Written by Derek Solomos
Photography by Navneet Johal

(C) 2023 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com

​
WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA (TORONTO ROUND 1)
w/ AMMO, DEVIL WITCH, AXMINISTER, XEPHYR
@ Hard Luck Bar
Toronto, ON, Canada
​January 28, 2023

GUEST JUDGES

Craig Rose (Bonecrusher / Hard Luck Bar)
Chris Snow (Music Producer)
Andrew Craig (Zombietrol Productions)
Andy Hawke (Anthem Records)

Written and photographed by Xavier Cattarinich
(RavenKin Photography)

(C) 2019 All rights reserved www.metalmasterkingdom.com

@ Dickens Pub
Calgary, AB, Canada
May 25, 2019

Blog author:  Alex Stojanovic

It has all come down to this.  After five months of intense competition, Wacken Metal Battle Canada 2019 has come to an end!  The national finals took place at Dickens Pub in Calgary last night, and the national champion who will represent Canada at Wacken Open Air this summer has been chosen.  And the winner is........

That's right!  Our homies and friends in The Slyde have been chosen to represent Canada in Germany!  They competed against Blackwater Ritual from Vancouver, Fjell Thyngor from Calgary and The Myopia Condition from Red Deer. 

​We want to send a huge congratulations to them.  If you've seen any of our reviews of the Toronto shows, our thoughts on The Slyde have always been so incredibly positive.  Every night, they delivered the goods, and because of their fantastic musicianship, stellar songwriting, and most importantly, originality, they always stood out.  They brought a breath of fresh air to the competition, at least to the Toronto portion.

This also marks the fifth time that an Ontario band has been selected as the national champion.  Congratulations once again to The Slyde!  Do Canada proud in Germany, guys!

We look forward to next year!

Written and photographed by Xavier Cattarinich


(C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​
​@ Dicken's Pub
​Calgary, AB, Canada
April 26, 2019

After four intense preliminary rounds, April 26th brought the 2019 Wacken Metal Battle Calgary Final to the stage at Dicken’s Pub.  Up for grabs: a chance to represent YYC at the national final on May 25, and to play the world’s largest metal fest in the world, aka: Wacken Open Air in Germany, later this summer. With their respective genres ranging from classic/power metal all the way through prog and black metal, the four local finalists gave fans a night to remember.

Random draw had Osyron kicking off the night with their bold and melodic brand of symphonic metal, tinged with prog, thrash and classic metal influences.  Lead vocalist Reed (also seen earlier in the competition performing with his other band, In/Vertigo) arguably exhibited the greatest vocal range of the night, at times channeling Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson.  The lads showcased an ambitious selection of songs from their latest release, Kingsbane (2017), attacking the material with energy and confidence. 

Things took a much darker turn when Fjell Thyngor took centre stage with the most visually compelling spectacle of the night.  Yes, their black metal look may be standard fare for the genre, but the band evidently put a great deal of effort (and expense) into their infernal mass, which paid off in spades.  Fjell Thyngor’s sinister corpse paint was some of the best I’ve seen bar none.  The lighting (in the spectrum of bloody crimson to moonlit cool blue), and effective use of banners and side panels with inverted cross designs all worked exceptionally well together to elevate the show.

Having admittedly never seen Fjell Thyngor play prior to this night, I had not realized that lead rasper/bassist Themisto was in fact an “evil sister.”  As the band launched into their set, Themisto stood listlessly with a mallet in hand in lieu of bass, pounding rhythmically on a tom as skeletal drummer Dazbog stood behind and preached a sermon in a manner that brought to mind flagellants lamenting the end times during the Black Plague in medieval Europe.  Meanwhile, guitarist Zhargor inspired the faithful to turn their palms upward and join in the ritual.  Then, all hell broke loose.  None can deny the presence that Themisto and acolytes exhibited under the blood red glow of the overhead lights.

While I must confess that I have limited appreciation for rasping as a vocal style, and that the band’s brutal sonic assault didn’t grab me when I gave their EP Hexenjagd (2018) a quick listen prior to the show, I found Fjell Thyngor’s music growing on me like a toxic mold as their performance went on.  In hindsight, I have to give them credit: they’ve got some truly atmospheric, if not hypnotic riffs that are difficult to ignore.  I’ve given Hexenjagd a few more spins since this show.  Damn you, Fjell Thyngor!  Damn you!

After fire came water, with Syryn trying to douse the embers left behind by their demonic rivals.   Crimson red gave way to a coral palette as lead vocalist Sloan Voxx emerged from the depths arrayed like a siren queen draped in algae that lashed out with her every move.  Low end boomer Lyxx Rose likewise manifested as an entrancing aquatic creature with a tightly woven crown of kelp, tendrils hanging far below her waist, and a string of cloth dangling from the stock of her bass like seaweed.  Syryn had some of the catchiest hooks of the night, at times working maritime folk influences into sweeping power meets classic metal choruses that had audience members singing along. 

Guitarists Paolo Rage and Byron Gorieu delivered the shred and melodic leads, while Illyrian’s Darren May filled in on drums for Bryan Campbell.  It was clear that the hearts of Voxx and crew were with Campbell as he was away temporarily dealing with personal matters, and May did the band justice with his first class skin pounding.

Local scene veterans Caveat were the last Wacken contenders to hit the stage, playing material that spanned their 13+ year-long career.  Caveat were one of the very first bands I ever photographed when I covered their CD release for Consummation back in 2016, and it’s largely thanks to their jaw-dropping performance then that I have kept an eye on the Calgary metal scene ever since.  Caveat focused on music over visuals and blasted through a no-frills set featuring their unique and feverish style of prog metal. 

Frontman/guitarist Greg Musgrave alternated between guttural growls and clean vocals, and the complexity of the riffs he played while singing remained as impressive as ever.  Keyboardist/vocalist Amanda Marie Bourdon was front and centre with Musgrave for the entire show, and the blending of their voices along with the latter’s distinctive phrasings gave Caveat their own signature sound.  While Bourdon mainly provides harmonies and leads on the occasional verse/chorus on Consummation, it was pretty cool seeing her fully in the spotlight on some of the newer material they played live.

While that was it for the bands competing for the 2019 Wacken Metal Battle Calgary title, the organizers outdid themselves by having a headliner perform while they deliberated, a most welcome move because last year, people hung around kind of bored for 30-40 minutes as they awaited the verdict.  Appropriately enough, Hammerdrone had the honour of headlining the night, and their performance reminded everyone why they made it all the way to the national finals in 2018.  The lads were a force to behold, impressing the audience sufficiently to warrant an encore… which only prolonged the agony of the other four bands waiting to find out who would be crowned champion. 

After some tough and impassioned deliberations, judge Wally Laurier (host of Rock Bottom on CJSW 90.9 FM) announced the victor: all hail Fjell Thyngor!  Best of luck to them and the other bands from across Canada that will do battle at the national final in Calgary on Saturday, May 25, 2019.

Written by Alex Stojanovic
Photography by Navneet Johal

(C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com

@ Hard Luck Bar
Toronto, ON, Canada
March 23, 2019

Written by Alex Stojanovic

​
@ Rivoli
Toronto, ON, Canada
March 2, 2019

COMPETING BANDS

Northshroud
Chainfall
The Slyde

​
GUEST HEADLINERS

Operus


GUEST JUDGES

Andrew Epstein (Zombitrol Productions)
Shawn Davidson (Wacken Open Air Anthem Composer)
Voodoo Drew (So Sick Social Club)
Nick Lobodycz (Iguana Studios)

Written by Amina Abdelwahab
Photography by Robert Singh


(C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​
@ Coalition
January 25, 2019
Toronto, ON, Canada

COMPETING BANDS

Psychotic Pulse
Chainfall
Experiment Specimen

GUEST HEADLINER

Profaner

GUEST JUDGES

Craig Rose (ROSE Management)
Tal Vaisman (Producer, ex-Hammercult)
Aaron Price (Metal Injection, Five Magics Music)

​SUPERCHUCKER
Photo credit:  Alex Stojanovic    /    (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​THE SLYDE
Photo credit:  Alex Stojanovic    /    (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​And so it begins!  Wacken Metal Battle Canada is back for its sixth edition in 2019!  With each year, the competition continues to expand to other cities across the country, and this year, Kelowna and Halifax have been added to the list of competing cities.  The other big change with the 2019 battle is that the national final will be taking place in Calgary, which is only fair as Toronto has been the host of the national finals in each of the previous battles.  This year, Toronto had the pleasure of officially kicking off the festivities, with the first of only two preliminary rounds and the very first show of the 2019 edition taking place on a cold Friday night on January 18th at the Bovine Sex Club (my least favourite venue in all of Toronto, sorry!).  The amount of bands competing had also been scaled down once again from four to three.  There were four bands playing:  three competitors and a guest headliner.

Kicking off the night were Toronto hard rockers Superchucker.  Their sound was in the vein of classic hard rock and metal, and they started the party off with some cool mid-tempo rocking tunes.  Vocalist Dave Barrett's vocals resembled Ronnie James Dio's a little bit.  What also stood out about him was his appearance.  He had the biker look with the black t-shirt, leather pants, leather vest and goatee.  Musically, the band was really tight, and their sound of classic sounding metal really enticed the crowd and set the bar high for the night.  I look forward to seeing them again sometime.

Up next were Ottawa progressive outfit The Slyde, who are also previous competitors from the very first edition in 2013.  This is a band I've never seen live, but I know about them because my buddy Alberto Campuzano is in the band.  All the bands were incredibly tight, but The Slyde were the tightest of all the bands.  The interplay between the guitar and the keyboards made for some fantastic harmonies that were complex, yet catchy.  The vocal harmonies were equally as potent as the music.  Right from the first note, the entire audience was enticed and the band delivered a memorable and mesmerizing performance.

​HOUNSKULL
Photo credit:  Alex Stojanovic    /    (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​MOKOMOKAI
Photo credit:  Alex Stojanovic    /    (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com

​SUPERCHUCKER

Steve Macpherson - Bass & backing vocals
Dave Barrett - Vocals
Shawn Pegg - Guitars
Rob Hassey - Drums
Starvros Theodorakopoulos - Guitars

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

THE SLYDE

Nathan Da Silva - Vocals & guitars
Sarah Westbrook - Keyboards
Alberto Campuzano - Bass & vocals
Andrew Suarez - Drums & vocals (filling in for Brendan Soares)

Label:  Unsigned
Website:  www.theslyde.com
www.facebook.com/theslydecanada

​HOUNSKULL

Kyle White - Vocals & bass
Alex Tamo - Guitars
Nathan Fernandez - Drums

Label:  Unsigned
Website:  www.hounskull.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/Hounskull

MOKOMOKAI (GUEST HEADLINER)

John Ellis - Guitars & vocals
Jeremy Pastic - Bass
Bobby Deuce - Guitars
JJ Tartaglia - Drums

Label:  Unsigned
Website:  www.mokomokai.bandcamp.com

Wacken Metal Battle Canada 2019 Dates & Locations:

ONTARIO

Jan 18 - Toronto, ON @ Bovine (Preliminary)
Jan 25 - Toronto, ON @ Coalition (Preliminary)
Feb 16 - Hamilton, ON @ This Ain't Hollywood (Preliminary)
Mar 2 - Toronto, ON @ Rivoli (Southern Ontario Final)
Mar 23 - Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck (Eastern Canada Final)
Date TBA - Ottawa, ON @ House Of Targ (Preliminary)
Date TBA - Ottawa, ON @ House Of Targ (Preliminary)

QUEBEC

Jan 12 - Quebec City, QC - Venue TBA (Preliminary)
Jan 25 - Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar (Preliminary)
Mar 15 - Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar (Quebec Final)

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Mar 10 - Vancouver, BC @ Red Room (Preliminary)
Apr 28 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre (BC Final)

NOVA SCOTIA

Mar 1 - Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse (Preliminary)

CANADIAN NATIONAL FINALS

May 25 - Calgary, AB - Dickens

* Dates for Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and St. John's TBA *

Blog author:  Alex Stojanovic

Wacken Metal Battle Canada returns in 2019 for its sixth edition to see what band will be representing Canada at the holy land of metal, better known as Wacken Open Air in Germany.  The dates and locations for the 2019 battles have been announced, which you can check out down below (with a few cities still waiting for dates).  As you may have heard, the competition is adding St. John's and Halifax to its list of participating cities, and to switch things up a bit, the national finals will be held in Calgary this year.

One band to rule them all!  The band chosen to represent Canada will have the opportunity to share the festival with bands like Sabaton, Parkway Drive, Rose Tattoo, Demons & Wizards, Within Temptation, Powerwolf, Airbourne, Meshuggah and many others.  To bands interested in participating in the 2019 battle can apply here.  Deadline to submit is this Friday, December 21st.

​National Final In Calgary

One Unsigned Canadian Band To Play Wacken Open Air 2019
​
National Final Winner Will Receive $2,000 CAD Towards Travel!

​One band to rule them all! Going on its sixth year, Wacken Metal Battle Canada returns to present one unsigned Canadian band to conquer hundreds and perform at the world’s largest metal festival, Wacken Open Air. The 2019 line up includes Sabaton, Parkway Drive, Demons & Wizards, Powerwolf, Airbourne, Rose Tattoo, Within Temptation, Meshuggah and many more. Full details here.

Bands interested in participating in 2019 battles can apply at http://www.metalbattle.ca
Deadline to submit December 21st.

Year six of these battles is a very exciting one because, for the first time, Wacken Metal Battle Canada will be expanding to St. John’s, NL and Halifax, NS to make the competition officially coast to coast. A full list of participating regions listed below.

​ON – Toronto
ON – Hamilton
ON – Ottawa
QC – Montreal
QC – Quebec City
SK – Saskatoon
AB – Calgary
AB – Edmonton
BC – Vancouver/Lower Mainland
BC – Island
BC – Interior
NL – St. John’s
NS – Halifax

​In addition to the expansion to the East coast, Wacken Metal Battle Canada will be hosting the 2019 national final for the first time in Western Canada. The host city will be Calgary, AB, moving it from Toronto, ON, where the national final has been held for the last 5 years.
​
Wacken Metal Battle Canada organizer JJ Tartaglia comments:

Wacken Metal Battle Canada Promo Video.

​Video of 2018 Champion Centuries of Decay at
Wacken Open Air.

​2018 Prizes were the following: 

1st Place
– Slot to play at the Full Metal Holiday Festival in Mallorca including flight and accommodation
– 5000€ from the Wacken Foundation and more!
2nd Place
– 4000€ from the Wacken Foundation and more!
3rd Place
– 3000€ from the company Pohl-Boskamp and more!
4th Place
– 2000€ from the Wacken Foundation and more!
5th Place
– 1000€ from the Wacken Foundation and more!
​

​List of previous Canadian winners:
Centuries of Decay (2018)
Profaner (2016)
Vesperia (2015)
Mutank (2014)
Crimson Shadows (2013)

​For more info:
Official Website: http://www.metalbattle.ca
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MetalBattleCanada
Twitter: @MetalBattleCAN
Instagram: @MetalBattleCan
Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/user/WackenMetalBattleCAN
For more info on Wacken Open Air, please visit 
​http://www.wacken.com

​2018 Battles Sponsors:
Rehearsal Factory
Pearl Drums
Boonsdale Records
TicketFly
Los Cabos Drumsticks
Dungeonworks
The Invisible Orange
Concertworks
Big Nate Productions
Rose Management
Indie Week
Ibanez
Sunrise Records

​2018 Battles Media Partners:
Absolute Underground
Asher Media Relations
Beatroute Magazine
Bravewords
Broken Neck Radio
Bucketlist Music Reviews
CJLO
Hellbound
Metal Master Kingdom
Metal Nation
Metal-Rules
Ondes Chocs
Pure Grain Audio
Pure Rock Radio
Quebec-Metal
Zombitrol

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