Vesperia took the stage first, bringing their A-game as they performed hands down the best set I have ever seen them play. Vocalist Morgan Rider filled the room with his cries and high shrieking gutturals, gazing over the crowd with intense eyes and an outstretched fist as he switched to majestic clean vocals backed by guitarists Frankie Caracci and Casey Elliot. From fast-tempo windmills and flowing beards and manes, Vesperia would calm the crowd with hymn-like chants before throwing them back in a frenzie. The crowd, though sparse due to the early hour, was energetic as a dedicated crew sporting Vesperia merch relentlessly moshed and headbanged. Setting high standards for the night, Vesperia was a popular pick for the Metal Battle crown. 

Bringing some serious energy, Endless Chaos took the stage with a band image seemed to be all over the place. Vocalist Jorden Gerbrandt's teen-like image and shaggy locks placed next to the shaggy beards and flowing manes of guitarist Mike Menza and bassist Jeff Humarang looked odd but they made it work. As long hair flew, Gerbrandt filled the stage with his energy as he body banged to the tunes and screamed his lungs out. At this point, the crowd interaction was left to a minimum, not for lack of trying but for a dissapointing lack of response.

It was time to kick it old school as Midnight Malice stormed the stage with high energy, heavy metal tunes and denim/leather vests. Whether he was cheers-ing the crowd with a Pilsner, shredding or flexing his guns, guitarist/vocalist Caleb Beal kept it classy with clean vocals stretched out to those much-loved high notes. One of our favourite curly haired metallers, Daniel Dekay, joined Midnight Malice for the set, slamming his chest with his fist to start the tempo, jumping off the riser whilst playing and flinging that curly mop around. The energy was so high on set that it was contagious, revving up the pit and getting the crowd in the mood for more Midnight Malice. Throughout the night it was mentioned how Midnight Malice would be a top contender for the Metal Battle crown. 

Much to the crowd’s contentment, Vesperia was announced as the 2015 winners of the Wacken Metal Battle for Canada. Off to Germany with you lot! Make us proud!

Hosted by The Governor

Guest Judges:
Jeff Waters (Annihilator)
Noel Peters (Inertia Entertainment)
Lindsay Schoolcraft (Cradle of Filth)
Tim Henderson (BraveWords)
David Bottrill (Producer, Mixer)
Mike Harshaw (Annihilator)

Six amazing bands went head to head Saturday June 6th to win a coveted spot at the 2015 Wacken Festival in Germany! Not only will they have the chance to battle it off with the other Metal Battle country winners for the grand title, but they will represent Canada in the greatest annual metal gathering. And so the night began with fantastic bands, high stakes and excited fans betting on the outcome. 

Next up were the Québécois Folk metallers Nordheim. You know shit just got serious when the shirts come off, and Nordheim was serious from the get-go. Abs were flexed and hair was whipped around as Nordheim started off fast and heavy. We didn’t see many strong folk elements until we neared the end of their set but strong guturrals by Warraxe backed by some decent beats made for some pretty headbangable songs. Goatee masternice Loup added some flair with orchestration on his keyboard and also the smallest keytar I’ve ever seen. 

Edmontoners BLËED know how to get a reaction from the crowd. Stepping out on stage to a dramatic intro, covered in blood and being the first and only band to use some stage props, BLËED vocalist Rob spit a spray of blood into the air before throwing himself into his gutturals. Galloping beats backed by some sweet bass solos (I love me some bass solos) were the icing on the blood covered cake. Not only were the tunes hypnotic, there was always something going on on stage. Practically every song had a costume change for Rob, whether it be a blood covered apron, a leather face-like mask or ominous black cassock, and we even saw some guitar switch up’s as blood splayed instruments were brought out. They took their theme seriously. 

Last but not least, Medevil took the stage with a tough slot being the last battling band and following a high energy act like Midnight Malice. Fresh from Vancouver, the Medevil boys slammed right into their set with fresh faced Liam Collingwood leading the vocals and some suave melodies paired with heavy riffs and beats. Though heroes in their local city of Chilliwack, Medevil are still pretty new to the scene which can be deduced by their performance. Dedicated to proving their worth on stage, we could note a bit of inexperience that they will undoubtedly shed with more stage time.

GOAT HORN ** Guest Headliner **

Jason Decay - Vocals/Bass)
Brandon Wars - Guitar
Steel Rider – Drums

Apokalyptik Warrior started the show pretty slowly, but were quick to warm up once the three piece set got heavy. Lead singer, General SS Ramsay was a voracious performer, enticing the crowd with a nearly ghoulish grin on his face and the green lights of the set reflecting in his curly locks. Tom Gervais, member of semi round one winner Midnight Malice, subbed on bass for the Baroness Denise Samuelson, who is away on maternity leave. Apokalyptik Warrior were a decent starter but had a mediocre performance in comparison to the bands to follow. 

Ottawa Wacken Battle winners, A Scar for the Wicked were incredible. The double-lead singers brought the competition to the next level, using each other’s vocal talents to stair climb into death metal madness. Ryan Kenyeres and Eric Forget balanced each other with Kenyeres supplying the deeper gutturals and panther-esque howls. It was easy to see this band had swept the competition in Ottawa and kept the audience head-banging away during the duration of their set. A Scar for the Wicked arguably had one of the top performances of the night, making their presence known by standing on the very edge of the stage and head-banging as one, impressive, large six-piece band. 

Hallows Die kept the intense level of competition rolling, hitting the stage with the same show of force as fellow band Vesperia, and the audience was loving it. Ryan Boivard has a way of captivating an audience with his intensely serious vocals, yet making fans feel as if he is having the time of his life up on the stage. The front line-up played a very integrated set and the connection they demonstrated played well into their performance. It was a toss-up whether Hallows Die would win this round of competition against the other bands, proving the judges had their work cut out for them. 

Apokalyptik Warrior
Wretchedpain
A Scar for the Wicked
Vesperia*
Hallows Die
Droid

*winner

Joey Glacken of Wretchedpain knows how to entice a crowd, holding the metal piping above stage and leaning off the edge while screaming into the mic with all of his consumable energy. Wretchedpain was a worthy contender in the 2nd semi round of the Wacken Battle. Wretchedpain were a great introduction to a night of great local death metal bands and warmed the crowd up immediately. Wretchedpain brutalized the Hard Luck with a great sound and all band members performing on point. 

The competition continued to get hotter as Vesperia took the stage and instantly put the Hard in Luck. Morgan Rider set the stakes high as to be expected, performing consistently and strongly the entire set and demonstrating a high level of competition. Vesperia was the winner of the 2nd round of the semis for the Wacken Battle and will be bringing fierce competition to the Opera House on June 6th. Mid-set, guitarists Casey Elliot crossed to fellow guitarist, Frankie Caracci and the two talented players created a duality of sound that set the bar in regards to quality guitar in comparison to the other competitors. Vesperia finished their set with “Iron Saga”, killing it with a solid instrumental introduction followed by Morgan Rider ripping into his vocals with the intensity as if the band were playing for a crowd of two thousand plus. 

Droid finished up the Wacken Battle with a nightcap of thrash metal fit for the intimate audience at the Hard Luck. Droid was one of the gentler bands of the evening, following heavier acts from the other bands. The three-piece band had very tight riffs, typical of a smaller band, yet their performance was lacking in regards to a unified musical presence. Individually, lead singer Jacob Montgomery killed it on vocals and guitar nonetheless, and bassist Michael Gabor slayed on the bass ending the night on a high note. 

Journalist: Alex Stojanovic
Photograhper: Navneet Johal
Date of show: April 18, 2015

Call of the Wild 
Caym
Midnight Malice*
Phantom 
Black Absinthe

*winner

Well, we are getting closer. The qualifying rounds are now complete and the semi-finals for the Toronto edition of Wacken Metal Battle Canada are now underway. As we all know, April 18th was Record Store Day, so what better way to spend Record Store Day than by going to your local record store, shop for some music, then go to the Rivoli to support our esteemed local talent in the battle to see who will be moving on to the national finals this June with 5 other amazing bands from across the country? It was a tough battle as all five bands were equally amazing in their own way.

Photographer: Navneet Johal
Date of show: April 3, 2015 

*winners

Journalist: Alex Stojanovic
Photographer: Navneet Johal 
Date of show: March 27, 2015

Rivers Run Red
Black Eve
Apokalyptik Warrior*
Call of the Wild*
Olde


*winners

Journalist: Alex Stojanovic
Photographer: Navneet Johal 
Date of show: March 20, 2015

Draft
Eternal Rising
Droid*
Ammo 
Phantom*

*winners

Spring is here, weather's getting warmer steadily, and we're already up to round 3 in the Wacken Metal Battle Canada Toronto edition. It was great to be back at the Rivoli after about a year, because it's one of my favourite venues to see a show. There was an amazing turnout for round 3 of the competition. None of the bands had fancy set ups, so it was all about the music, which is how it should be.

Draft had the difficult task of opening up the night, but the crowd was pretty receptive to their set. They were the only band of the night to have screaming vocals, but they also had the melodic vocals. Musically, they were more straightforward 
with elements traditional metal and groove metal, but also 
had the hard rock vibe, melodic soloing, and meaningful lyrics, which always appeals to me. Frontman Dylan Fernando would 

Final band was Midnight Malice, whose sound and look just screams "80s". Their sound was very much in the vein of classic melodic speed metal. If you took a dash of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon and Motorhead, with an dose of early Metallica, and a bit of party rock n' roll, you've got Midnight Malice. They were definitely a crowd-pleaser with their classic metal sound, which to me is something that I feel the local metal scene is lacking. Vocalist Caleb Beal and bassist Tom Gervais' combined melodic vocals made for some great catchy vocal harmonies and melodies. The guitar interplay between Caleb and fill-in guitarist Daniel Dekay was phenomenal, with lots of twin-harmony leads and grooving riffs.

Journalist: Alex Stojanovic
Photographer: Navneet Johal 
Date of show: March 13, 2015

Wacken Metal Battle Canada is back for its third year, and we have already seen a bunch of incredible bands. A group of devoted local metal scene supporters spent their Friday the 13th by coming out to the Hard Luck Bar to show their support for all the competing bands. 5 talented bands, a couple hundred devoted metalheads, one epic night of metal. Couldn't ask for more.

Fourth band was Dispersia, who are a gothic metal band, which you could guess right away by their outfits. All the guys, except for drummer Steven Sullivan wore long skirts. Ady Cernea's guitar was turned up way too loud, to the point where it drowned out every other instrument. Their sound reminded me of a lot of the folk metal bands from Scandinavia, mainly due to the keyboards, the operatic female vocals and the aggressive male vocals. Christina Marcu's operatic vocals were in the vein of Liv Kristine of Leaves' Eyes, and Leeni-Maria Hovila of Kivimetsan Druidi, and she showcased her skills on the keys by playing some soothing solos in a few of the songs.

First up was Mississauga based Plethora who launched into their first song with vocalist Gary Walsh pulling himself on top of the amps, and barrier lining the front stage to scream a long drawn out gutteral cry in the crowd’s face so forcefully a couple of us had to take a step back. Good start. Walsyh got into the tracks easily but would lose character once the music stopped. As for the rest of the band, aside from an impressive drum solo shining the spot light on drummer Stevenson and a few moments when guitarist Mike Nasso would take the front stage and do an off-beat lip singing to his own solos, the band didn’t seem to bring their A game when it came to stage presence. The tunes themselves were heavy and a bit melodic with the drums taking over the essence of the beats that the bass lacked, paired with forceful screams and gutturals

Next up were Hallows Die, who took it upon themselves to take tonight’s round to the next level. Starting off with some good humour as vocalist Ryan Bovaird informed us that they were going to “sodomize your ears for the next 20 minutes,” Hallows Die ripped into their first track with a contagious good humour and excellent stage presence. We got a little bit of everything from fast paced riffs and heavy gutturals to some clean vocals and melodic tunes. Bovaird’s raggedy Anne hair flew along side Gabe Bateman as we were shown some mad bass tapping skills and guitarist Pat Rogers wasn’t left out as he and Rogers finished off their set with some riffing behind his back. Though I wish I could have heard Bateman’s backup vocals that weren’t turned up enough until near the end of their set.

The final act of the night was Tsargrad with their leather/fur costumes and war paint. Though they do come strikingly close to Manowar’s sound, particularly Connor Fillipuzzi who has the same type of vocals as Manowar vocalist Eric Adams, Tsargrad is a crowd pleaser with their galloping beats and old school riffs. Songs about fighting battles were the theme of their set, and we even got a magic trick as Fillipuzzi created a spark of flame mid air as he sang the lyrics “magicians have their spell, we have our swords,” which caused much ooh-ing and aaw-ing. Aside from some encouraging “hey, hey’s” chants from bassist Zak Field and guitarist Glenn Marchildon, there wasn’t much going on stage as far as presence goes. But Tsargrad tried to make up for it with their energetic sound and lyrics.

Congratulations to the winners, Hallows Die and Vesperia, who will move on to the next round to battle it on for a spot at Wacken Open Air!

And so it begins, round 1 of the Toronto edition of Battle for Wacken opened up the competition at the Bovine Sex club in the heart of Toronto. With five back-to-back bands and a crowd amped up to hear some metal and support their favourite band, we’re glad the night went off without a hitch.

Second up we had Answer With Metal, a band whose sound you could guess off the bat by their t-shirts (Iron Maiden, Cauldron, Motorhead). Opening up with some fast beats and a heavy metal cry that was almost pitch perfect, I could see my guess was right. Answer With Metal’s supporters came out and we finally saw some movement in the crowd. I particularly enjoyed legging wearing five-string bassist Jon Stallan as he got into the songs lip singing and rocking out, creating some stage presence. Vocalist Dan Nielsen’s vocals improved as the set progressed and he got into some nifty high notes that were very Bruce Dickinson-esque. However aside from his good vocals, Nielson didn’t really “bring it” with his stale stage presence as he either stood around awkwardly or moved off to the side when not singing, creating no crowd interactio

Vesperia stepped up to the plate with their professional set up (you gotta love the mood lights) and “we’re ready for this” attitudes. A dramatic pre-recorded intro started off their set and allowed the band to so an even more dramatic turn-around, crying out to the crowd and demanding a response from their supporters. Morgan Rider performs for a stage ten times bigger than the Bovine as he lifts both his hands off his bass to scream a guttural shriek to the sky that is so wide you can see his molars. Guitarists Casey Elliott and Frankie Caracci do their part gearing up the energy with their headbanging as new drummer Dylan Gowan sets the beat. Vesperia unites to deliver powerful clean chanting choruses and melodies, then changing efficiently into heavier galloping beats and growls with both guitarists adding their own flavour. Vesperia even got a small pit going on which, given the tight layout of the Bovine, you can imagine how happy it made everyone. But it was smiles all around as Vesperia performed, taking the energy up and calming it right down.