|
HEADBANGING FOR A CURE 2014Friday June 20th show:
Journalist: Kirsti Heitz Photography: Navneet Johal Saturday June 21st show: Journalist: Ingrid Newton Photography: Navneet Johal Published: July 13, 2014 The El Mocambo
Toronto, ON, Canada June 20 - 21, 2014 Hosted by: The Governor - The Governor's Ball Presented by: Abhorrent Productions & Heavy & Humble Promotions www.hbfac.org We apologize in advance for not getting all the band stage photos. |
|
Headbanging for a Cure hosted its annual metal filled weekend raising money for prostate cancer research. With two days jam-packed with awesome bands, HBFaC is always a weekend marked down on our calendars.
The first day of this two-day event went off without a hitch. The doors opened to a sparse crowd that only grew as the night progressed. Local metalheads made their way to El Mocambo on Spadina to get a good dose of metal, help out a good cause and win some cool prizes! I myself started off the night by winning the first prize of the evening guessing the correct answer to prostate cancer trivia our MC of the evening, the Governor, had prepared. The Governor was not only asking trivia questions, he was also offering prostate checks, by himself, with a go-pro. I think it’s safe to say that most passed on his gracious offer. The bands themselves did an altogether great performance, with plenty of heavy tracks and interesting stage performance. Sludgehammer opened up the night with and maybe it’s just because I still had Game of Thrones on the mind, but vocalist Chris Szarota pulled a Khal Drogo, taking of his shirt and flexing those abs while he performed. Bassist Dan Ayers’s backing vocals really filled out the songs and guitarist Jeff Wilson got a few laughs as he jumped off stage and walked around the crowd while playing. |
Esoteric Doctrine has clean faced Max Kane belt out some Corpsegrinder-like growls to some fast and heavy tracks. They instantly became a favourite of mine with their synchronizes tapping skills and progressive arrangements. Ol’ Time Moonshine are all ripped jeans and trucker hats. Their tunes are a mix of groove and heavy metal that have all the old school goodness that you can’t help but nod along to their beat. Muffler Crunch is an interesting duo, with Angie “The Barbarian” Neatby on drums/vocals and Luc Lavigne on electro acoustic guitar. I really didn’t know what to expect from them, but the image seemed to fit their blues-y/ avant gard-ish hard rock style. Profaner made an instant impact with bassist Rusty’s bass/guitar double neck. Their set was as heavy as I could have expected and their powerful image kept me intrigued. Closing the night off was Valkyrie’s Cry who with leather vests and blood soaked shirts fueled fans into a frenzy. They played fast and heavy with ear jarring power cries, cursed howls and bestial roars. The total earned for this year’s HBFaC weekend was $2,596.96, marking a total of $6,474.76 raised for Prostate Cancer Research for the Canadian Cancer Society. |
Bands from Friday June 20, 2014 show
|
Sludgehammer
Chris Szarota- Vocals / Jeff Wilson- Guitars / Dan Ayers- Bass and Backing Vocals / Fernando Villalobos- Drums / |
|
Esoteric Doctrine
Max Kane - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion. Shawn "Cheddarr" Arends - Bass Guitar, Vocals. |
|
|
Ol' Time Moonshine
Bill Kole - Vocals & Guitar Chris Coleiro - Guitar Brett Savory - Drums Kyle Marnoch - Bass |
|
Muffler Crunch
Angie “The Barbarian” Neatby on drums/vocals Luc Lavigne on electro acoustic |
|
|
Profaner
Jason Crook - Guitar, Backup Vocals Franky the Wop - Vocals Rusty - Bass Pat Rogers - Guitar Craig Piggot - Drums |
|
Valkyrie's Cry
Berserker Battle Cries: "Lungs of London" ThunderAxes & Cursed Howls: "Warchild Kilian", Acadian Axeman ov Doom & Bestial Roars: "Lord Godin" Persian Steel Hammers: "Kaveh Le Blacksmith" |
|
The second night of HBFAC was a steamy one. Outside the temps were warm, and inside the El Mocambo it was even hotter! Regretfully we missed the first few bands, including Razor. I understand that mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson introed the band. For a fact, I know she is not a metalhead, but it's good to see candidates accepting invites to the shows.
It turns out we got there during intermission which suited us just fine. We got to chat and catch up with many of the bands and fans outside on Spadina Ave. Due to the show now running behind schedule, we had the opportunity to watch the last 5 bands of the night. Each band we saw brought their own sound and style on stage: core sound, viking metal, death, to thrash. Without a doubt this fund raising event for cancer cure brought out many talented local bands under one roof.
Kudos to Abhorrent Productions and all who helped to organize this successful event.
It turns out we got there during intermission which suited us just fine. We got to chat and catch up with many of the bands and fans outside on Spadina Ave. Due to the show now running behind schedule, we had the opportunity to watch the last 5 bands of the night. Each band we saw brought their own sound and style on stage: core sound, viking metal, death, to thrash. Without a doubt this fund raising event for cancer cure brought out many talented local bands under one roof.
Kudos to Abhorrent Productions and all who helped to organize this successful event.
Bands from Saturday June 21, 2014
|
Razor
RazorDave Carlo - Guitars Bob Reid - Vocals Rider Johnson - drums Mike Campagnolo - Bass |
|
Eyeswithoutaface
Michal Szarejko Tuka Shahidi Maximilian Deneau Justin Boehm. |
|
|
Protokult
Martin D.- Vocals, Guitars Misha M.- Drums Ekaterina - Vocals, Woodwinds Dawid Slowiak- bass Vodnik - Guitars |
|
Necrodios
Jet Asinas Jericho Asinas Kaveh Afshar Edgardo Calubayan |
|
|
Call of the Wild
Cyndi Zhang - Guitar Tom Stanley - Guitar Power Serg - Vocals Chris Maniac - Drums Mark of the Beast - Bass |
|
Metalian
Ian- Vocals/Guitar Simon- Guitar Andres- Bass Tony- Drums |
|
|
More photos from HBFAC MC The Governor - The Governor's Ball - The "Mighty" Metal and Comedy Show Mayoral candidates: Dewitt Lee www.facebook.com/teamtoronto Sarah Thomson www.facebook.com/mysarahthomson |
|
