All live pictures by
Wayne William Archibald unless credited otherwise.
Day 1
Prelude
The first day of the
festival could be summed up by the word “occult” but the
atmosphere was far from being that way. It was very cordial, without
pretension and musicians and fans alike were meldling in the great
and cosy Katacombes on Saint-Laurent boulevard. Out of the six bands
Phobocosm are local
death metal heroes so I was already widely familiar with their stuff
as I've seen them live three times. I decided to save my strength for
the rest of the weekend! They'll release their debut album in late September (Toronto and Montréal) if you like your death metal to be inspired by Immolation and Incantation!
Part 1: New York
Menace
Occultation was then
the first band on my schedule. I enjoyed their set back in 2012 with
the superb lineup of Cauchemar, Borrowed Time, Metalian and Demontage
(many members of these bands were in the attendance of this edition
of Wings of Metal!) but I thought their debut album Three & Seven was
a bit lackluster. Their upcoming one is quite excellent so I was
expecting a good set from these guys. Their blend of occult doom
mixed with some black elements (courtesy of their guitarist Ed Miller, leader of
Negative Plane.) I really like their riffs and the prominent bass of
this black clad blond sorceress but the vocals were really mediocre
this time around, the singer had sound issues and she didn't sound
good at all. Miller sang one of the songs and his clean vocals were
excellent so I don't really know what happened, maybe it was simply a
bad day? I really dig these guys no matter what and I was happy that
they replaced the decent but nothing special Irish band Zom. Follow
these guys and don't forget to check out their new album Silence in
the Ancestral House when it will be released in October.
7,5 or 8 leather jackets
out of 10
Natur were next with
their awesome NWOBHM inspired heavy metal garnished with some doom
metal here and there. I've seen their previous Montréal gig (with
the mediocre Voor) and it was very cool to see them again and this
time, it was the full fledged band and not session members (the
singer/guitarist and bassist weren't there the last time). Tooth Log
(session drummer for Occultation) played two sets in a row but he's a
young dude who lifts so no problem there! Natur has awesome leads,
energetic riffs and a good albeit simple vocal presence. They have an
upcoming album scheduled for this year, I believe
8 “old metal”
out of 10
Part 2: Kvlt Swiss
Offering
Bölzer were
probably one of the most expected band of the festival and with good
reasons. The Swiss duo (guitarist/vocalist and a drummer) played more
than one hour (so yeah, all their discography and some new stuff that
was never played life before.) It's pretty awesome to see a band
generating so much hype without a full length album out, it means
that they must be doing a lot of things the right way. Their
black/death metal sound (albeit with clear influences from European
legends like their local heroes of Celtic Frost or Bathory) is mixed
with well thought dissonant modern influences and this combination creates an
unparalleled atmospheric wall of sound. I thought that the screeching
feedback between the songs was beyond annoying but I guess it was
part of their game. Even without a bass player, the duo is still
quite impressive and I believe the release of their debut album will
cement their status as one of the most important band of their
generation. Great merch (I got the sparkling lime round patch with
lightnings on it!), interesting personas, great music, Bölzer has
everything to become big and their two sets at the latest Maryland
Death Fest proved that.
8,5 pagan sunwheels
tattoos out of 10
 |
| Pic by Yannick Marchand |
Part 3: Trad doom
(old and new)
Blood Ceremony were
supposed to play the first edition of Wings of Metal last year but
their singer Alia O'Brien got sick and they had to cancel. The
Toronto band plays Montréal often but it's always a joy when I see
them (third time already). This was probably the best set I've seen,
they played a varied set encompassing their three full lengths (see the setlist) and I was more than happy
that “Lord Summerisle” (sang by their bassist Lucas Gadke) was
featured as it's my favorite track from their latest album The
Eldritch Dark . Their fifty minutes or so set was like butter on
bread, it was nice and the whole band was in great shape. Alia was
moving a lot with her fringe decorated vest and her flute and
keyboard skills are up through the roof.
8,5 magicians out of
10
The Skull were the
headliners of this evening and they rocked hard. Composed of three ex
members of the seminal American doom band Trouble, they're in my
opinion the real deal since the original singer Eric Wagner is with
them. Their performance was divided between two sets, the first being
the whole Psalm 9 (“Assassin” was so good!) album and the second
being other songs including some new ones from the upcoming debut of
the band. While I like their dual guitar approach and their fast
paced formula, their gig was a bit redundant from time to time but
that's probably just me being a grump who likes slow stuff! Their two
guitarists were really damn good, no need to have Franklin and
Wartell since they released a sub-par album with Trouble last year.
Wagner killed it. He was boozing a lot on and off the stage and its
declination of Christian (but dark) lyrics was quite powerful even
though he's halfway through his fifties!
Two great sets by
some legendary musicians, it was an honor to see one of the doom
metal forefathers play in my city.
8,5 lord is our
saviour out of 10
Day 2
My anticipation for
the second day was greater since it was the first time I was gonna
see any of the seven bands featured on the bill. The show started
early at 18:00 and I was there to see the first band! The gig was a
bit more varied this time and it had diverse atmospheres that were
appropriately combined.
Part 1: North
American Venomesque & thrashy heavy/speed metal
Gatekrashör from
Calgary, Alberta opened the gig and they rocked hard. They were
perhaps the only band I decided not to check out before the festival
as it's always fun to have some surprises. The traditional heavy
metal melded with speed metal. They studied their shit thoroughly
since you can definitely hear the fun silliness of Metalucifer, I
mean they have nicknames like Steel Avenger and song titles like
“Heavy Metal Rangers”. They only have one guitarist but he
fucking shreds. Their singer is fucking awesome and has a bone
necklace and belches between the songs, that's a perfect frontman in
the purest Piledriver tradition and while his range is nothing
impressive, he's rough, more than adequate and he's an awesome
front man.
8 hevy metal 'rills out of 10
Bat (believe it or
not, they're apparently the first and only band called Bat in the metal
universe) were pretty cool. A speed metal band formed by the leader
of Municipal Waste and the guitarist of the up and coming heavy metal
band Volture, the power trio was impressive and their fast
compositions were nice to hear. Their drummer (Felix Griffin,
formerly of DRI) couldn't cross the border so they used Al Biddle
(Chainbreaker, ex-Cauldron) as he was in town, he learned the songs
in a day to my drum noob ears, he was still very tight! They played a
Venom cover of “Live like an Angel (Die like a Devil)” for the
few who wondered who was their main influence. These guys are there
to play what they want, it's fast and fun like it should be.
7,5 bat signals out
of 10
Part 2: Ethereal
Doom Moment
The Canadian epic doom
band Funeral Circle played my most anticipated gig of the festival, their doom
inspired by the likes of Solstice and Solitude Aeternus is simply
awesome. Jean-Pierre Abboud (singer of the excellent American heavy
band Borrowed Time) is now their vocalist and he's by far the best
one they ever had. He came on stage wearing this hooded monk robe and
sang the first song with it before reappearing dressed with his Saint
Vitus leather jacket! The two guitarists were great at creating
interesting landscapes full of slow and faster riffs and intricate
leads. Their leader recently moved to Montréal so it will be fun to
have another local doom band than Cauchemar!
Read my review for
their self titled full length: Click me!
9,5 black colossus
out of 10
 |
| Photo by Carolina Vanegas |
Part 3: Pittsburgh
Crushing Kvlt Doom Duo
3.1: Death doooooooooom!
Up next were the
American cult death/doom band Derkéta widely known to be one of the
first and only all female death metal group but nowadays their
drummer is a man! They were decent but Sharon (guitar, vocals) had a
sore throat and her vocals were almost inaudible, this plagued the
set for me unfortunately. They played a good mix of old and new stuff
(including a new song called “Darkness Fades Life” and their slow
to mid paced crushing demeanor was pleasing to see.
8 metal goddesses
out of 10
 |
| Sharon Bascovsky, badass death metal lady |
3.2: Thrash dooooooooooom!
Well known for their
seminal 1987 album “Journey Into Mystery”, Dream Death reformed
recently and released an excellent sophomore album. Their set was a
good mix of two tracks from this album and the classics from their
debut including “Black Edifice”, “Sealed in Blood” and “Dream
Death”. Their Celtic Frost inspired melting pot of extreme metal is
awesome and they sound more like the Swiss band than Triptykon ever
will. It was also very cool to see Mike Smail play, he was the
drummer on one of my favorite albums of all time (Cathedral's “Forest
of Equilibrium”.) I had a great time with this bunch of veterans
who still has the passion to play metal like when they were in the
early twenties.
9 feasts of the
living out of 10
Part 4: Old School
Heavy!
3.1: The French
speedsters of ADX
For their first time
in North America, the classic French band played almost all of its
excellent debut album “Exécution” starting the set with “Déesse
du crime” and ending it with “Caligula”. It was pretty much the
perfect location for them to play in the new world since they're a
French speaking band, they even got offered a Québec flag with their logo
on it and they were clearly touched by the gift. Their guitars were
mixed a bit too softly but their sound was mostly fine, it was catchy
and fun, their choruses were by far the most memorable of the
festival. CALIGULA! CALIGULA!
8,5 cousins from the
old continent out of 10
 |
| Thanks to my buddy Antoine Desgagnés for the setlist |
3.2: The classic
NWOBHM of Holocaust
The last band of the
two day festival (before the after gig of Sunday that I didn't
attend) was Holocaust from Scotland. I knew they were gonna play the
whole The Nightcomers album (due to Annick Giroux's request) album
beforehand but I was hoping from some songs from their underrated
progressive years (especially some from Covenant or The Courage to
Be) and while I only got (“Dance into the Vortex” from their The
Sounds of Souls EP ) it was a great set and I understand they wanted
to please the traditional fans first and foremost. “Death and
Glory” still has one of the best riffs ever and “Heavy Metal
Mania” is just so fun. John Mortimer dedicated the aforementioned
prog song to the memory of Denis D'Amour of Voivod while Michel
Langevin and Denis Bélanger were in the crowd. The guitar tone was
spectacular and the rhythm section was optimal, they had one of the
best sound I heard at the Katacombes, the vocals were crystal clear
and the solos were masterful. A great way to end the two days of
madness!
9 “I got heavy
metal music in my blood” out of 10
It was a very great festival and possibly the apex of my metal summer. I already can't wait to see what Annick (singer of Cauchemar if you didn't know) will get for the third edition in 2015. My fingers are crossed for Slough Feg personally but I'm sure it won't disappoint. I have nothing more to say, really... Oh perhaps, look at this useless chart I made because I'm a nerd!
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