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ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO - East Coast Unbound Tour 2016 - Metal Master Kingdom show review

10/13/2016

You know, when you're a metalhead, nothing's more important than an open mind. There should never be limitations to what you can play or listen to. With that said, on a warm September night, I had the privilege of seeing and covering an incredibly special show, and that was the Alex Skolnick Trio at the Garrison, a venue I have not visited before this show. Being the massive Testament fan I am, and with Alex Skolnick being one of my favourite guitarists, I never had the opportunity to see his jazz trio. I also learned that metal publications have covered his jazz shows before, so when the opportunity came up to go see his trio and cover the show, I couldn't refuse it.

The talent displayed by Skolnick and his bandmates: drummer Matt Zebroski and bassist Nathan Peck, sent jaws dropping to the floor as they executed technical jazz tunes and made it look like childsplay. Each song felt like one long improvised jam. It was awe-inspiring. There were moments where Skolnick started to shred and added distortion to his guitar, unleashing his metal side. It's always a fun experience whenever I go to a jazz show. Skolnick and his trio put on an outstanding and mesmerizing performance and I look forward to seeing them again when they return.

Writer, and photographer: Alex Stojanovic

@ The Garrison
September 9, 2016
Toronto, ON Canada

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO

Alex Skolnick - Guitars
Nathan Peck - Bass
Matt Zebroski - Drums

Label: Skol Productions

Website:
www.alexskolnick.com
www.facebook.com/alexskolnick

The show consisted of two sets and an encore, with originals and covers and there were several different music fans in attendance from metalheads, rock fans, jazz fans, blues fans, you name it. In celebration of their new live album titled Live Unbound, the trio began their set with the album's two opening tracks: "Unbound" and "Culture Shock". They ended the first set with "99/09", which was written as a tribute to Prince, but was written years prior to his passing. The covers the trio performed included Aerosmith's "Dream On", Scorpions' "Still Loving You" and Kiss' "Detroit Rock City", which they renamed to "Toronto Rock City" only for this show. Following "Still Loving You", which started off the second set, they headed into an improv blues jam, which they dedicated to us by naming it the "Toronto Blues".

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ANNIHILATOR w/ The Exalted Piledriver, Skull Fist, & Warmachine - Metal Master Kingdom show review

10/2/2016

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Kicking off the festivities were hometown favourites Warmachine. I remember seeing this band last year around the same time as this show when they opened for Marty Friedman at the Mod Club, and I instantly became a fan. They performed to a pretty receptive crowd. Their heavy, hooky tunes and potent vocal harmonies were so captivating that I could not help but smile and bob my head throughout their entire set. They're seriously made for the big stage. What was interesting was that their rhythm section: drummer Mike Harshaw and longtime bassist Alberto Campuzano were both in Annihilator for a few years. I swear, once you hear Warmachine's tunes, getting them out of your head will be such a challenge, especially if you're a fan of big heavy hooks and grooves and melodic vocals. Some of the songs they performed included "Betrayed", "Chalk Lines and Bones", "Moving On" and "Alone". Their set ended with a new song, which they said will be on their next album, and the title was rather interesting: "Mister Fister". An amazing performance once again from Warmachine. I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Third band was Exalted Piledriver, who were the more theatrical band of the night with their costumes. Frontman Gordon Kirchin came out in his trademark executioner costume while Mark and Steve Macpherson had the look of having just walked away from an explosion. Later in the set, the band announced that before they hit the stage, they found out that former bassist Rob "Lobo Elf Schnort" Tollefson passed away earlier in the day after a battle with cancer, which led to a few screams of "FUCK CANCER!" from the crowd. As a result, they dedicated their performance to Rob, especially the song "Metal Inquisition". Despite grieving the loss of their fallen friend and former bandmate, the band still put on a great entertaining show, performing several classics from the Piledriver era like "Alien Rape", "Sex With Satan", "The Fire God" and "Lord Of Abominations" just to name a few.

Written by: Alex Stojanovic
Photography: Navneet Johal

Click here to find our interview with Jeff Waters!

@ The Opera House
September 10, 2016
Toronto, ON Canada

Presented by Inertia Entertainment

On September 10, 2016, something happened in Toronto that us T.O metalheads never thought would happen, and that was an Annihilator show in Toronto. The last time Annihilator played Toronto was in 1993. I was only a year old then. I first became an Annihilator fan near the end of my freshman year in high school in 2007 and have been wanting to see them live ever since. I also did a video interview with Jeff Waters backstage before the show and in the interview, we cover a lot from why it took so long for the band to play Toronto again, their latest album Suicide Society, the future plans for Annihilator as far as shows, tours and new music, and much more, so check that out. Let's talk about the show now.

Next up were our hometown party boys in Skull Fist. For this show in particular, they enlisted vocalist Brian Stephenson to fill in on vocals while Zach Slaughter recovers from vocal cord surgery, but Zach still played guitar. I have to give the award for best energy of the night to Skull Fist. Anyone that's seen Skull Fist before, knows that they unleash a great amount of energy on stage with constant headbanging and running back and forth across the stage. There was a point in the set where Zach and fellow guitarist Jonny Nesta play-fought during a solo section.

Finally, after 23 years of waiting, came the moment we've all been waiting for: Annihilator! "Crystal Ann" played on the P.A before Jeff Waters and the crew entered the stage playing the intro to "My Revenge" before kicking into "Suicide Society", followed by "King Of The Kill" which the entire crowd sang along to. Jeff and company delivered an absolutely killer old-school set with so many of the great classics we love like "Set The World On Fire", "W.T.Y.D.", "Never Neverland", "Stonewall", "Second To None", "Ultraparanoia" and "Refresh The Demon" just to name a few. A couple of tunes from the recent years also made their way into the set like "Creepin' Again" and "No Way Out". Personally, I wish the band would've added "Wicked Mystic" and "Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II" into the set, but that's just me.

During "Phantasmagoria", the band came out with masks on their heads and each one different. Jeff wore a devil mask, guitarist Aaron Homma and bassist Rich Hinks both wore zombie masks with mohawks and drummer Fabio Alessandrini wore a gas mask. The crowd roared with excitement as the opening bass lines to "Alison Hell" started, during which a fan in the crowd, which turned out to be Dan Ayers of Sludgehammer, got the thumbs up from Jeff to come up on stage and sing the song. Jeff was pretty impressed with his performance and jokingly asked him if he'd like a job as Annihilator's new lead vocalist. The band then ended their set with "Human Insecticide". It was the perfect ending to a perfect night of Canadian metal. We certainly hope that it doesn't take another 23 years for Annihilator to play Toronto again.

WARMACHINE

Joe Di Taranto - Lead vocals & guitars
Johnny Salerno - Guitars & vocals
Alberto Campuzano - Bass & vocals
Mike Harshaw - Drums & vocals

Label: Unsigned
Website: www.warmachineonline.com
www.facebook.com/WarmachineCAN

SKULL FIST

Brian Stephenson - Vocals (temporary)
Zach Slaughter - Vocals & guitars
Jonny Nesta - Guitars
Casey Guest - Bass
JJ Tartaglia - Drums

Label: NoiseArt Records
Website: www.skullfist.org
www.facebook.com/skullfisted

THE EXALTED PILEDRIVER

Gordon Kirchin - Vocals
Ken Gibson - Bass
Mark Macpherson - Drums
Steve Macphearson - Guitars

Label: Unsigned
Website: www.facebook.com/exaltedpiledriver

ANNIHILATOR

Jeff Waters - Lead vocals & guitars
Fabio Alessandrini - Drums
Rich Hinks - Bass
Aaron Homma - Guitars

Label: UDR Records
Website: www.annihilatormetal.com
www.facebook.com/annihilatorband

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SHOW REVIEWS (2016 - Present)

SLAYER, ANTHRAX, & DEATH ANGEL - Repentless North American Tour 2016 - Metal Master Kingdom show review

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO - East Coast Unbound Tour 2016 - Metal Master Kingdom show review

ANNIHILATOR w/ The Exalted Piledriver, Skull Fist, & Warmachine - Metal Master Kingdom show review

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SLAYER, ANTHRAX, & DEATH ANGEL - Repentless North American Tour 2016 - Metal Master Kingdom show review

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO - East Coast Unbound Tour 2016 - Metal Master Kingdom show review

ANNIHILATOR w/ The Exalted Piledriver, Skull Fist, & Warmachine - Metal Master Kingdom show review

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