 | Written and photographed by Rob Botten (C) 2018 All rights reserved www.metalmasterkingdom.com ZEAL & ARDOR w/ ASTRONOID @ Lee's Palace Toronto, ON, Canada September 27, 2018 Presented by Lee's Palace |
The summer season is officially over with the arrival of a cool and damp fall. It’s a stark reminder of the utterly amazing, yet brutally hot summer concert season fans have been blessed with here in Toronto. To aid us in this transition, there could be nothing better than an up close and personal show jam packed with passionate and energetic fans at the historical Lee’s Palace. Although only two groups would be playing, the night was destined to be one to remember for years to come. I’ve been to quite a few shows that have left me feeling energy throughout my trip home and well into the following day. I’ve also been to shows that left me in awe at how awesome the bands were in combination with their lighting and energy on stage. This show was not one of those at all; in fact it was something more. Much more. I have an energy I haven’t been able to shake since I left the venue. When I listen to their music, the hairs on the back of my neck still rise. I attribute it all to the avant-garde metal group Zeal & Ardor in combination with the opening band Astronoid. What I experienced that night will probably stay with me for years to come.
| ASTRONOID (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com / Photo: Rob Botten | One of the reasons why I found this show so utterly awesome was the huge shift in energy as the night progressed. I arrived at the show early to make sure I could pick up some merchandise and all around me, people were talking about the headlining group and how excited they were for the night’s performance. You could feel the energy in the air. Astronoid took to the stage first and laid down a heavy and dark set. Barely talking to the crowd between songs, they went from one song to the next pleasing us all with their incredible guitar and drum work with Brett Boland’s higher pitched, yet haunting vocals. At Lee’s Palace, there is not a lot of room to move around the stage. In fact at this show, there was none at all. This five-piece group was right up at the front and crammed together. In most cases. this almost takes away from the enjoyment of the show, but not at this one. There music was so mesmerizing their last song came all too quickly. |
| Now, Lee’s Palace was almost entirely full. We were all shoulder-to-shoulder and getting a little warm and toasty in such a small space. The lights went dark and the crowd erupted in cheers. Zeal & Ardor were about to come up on stage, but not before their typical concert intro was over. "Sacrilegium I" treated us to some incredible electronic notes and bone rattling bass. When the six-piece group came on stage, the whole venue erupted in cheers. It took the first couple of songs for the energy to really build up, but when they played "Come On Down" and "Row Row", the crowd went completely nuts and did so until the night’s end. Up on stage purely for the music, Zeal & Ardor played from one song to the next only talking to us for maybe 15 seconds. Their performance completely blew my mind. They had this certain energy about them; like a mix of that angst a new band has, yet the confidence of veteran performers. Front man Manuel Gagneux’s energetic, shaky, and passionate body language and insane vocal skills are incredible. I cannot stress enough how tight this group is on stage. That connection made for a show that felt like it ended way to fast. I could have listened to them play every song from their two albums that night. | ZEAL & ARDOR (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com / Photo: Rob Botten |
I went into this show with fairly high expectations. Something I have learned to be very careful with since not all shows can live up to them. I can happily say they were all met, and then some. Astronoid’s incredible haunting set with the transition into Zeal & Ardor was amazing. Part of me wishes both bands could have had a larger stage with better lighting to perform on. However, that up close and personal environment really did make for a fantastic experience.
| ASTRONOID Brett Boland – Vocals & guitar Daniel Schwartz – Bass Casey Aylward – Guitar Mike DeMellia – Guitar Matt St. Jean – Drums Label: Blood Music Website: www.astronoidband.com www.facebook.com/astronoidband | ZEAL & ARDOR Manuel Gagneux – Vocals, guitars, synthesizer, programming Denis Wagner – Backing vocals, Marc Obrist – Backing vocals Tiziano Volante – Guitars Mia Rafaela Dieu – Bass Marco Von Allmen – Drums Label: Radicalis / MVKA Website: www.zealandardor.com |
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