So it came and went much faster that I hoped/thought. Heavy T.O. was once again a great success and had many fans in attendance for some of metal's finest! Now mind you, other than a couple last minute changes to the items allowed/not allowed, the festival had minimal medical situations, no sound problems and the sets flowed very smooth. Since Heavy TO wasn't shelling anymore press passes, I had to get down and dirty with everyone else to snap a few of these and fend off the pits in the meantime. I got what I could so if I missed a band of yours, I apologize. :-\
Now lets recap with how the festival grounds looked after a solid day of rain...
Yeah, as you can tell it was pretty messy no matter where you went. Since the weather was not on our side for the weekend, most people prepared for the worst and even made it part of the festivities (aka mud pitting, slip-slides down the hills and not to mention the amount mud just being thrown through the air haha). So a few bands have taken the stage and did their thing as we were on the road to the festival (opening acts, Protest The Hero, Cancer Bats and Gojira). We managed to sneak in a few minutes before Gojira was finished for the day. But due to some heavy rainfall going on at the time (damn it was cold!), the camera wouldn't have lasted and therefore screwed the rest of the weekend. haha
Now time to bring on Trivium...
(Intro - Capsizing the Sea)
1. In Waves
2. Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
3. Rain
4. Down From the Sky
5. Into the Mouth of Hell We March
6. The Deceived
7. Dusk Dismantled
8. A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation
9. Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis
10. Throes of Perdition
(Outro - Leaving This World Behind)
I always feel bad for bands playing in the afternoon, only because I don't they get the light show they deserve, but Trivium OWNED the west stage during their performance. The sound was top notch and they just overall brought their 'A' game (not sure how else to explain it).
Then we had Suicidal Tendencies taking over for their hour long set (which I unfortunately had to miss out on the shots to get a good spot for In Flames). From what I saw from the west stage, the boys were full of energy and Muir was a beast on the stage! The guy has more energy at his age than most kids I know at mine! Kudos to them for bringing a great show.
Anyways, onto the last minute change (and a damn good one at that)... IN FLAMES!
1. Cloud Connected
2. Trigger
3. Alias
4. Delight and Angers
5. Fear Is the Weakness
6. Only for the Weak
7. Where the Dead Ships Dwell
8. Deliver Us
9. The Quiet Place
10. The Mirror's Truth
11. Take This Life (dedicated to Rob "Rab" Cranny)
This was my 6th time (I think...lost count now haha) seeing these Swedish death metal heads. Anders, Bjorn and the rest of the gang didn't have much of a light/stage show, but they made up for it in the set list they brought for the show (see above). Now apparently, according to Anders, we picked up these guys in Toronto when they were supposed to be on vacation. Well, I hope your Canadian vacation was fun and relaxing, we enjoyed the hour long set (I could be happy if they added another 30-60 mins but to each their own). Only thing I had a problem with...being a fan for many years of In Flames, it was a little disappointing to see no material (minus Only For The Weak) prior to 2002's Reroute To Remain. Not complaining by any means, just more of an observation.
From there, we saw Marilyn Manson hit the stage. OK, now I have to admit that the thought of him rocking out on stage did not seem that appealing. The history to my predisposition was the fact I paid $75 for a floor ticket to see Manson during his Eat Me, Drink Me tour. It was my first time catching the legendary front man, only to be slightly disappointed with the lack of stage energy, vocal range and lights/pyro.
I have to admit that Manson stepped up a bit during his show this time (props to Twiggy for helping out on stage as well for energy), but still wasn't enough for me to move from my sweet spot on the west stage. As 9pm rolls around, the rain has stopped and the crowds are starting to get restless as we witness the return of SLIPKNOT!!
(Intro - 742617000027)
1. (sic)
2. Eyeless
3. The Blister Exists
4. Three Nil (First time played since 2005)
5. Sulfur
6. Wait and Bleed
7. Disasterpiece
8. Everything Ends
9. Pulse of the Maggots
10. Vermilion
11. Psychosocial
12. Before I Forget
13. The Heretic Anthem
14. Duality
15. Snuff
16. Spit It Out
17. People = Shit
18. Surfacing
(Outro - 'Til We Die )
This was the closest and best performance of Slipknot I have seen to date. Notorious front man Corey Taylor and the rest of the maggots brought down the house/park/festival, whatever you want to call it. The video I have posted on Facebook says it all in a nutshell, they played amazing, the pyros, lights, sound and stage presence all were top notch. I would pay good money to see them play again in a heartbeat if they continued to put on a show like that!
So after about 8+ hours in the mud, rain and mulch, we decided to walk our asses over to Downsview station (with a couple hundred others as well) to get whatever rest we could before another solid day of rock!
So Sunday rolls around and all of us get a message from Heavy TO (phone app) stating to wear proper foot ware because the festival grounds were muddy... GOOD OBSERVATION! It was only news we could have used yesterday before arriving at the park. haha
Anyways, Sunday looked the same as Saturday. The place had a few heavily mudded areas covered with some wood chips/mulch, but did minimal damage to the massive amount of mud surrounding the food, booze and sound booths. Mind you, no one found it to be an inconvenience because we all knew what we were getting into. If anything, people got more sloppy with the mud and made it part of the fun we all had there.
We got in just in time to see Fleshgod Apocalypse finish off their set. Great stage presence, bu not enough time for me to grab some snapshots. I think time was running a little off since I watched both Fleshgod Apocalypse and Exhumed both playing at the same time. Someone screwed up the stage times...tsk tsk tsk haha
Now enters Periphery, the reason I decided to show my face at the park so early in the day...
1. Zyglrox
2. Make Total Destroy
3. Facepalm Mute
4. Icarus Lives!
5. The Walk
6. Ragnarok
It was a short set but a sweet one. They wasted no time and jumped right into their set, blasting through song after song! I had to note the amazing looking drum kit that Matt rolled out on. Literally, the techs rolled out the set while he was sitting on it, tweaking the skins. The crowd loved it and started to cheer right away, also with his Bandhappy shirt for promo. This also marked the first time I have seen Periphery perform without bassist Tom Murphy and duties were taken over by Jeff Holcomb. Good job overall boys to get the crowd movin and grovin!
After Periphery's set, we decided it was time for beer and food, so we ended up checking out some of the bands playing, but never really got around to watching a full set or taking photos. I myself tried hard to grab some great shots, but then again, even I had to let loose and have some fun. So off for some Jager shots and a couple of beers! The Faceless, Goatwhore and Job For A Cowboy all had great sets and reception so it was no doubt that they equally had a good time rockin out!
I grabbed a decent spot for the next band on my list which was Veil of Maya. This was my 3rd or 4th time seeing these guys, but the first time I decided to actually watch the entire set. Previous albums (Common Man's Collapse & ID) were great and all, but didn't really click. Once the promos and single started to come out for "Eclipse" did I really sit and think to myself 'OK, time to pay attention to these guys. They really got something here.'
1. 20/200
2. Divide Paths
3. Unbreakable
4. Crawl Back
5. Winter Is Coming Soon
6. Dark Passenger
7. Pillars
8. It's Not Safe to Swim Today
9. Punisher
Guitarist Marc and bassist Dan both really caught my attention. I mean, how can you not pay attention to a guy playing a 7 string bass (yeah, I know...all depends on what you're playing, not what you're playing with). For a band that has the sound and presence of a 5 or 6 piece group, they really made an impression for being 4 piece act. They loved it, the crowd loved it and the camera loved it. Moving on! haha
Once again, on of those times where I'm kicking myself in the ass for not getting closer for this shot, but up next came Between The Buried and Me.
1. White Walls
2. Fossil Genera - A Feed From Cloud Mountain
They managed to eat up an entire 30 minute set in only two tracks. Not too shabby for BTBAM. Not much to say about these guys other than they are just all around awesome. If you're into a mind trip, then for sure check these guys out!
Now as much as I am not for the ultimate heavy, heavy stuff, it was pretty nostalgic to see Cannibal Corpse play. Fisher, Webster and all the guys in the band came out, did their thing, and did it good. The fans were uber ecstatic to see them (I could tell by the multitude of tour shirts everyone was wearing). I was really happy to see they closed out with a classic "Hammer Smashed Face". My crew and I knew right away that we had to start doing the 'dance', just out pure nostalgia. Overall, not my taste in music but they delivered a great show for those looking to check em out!
You can tell when a band is ready to go on (sometimes) by the fans starting to gather round the stage. For instance, the muscle buff tough guys started to swarm the front rail, and as soon as the first song kicked off, you knew that Killswitch Engage had made their triumphant return! The pits took no time to start getting rough, but then again, the amount of combined 'roids' in that pit would have made anyone either nervous or anxious, depending on what side you were on. haha
1. Rose of Sharyn
2. Fixation on the Darkness
3. This Is Absolution
4. No End in Sight
5. My Last Serenade
6. A Bid Farewell
7. Life to Lifeless
8. The End of Heartache
9. My Curse
10. Holy Diver (Dio cover)
Best line of the day goes to Adam D...
"Well, as you can all tell...that's not Howard."
I don't think anyone in that place didn't chuckle just a little bit when they heard that. But anyways, the crowd was singing along to every song and made the reception for Jesse's return quite welcoming. Despite all the knuckleheads trying to play 'who's tougher' game in the pit, the show was great, with a great setlist to boot. Any old school fan of KSE would be satisfied.
After their set, the Deftones took the stage and I (once again) was not willing to leave my spot for a 1/2 decent one on the other side. I came to the conclusion that you had to pick a stage and stay there for a good 30 mins prior to any band going on or else you just didn't get a good spot. I know this meant I missed out on some great acts, but in the end, you where the music takes you. I felt I got my money's worth seeing and photographing the bands I saw. In conclusion, I felt the Deftones had a great crowd and great sound (Carpenter's 7 and 8 string guitars sounded soooooo deep!), but lacked the overall energy I was expecting. I think this also was me being a tad bit biased for not hearing "Around The Fur".
Then the big guys from LA showed up and just lit the place up! I made sure at this point to grab myself a spot on the railing for Five Finger Death Punch. They brought with them quite a light show and was (in my opinion) the most interactive band of the festival. I don't know if it was Ivan's upbeat attitude or just the overall energy all the band members brought, but they were definitely worthy of a one hour time slot.
I think one of the most memorable moments of their set was when Ivan grabbed a 7 year old and 10 year old from out of the crowd, put them right in front of the stage and kicked right into the next track. I'm pretty sure both those kids were still trying to cope with the fact they were on stage at a metal festival.
Another great piece I remember was Ivan bending down to shake hands and thanks EVERY fan who got pulled over the railings during crowd surfing. It's always good to see (as a fan) band members who interact with their fans to make the experience unforgettable. This was one of those moments for sure.
1. Under and Over It
2. Burn it Down
3. American Capitalist
4. Hard to See
5. Coming Down
6. Bad Company (Bad Company cover)
7. White Knuckles
8. Drum Solo
9. Far From Home
10. Never Enough
11. Remember Everything
12. The Bleeding
All good things must come to an end though. The finished off their set and made way for a stunning performance by SYSTEM OF A DOWN!
Wait! WTF! Where are the photos from System of a Down?
Well, as you can see from the photos above, I had a hard enough time snapping some decent shots of 5FDP, let alone trying to fight 1000+ other people for a decent spot to see SOAD. Sorry to all those looking for some good photos. I'm pretty sure that Heavy T.O. had more than enough photographers there to take shots of any of the bands I missed (not to mention getting awesome spots for shots :-\).
***
For more photos, you can check out both albums spanning over the two day trek at AFGM Facebook.
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