First up on stage was How to Die In Oregon, a Toronto based hardcore/punk/metal group. In my opinion these guys put on one of the better sets with a great stage presence. Vocalist ‘Tons’ dominated the stage with his movement and powerful vocals and clean singing. I really enjoyed the mixture of the two vocal styles. Metal vocals sound great but after a while, it can start to sound the same. Having the right mixture of the two added that little bit more to their set. Near the end of their set, they played a new song “Dance Dance Francis.” Even though the song is still in the works, it sounded awesome. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Vile Oath was the third band up on stage, and although all five members were a little crowded on the small stage they put on one amazing set. Two things stood out to me the most; their amazing guitar work and female fronted vocalist. The technical guitar work really held their songs together and really got the crowd going. Both Karl and John did a fantastic job with their solos. It’s always awesome to see women in this heavily male dominated genre. Vocalist Doc showed off her talent with outstanding vocals and stage presence. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Kavara from London Ontario was next up on stage, and once again another five piece band had very little room on stage. They made up for that however with what I would argue as the best set of the night. Serena Dorton has some amazing vocals backed up by four very talented musicians. Their influences like Children Of Bodom and Lamb Of God are very present and come out in their songs, however Kavara are able to maintain their own sound. The bands two guitarists Mike and Chris Strange, accompanied by Spinny on bass and Chris Fraser on drums took the night’s energy to the next level. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten The final band out was Inbred Fist. I am going to have to be honest here, their set was a little different and in my opinion not quite the right fit for the show. Now I am all for a band doing something different, but it has to work. When I saw the band setting up a sheet to project some visuals at the back of the stage I got excited, anything to add to the show is always a plus. Next I saw bag of bread and a toaster. I knew things were going to get interesting but I did not expect the direction the band took. The visuals were a little out of place and did not fit their music. The toaster was there purely to make toast for the vocalist. What threw me off was when the vocalist started to get a nosebleed early on and didn’t really do anything about it. Maybe their stuff just isn’t my thing, and I will not judge anyone who was into it. | Written and photographed by Rob Botten (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Hard Luck Fest 2 @ Hard Luck Bar Toronto, ON Canada February 25, 2017 Presented by: Live Events 4 U Smaller venue concerts are always great to attend to see local talent put on a show. The experience is up-close and personal with the artists who are usually happy to have a beer with you after their set. Hard Luck Fest on Saturday February 25th was a perfect example of this with a great line-up of seven bands back to back. Going into this show I had never heard of any of the bands before, and like always, I kept an open mind to see them perform. As usual, I was very impressed for the most part. Many of the bands put on great sets with energy and talent clearly proving they have talent and a future to pay attention to. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten The next group on the stage was Latrodectus. I was surprised to see no drummer present, and to be honest I really liked that set up. The typical metal sound almost always has some form of either fast paced or loud drums, and with that sound absent their songs were different but by far in a good way. Having just guitar, bass, and vocals to listen to is a very interesting experience and Latrodectus pulled it off perfectly. This blackened thrash metal band from Cobourg, Ontario took the energy of the night to the next level with their unique sound (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Fourth on stage was KAP, a 3-piece death metal/grindcore band. With three creepy heads stacked up on top of each other on the microphone post and their powerful, fast vocals, these guys held their own and stood out. It’s great to see something different, and although their set was not far off from other bands before them, it was still great to see and hear something different. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten To change things up a bit, the sixth set had a different sound compared to pervious bands, however don’t take that in a negative way. Carmen North Behold! is a female fronted metal/punk band perfectly blending the two genres. The band’s set was amazing; they were able to stand out from the rest of the bands yet fit right in. They had outstanding bass and guitar work with Carmen’s killer vocals that the crowd couldn’t get enough of. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten |