Live review by Matt Lewis
An eclectic line up was the order of the night in Toronto at the Wreck Room. Prog metal legends Cynic with 3, Scale the Summit and a recently added The Ocean were to play this showcase of musical talent.
Opening the show were The Ocean who had just finished a stint opening for Canada’s musically mad scientist Devin Townsend started with the opening track from Heliocentric. The opening song was plagued with mixing and sound issues but the band powered through it. Following up with songs from Anthropocentric, they stuck to those two albums for their short set. The mixing issues had been mostly fixed by the 3rd song and the band stepped it up with intensity. Finishing with the epic “Origin of Species/Origin of God”, The Ocean are always a band that impresses.
Scale The Summit was a band I had heard good things about but never checked out. That was a mistake. The band’s style is something between The Buried and Me and Explosions in the Sky. They have a progressive technical sound that is well thought out and yet is not tedious to sit through live. With nary a vocalist, instrumental bands can be tough to watch live but this band did not have that issue whatsoever.
3 was a strange bird on this show. Reminding of a southern rock influenced, less technical (and less annoying) version of Coheed and Cambria, it was odd to see them on this tour. They were entertaining but seemed to be missing something and I can’t say what it was. The music was enjoyable in parts and the acoustic rock song they ended the night with was groovy. Maybe it was context. On a different show and a different mind set I would have enjoyed them far better. I will give them another shot though most definitely.
Legends Cynic were the headliner of the night. Having seen Cynic before I knew what to expect and was not interested to see them live again. So I watched a song or two and left for the long drive home with Hellbound boss Sean (it was four songs actually – The Ed). He could barely stay awake. Maybe it was Cynic or maybe it was the conversation or maybe it was me. Probably Cynic.
(No, actually Matt it was getting up at 6:30 AM with my kids. Was wiped out. – The Ed)
