "Prepare to be disappointed."

Dethklok were fun. As a made-up cartoon band (from Adult Swim's "Metalocalype") its a pretty silly concept, but one built around some pretty brutal Death Metal.

Break time for me so I didn't really get the full effect of the show but... I think they're a bit of a joke and the slot could have been used for a higher profile act. I'd much rather Dethklok's set be cut short than HammerFall's.

Then, Iron Maiden. No, they are not too old. They were playing like they were kids again, tight as anything. You gotta laugh at Bruce Dickinson, though, guy had as many costume changes as Cher. I hadnt seen Maiden since 7th Son in 1987, and man, it was probably better this time, so awesome.

Yeah, they were as good as I've ever seen them. God knows how they can play the same songs over and over but as long as they're putting this much effort into it then it's a show worth seeing. An incredibly cathartic metal experience.

Wow, I loved it all, even the parts i hated.

Well said. I'm still buzzing about the two days.

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BuddyRich Newbie

BuddyRich

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We got there a bit late, expecting to miss Unexpect and Ms. Harris, and only caught the end of Lauren's set. She was more hard rock than metal if you ask me, but as someone mentioned she has the look and the right dad so...

We got good and close for Overkill, who I really liked, sounded a bit like early Metallica (thrash metal) and if I am not mistaken are of the same vintage (early to mid 80's start?)... The crowds were obviously smaller earlier in the day but rowdy.

Caught 3 inches of Blood next. Didn't do much for me, my friend liked them.

Took a break for overpriced food and chilled on the hill in the back... Then got to the front for Hammerfall, who my friend was also a big fan of. I liked their stuff more. It sucks their set was cut, though I didn't like that their lead singer made a point of it. Despite the cut set they gave it their all for 30 mins. I think they were having sound issues on that stage, all the bands seem to take longer to setup on it.

After that a beer run and then standing up front waiting for Maiden and caught the last of Mastodon. They weren't too bad. In hindsight this was probably a mistake but more on that later.

Because of that we only got a side view of Type-O. I didn't mind Type-O, but I thought their set was kinda rough. Granted I only ever listened to Bloody Kisses in the day, and had never seen them live, but the lead singer looked like shit, and I think he was reading his lyrics (he played sitting turning some pages) all the while downing a few beers (which may have contributed to the roughness of the set...)... Still it was good to hear Christian Woman and Black No. 1 after all these years...

I actually liked Dethklok. The animation was graphic and the music dour but the guitar work was good, just don't listen to the lyrics! Exactly what death metal is supposed to be... And it provided something to listen to while waiting for Maiden. I want to check out the show they are from itself now. There is no way its aimed at kids.

And Maiden... What a show. Only played the classics, and the crowd was insane. We were about 10 to 20 ft from the stage and it was killer. As soon as the opening number started there was a big surge from behind, it was tough to stand your ground. I threw more than my share of elbows to moshers but without a doubt Montreal is the metal capital of North America. It was absolutely packed up front, no room until the moshing started and of course more than a few crowd surfers. Given the turbulence it made enjoying the show difficult at times but it was fun. Definitely no lawn chairs here! Not to mention the stage show, you'd never know they were over 50 with the amount of energy they displayed... Bruce was all over (and up!) the stage all night! Costume changes aside the Powerslave tour stage recreation was awesome, mummy and cyborg eddie's, the giant devil for Number of the Beast and some great pyro throughout. Maiden knows how to put on a show. We only had tickets for the 1st day, the 2nd didn't so much for us, but I hope this is the start of a permanent metal festival... Ive always wanted to go to one of the big European ones and I am not sure if this was the same feel or not but I enjoyed it.

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mister slippery Newbie

mister slippery

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:o

oops, kinda forgot about Day 2, been kind of busy the last couple of days.

We arrived on Sunday in a light rain, a far and welcome contrast from the bright sun the day before. We weren't quite in time for the opening band, Death Boat, which is a really great band name, IMO. I haven't looked for any info on these guys yet, but the weekend's program referred to them using something called an "ass cannon". WTF could that have been?

Next was Your Favourite Enemies, who really weren't my favourite anything, so to hell with them.

Then, Priestess. I knew they were going to be good, but had only heard "LayDown" from Guitar Hero III, so good anticipation buildup, and not disappointed at all. They were awesome, and the lead singer might be my new favourite person in rock. From the front of the stage, he looked to be about 3'5, and playing a doubleneck guitar, very funny stage banter, including a dedication of the set to his buddy Sean Harper. This set was where the rain really came, one of those "hey its sunny, and yet its raining hard enough that its coming in sideways". Still, good hard-edge rock, and I will def go see Priestess again.

Then, Drowning Pool played. I had always written them off as yet another of the 80 million nu-metal loser bands that overpopulated the late 90's. The pre-show music was "Titties and Beer", so it started ok, but then, the band started playing. What a mistake. They did cover Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" decently, and then closed their set with an outro taken from Metallica's "Creeping Death", its just that their own songs are stupid.

Voivod, i never listened to much growing up. Many people talk of their influence on metal with a prog influence, but I just sorta missed the boat on them. It was a cool set though, well played. I know they played "Tornado", there were intros to songs off of "Killing Technology" and "Nothingface", and they played their cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine", also from Nothingface. This was really all the Voivod I knew, so I was really happy to hear it. Jason Newsted was not with the band, so the original (I Think) bassist, Blacky, joined in for the show. Nice one, Voivod, i might have to pick up some of your albums.

Sh*t, I forgot to talk about Warrant! (pretend you're reading this before the bit about Drowning Pool, OK?)

We all know Warrant. We often mock Warrant. All in all, though, we went in knowing what was gonna happen. They were going to play a bunch of silly 80s hair metal crap. So, they did, and they were great, in a grain-of-salt kind of way. It was a fun break in the day, since metal can sometimes take itself a bit too seriously. My favourite part was right before the encore when Jani Lane yelled/slurred into the mic "Hey, can I have a cigarette?", before making lewd comparisons to smoking and the song to follow "Cherry Pie".

Setlist(ish) - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, Where The Down Boys Go, ??? , ??? , Heaven Isn't Too Far Away, Jump (T?), ??? , Uncle Tom's Cabin, Cigarette Banter, Cherry Pie.

All right, Anthrax. I think the singers name is now Dan O'Brien, but I could have that wrong. He did a good job, with a very similar style to Joey Belladonna. We were right in front of Scott Ian, who was sporting a fire-engine red goatee, and man, he's an exciting little dude to watch, real energetic. Hadn't seen Anthrax since 1990, so a well-played blast from the past.

Setlist - Indians, Got the Time*, Caught in a Mosh, Madhouse (i think, took a little wander and got confused), Antisocial, Room for One More, Safehouse (T?), New song maybe called "Fight to Repent", Only, I am the Law.

3 Days Grace, F**k you, you were terrible. I slept through about half of it, woke up for a spliff, slept a bit more, then heard "Hey Man Nice Shot" as a cover. Again, F**k you.

Disturbed, see 3 Days Grace Commentary, except replace "Hey Man" with Genesis's "Land of Confusion".

Luckily, after that Motley Crue turned up to rescue us from mediocrity. Didn't know if theyd be any good, hell, how can you be sure they're even gonna show up? Still, they were fantastic. Nikki Sixx actually played his bass and smiled, looks like he might really have kicked Heroin after all (anyone read his book "The Heroin Diaries"? Good, difficult read.) Mick Mars has few human parts left, due to, i believe, some degenerative disease that is really tearing him apart, but he was great, even took a big Voodoo Chile-riffing solo while Nikki and Vince took a break. I would have loved to have seen them play "Merry-go-round", but oh well.

setlist - Kickstart My Heart, Wildside, Shout At the Devil, Saints of Los Angeles, Tainted Love Song (T?), Voodoo Chile grooviness, Liwewire, Dont Go Away Mad, Same Old Situation, Primal Scream, Looks That Kill, Girls Girls Girls, Dr. Feelgood, Home Sweet Home.

Overall, thanks Heavy MTL, your fest was great. I will see you again next year, if this is held again, and if that's the case, perhaps you could give the following bands a call and book them. That would be great.

Slayer

Behemoth

Extreme (Warrant was fun, why not?)

Slayer again

Cryptopsy

Kataklysm

Nile

Eclipse Eternal

Dimmu Borgir

Thank you

:susel:

ps, Ollie, you're right of course about Symphony X being from Jersey, it was more the style I was describing as Euro-shred. Glad you enjoyed the show.

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Blane Newbie

Blane

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glad you liked Priestess. They still play Barfly on occasion, which is our equivalent to Ottawa's Dominion Tavern (grotty little punk rock hangout with a fair share of elderly drunkards thrown in for atmosphere). Loud as hell but lots of fun.

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