Fog of Leprosy and Spew Gore

On September 17th I had the pleasure of discovering two new thrash metal bands Fog of Leprosy and Spewgore.

I saw them at The Blue Moon, a venue that I have never been to or heard off. It is located just steps away from the Opera House on Queen Street West. I was impressed with the venue since it had a pretty decent stage. The place could easily hold 200 people, however, it is narrow, which only adds to its appeal. The place looks more packed then it really is, which makes you feel like you're part of something bigger. It also has an amazing deal on beer too; $20 gets you bucket with five bottles of beer with most domestic brands to choose from.

Fog of Leprosy opened the show. They are a four piece band hailing from Grimbsby, Ontario. This is a thrash band with one guitar player. They play straight-up riff-driven metal, best compared to Exodus and Annihilator. The singer rasps his voice but not past the point where the lyrics are incomprehensible; also, other members contribute to the vocals mosttly in a question-and-answer and narrative style. Their lyrical theme deals with imagery of goblins, cannibalism, and drunken debauchery, among other things. Part of their image is a smoke machine constantly spewing out "The Fog." They have been recording a new album for some time now, so stay tuned for upcoming news. This is a band worth checking out if you are into straight up, no bullshit, thrash.

Spewgore is a four piece out of Brampton. They also have only one guitar. They play mostly thrash metal, however, from time to time you can pick up elements of hard core. However, that does not make them a metal-core band by any means; they are a thrash band. They looked quite comfortable on stage. The drummer was very tight. The singer had a persona comparable to Henry Rollins. Their songs mostly dealt with violence, however, not in a dark way. More like the type you see in a mosh pit. This was their album release party and they were in top shape. They have a unique sound, this is a band worth checking our. I have a feeling that they might be getting picked up by a label soon.

There were two more bands on the bill Fatality and Redeemer. However, I did not watch their sets so I cant really say anything about them.

What was amazing to see is how metal has grown in Toronto, especially in the last 10 years. In 2000-2002 bands like Inflames and Nevermore were playing shows that size. However, ten years later a few regional bands can put on a hell of a metal show, and draw and decent crowd too.