The location is pretty amazing; it's a large, lovely park on an island. This means there's plenty of shade (if you're tired of being roasted by the sun), there's grassy places to sit, there's a great breeze off the water, and you get to enjoy some natural beauty while enjoying some awesome music.
But the physical location isn't the only impressive part of the event; the set up of the stages and amenities is intuitive and efficient. I never felt myself "lost" or wondering where I could find something, despite things primarily being in French.
To be fair, the organizers did a great job of using icons for nearly everything meaning the diverse, multi-lingual audience could find their way around.
Everything about the event screamed "efficiency" and there was very little down time once the show began each day. The "flow" of each day was clearly well thought out (similar styles grouped together and whatnot.) and I was impressed by the overall professionalism behind the event.
I was also amazed by how good the camera work was; I've been to plenty of shows where the jumbo screens were (essentially) useless. At Heavy MTL they were absolutely essential and definitely added to the experience.
Now, with 2 days and 3 stages, there's no way to see every band at the festival. Luckily, the schedule allowed me to see all the bands I wanted to (and only meant I had to see a few I didn't want to.)
The following is my $.25 review of each of the bands that I saw.
Day One
What a goddamned perfect day: the weather was beautiful, the lineup was incredible, and we had a great location staked out to watch the show. We never even left the main stage area. Here's how it went:Halestorm
Remarkably not as bad as I always imagined them to be. Their singer had an early-90's, riot girl meets Lita Ford kind of sound and their music was good. I feel like they'd make a good opening band for a double bill of The Distillers & The Dance Hall Crashers.
To be honest, I'm not sure that I'd ever buy one of their CDs or that I'd ever want to listen to them on a regular basis, partially because the quality of her voice (live) doesn't typically translate well to a studio recording.
See them if you miss Hole and Veruca Salt.
Gwar
I don't know that I could write anything here that would mean anything to you if you've never seen Gwar before. They are definitely keeping the concepts of burlesque and sideshow performance alive. Seeing Gwar is more of an "experience" than a "concert."
I've had the pleasure(?) of seeing Gwar a number of times over the years and I can confidently write the following: Gwar is immensely consistent (even with lineup changes.) They know their schtick, they are good at it, and they'll forever be hilarious to see live.
For me, there's only one song I ever want to hear Gwar play live and luckily for me, they generally do. This show was no exception and I nearly lost my voice stomping around and singing "Sick of You."
If you've never seen Gwar and you love metal and ridiculousness, grab yourself a cheap rain poncho and get yourself to a show!
Sick Of It All
I'd never seen them before and didn't know a lot about them. They exist in that boarderland between "punk rock" and "hardcore" which I actually appreciate (when it's done well.) And Sick Of It All does it well. To be fair, they have been around since the 80's and their influence can be heard in many younger bands.
Their set was strong, their energy level impressive, and possibly best of all, their personality was great. It's rare (especially when they are part of the hardcore scene) that a band comes across as simply genuine but these guys absolutely epitomized a "cool bunch of dudes playing music because they love it."
One of my favorite moments was when their singer introduced a song by saying, "We wrote this song when we were angry kids who hated the world. Now we're angry middle-aged men who still hate the world..." Yes! I threw the horns for that one.
I'm not sure I've ever given them enough of a chance and I've got them on my list of bands I need to give more time to.
See them if you missed the New York hardcore scene and want a good introduction.
Steel Panther
There has been much debate in our group about when a joke stops being funny and in my world, Steel Panther passed the point where their joke was funny. Their gimmick is that they are a parody of a hair metal band. If this sounds familiar (Spinal Tap!) it's because they have taken that joke and tried to push it even farther.
Now - I will give it to them that they obviously, totally get the caricature of an 80's hair metal band. But, they spend so much time on the theatrics and the personas and the act that they neglect the music. They're simply not very good. And the fans don't seem to care because they seem to enjoy the act enough to forego the music.
I was literally astounded by how popular they were will the audience, especially considering it was a "legit" metal festival and, historically, metal fans have no love for the hair metal scene. I guess that we're far enough past the death of hair metal that Steel Panther's act seems novel and... fun?
I really wanted them to, musically, be The Darkness. Sadly, they're more like, I don't know, Winger? I think I'd even have liked them better had they been more like Warrant or Poison. But much like their bad dye jobs, their musical roots were showing: they started as a hair metal cover band and their music will always be "cover band" quality.
See them if you think Spinal Tap could have been funnier or if you never got to see a hair metal band (live) in the 80's.
Black Label Society
I know I'll never hear the end of it from my metal friends but, despite how immensely talented Zakk Wylde is, I just don't care for Black Label Society. I find them generic and boring. And that's not at all to say that I think a talent like Zakk Wylde is commonplace - I certainly know better. But musically, their sound is so, "eh."
They're a 70's sounding hard rock band; you can dump them in a bucket with Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, Motorhead, and Baroness, stir it all around and pull out something you like.
See them if you wear a denim vest, have a mullet, or otherwise appreciate 70's hard rock as background noise to your day.
At The Gates
Pardon me while I gush like a school girl here: I love At The Gates. They were, absolutely, the deciding factor for me attending Heavy MTL this year. I love their sound. I love that they continue to tour some 20 years after breaking up.
They are everything I want in a death metal band; technical skilled, often melodic, with growling vocals. If you're getting into the Gothenburg scene, you have to check out At The Gates; they are absolutely the godfathers of the sound.
I regularly spend the afternoon listening to their 2008 Wacken performance.
Aside from loving their music, I love how incredibly happy and perpetually upbeat their singer is. If you were to ask me what a death metal singer looks like, he'd be the last person I would describe. I'm more than a bit smitten with him.
If i didn't have to work for a living, I would just follow them around the world because all I ever want is to hear them play. <3
A Day To Remember
You may already know that I spent many years working at Hot Topic. In those years, I heard a lot of A Day To Remember. Were you to ask me to describe them, I'd immediately say, "pop punk." If you'd asked me if I ever wanted to see them live, I'd immediately say, "not ever." Now that I have seen them I can say a few more things:
They aren't strictly pop punk - they actually have a sort of metal / hardcore edge to them. It's not an unpleasant combination of genres but not really, "my thing." Strange as it may sound, I'd probably recommend them to someone who likes "radio friendly metal" like Linkin Park, Seether, Papa Roach, Crazy Town, or Three Days Grace.
But their performance was strong, their energy great, and they were great at working the crowd. They definitely had one of the most impressive pits of the entire weekend, which I never would have expected.
I can definitely say that I wouldn't mind seeing them at another festival but I would never buy a CD or go to one of their shows.
Danzig (with Doyle)
There's little or no way for you to look at those names together and not think, "Wow." These two men were components of one of the greatest, most influential, bands of all time: The Misfits. After countless legal issues over the years, and many an interview where Danzig basically told the other Misfits to fuck off, it's hard to imagine these two joyously hanging around together.
Now, I've seen Danzig perform before (in '94 on the "Shit Hits The Sheds" tour with Metallica & Suicidal Tendencies.) And I've seen Michael Graves era Misfits before. And when I saw that Danzig was on the bill for Heavy MTL I felt, "eh." But with the addition of Doyle I had quiet, secret hopes that I'd be getting Misfits tunes.
Danzig looks terrible. He is not a man that is aging well. While Doyle is, um, stacked. He doesn't just look good for a man that's 50, he looks better than most 20 year olds. Danzig's set of his own music was unimpressive. But the Misfits set was everything this Misfits fan has ever wanted. I have rarely had so much fun at a show.
And if it wasn't enough to hear Danzig and Doyle playing together, they brought out a guest vocalist: Rob Zombie. Mother-fucking Rob Zombie singing Misfits tunes with Danzig! I'll be honest, I almost burst. Definitely a highlight of the weekend!
Megadeth
In another case of, "you may know this about me," I'll go on to write that I love thrash metal and I love Megadeth. When I was going to tons of shows as a kid, I ended up missing Megadeth due to a knee injury and my mom saying crutches had no place in a mosh pit. (Jeeeeze!)
I'm not sure why I never got an opportunity to see them in the years following that but the fact remains that I'd never seen them before this weekend.
Going in, my "concern" was that I don't really love their music post Countdown To Extinction and there's certainly been a few albums since then. I really can't say that Im interested in hearing any of that. But Megadeth are no strangers to performance and clearly know how to balance "hits" with "new music" and so I heard plenty of the music I wanted to.
Dave Mustaine sounded a little ragged at times but they were still great and I'm glad that I saw them, even though I would have rather seen them in the early 90's.
To mark the strangest "guest appearance" ever, Mustaine brought out Disturbed singer David Drainman as a guest vocalist. I didn't even realize that he was there (playing with his other band.) I'm still not sure how this matchup happened but, it did and it was interesting. I only wish that they brought him up to tackle a song that his crazy, operatic voice is suited for.
Avenged Sevenfold
While a lot of people in the "metal community" don't like A7X, I love them. Their songs are catchy and their music is heavy. I had never seen them before and was incredibly excited that they were headlining this show.
Going in, I wanted their performance to be a larger-then-life, arena rock epic and they delivered in spades. I'd go see them, again, in a heartbeat.
Day Two
The lineup wasn't as strong (in my mind) and was a little something like, "larp-fest." (Heavy on the Pagan metal bands and so heavy on the Pagan metal fans.) But strangely, the another 1/3 of the lineup was hardcore bands. It was also like the Western MA reunion day (with The Acacia Strain, Godsmack, and Rob Zombie all performing.)We did venture to the third at one point but mostly hung around the main stage area. There was less cloud-cover and more sluggishness from heat-exhaustion, drinking, and being out in the sun all day the day before. Here's how it went:
Augury
Here's what I remember: They were the first band of the day, their singer looked like he teaches math, and they had a broad trying to add operatic backup vocals to some of their songs. We spent the entire set joking about how they can only tour during the summer because he's got school the rest of the year. When that got old, we switched to making fun of the font they picked for their logo.
I'm pretty sure they play, "melodic death metal." It was either completely forgettable or really bad.
Huntress
A band I have no love for, despite my boyfriend taking it upon himself to be their one-man fan club. While I appreciate their music, their singer is just too screechy for me and she was in excessively screechy form at this show. I think it's kind of unfortunate that she sounded so terrible because I know she's got a really phenomenal vocal range.
And far be it for me to judge a woman using her looks to make herself famous but I feel like she may lean too heavily on her "metal slut" looks and "crazy, bad-ass" attitude to actually be taken seriously as a musician.
The Acacia Strain
I'd like to thank The Acacia Strain for defining a new metric for us, "as bad as The Acacia Strain." Example: "No, herpes isn't as bad as The Acacia Strain."
Example 2: "This show is really bad. But not, 'Acacia Strain' bad."
I've very rarely hated a band as much as I hate them. I can think of so many words to describe them but they are all subjective: "terrible" and "horrible" and possibly even "worse than anything else, ever." If you love them, you'll never get why I hate them (and vice versa.)
We spent the entire set making fun of the fact that they are from Chicopee (where we live.) Making up words for their songs like, "I love Western MA!" and "The Holyoke Mall is the best mall!" and "Munich-Hauuuuuuuse!" and "4-1-3. Breaaaaaak doooooooown!" and shouting them in our lowest, most metal voices possible.
The entire thing becomes funnier when you know that their singer worked for me at Hot Topic. Thank god he's like 20 feet tall because I made him reach everything for me.
I've had to see them twice in the past year and I'll be prying to the metal gods that I never have to see them again.
Finntroll
There is some Pagan metal band that my boyfriend listens to that I absolutely hate with a burning passion (slightly less than my hatred for The Acacia Strain.) Unfortunately, I don't know which band it is that I hate. Before Finntroll took the stage it was brought to my attention that they may be the band I hate. Well shit, two crappy bands in a row? This was my queue to be displeased.
As they started their set, I had two thoughts:
1. "I don't immediately hate this."
2. "Do any of them know how to play their instruments?"
Point number two was slightly less annoying than Wintersun (who we saw earlier this year and totally avoided at Heavy MTL) who seem to have missed the memo that THEY ARE ALL IN THE SAME BAND! I believe they may attend some sort of band practice, just not together. Ever.
Finntroll is energetic and (thankfully) their music is significantly heavier than some other Pagan bands. I didn't hate them but I did make fun of them and their stupid costumes. (They dress up like fucking trolls for fuck's sake!) I'm pretty sure I don't need them in my life but I don't wish them bodily harm, either.
Amon Amarth
My goal for the weekend was to fall in love with Amon Amarth. I hear them often enough in the car on the way to work but I typically feel, "eh" about them. And I know that's silly because I know they are talented and I know they play awesome metal.
And they're (obviously) a bunch of nerdy dudes who just want to rock out about myths and legends and history and fantasy literature. If you're a huge, nerdy viking with a natural death-metal voice, you may as well form a kick-ass band, right?
Their set was awesome. Their singer adorable (or as adorable as a fucking gigantic Viking can be!) And I'd see them again, any time. I'm not sure that I'm in love with them yet but our love affair is blooming.
Phil & The Illegals
Phil Anselmo will forever be a drunken, rambling, red-neck who I wouldn't want to get into a bar fight with. I loved him when he fronted Pantera (one of my favorite bands, forever.) I don't mind Down. And I've heard a few other things he's had his hand in and I've felt, okay about them.
But once he starts drinking and starts running his mouth well... I just like him less.
This particular Phil incarnation isn't one that I especially enjoyed but after surviving his set, we were rewarded with a shortened rendition of "Hollow". As someone who has seen Pantera before, it was appreciated but not something new for me. But knowing that my boyfriend is a HUGE Pantera fan who was never able to see them, I'm glad for the interlude.
August Burns Red
A Christian metalcore band made up of children. I don't personally care that they love god, I just wish they played better music. We nearly slept through their set.
Machine Head
Quintessentially 90's, I was completely surprised to see them on this tour. Honestly, I didn't know that they were still a going concern. Polling my friends, I couldn't find anyone who knows any of Machine Head's songs (except "Davidian").
Even at the peak of their popularity, I always found them to be kind of radio-friendly (like Puddle of Mudd.) It's unfortunate because they have absolutely shining moments of pure metal fury - but overall they just fall short for me and their performance at Heavy MTL didn't make me feel any differently.
Children of Bodom
I was surprised to find out that I not only liked these guys but that I had heard a number of their songs while working at Hot Topic. These guys are obviously horror nerds and I love that about them.
They are also exceptional musicians who put on a great show. I'd definitely see them again and definitely need to give them a spot in my regular rotation.
Havok
I love this band. They are everything I love about thrash metal; loud and fast and fun. Definitely check them out if you love Exodus and Testament and Anthrax and Overkill. I've been waiting for a chance to see them and this was a great venue to do so.
Their performance was great; they were energetic and loud and oh-so-happy to be out, playing music in front of people who appreciated it. They ended their set by asking the crowd to hang around so they could get a picture with everyone. I just want to grab them up and hug them all.
Godsmack
Unbelievably enough, I've seen them before. And thanks to a couple of close friends from high school, I am more than a little acquainted with Godsmack's music... kill me now.
We had initial decided that there was no way in hell we'd watch their set. Then we checked out the other band playing at the same time (Cryptopsy). Then we decided we'd go see Godsmack.
This is a perfect place to apply our new metric; Godsmack is bad but not Acacia Strain bad.
I'm actually jealous of my roommate who slept through the set.
Rob Zombie
A man who learned everything he ever needed to know from Alice Cooper and old horror movies, Rob Zombie knows how to put on a great performance. It's something like an exploitation film with a catchy, metal soundtrack.
I've seen him a handful of times (during his solo career) and a handful of times (as part of White Zombie.) He is always an energetic professional that works the crowd like a sideshow barker. I'd actually say this was one of the best performances I've seen from him.
If you have never seen Rob Zombie, you are doing yourself a disservice.
