HUNTRESS OPENS FOR LAMB OF GOD
Written by: Kirsti Heitz |
Venue: Sound Academy |
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Huntress Jill Janus - Vocals Blake Meahl - Guitar Ian Alden - Bass Carl Wierzbicky - Drums Anthony Crocamo – Guitars Label: Napalm Records www.huntresskills.com www.facebook.com/HuntressKills Testament Chuck Billy - Vocals Eric Peterson - Guitar Alex Skolnick - Guitar Greg Christian - Bass Gene Hoglan - Drums Label: Nuclear Blast www.testamentlegions.com www.facebook.com/testamentlegions |
Killswitch Engage Adam Dutkiewicz - guitar Joel Stroetzel - guitar Mike D'Antonio - bass Jesse Leach - vocals Justin Foley – drums Label: Roadrunner Records www.facebook.com/killswitchengage www.killswitchengage.com Lamb of God Randy Blythe - vocals Mark Morton - guitar Will Adler - guitar John Campbell - bass Chris Adler – drums Label: Epic Records/ Roadrunner Records www.lamb-of-god.com https://www.facebook.com/lambofgod |
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Huntress opened the night, squeezing by the equipment and props that crowded the stage to give their eccentric performance. The Huntress boys emerged on stage solemnly and played the intro to “Senicide.” Jill Janus did not disappoint as she came out in heels, leggings and a skin tight leather vest topped off by an executioners mask. She had her trademark crazy eyes which, when locked on your eyes, made you shrink just a little. Though Janus is a bit stiff when headbanging she got many laughs when she rested her heel on a lucky security guard’s shoulder and sung the chorus to “I want to fuck you to death,” written by Lemmy of Motorhead, inches from his face. When they played “Zenith” Janus’ high screeches became a bit too much for me. But the Huntress boys more than made up for it as Carl Wierzbicky turned into a beast on drums, never ceding on his energy and guitarist Blake Meahl treated us to some fast ass shredding and some tasty solos while everyone headbanged away.
Testament may have technically been one of the openers but they brought the set of a Headliner. Two large circular, what I like to call "demon lollipops" with glowing red eyes enforced the backdrop to their new album Dark Roots of Earth (2012). Testament opened up with “Rise Up” which was a good way to rile up fans. The pit went crazy from first song to last. Vocalist Chuck Billy was the boss here, playing air guitar on his glowing short mic stand. When he demanded a bigger pit for the Testament anthem “Into The Pit” fans charged forward to obey. Man, Chuck Billy and company may be getting on in years but the energy they display on stage is a sight to see. If songs like “Disciples Of The Watch” don’t get you ready to mosh, then watching these Gods of metal work the stage will! They switched up their set a tad to the previous night’s set by playing “Native Blood” and “Over the Wall.” |
Killswitch Engage took over after a pretty extended break, opening up with “Eye Of The Tiger” much to everyone’s amusement. Vocalist Jesse Leach apologized and explained by saying “apparently everything broke tonight” then ripped into “The New Awakening.” The crowd threw down for the verses and came together to sing the choruses with the same energy. One fan was so energetic, or so desperate for a good spot, that he climbed one of the pillars lining the open area of the Sound Academy and lay down on a set of pipes for a few songs. In Leach’s own words “Man, I don’t think Security is happy with you,” as he pointed out the extreme fan to the crowd. Killswitch Engage played an energetic set with “The Hell In Me” and “My Curse" and I mean c’mon, how could you not like a band that throws out cans of beer to their fans?
Lamb of God tore up the stage a bit later than scheduled, but only because they were nice enough to let Killswitch Engage play their full set despite their tardiness. They kicked off the night with “Desolation” and “Ghost Walking” from their new album Resolution (2012). Fans went wild when they got into some Lamb of God classics like “Walk With Me In Hell” and “Laid To Rest,” lifting their voices to fill the Sound Academy as they sang word for word. It was nice to see how vocalist Randy Blythe seemed blown away with Toronto fans and the fact that even though it was the second consecutive show in Toronto, the energy matched that of the first night. Blythe also knew how to work Toronto fans and mentioned the show Trailer Park Boys, showing an image of Jim Lahey as an intro to the Lamb of God anthem “Redneck.” Needless to say, the night was a full of moshing madness, crowd surfers and even a wall of death. But the award for biggest pit goes to their closing song “Black Label.” |
