It’s not everyday that a company like Inertia Entertainment celebrates a milestone like this. What better way to celebrate 20 years in the business than by putting on a massive show? Inertia is an important entertainment brand for Ontario – the heavy metal scene in particular – as Inertia brings music from all different genres, bands and countries to perform in and outside of Toronto . This concertgoer has been to at least three shows put on by Inertia each year, and they have never disappointed. More often that not they have exceeded expectations.
MARKING 20 YEARS
To celebrate this anniversary occasion, Noel Peters (the man behind Inertia) invited some of his friends and favourite local bands to perform: Panzerfaust, Goatwhore, Macabre and Sacrifice. Noel took the time to discuss each band and how they had become friends and some great times they have shared over the years.
Panzerfaust
Hailing from nearby Mississauga, Panzerfaust play epic traditional black metal with some added noise. They performed a tight, powerful set with pummeling rhythms and tremolo-picked riffs that pulled the crowd down into the abyss of one thousand infernal fires. Their great presentation included a stage set with candles and a podium from which the vocalist bellowed sermons from the underworld and spit venom that chilled and enlightened the souls in attendance. The whole band has a very tight sound. The drums and bass are loud, creating a perfect backdrop for the guitars and vocals. Someone beside me in the crowd likened them to Portal, which is a neat comparison. A fun, annihilating set that had heads nodding.
Goatwhore
This contributor had seen the group from NOLA before but had forgotten how great a live act they are. They completely dominated the stage and whipped the crowd into some ferocious beasts in the pit with their merciless thrashing blackened attack. The band is made up of such great players—Ben, for one, commands the crowd like few do today in the scene. How can one combine aggression, energy, fun and appreciation into a performance? If you want to know, just watch him on stage. Sammy, on the other hand, is just pure technical brilliance yet brutally set in the ways of Celtic Frost and is a wizard of the evil blackened riff art. Zack the drummer has hyper-speed beats and drum rolls that propel the songs into a rage where Motörhead meets Slayer meets Darkthrone in a nuclear blast on the ears and senses. The bass work of Robert is powerful and robust and delivers galloping destruction to all listening.
Even more important than the band being great musicians, they are even better people. Noel told us some stories of the band helping him and Inertia out in many a sticky situation. They have travelled many miles to help out other friends and bands.
Macabre
Macabre have been making music for over 25 years. It’s amazing how a band like that has stuck together all these years and continued to play this style of metal without changing or getting sick of their formula. They are such a killer, funny and interesting live band to watch still today! From the brutal stories introducing the songs, to the technical riffs, deep growls to hellish shrills, the exploding drums from DENNIS The Menace, their twisted versions of nursery rhymes, that headset, and of course, DAHMER!! An excellent set of classic songs.
Sacrifice
This band should need no description, but here you go: Sacrifice are from Scarborough, and they had one of the most popular videos on Much Music back in the day (for “Re-Animation”). They have toured with all the greats and opened for many more, and at this point are thrash metal legends and a staple of the scene here in Toronto and are known around the world.
It’s important that Sacrifice play this show as they owe Noel a lot of their current success over the past 10 years. He was the one who encouraged them to reunite and play again. It’s also important that one of the few concerts they play this year be in Toronto since they are not only from this town but also because they have so many fans, friends and supporters here.
Both the band and Noel were pleasantly surprised to see that the show had sold out this evening as it was another milestone for Sacrifice when they said they have never played in front of so many people in their hometown.
Their playing was fantastic, the sound was tight, the crowd was unbelievable and the set ruled. Whether you enjoyed songs like “Soldiers of Misfortune” or classics like “Re-Animation” and “Forward to Termination,” they played them just like they had back in the day or even more recently either in Vancouver, Winnipeg or MDF. It all sounded amazing and looked incredible from the floor or the balcony of the Opera House this night. To top it all off they played a cover of “Iron Fist” in memory of Lemmy and Motörhead with none other than their friend Danko Jones.
It’s a family
Overall, it was one hell of a fun and great-sounding night. It’s so great to have a reunion of sorts for all the fans and members of this scene because it’s a family that gives and gives back to each other while supporting artists and people who love what they do. From the success of this show it’s plain to see the metal scene is in great hands, thanks to Noel and Inertia.
http://inertia-entertainment.com/events/view/454
