It was Friday night, the first that started to feel like summer might be peeking its head into Montreal weekends. What better way than to gather with a sold-out crowd of metalheads and sweat it out together? That’s what 2300 or so of us decided to do.
And it got hot and heavy pretty quickly as While She Sleeps hit the stage riffs blazing to the anthemic “Sleeps Society.” There was no warmup, permission wasn’t asked, they just unapologetically melted everyone’s faces within 30 seconds. They had 30 minutes to kick some ass and were systematic to waste none of it. High energy set that quickly got people out of the beer line and into the pit.
After a short breather, it was Of Mice & Men’s turn to test the melting point of the crowd’s faces. The experimental conditions were once again filled with catchy, heavy riffs. The vocals were cleaner, but that didn’t slow the crowd down at all. The crowd sang along like they were the headliners, especially as they closed out the set with banger “Second and Sebring.”
For those who survived the main event, it was time for Architects to hit a Montreal stage for the first time in half a decade; seriously, why so long? The first thing that hit me is this is probably the coolest set I’ve seen in 3 decades of Metropolis/MTelus shows. Split-level stage with giant screens and 3 members on each level. I’m sure Eric’s photos capture it well, but it was truly incredible. They made good use of it, having the band look like silhouettes at points with energy pulsing behind.
Some bands might use stage visuals as a crutch, but not these boys. The performance matched the energy. I remember seeing these guys as shy lads opening for Protest the Hero a decade back, and it’s incredible to see the progression as they now own the stage. It would be easy to get lost in the visuals, but Sam Carter does a great job of pulling you back to the music.
He asked the crowd, “Who’s coming out for round 2 tomorrow night?” and either a lot of people were lying, or they were getting the same crowd 2 nights in a row. I don’t think they’re complaining though, cause the crowd was electric, showing their appreciation with loud voices and devil horns.
We had the honour of being the second city to hear new single “Curse” live, and oh damn, is it a banger?! All the big bangers came out to play, including closing the main set out with “When We Were Young” which I’m sure blew out a few vocal chords in the crowd judging by how loudly they sand along. They sent the sea of sweat and pumping fists home to “Animals.”
If you’re reading this review and weren’t there, don’t make the same mistake the next time this band is in town. They have become the best live metal band still touring clubs, and it’s not even close. They already have the setup for an arena, so don’t be surprised if this was your last chance to see them in this intimate a setting.
Review – Richard Brunette
Photos – Eric Brisson
