Unforgivingly cold winds were at my back as I arrived at Coalition T.O. just in time to catch the last few equally unforgiving moments of Goth Girl’s screaming one-man spectacle. A cloud of chaos, there wasn’t much chance of escaping the onslaught of noise. Trembling with pent-up rage and screaming it all into the mic, it felt a bit like walking into somebody’s angry closet of hate-ons for every rotten ham sandwich found in the company fridge. You can hear some of the insanity from the brain of Andrew Cleveland (also of Pretty Mouth, Mad Trapper, Please Drown) at https://gothgirl.bandcamp.com/.
Doomsowers Völur continue to exceed their past performances. Difficult to pin down what it is that makes this trio so special. Is it the mesmerizing fiddling, the unabashedly barefoot bass mastery, or the gracefully drumtastic flair of it all? About to bring their haunting doom on the road with dates in Montreal and Ottawa at the end of February, the three are continually finding new ways to pique an ever more spoiled and finicky crowd. Newer material features plenty more vocal presence from Lucas Gadke (also of Blood Ceremony) rounding out the mournful croons of Laura Bates (also of folky ensemble Boxcar Boys) and endlessly satisfying drumming of James Payment (also of Do Make Say Think). Their enchantments can be found at https://volur.bandcamp.com/.
What I caught of Flying Fortress‘ set was like fire, the crowds being like moths. High energy magnets, basically. From my vantage point at the venue entrance during their set, it didn’t occur to me for even a moment that they were a two-piece. They were makin’ it sound easy to rip. Pummeling out this level of speedy thrash only comes after years of experience though; previous projects include Cauldron and Goat Horn. Get a dose at https://flyingfortresstunes.bandcamp.com/.
Ottawa’s Fuck the Facts are no strangers to praise; as of this publication, they have received not one but two Juno award nominations. Grindcore, at the Junos, that’s right. They’re that good. Vocalist Mel Mongeon’s screams are akin to a grenade exploding in your ears, and guitarist Topon Das along with bassist Marc Bourgon (also of Greber) are busily laying down rhythms that create waves of ecstatic movement in the moshpit. Their sound is impeccably violent; from the first note to the last it’s seething with hatred and explosive energy. They’ll be taking the “Desire Will Rot” tour to the UK in March. Catch them at https://fuckthefacts.bandcamp.com/.
