 | Writer: Alex Stojanovic Photography: Rob Botten (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com @ The Opera House Toronto, ON Canada June 24, 2017 Click here to see our interview with Jeff Waters It's only been 9 months since Annihilator played their first show in Toronto in 23 years back in September 2016, which we were lucky enough to cover, but now the band have come back to our great city as one of thirteen stops on their first headline tour of the country in over 20 years. The tour hit the Opera House on June 24th, during the Pride festival weekend. The venue filled up rather slowly. After a couple of hours, it wasn't even half-full. I was fearing that it wouldn't be as full as it was last time, especially on a Saturday night. However, when Entropy hit the stage, the venue started getting filled up. |
| First up were Montreal thrash titans and 2014 Wacken Metal Battle Canada winners Mutank. It was great to see these guys again. This time however, they weren't drinking out of gas tanks like they did when I saw them during the Wacken competition. There wasn't much activity in the crowd during their set other than headbanging, but a pit did fizzle for a few seconds but then stopped. Even though the crowd was pretty sparse, they still managed to get the early-comers excited for the rest of the evening. Looking forward to seeing them again next time. All the best guys! (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Third up were Toronto/Montreal thrash legends Entropy, who are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Ashen Existence debut album. As I mentioned above, this was when the venue started filling up. My only complaint about their set was that when guitarist Dan Lauzon played his 7-string Ibanez, all you could hear was bass (like what you would hear on a really bad video recording). The only thing that was clear was the solos. However, when he switched to a Jackson V, it was a bit more distinguishable. Gerry Shreinert however is a fantastic vocalist, unleashing some awesome high notes. He also told the crowd that they opened for Fear Factory and Obituray at the Opera House 25 years ago, which was pretty cool. The band's newsest member, bassist Oscar Rangel is a buddy and it's always great to see him on stage. The crowd was really enthused to see Entropy and they put on a great show. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten | (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Next up were Aussie metal titans Mason, who are making their first visit to Canada on this tour, so welcome boys! The band didn't display anything unique as far as their sound goes. It was basically pure, straight-to-the-point thrash, just the way we like it. However, it was pretty awkward when frontman James Benson asked for a mosh pit, but there was no response. Much like during Mutank's set, the only activity in the crowd was headbanging. However, Mason managed to put on an energetic show and I hope they come back soon sometime. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten Finally, it was time for Annihilator. Comparing this show to the band's last Toronto show, a majority of the setlist remained the same with many of the classic fan-favourites, but there were also a few new additions. The band entered the stage playing the intro to "My Revenge", then jumped into "Suicide Society", followed by a jump in the time machine to "King Of The Kill". The machine then returned to the recent years with "Creepin' Again" and "No Way Out". This was exactly how the last show started out. The set also included a dance segment. I never thought I'd see the day when there would be a dance segment at a metal show. Let me explain. Jeff Waters told a story of how when the song "Annihilator" is played at European festivals, people in the crowds would start dancing to the intro bass line. He then brought out his Swedish guitar tech who is a professional dancer as well to show some moves to the bass line. Jeff and Aaron Homma also danced with each other for a few seconds. This all had me and a few friends belly-laughing. Aside from the awesome setlist and tight performances, this segment was the icing on the cake. |
As the show went on, other fan-favourites the band touched on included "Set The World On Fire", "Never Neverland" and "Welcome To Your Death". Keeping the comedic aspect of the set going, the band followed "Brain Dance" with the song about "the best darn food in the world". If you're a true Annihilator fan, you know the song I'm talking about. That's right, it's "Chicken & Corn". Two of the best foods in the world in my opinion. It was funny to see a couple of people in the audience wondering: "What the hell are they doing?" What also made this part of the set even funnier was at the end of the song, one of the roadies ran across the stage all while flapping his arms like a chicken. Totally random and hilarious. A couple other nice surprises in the set were "No Zone" and "Syn Kill 1". At one point, Jeff mentioned that they would play a teaser of a new song from the upcoming album and said that the song was called "Alison Hell", before launching into the song. Well played, Jeff! I was really glad that they played "Phantasmagoria" because to me, an Annihilator set wouldn't be complete without that song. The set closed with "Human Insecticide". Anytime you go see Annihilator, you get an awesome set full of great tunes, plus some comedy thrown in, so you get your money's worth. I have to say that this show was even better than the last show and I look forward to next time.
| ANNIHILATOR Jeff Waters - Vocals & guitars Aaron Homma - Guitars Richard Hinks - Bass Fabio Alessandrini - Drums Label: UDR Records Website: www.annihilatormetal.com | ENTROPY Gerry Schreinert - Vocals Dan Lauzon - Guitars Oscar Rangel - Bass Blake Lemieux - Drums Label: Unsigned | MASON James Benson - Guitars & vocals Grant Burns - Lead guitars Steve Montalto - Bass Nonda T - Drums Label: Unsigned Website: www.masonofficial.com | MUTANK Stephen Reynolds - Vocals & bass Ahmed Daas - Drums Costa Skoulikas - Guitars Chris Nasty - Guitars Label: Unsigned Website: www.mutankthrash.bandcamp.com |
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