Cryptopsy at the Rock Pile June 17, 2011 vs. Disco Fever

To me the appeal of metal has been, to a certain degree, the fact that it's part of the underground. While some elements of Metal music have found acceptance in the mainstream, True Metal has always stayed out of the spot light. And while some will see this as a validation to look down on the genre, I look at it as a badge of honor; because, to be blunt: mainstream blows.

I don't know why I still manage to get shocked. After all, it's not like I can look back at some glorious time when things where different. Things might have been better before I was born, but ever since I have been on this earth, I have held a disdain for the mainstream. I haven't figured out whether I'm a helpless optimist who holds on to hope that the intellectual level of our culture will improve, or someone who is in deep denial.

Last night I watched a movie that really spoke to me as an artist. It was Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. The film was about a Hollywood writer who gets to travel back in time to fraternize with the greatest authors, painters, and play writes from the 1920's. Coming back, my friend and I stopped to drink a decaff coffee in the car and talk about the movie. Our car was parked across the street from a dance club. As we were sitting with the windows down, the repetitive dance music coming across the street was just unbearable. However, what I couldn't comprehend was that there where people in that club "enjoying themselves" by having that terrible noise blaring in their ear, and dancing like morons. There is so much beauty in this world yet people want to spend their life in sweaty club dancing to electronic music with flashing lights?

"So what do you like to do?" is the question I most often get as a response to my rants. "I like Metal" I answer with pride. At which point I get a few smirks and rolled eyes. So, in this post, I would like to describe the typical experience that I had at a dance club, and compare it to the night of June 17 when I saw Cryptopsy, supported by Toronto's finest indie bands, at the Rock Pile.



The last time I had to go to a dance club, I had to dress nicely. My girl ironed my pants and my shirt that she picked out for me along with the socks and shoes. We meet a couple of her friends. We all shared a car, drove for about 30 min, and arrived at some dance club. We stood in the lineup for about 15 minutes watching all the pretty people with their souped up cars. We chatted briefly but that came to an end when we got inside. Any chance of conversation was squashed by the loud beats. I forced myself to dance for about an hour, spend $20 on a bottle of beer and two rum and cokes, then sat at a table for another hour wanting to go home. One of those drinks went to my girl and there was also a $10 cover.



When I went to the Cryptopsy show I wore my jeans and Iron Maiden shirt. My band mate stopped by before the show and we played some guitars and drank some beer. Then the trusty TTC took us to Kipling station where I meet another one of my friends, who was generous enough to share his mickey of whiskey while we walked for about 15 minutes to the Rock Pile on a warm summer night. We went inside the Rock Pile at about 11 pm, without a lineup, paying $15 at the door. Inside we treated ourselves to $9 mini pitchers of beer. We saw two local bands, one of them was Unbreakable Hatred. We used the time in between bands to chat and go on the patio to mingle with like minded people. When it was time for Cryptopsy, we sat at a corner table with an unobstructed view of the band. We watched in amazement while Cryptopsy dazzled us with their brutal riffs and fast tempos. They played a lot of numbers from their latest album since this was a small, last minute show. Occasionally we would jump in the mosh pit clowning around like we were teenagers. After the show we walked back to Kipling station where we all went on different Blue Line buses since the subway stopped running a long time ago.




There are enough metal bands in Toronto that one should be able to see a metal show any day of the week. Each night Front street fills up with hordes of dolled up people who are willing to stand in line, pay expensive covers, and get drunk on expensive drinks. Who are those people? Sometimes I think that no one actually has fun at a dance club but is only there because they believe that this is what it means to be normal. Other times I think that I'm the freak. One thing is for certain, I never had a good time at a dance club while on the other hand I can't remember a metal concert that I did not like. This leads me back to my original point: mainstream blows!

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.

Fighting Back Against Security Scum

Every concert goer at one point had to deal with an asshole security guard. I'm sure you know the type: smug and arrogant assholes who one day dream of going into the police academy. However, until that day comes, they will exercise their complete authority (following the rules to the last detail) that was granted to them by the employer.

The average concert goer is completely powerless against such pricks, as with the push of a button, they can have you ejected off the premises absolutely at their discretion. One power hungry asshole has the power to ruin the experience for countless of concert goers. And, for the most part, we are helpless against them. If you punch them out, you will go to jail. If you file a complaint, it will get lost in the bureaucracy.

So what can be done about this? Is there any way that people can fight back against this within the law? The answer is NO. The reason for this is that most of the time the security guard has a legitimate reason to be engaged with you. The concert goer might be drunk or smoking weed which off the bat puts the concert goer at a disadvantage. However, drinking alcohol or smoking cannabis is just standard behavior at a Heavy Metal concert. If you don't want to be around that then go to a John Mayer show. However, recently I heard a story that gave me hope.

A good friend of mine recently shared an amazing tale of heroism that inspired me. While attending a big out-door metal concert my friend decided to smoke a small joint at the back of the venue hiding among the rest of the smokers. He was not even able to take a good toke before this smug security guard approached him. With a polite smile on his face, my friend apologized and extinguished the joint. However that was not enough for that asshole. He demanded that my friend drop the joint on the floor and rubbed the joint into the pavement with his military boots unil the weed was un-salvageable. Then with a phony, patronizing smile on his face he said "don't let me catch you smoking weed again, next time I will eject you." Instead of doing nothing, my friend decided to fight back. He took an empty plastic beer glass and went to the bathroom with it. There he filled it with urine. He stood with the cup for about 20 min so the piss cools down. Then when the lights went down and the main act was about to go onstage, in the commotion he pretended to trip and spilled the urine right on the security guard. He then quickly apologized and went back to his seat. I believe that my fiend is a hero! Imagine the countless concert goers who had their time ruined because of that pretentious asshole. This was Karma doing its thing.

Now to be fair, not everyone who works security is an asshole. A lot of them are decent human beings who are just trying to earn an honest living. This blog post is in no way encouraging any one to make their lives miserable. In a civilized society, there have to be people who have legitimate authority over you. However there is a difference between keeping the peace and getting high on power while earning minimum wage. If that security guard would of made my friend extinguish the joint and issue a warning, he would be just doing his job. There would be nothing wrong with that. However, he made my friend drop the joint and then destroyed it. This was totally unnecessary and he got justice. It is time that people start standing up for them selves. The written law cannot cover every single incident and too many times the bad guys are on the side of the law.

Gandhi said that " an eye for an eye makes the world go blind," and Jesus encouraged us to "turn the other cheek." That is why this kind of retaliation must be exercised with the most caution. This society would dissolve into chaos if every time a police officer would issue a ticket, a cop car would get torched. However, there is a difference between enforcing the peace and being a dush-bag with a uniform. I believe that when you see people abusing their power, it is your duty to fight back in anyway you can, whether it is against a security guard, an abusive supervisor, or a neighbor. Sometimes God can use you as his hammer. No one would call the young people at Tienanmen square who stood up for their rights criminals. I know I am not alone in this type of thinking. You just need to see the following quotes by these famous patriots:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke-

Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't
-Thomas Jefferson-

The Metal Scene Loses A Gigant: Peter Steele Dead At 48

On April 14, 2010, Peter Steel (real name Petrus T. Ratajczyk) died due to heart failure. He will be most remembered as the front man of the Gothic Metal legends Type O Negative. However, before that, he fronted a successful thrash Metal band in the early eighties called Carnivore.

The first time I ever heard Type-O was live at the Warehouse during their October Rust tour. I did not know what to expect. All I knew is that they were a Metal band with a lead singer who has a voice deeper then the Crash Test Dummies. That was also the night I got introduced to Life of Agony, since they were the opening act. When Type-O hit the stage, I was confused. I could not understand why they are playing so slow. I never heard that kind of music, and what didn't help was Steel's dry sense of humor. He kept apologizing, saying that "he has a soar throat". To be honest, I came that night to see a Metal show, instead, I didn't know what I was witnessing.

Despite having mixed feelings about the evening, the next day I went and picked up a copy of October Rust and Life of Agony's Ugly. A few months later, someone left a copy of Bloody Kisses in my car. Ever since that year (I believe it might have been 1997) their music has played a significant part in my life.

Peter Steel provided every Metal head a CD that they can put on in order to create a romantic mood. Lets face it, I'm sure that every Metal head would love the idea of scoring wile blasting Slayer, but girls just aren't into that. However, pop-in any album from Bloody Kisses to Dead Again, and you have the perfect music for getting-it-on.

On the other side of the spectrum, while single, many times I took comfort in Typo-O's music. It was confronting to know that there is someone out there, who is infinitely better looking that me, having the same wows in the romance department.

I still never got a copy of Life is Killing Me, and I just recently discovered Carnivore, so I still have a lot of music to discover. Yet, it's just awful that we will never hear any new material. Peter Steel had a truly distinct style that contributed greatly to the development of the Metal genre. He will be greatly missed.

Peter Steel
January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010
R.I.P

2nd Annual Metal Fest at D.C Music Featuring: Polarity, CayM, Assassinate the Following, and Quietus

On April 3, 2010 I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual Metal feast hosted by D.C Music. For those unfamiliar with the venue, D.C Music is a rehearsal studio and concert theater, just steps away from Kipling station. They specialize in anything related to bands, from merchandising to concert promotion. That night, I caught the sets of four bands: Polarity, Assassinate the Following, CayM, and Quietus.

Hailing from Mississauga, Polarity is a quintet fronted by a female singer. Their sound varies from from heavy Tool-like riffs and rhythms to more Edge 102 friendly songs. Their singer has really good energy on stage. Her vocals could be described as a cross between Alanis Morissette and Maynard from Tool. To be fair, I only caught the latter part of their set so I wont say too much. I got the impression that they are a young band that is still trying to mold their sound. They show a lot of promise. If they stay true to them selves and stick with it, I'm sure they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Next, hailing from Windsor, was Assassinate the Following. The first thing that caught my attention was the bass player's sick bass that was in the shape of a sci-fi battle axe. Their set begun with a sample of carnival music before ripping into a fury of double kicks and sweeping arpeggios. Their sound has a little bit of everything. Each of their songs consist of multiple riffs ranging from old school trash riffs, groove oriented hooks, clean choruses, with the occasional blast beat. Each member is quite technicaly proficient at his instrument and the band was tight as a whole. The vocals (ranging from growls to clean) were really low for the first two songs, however, this was rectified by the end. If aggressive music with a progressive edge is your thing, then this band is definitely worth checking out.

Next was CayM, a quintet from Mississauga. These guys have really excellent energy on stage while not missing a beat musically. Their singer sometimes resembled a younger Phil Anselmo only with higher vocals, wearing a white wife beater and a red baseball cap. Their set started of with a sample of bluesy music, before ripping into a thrash riff with a wall of double kicks behind it. The drummer of this band really impressed me. What was more impressive is that later we found out that he just came back from having three hernia operations. Bravo! Their sound is a mixture of old school Testament riffs and new school grove-oriented hooks with really aggressive vocals. Once in a while the two lead guitarists (both playing Jacksons) would rip into a solo. Occasionally they would do some duel guitar action, witch (being the Maiden head that I am) I enjoyed very much. Like I said earlier, they had excellent energy which was contagious. At the end of their set, they left me wanting more.

The last band of the night was Quietus. This is a band with three lead guitarists and a keyboardist. They brought a change of atmosphere to the evening. Their songs are all epic, over 6 minutes long, and very rich harmonically. Their sound is a mixture of folky Opeth parts, Fusion breakdowns, jazzy interludes, Norwegian riffs, and guitar counterpoint. All the musicians knew their way around their instrument. The problem was that, with such a multi-layered sound, it took the sound man three songs to figure these guys out. The thing is that (with their songs being so long) their 30 minute set consisted of four songs. These guys need to make sure that they give who ever is working the sound board a "heads up" before they play. You could tell that the band was still getting use to each other, however, I'm sure this will change when they play more shows together and gain some confidence. It was also refreshing to see a female drummer know her way around a double kick. Overall, this is definitely a band that's worth checking out.

In the end, the evening was a success, ending at about 1am. I definitely got my money's worth ($10). I hope that this event will be held next year.

We Need a Metal Hall of Fame and Toronto is the Place for it

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio. It is a modern building with "new age" architecture designed to be a shrine paying tribute to the musicians who pioneered and advanced modern music. One of the exhibits at TR&RH is a video montage that pays tribute to all the inductees. It was while watching this half hour montage that I made a couple of observations. The first one was that if you are part of a movement at the beginning stages, eventually you will be labeled a pioneer and idolized. There were many inductees who were there only because they were semi popular in the fifties. The second observation was that a lot of the inductees should not be in there because they never played rock. Artists such as Nina Horn, Hank Williams, and Parliament were never in the rock and roll category (not to mention the Bee-gees and Run DMC who were the antithesis of R&R). And finally, out of the hundred or so inductees, there were only two true metal bands: the Legendary Black Sabbath and Metallica. That is when I had my epiphany: There needs to be a Metal Hall of Fame and Toronto is the city to have it in.

The case for a Metal Hall of Fame is simple: The criteria on the induction to the R&RHF is based on album sales and commercial success. Since Metal has always been music of the underground, it cannot compete with music made for the commercial masses. It would be like denying the genus of Classical music because the new Pussy Cat Dolls CD sold more copies in the same year then all the CD's from the Romantic Period world wide. Most of the musicians who pioneered Metal music were considered successes if their album reached sales of 40,000. For example Megadeth's 2004 release "The system has failed" sold 171,000 copies world wide and all the Cannibal Corpse albums combine barley cracked the sales of One Million. Metal is (and should be) judged on it's inventiveness and contribution to the genre. For example, everyone credits a band like My Dying Bride as pioneering Doom Metal, yet, by commercial standards they would be ignored because of their poor album sales. If Canadian Metal heads don't band together,legendary bands like Death (the first death metal band), Morbid Angel (the first Death Metal band signed to a major label), Celtic Frost (who is cited as inspiring every relevant metal band), Cannibal Corpse (Number one selling death Metal band of all time), Burzum (popularizing open strumming that would be imitated by almost every Black Metal band), and Anvil (Toronto legends and thrash pioneers) will never receive a monument that will immortalize their achievements for all eternity. A Metal Hall of Fame would create a Metal shrine where legions of faithful metal warriors would be able to pay tribute to their legends and heroes who are still frighting, and those who have passed on to Valhalla.

The case for having it in Toronto is simple: the city spends its money on much dumber things. We have actually dug subway tunnels only to latter fill them. The cost of that could not only build a state of the art Metal Hall of Fame, but also wipe out the debt of an African country. A few months ago, out-going mayor David Miller announced that, after looking at the paper work more closely, the city is not broke but has a surplus of a hundred million dollars. Is $500,000 to make history asking too much? Also, Toronto is the largest city and has the most metal heads. This Metal Hall of Fame would be the first in the world and would boost tourism. Every true Metal fan would want to make a pilgrimage at least once in their life to the Mecca of Metal and pay their respect to the gods of Metal, who gave them strength in their darkest hour. On top of that, it would inspire the Toronto metal head kids, knowing that one day they too can share the stage with Manowar, Maiden, and Priest for all eternity. Canada has had the pleasure of producing some legendary bands like Anvil, Cryptopsy, and Annihilator. We also have a lot of young bands with a lot of promise like Deterrence, Cauldron, Ash Lee Blade, Terror Horse, and Striker. However, we can do better, and being the first country with a Metal Hall of Fame would solidify Canada as a heavy metal contender like Norway , Germany, and Sweden.