Loud As Hell, Broke As Fuck: A Weekend At Drumheller's Loud As Hell Festival

August 4-6^th, 2017

“Loud As Hell, Drunk As Fuck” seems to be the official moniker for this fantastic metal festival held just outside Drumheller, AB. Even the little kids in attendance were shouting this with fervor by the end of the weekend, probably much to the dismay of their teachers when asked what they did over the summer when it’s time to go back to school. Anyways, if you’re in Western Canada and looking for a festival to hit up, this is the one to check out. I’ve been to a few Western Canadian festivals (with plans to check out a few others in the future), and Loud As Hell is my favourite.

The venue is perfectly suited to this kind of event. With an indoor stage, it doesn’t matter if it’s pouring rain. Which, like all festivals, it’s almost guaranteed to do. The indoor venue also provides a welcome relief from the sun and actually remains a pretty reasonable temperature even when packed with sweaty moshers. There’s plenty of room for vendors to set up and the band merch table was well stocked and well-run by volunteers. A second small stage allowed for short clinics by some of the musicians and various talks from industry professionals such as promoters. The festival grounds provide plenty of space for tents and for those camping with motorhomes and trailers, as well as easy entry and exit if you choose to make the quick trip into Drumheller to grab something you forgot, to have a shower, or to check out all the neat stuff the town has to offer. Of course you can drink your own booze in the camping areas, but alcohol inside the venue was also reasonably priced with a decent selection if you didn’t want to miss out on any of the action.

Friday night saw a torrential rainstorm come through the area. Most people seemed prepared with raincoats and waterproof footwear, which is a must considering the ground around Drumheller doesn’t absorb water and quickly turns into a greasy mud pit. (Kudos to the festival staff who somehow managed to keep the floor inside the venue clean despite pounds of mud being tracked in). Edmonton thrashers Mortillery and death metallers Eye Of Horus were the highlights of the night for me, with Eye of Horus filling in last minute for a band that was unable to make it.

Saturday morning dawned spectacularly foggy for anyone who was up early enough to witness it. I never thought I’d be complaining about humidity in Drumheller, but Saturday proved to be sunny and humid, which didn’t stop the party from continuing. With plenty of great and varied bands on the bill, there was something for everyone. I tried to check out as many as I could, enjoying The Lucifer Project and Tyrant’s Demise in the early evening. Travelling from Winnipeg, it’s bands like Tyrant’s Demise (and the fans who also travel hours to festivals) that prove that the Western Canadian metal scene is alive and well. Taking the party into the later stages of the evening, The Order of Chaos and Planet Eater both played great sets. They were followed by a performance from Permafrost Suspensions, which if you like things to get a little strange (a relative term, I might add) and aren’t squeamish, was worth checking out. The headliner of the night, Vancouver’s mighty thrash veterans, Aggression, played a blistering set, leaving me half deaf for the rest of the weekend. A reasonable crowd stuck around until after three in the morning to enjoy an impressive range of eighties metal covers performed by Shocker. Seriously, any band that plays a WASP cover and nails it is good in my books.

Sunday saw more than a few hangovers, and plenty of people still ready to drink more booze and enjoy more great metal. Dead Asylum proved to be my favourite ‘undiscovered’ band of the weekend. Scythia played a set that was very different to any of the other sets I’ve witnessed them perform, bringing Brian Langley (better known as the vocalist of Aggression) on stage to play guitar for a few songs. I’d bet some of us didn’t previously know that he actually played in Scythia for a short time. To cap off the weekend, Battlecross finished the night to a packed house. Flying in to play, they managed to re-energize a crowd that had just spent the entire weekend drinking, partying and headbanging.

Overall, I can’t say enough about how well organized and smoothly run Loud As Hell was. The venue was fantastic, the volunteers did an amazing job and the bands played outstanding sets. Although I’m now completely broke (hence the title of this post), Loud As Hell was worth every nickel spent.

On The Radar: Eye Of Horus

I first caught Eye of Horus opening for 3 Inches of Blood and Goatwhore back in 2013, and was immediately impressed, One of my favourite local bands, they bring a tightly constructed style of melodic death metal. In the vein of Bloodbath and At The Gates, this is a band that should continue to do great things. They typically pack any show that they headline and become favourites at any festival they play.

'Infernal Calling', their debut album, was released almost exactly one year ago. Crushingly heavy, I would highly recommend it for any death metal fan. Eye of Horus have just released a video for one of the album tracks, "Hexagammatron".

Check out the official video here.

Eye Of Horus, With Malice, Tales Of The Tomb Review

Eye Of Horus, With Malice, Tales Of The Tomb

December 5, 2015

Rendezvous Pub

The Rendezvous Pub played host to what promised to be one of the sickest local death metal shows of the year. Dethgod, the only band on the bill not from Edmonton, was forced to drop off the bill due to a family emergency. Although a little disappointing, the reason was perfectly understandable and many of the local metal heads are hoping to see them make it to Edmonton in the new year. 

The Rendezvous was already rocking with the sounds of Tales Of The Tomb as I arrived. Boisterous and frenetic, they proved again why they are a good pick for an energizing opener. 

With Malice played a blistering set, supporting their album ‘Hail Kraken’. The band’s Facebook page states that “their live show is nothing but pure, raw intensity from start to finish” and it’s an apt description. I’ve only caught this band a few times, but each time has involved an intense, energetic, near-perfect thrashy-death metal experience. 

Eye of Horus promised a unique set of cover songs and definitely delivered. They brought an intensity typical of their own material to each of the covers played, including songs from other death metal greats such as At The Gates, Cannibal Corpse, Bloodbath, and Behemoth. Mixing a few of their own songs in, it’s not hard to see why Eye of Horus has quickly risen to the top ranks of Alberta’s death metal bands. 

The beer was flowing, multiple birthdays were celebrated by band and audience members, the temperature was much more appealing than what could be expected from a December night in Edmonton, and all three bands were on point, playing ear-shredding sets. All in all, it was a great, intimate show. 

Eye Of Horus CD Release Show: A Short Review

Eye of Horus CD Release with Death Toll Rising, AfterEarth, Mongol, Wolfrik

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Rendezvous Pub

Tired and sluggish from the insanity of Villainizer’s farewell show the night before, I headed out to the Eye Of Horus CD release show, knowing this was another one not to be missed. The Rendezvous Pub is a small venue and it was definitely quite full by the end of this rainy evening. Fighting through my own somewhat grouchy mood, it was still a night of music well worth attending. 

Wolfrik opened the show and while quite a few people seemed to thoroughly enjoy their style of metal, it’s something that isn’t to my taste. Mongol, on the other hand, play a uniquely themed style of folk metal that’s aways enjoyable. On a night where new material was the theme, Mongol had a new song to offer titled ‘The Mountain Weeps’. If this is any indication of what’s to come from the Mongol camp, it’s worth looking forward to. 

AfterEarth, from Calgary, played an excellent set of melodic death metal on the heels of their newly released CD, “In The Shadow Of Destiny”. This was the second time seeing this band, and I’m hoping to have the opportunity to see them again. Death Toll Rising has been a staple in the local death metal scene for years and once again proved exactly why. Always high energy, always packed with great musicianship, tonight was no different.

Of course, the highlight of the night came from Eye of Horus. Officially releasing their latest offering of brilliant brutality, they killed it. This is a band that sounds as if they crawled right out of Sweden with some of the best that particular country has to offer. Fresh off of a western Canadian tour, they were on point yet again. Crushingly heavy, with insurmountable energy, it was a great set. If you haven’t picked up a copy of their new album, “Infernal Calling”, do it. If you get a chance to see Eye of Horus live and you like brutally tight, heavy death metal, take the opportunity. You will not be disappointed. 

Edmonton Extermination Review

Mortillery, Eye of Horus, Mongol, Ironstorm, Black Pestilence, Tales of the Tomb

Saturday April 11th

The Pawnshop

With six heavy hitting metal bands in the lineup, this was the perfect show to kick those dreary Edmonton winter blues down a flight of stairs and out the door. Tales of the Tomb started the evening off, apparently a little early for most metal heads, but despite having a small audience they managed to pique interest in their brand of death metal. With songs like ‘The Pig Farmer’, about Robert Pickton, the tags of murder metal and psychological death metal certainly fit this band. 

Black Pestilence made the trip from Calgary for this show, showcasing an interesting melding of different styles, described as ‘black punk noise metal’. Ironstorm played next, unveiling their new lineup for those who had missed their show supporting Anvil. From what I caught of the set, they sounded solid.

Switching gears, Mongol took the stage, providing the folk metal element of this particular evening. As always, they brought an undeniable amount of energy. Songs such as ‘Storming The Wall’ provided the perfect blend of high and low tempo breaks to draw the audience in. Eye of Horus was up next. They played a solid set of death metal, including a cover of Cannibal Corpse’s ‘Evisceration Plague’, which was evidently very appreciated by the death metal fans in the audience. Promising new material in the near future, Eye of Horus’ set did not disappoint. 

Mortillery has seen an impressive level of success lately. Supporting their ‘Origin of Extinction’ album, they have opened for both 3 Inches of Blood and Destruction in Edmonton, as well as embarking on a European tour last year supporting Sepultura. Watching them live, it’s easy to see why Mortillery has become one of the most successful bands to come out of this city in recent times.

For a great review of Mortillery’s set, and accompanying photos, check out Dana Zuk’s piece here: http://ampsandgreenscreens.com/2015/04/14/mortillery-massacres-the-pawn-shop-during-edmonton-extermination-concert-april-11-2015/

Intriguing Releases for 2015

I wanted to share a few of the albums set to be released in 2015 that have piqued my interest. Some of my favourite artists will be releasing new material, and material that can likely be counted on to be solid. While I have probably missed a few albums/artists that I am interested in, the following list gives a brief commentary on the ones I know about, and am excited for. 

Eye of Horus

Eye of Horus are a local death metal band who can be likened to several prominent names in the genre such as Bloodbath and At The Gates. Their ‘Suffer Eternity’ EP is fantastic, and they are just as solid live. I’m looking forward to a full-length from this band in 2015, as well as attending (hopefully) several shows.

https://www.facebook.com/EyeofHorusOfficial

BLËED 

Another local band, playing ‘death n’ roll’ (as described by one of the band members in an interview). BLËED is a hard band to put into a genre, drawing influences from many different genres. I think they have a bit of a death metal vibe, but others have differing opinions on the subject. Either way, another great band with absolutely insane live shows. Their EP was impressive, and they seem to have several other songs (that have been played live) in their repertoire. While I have yet to see anything official, BLËED did hint they would be recording a full-length album this year. I sure hope so!

https://www.facebook.com/bleedband

Entrails

Earlier this month, Entrails finished the recording process of their upcoming album. Dan Swanö has been put in charge of the mixing, which bodes well for a death metal album. I am incredibly excited for this one as Entrails instantly shot into place as being one of my favourite bands from the moment I first heard them. If you don’t like death metal with an old-school Swedish feel, I doubt this one will change your mind. But if you enjoy that sound, it will definitely be an album worth checking out. 

Månegarm

Another Swedish band, and another one of my personal favourites, will also be releasing a new album this year. While the details are scarce at this time, it will be a “late” 2015 release. Månegarm has been in the studio the last several weeks working on the upcoming album. While I am not typically a fan of a band that changes their style, it worked incredibly well for Månegarm on their last release, ‘Legions of the North’. That being said, it wasn’t so much a departure from their style as it was having a lot of the lyrics in english, instead of Swedish. It will be interesting to see what the band chooses for this next album. 

Unleashed

While the title has yet to be announced, we can expect an ‘early spring’ release from Unleashed. This will be the 12th full length album from this particular band, and a release that I am quite excited about. Apparently picking up where ‘Odalheim’ left off, it should be a solid album for anyone who is a fan of Unleashed, or the style of music that they play. My fingers are crossed for a pre-order bundle with a really nice hoodie included...

Kataklysm

“Of Ghosts & Gods”

I do not believe there is a set release date for the new Kataklysm album yet. According to some of their webpages, we should expect a summer release. With Kataklysm on the 70 000 Tons of Metal cruise currently taking place, I wonder if they will preview a new track or two? This could be interesting as it seems as though they are just wrapping up the recording process. One thing is for certain: this will be a decent album as you can always count on Kataklysm to sound like Kataklysm. 

Heidevolk

“Velua”

Heidevolk’s newest effort, ‘Velua’, is set to be released in March. The track listings are already available, as well as some really good pre-order packages. I couldn’t help myself and ordered the limited edition deluxe box set. I decided that besides getting what I’m sure will be a great album, I needed that wicked flag to add to the collection. The necklace is a very nice touch as well. 

LTD edition Heidevolk pre-order bundle from Napalm Records. 

Listening To...

Since I haven't had time lately to write anything interesting, I thought I'd share a few photos of what I have been listening to recently, amongst other albums. (Summer always seems to present so many opportunities for activities other than writing and listening to music). If some of the covers look off-color, they picked up the reflection of the band flags on my wall.

Farmageddon Open Air 2014 - Review

Farmageddon Open Air 2014: with the festival now over, it’s time to catch up on sleep, nurse sunburns and reflect on a great experience. One thing is for-sure; all of the volunteers and festival organizers deserve some massive accolades. This festival was definitely a labour of love of metal and I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of work that went into organizing and running three fantastic days of metal. (Four if you count the kick-off party/show that I did not attend). 

Friday, June 13th started out with some unstable weather, catching arriving festival-goers in the process of setting up tents in a short-lived rain shower. The metal-gods must have been smiling though because the sky cleared up by the time the bands actually got underway. Although not the first band of the evening, Mongol created the atmosphere for the rest of the weekend, playing a solid, fun set. Being between costumes, the Star Wars themed outfits seemed to fit in with a weekend of friends, beer, barbecues and as much metal as anyone could ask for. I was looking forward to seeing Ides of Winter, but they were a last-minute cancellation on Friday. Scythia ended the evening with a well-executed show, playing several fan favorites and putting listeners in the mood to continue the party through the night and into the early hours of the next morning. 

Mongol

Saturday morning seemed to start earlier than scheduled, which may have been a bit questionable considering several people seemed to be nursing some pretty wicked hangovers from the night before. I was one of those people and was disappointed that I missed Skymir, Kryosphere and Eye Of Horus. There were other bands interspersed between those few that would have been interesting to see, but it wasn’t in the cards on that particular day. While I could hear the sets from the sauna-like atmosphere of my tent, it would have been nice if they had played at the scheduled times as that would have given those of us who partied a little too hard that much more recovery time. That being said, Saturday continued to be a day of heavy partying for many festival goers with antics happening left, right and center, including a very entertaining wizard-staff jousting match. Wandering over to the merchandise area was impressive considering the sheer amount of shirts, hoodies, patches, stickers and other merchandise that each band brought to a still-growing, fairly intimate festival. There were a few vendors present as well, including Ragnar the Trader, who always has some unique and finely crafted Viking themed goods. (I couldn’t resist buying a beautiful dragon bracelet for myself). 

Idolatry

Idolatry, a newly formed band, was one that I certainly was not going to miss. They played an excellent set, with vocalist Lörd Matzigkeitus’ stage presence invoking a feeling of true, old-school, Norwegian black metal. Death Toll Rising was another band not to miss and like each and every time I have witnessed their live show, they delivered a solid set of thrashy death metal. 

Sunday’s first big highlight came in the form of Scimitar, a melodic death metal/folk metal blend from Victoria, British Columbia. Even the wind storm that ripped through the camping area out of the blue couldn’t stop fans from enjoying this band, although many came back to find destroyed tents and belongings scattered throughout the festival grounds. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was BLËED, a band which I had previously heard nothing about. With well-planned costume changes, fake blood and dead babies spewing Jagermeister to eager fans backing up a great musical performance, they are a band that I will be checking out again. Female-fronted Ironstorm was another pleasant surprise with festival organizer Tyson Travnik on drums.  Closing the festival were well known bands Wretched and Havok. While both were good, Havok seemed a little too intent on apologizing for (complaining) about technical issues that weren’t actually that apparent to the majority of the audience. I suppose it was a bit of a surprise for them to play ‘in the middle of nowhere’, but they could have been a little bit more gracious about it considering several people bought day passes and made the drive just to see them play. Plus, I thought those in charge of sound and other technical aspects did a great job, definitely making it appear as though everything went off with very few issues the entire weekend. At least to the majority of the crowd without sound or tech experience. 

Scimitar, with Lylia Chorosive 

BLËED

Overall, I was very impressed with Farmageddon. I fully intended to watch a few more sets than what I actually did, but it was difficult to fully pay attention to each and every band with so many other things happening and the opportunity to visit with old friends and make new ones. I was planning on taking notes during the weekend as well, but that didn’t happen when the beers started being cracked and the conversations and music began. 

A food truck was on hand for those who came without, but with small barbecues and camp stoves allowed in the camping area, festival goers had plenty of options. The kegs may or may not have been dry by the end of the night on Saturday, but this created very few issues as I could find a great view of the stage while drinking my own supply of beer. Having a fire pit with a good vantage point was another nice touch, amongst a few other small touches that made the experience run smoothly. While I sometimes found it difficult to move out of my lawn chair and quit socializing long enough to catch full sets, that seemed to be a large part of what the weekend was about: bands, friends and metal heads all mingling and having a good time. Despite near-freezing temperatures Saturday night, the weather held, making for one great weekend of music. This is one festival that I (and I’m sure many others in attendance) would love to see grow. I fully plan on being back next year, if at all possible. 

Band photos used taken by myself; not nearly as good as the professional ones, but they work.

Links

Lylia Chorosive - Performer & Model

Mongol (Facebook)

Scythia (Facebook)

Idolatry (Facebook)

Death Toll Rising (Facebook)

Scimitar (Facebook)

BLËED (Facebook)

Ironstorm (Facebook)

Eye Of Horus (Facebook)

Skymir (Facebook)

Kryosphere (Facebook)

Local Report: Wacken Metal Battle

Last week I was fortunate enough to catch the final round of the local Wacken Metal Battle. Four bands, all winners from previous rounds, were slotted to play and earn a spot into the Alberta finals in Calgary on Friday, May 23rd. The winner of that round will then go on to play against bands from Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal for a coveted spot at Wacken Open Air in Germany.

The bands playing in Edmonton included Death Toll Rising and Eye of Horus, two of my favourite local acts. Death Toll Rising has been delivering solid thrashy death metal for over ten years. Eye of Horus boasts some of the most energetic, consistently solid live shows I've witnessed. Both bands played excellent sets, and both moved on to the Alberta finals.

One of the audience members recorded the entire Wacken Metal Battle and uploaded the videos to Youtube. While filmed from one of the rear areas of the venue, the sound quality is actually quite decent and makes the videos worth checking out if you're interested in either of these bands (or the others that played the same evening).

Death Toll Rising's opener, 'Demon Rot':
Demon Rot

Eye of Horus' closing song (and new single), 'Blood Ritual':
Blood Ritual

If you would like to check out more of the recordings of the Wacken Metal Battle, the rest of the videos can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh-5yUuuDTAu4yNkb4M4ts6VCwe74xJw2


For more on either of these bands:

Death Toll Rising:
https://www.facebook.com/DeathTollRising

Eye of Horus:
https://www.facebook.com/EyeofHorusOfficial

Local Report: Eye of Horus, Farmageddon Open Air Preview

Image borrowed from the Eye of Horus Facebook page.

For those that have never heard of Eye of Horus, they are a very promising and fairly new death metal styled band from Edmonton, Canada. They are solid live, having opened for 3 Inches of Blood and Goatwhore at one point, as well as playing numerous other shows. They have taken part in a local round of the Wacken Open Air Metal Battle and are poised to play at Farmageddon Open Air in June. With noticeable influence from Bloodbath, as well as others, they are worth a listen if you enjoy death metal. Eye of Horus has also just released a new single, titled 'Blood Ritual'. It's a heavy, well constructed piece, indicative of the promise that this band has.
Listen to it here: Blood Ritual

Speaking of Farmageddon Open Air, this is one I plan on checking out. Western Canada has its share of music festivals, but none fall into the genre of metal. The inaugural event was held last year, which I did not even hear about. The second edition of Farmageddon promises to be good with the full line-up and running times having just been announced. I am quite excited for this, as I believe this is exactly what semi-local metal heads could use: an open air festival that seems to take style and design tips from the festivals that dominate Europe during the summer. I really hope the idea catches on and grows, as something like this is an event that metal heads from the surrounding provinces would be likely to travel hours to reach if executed properly. Considering the price tag is reasonable, it promises to provide an experience that is rare around here in that we do not really have any open air metal festivals. Without even attempting to cover anywhere else in this vast country, Western Canada has many talented bands that could benefit from the exposure of playing a festival. Here's to hoping that the weather will be decent for this one because Farmageddon, here I come.

A few links:
Eye of Horus Facebook
Official Farmageddon Site
Farmageddon Facebook Page