Category: Reviews – Live

Hellbound is always there, lurking in the crowd, while the band blisters the very air.

Skeletonwitch/ Priestess/ High On Fire @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, July 16, 2010

“By the time High on Fire hit the stage, the venue was thankfully almost at full capacity and despite not yet turning on the stage lights, when the crowd saw frontman Matt Pike stroll out in the darkness, bare chested, snaggle-toothed but still sexy as all hell, the crowd went nuts. While the trio had…

July 20, 2010
Rush @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto ON, July 13, 2010

I’m not a huge fan of bands doing albums in their entirety, but when the album is freaking Moving Pictures, the band is Rush, and it only makes up about a third of the show, how can you say no? Sean Palmerston recaps the July 13th hometown performance of RUSH at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre…

July 15, 2010
Landmine Marathon @ Club Diablo, Buffalo NY, July 11, 2010

Live, this band kills. Although Buffalo didn’t offer the shot of adrenaline Landmine may have been looking for at this point in their tour, the band rallied and took it upon themselves to personally inject audience members with a shot of straight up, blood curdling horror; extreme music at its best. The set was short…

July 14, 2010
Melvins/ Totimoshi @ Rickshaw Theater, Vancouver BC, July 5, 2010

“Having seen the Melvins in previous three-piece variants over the years, this was my very-excited first time seeing this four-on-the-floor version that includes the Big Business guys, even though the band’s been touring in this incarnation since 2006. First, the stage set-up is key: Looking like one monstrous kit, the twin drumsets are dead center…

July 9, 2010
Charred Walls of the Damned/ Piledriver/ Ash Lee Blade @ The Opera House, Toronto ON July 4, 2010

The awkwardly-named Charred Walls of the Damned delivered a solid headlining performance. While the other bands they shared the stage with has set a decidedly un-serious precedent, CWotD were much more straightforward and earnest in their presentation. Not to say that they were stuffy or stoic. They play unabashedly entertaining power/thrash metal, but choose not…

July 8, 2010
Iron Maiden @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto ON, July 3rd 2010

“Saturday’s show was a real Iron Maiden show, done with passion and vigour and integrity. It was a show made for their die hard, long-supporting fans. This was no greatest hits run-through, this was a band celebrating the fact that, after more than thirty years as a professional band, some of their greatest musical achievements…

July 7, 2010
The Big Four @ Silver City Mountain, Hamilton ON, June 22, 2010

It was a neat experience to see this concert in a movie theater. A few of my own pals hummed and hawed about going, wondering why it wasn’t made available as a Pay-Per-View event, but I personally liked it better seeing it at the movies. No home distractions, no interruptions from the outside world and…

July 6, 2010
Iron Maiden @ Rexall Place, Edmonton AB, June 26, 2010

The heavy metal road trip is a time-honoured tradition among metal heads. Making the trip from Calgary to Edmonton may not be the most grueling of drives, but as soon as you leave your city to see a band, your expectations instantly become higher for the experience to come. Then, add in the fact that…

July 5, 2010
Woods Of Ypres + Guests @ Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver BC, June 26, 2010

The songs, stripped lean, take on a new sense of heavy immediacy. Intensely focused, David Gold kept the banter minimal, briefly introducing songs, but instead let the music speak on his behalf. And it was that intensity that made Woods of Ypres so amazing to watch live. They’re a band that pour their heart and…

June 30, 2010
Iron Maiden @ Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK, June 29, 2010

With a two and a half year touring cycle, it’s impossible to tell if the band will ever be around these parts again, so this was a night to savour the greatest metal band ever. If this was the last time I’ll see Maiden, then I couldn’t be more satisfied.

June 30, 2010