Reviews – Live

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live July 20, 2010

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 the least amount of members in comparison to the other bands, their sound was ten times more powerful and dense.”

Laina Dawes reviews the July 16th concert by HIGH ON FIRE, PRIESTESS, SKELETONWITCH at Toronto Ontario’s Opera House venue

Articles, Featured, Features, Headline, Reviews - Live July 15, 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 as part of their 2010 Time Machine North American tour. Concert photos by Adam Wills.

Features, Headline, Reviews - Live July 14, 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 and intense; under a half hour to which the band played almost exclusively from their most recent album, Sovereign Descent.

Madeleine Rundle reviews the July 11th performance by Arizona grind monsters Landmine Marathon at Buffalo NY’s Club Diablo

Articles, Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live July 9, 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 of the stage mirroring each other as centerpiece of the show. Yes, everybody is situated right up front and gets to act as frontman-in-his-own-right in Melvins Mark, what is it, now, Eight?”

Kyle Harcott reviews the July 5th show Vancouver performance by the Melvins and Totimoshi.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Live July 8, 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 to caricature themselves to the point of complete cartoonification.

Articles, Features, Headline, Reviews - Live July 7, 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 have been on their past three studio albums.”

Natalie Zed and Sean Palmerston team up to give you two separate viewpoints on Saturday night`s Toronto performance by Iron Maiden and Dream Theater at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live July 6, 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 being in those big, comfy Silver City chairs with all the legroom you could ask for made this a more enjoyable experience than it would be with ten of my friends crammed into my living room. And I didn’t have to clean up afterwards either.

Sean Palmerston reviews the June 22nd “Big Four” event that was shown at Cineplex theaters across Canada featuring Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax live in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Featured, Reviews, Reviews - Live July 5, 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 it’s Iron Maiden that you’re seeing, and the expectations go through the roof.

Headline, Reviews, Reviews - Live June 30, 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 soul into every endeavour –recorded and live- and that makes all the difference.

Kyle Harcott reviews the June 26th concert by Woods Of Ypres at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver, BC