Posts Tagged ‘montreal’

Pagan Fest 2009: The Old Gods are returning!

You may have heard of the Pagan Fest, the biggest folk-metal show that has been held in Montreal. Well, the event returns in strength this year, with a line-up as strong as last year.

The Pagan Fest will bring us the likes of Swashbuckle, Blackguard, Moonsorrow, Primordial and Korpiklaani.

Swashbuckle is a piratical thrash-metal band inspired by the tales of bloodthirsty buccaneers and other drunken corsairs that roamed the seas – Perhaps the least folkloric of the crew, they still have enough talent and energy to give a good show.

I have already talked about Blackguard on this blog, you can always visit the article (in french) here.

Moonsorrow is black-metal inspired folk that communicates a strong energy, and is formed by musicians of high talent. Directly from Helsinki, Finland, they will bring us the classic norwegian metal that you may know, but will definitely love.

Primordial comes to us directly from Ireland, and brings the old celtic legends to song with a classic guitar sound. Definitely a good band, but not as close to metal as the other bands on this tour are, describing their sound as more ”rock and roll”.

And, finally, the show that everyone has been looking forward to for a long time now, KORPIKLAANI! The Clan of the Wilderness (Which is what their name means in Finnish) finally comes to Montreal and will be ready to blast you straight out of your shoes with their incredible music. The classic metal instruments -Electric guitars, bass, and drums- are joined by traditional finnish instruments: The Jouhikko, woodwinds, violin and accordion. Using original instruments instead of synthesizers is particular- Few other bands are lucky enough to find players of folkloric instruments willing to join a metal band.

Swiss-based powerhouse Eluveitie has, once again, dropped out of the Pagan Fest, but has promised a tour this autumn to promote their new acoustic recording.

The Pagan Fest will be held at Le Medley on April 29. Tickets are on sale now for around 35$.

Shawn Phillips: A folk-rock legend rises again

For those who never heard of Texas-born guitarist and singer Shawn Phillips, and have ever listened to folkloric songs and early rock-and-roll, you have missed one of rock-and-roll’s greatest secrets, at least according to the late Bill Graham.

Born in 1943, Phillips never achieved tremendous success, even with four albums having made the Billboard top 100. Apart from his long-time fans, few know that he is still active as a musician, writing and touring. His last album containing new material, No Category, was released in 2002, and his first live album was released in 2007.

The ballads he composed are frozen in time by his incredible voice and his mellow guitar playing. Titles such as She Was Waiting For Her Mother At the Station in Torino and You know I Love You Baby But It’s Getting Too Heavy To Laugh (The title of this song was actually forgotten by many and was dubbed Woman afterwards), The Ballad of Casey Deiss, and the pieces that are closer to rock’n'roll like Moonshine or Looking Up

Shawn Phillips never really stopped writing and playing, and he still tours frequently. However, we only rarely hear of his performances. He has announced quite a few dates in Quebec and the Montreal area for summer 2009, so you might want to check his tour dates.

You can check out Shawn Phillips’ official web page here.

As for me, I will dutifully attend his show at the Soda with my father, which made me discover this incredible artist.

EDIT 2: I have been told by Arno Hennings, Shawn’s manager, that the show at Club Soda will NOT happen. You will, however, be able to see him play at L’Étoile Dix-30.

Club Soda management told me today that the event was postponed – I will post the date of the show as soon as I have it.

Cannibal Corpse: Evisceration Plague spreads to Montreal

Cannibal Corpse, one of the most renowned (and reviled) death metal acts around, has released a new album, Evisceration Plague, in February. As we have come to expect from the powerhouse of musical gore, heavy riffs, violent lyrics and overall brutality are present throughout the album.
The musicians fare better than ever in their bloody endeavor, making their last recording their heaviest, most musically-developed tracks. The likes of Skewered from ear to eye or A Cauldron of Hate could almost make Meathook Sodomy sound like a girl scout’s song, if that would be possible.
In short, the new installment of one of the United States’ most controversial band is a must for any fan of the death metal genre.
Multimontreal score: 4/5

The band announced a tour to promote their latest release, and will be supported by The Faceless and Neuraxis when they will stop at the Medley on April 21.

Cannibal Corpse is:
George ”Corpsegrinder” Fisher: Vocals
Rob Barrett: Guitar
Pat O’Brien: Guitar
Alex Webster: Bass
Paul Mazurkiewicz: Drums

Mastodon Cracks the Skye, announces new tour

Atlanta’s Mastodon stroke again this month with a new album, Crack the Skye, that shows their increasing talent (As if they didn’t have enough already) as musicians. This album, conforming to the rest of the band’s discography, follows a concept: It tells the story of a paraplegic whose only means of locomotion is astral travel – a paranormal concept of an out-of-body experience- who burns out his link to his body by flying too close to the sun and then strives to return to his body.

Mastodon succeeded in giving an out-of-this-world feel to their music with Crack the Skye. It gives an incredible setting to the story told within the songs, and gives the impression of flying high within the clouds, and alternates these musical, agreeable trips with harcore, crash-and-burn returns to earth which keeps us hooked from the first song of the album to it’s very end.

Multimontreal quote: 4.5/5

Mastodon will be touring to promote their new album and will stop by Le National on May 2nd.

Mastodon’s Myspace page

Mastodon is:
Brann Dailor (Drums)
Bill Kelliher (Guitar)
Troy Sanders (Bass/Vocals)
Brent Hinds (Guitar/Vocals)

Metallica – Le World Magnetic Tour s’arrêtera à Montréal

Tous les amateurs de Metallica ont été déçus à la première annonce du World Magnetic Tour quand Montréal ne faisait pas partie des dates originales… Mais, réjouissez-vous, metalleux de notre merveilleuse ville, les légendes ont annoncé leur passage au centre Bell pour le 19 septembre au Centre Bell dans le cadre du World Magnetic Tour, qui promouvoit leur dernier album, Death Magnetic.

Ce dernier album a vu le style du groupe se rapprocher de ses origines thrash, au plus grand plaisir de leurs fans anciens et nouveaux. Le réalisateur Rick Rubin a su faire renaître de ses cendres le feu sacré de Metallica, qui s’éteignait peu à peu depuis la parution de l’album éponyme (Mieux connu sous le nom du Black Album) (1991), depuis quoi ils nous avaient donné bien peu de chansons dignes de la grandeur du temps de Cliff Burton et des compositions fortes et très colorées de leur premier guitariste, Dave Mustaine, avant qu’ils ne le renvoient du groupe et engagent Kirk Hammet (Qui était auparavant avec le groupe thrash Exodus). Tous les éléments du Metallica classique s’y retrouve: Les longs solos envoûtants, une pièce instrumentale solide, et tout ce qui a donné une nouvelle définition au metal, même si, on ne doit pas se le cacher, tous les membres du groupe ont vieilli et il n’ont plus autant de fougue et d’audace que du temps de leurs meilleures chansons dont les accords puissants et la voix criarde mais vibrante du jeune Hetfield feront encore réagir les amateurs de musique pour bien des années. Le groupe lui-même a reconnu que Death Magnetic a souffert au montage sonore, ce qui diminue le plaisir qu’on a à écouter la nouvelle création du groupe. En bout de ligne, Death Magnetic n’est pas à la hauteur de Master of Puppets ou Ride the Lightning, mais il vaut quand même mieux que tout ce que Metallica a publié depuis 1996.

Les billets pour le World Magnetic Tour à Montréal seront en vente samedi le 4 avril à midi. Les artistes invités sont encore inconnus.

Metallica est:
James Hetfield (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals)
Kirk Hammet (Lead Guitar)
Robert Trujillo (Basse)
Lars Ulrich

Kreator: Hordes of Chaos swarm Medley april 11, 2009

Kreator, one of the oldest and most renowned thrash metal bands around, have released this year a new album entitled Hordes of Chaos. What started as a small scale act going by the name of Tormentor in Essen, Germany, 1982, has since then opened the way for the rise of heavier thrash and death metal. They originally were greatly inspired by Venom, one of the first bands on the thrash scene, and took elements from their contemporaries such as Metallica and Mercyful Fate.

Cover art for Hordes of Chaos

Hordes of Chaos is staying faithful to the band’s sound, but adds a musicality to their sound that is rarely seen in the thrash genre in general. The impressive composition of the album makes sure you are in for a surprise as you go from the highly technical audible marvels of the title track ”Hordes of Chaos (A necrologue for the Elite) or the short ”Corpses of Liberty” to the hard, brutal sound of ”Demon Prince”.

Kreator co-headlines a show april 11 at the Medley with Exodus, Kirk Hammet’s act before Metallica, and will feature Belphegor, Warbringer and Epicurean.

Official Page
Myspace Page

Kreator is:
Miland ‘Mille’ Petrozza – vocals, guitar
Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitar
Christian ‘Speesy’ Giesler – bass
Jürgen ‘Ventor’ Reil – drums

Multimontreal score for Hordes of Chaos: 4/5

Orchestrol Parade: Avec ou sans L’

J’ai découvert par le plus pur des hasards la semaine dernière un groupe rock d’une façon assez inusitée. J’ai été invité par un ami dans un débit de boisson prendre une brosse pour une bonne cause (N’ayant pas besoin de cause, bonne ou mauvaise, pour prendre une brosse, j’ai sauté sur l’occasion), et j’ai été surpris de découvrir, non pas le simple débit de boisson habituel, mais une salle de spectacle bien organisée qui m’a fait découvrir un groupe au son déjanté et qui touche au rock, punk et autres accents psychédéliques.

Orchestrol Parade ont donné sur scène une performance remplie d’énergie qui a réussi à faire lever le public qui ne connaissait aucunement leurs chansons, la plupart des gens, moi y compris, n’ayant jamais entendu parler du groupe avant leur entrée en scène. Les quatres membres ont un talent musical assez développé qui donne une profondeur à leur musique malgré les paroles dont le sens est souvent peu profond et accessible par les jeunes d’aujourd’hui.

Leur premier album, Avec ou sans L’, est une oeuvre qui démontre bien leurs talents, avec un mix de son bien effectué, une musicalité et une technique bien développées, et une bonne alternance entre les quatre membres qui se renvoient la balle au micro. Il ne leur reste qu’à définir leur genre avec plus de précision, les ballotages mélangeant parfois l’auditeur, et à rendre leurs textes plus accessibles pour paver leur route au succès.

(L’?) Orchestrol Parade, c’est:

Benjamin Arcand
Marc-André Arcand
David Chassé
François-Xavier Paquin

Orchestrol Parade sur Myspace

Cote Multimontreal: 4/5

Pagan Knights Tour 2009: Vikings, pirates and warriors!

The metal movement is constantly evolving. Many genres coexist and evolve together, some die and others rise from their ashes…

North America is right now recieving an incredible quantity of metal bands incorporating folkloric elements into their music, would it be instruments like a violin or bagpipes, real or synthetized, and lyrics of myth and legend. It can sound like the dream of any Dungeons and Dragons geek out there, but ”folk metal”, as it has been dubbed, can be as enjoyable to anyone into metal than anything else of the same vein.

Surfing the wave that originated in the genre of power metal such as Manowar, Blind Guardian or Rhapsody of Fire and evolved more and more into folkloric sounds and lore, 2009 will see a new horde of these ancient warriors land on the shores of the New World. The next event which various fans will flock to is the Pagan Knights Tour (Link to the myspace music page of the event), hosted at the Club Soda. Death/Folk German band SuidAkrA, the pirate crew known as Alestorm and the norsemen of Tyr will proudly represent the genre. Three bands, three styles: SuidAkrA allies the brutality and sound of death metal to the folkloric legends of the Round Table, while Alestorm are pure power metal that would make anyone who likes the genre more than happy. They even add the typical accordion of sea shanties thanks to their brilliant use of keyboards. Tyr, originating from the Faroe Islands, is a band strongly influenced by it’s scandinavian origins, honoring the old pagan traditions and songs of the Norse religion, singing them in their original faroese language. Uniting the musicality of heavy metal and traditional music, their works communicate an awesome energy to be found in no other music.

The Pagan Knights Tour 2009 event in 2009 will be held at the Club Soda on March 24, 2009. Tickets are around 22$.

Voivod – Le géant du métal québécois renaîtra-t-il de ses cendres?

Vous avez peut-être déjà entendu parler de Voivod, groupe formé à l’origine par quatre gars de Jonquière qui se sont réunis pour jouer du metal avant-gardiste au son et à la technique un peu trop différents pour les années 80, quand ils ont commencé à gagner en popularité. Ils ont peu à peu sombré dans l’oubli face au public général malgré le talent incomparable des artistes composant le groupe, notamment Denis “Piggy” D’Amour, le guitariste, qui utilisait les effets de distortion de façon tellement géniale qu’il était capable de reproduire l’éventail de sons de claviers utilisés par Pink Floyd dans leur chanson “Astronomy Domine”, cover que Voivod joue encore aujourd’hui à tous leurs spectacles.

Le groupe réapparut sur le radar des médias en 2002 lorsqu’il a engagé Jason ”Jasonic” Stedman, qui abandonnait son projet avec son groupe ”Echobrain” et qui avait quitté Metallica l’année précédente. Depuis, le band a enregistré deux albums et est passé par dessus le décès, en 2005, du guitariste, Piggy. Ils ont donné leur premier concert depuis la mort de ce dernier en 2008, et ont engagé en remplacement Daniel Mongrain, qui est aussi l’actuel guitariste du groupe de death metalquébécois Martyr.

Voivod nous promet un nouvel album en 2009, qui contient les dernières compositions de Piggy. Le groupe n’a pas encore annoncé de dates de tournée au Canada pour 2009, mais nous ne pouvons qu’espérer voir le groupe faire un important retour cette année et prouver une fois de plus au monde que le Québec est un terreau fertile pour le metal de tout acabit.

Membres:
* Denis “Snake” Bélanger (chanteur)
* Jason “Jasonic” Newsted (bassiste)
* Michel “Away” Langevin (Batteur)
* Daniel Mongrain (Guitariste)
* Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault (bassiste)

Site Web (Amateur, reconnu par le groupe):
* www.voivod.net

*English translation coming soon!*

Despised Icon: 0 to Destruction en 3 secondes

Despised Icon est un groupe de deathcore purement montréalais composé d’Alex Erian (voix), Steve Marois (voix), Eric Jarrin (guitare), Max Lavelle (basse), et d’Alex Pelletier (batterie). Ils ont été les précurseurs du genre, alliant leurs influences hardcore au son et au côté technique du metal d’aujourd’hui.

Le groupe est associé à Century Media Records, qui publie d’autres gros noms du metal moderne comme Arch Enemy, Napalm Death, Finntroll et Celtic Frost, pour n’en nommer que quelques uns, et qui a permis à Despised Icon d’avoir une visibilité internationale et de produire plus de 500 spectacles partout dans le monde.

Le groupe sera en spectacle au Club Soda le 1er Mars 2009.

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Myspace: Despised Icon
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Despised Icon is a deathcore band from Montreal formed by Alex Erian (lyrics), Steve Marois (lyrics), Eric Jarrin (guitar), Max Lavelle (bass), and Alex Pelletier (drums). They introduced the genre, mixing their hardcore influences with the technical sound of modern metal.

The band is associated with the Century Media label, which publishes other great names of today’s metal, such as Arch Enemy, Napalm Death, Finntroll and Celtic Frost, to name only a few. Century Media allowed the band to have international visibility and they have now played over 500 concerts around the world.

The band will give a show at Club Soda on March 1st, 2009.