On Tuesday, the Machines vs Monsters Tour rolled through Montreal, promising a healthy dose of theatrics among the familiar alt-metal stylings of Static-X, GWAR, Dope, and A Killer’s Confession.
“Save a kid, kill a pedophile.” That was the mission statement of Cleveland’s A Killer’s Confession, the first band of the evening. Though their costumes and production were impressive and elaborate, the music didn’t leave much of an impact, even through its very accessible sound. Near the end of their half-hour set, the frontman revealed himself as Waylon Reavis, previously of Mushroomhead. With Richard “Stitch” Thomas on keys, the band launched into a cover of “Qwerty,” before ending their set with “Kill Or Be Killed.” Mid-tempo pop-metal with formulaically screamed verses and hooky choruses aren’t my preferred flavour of the genre, but A Killer’s Confession gave a solid performance. They’re worth a listen if you like bands that would fit right in at the Sirius Octane-sponsored side stage of an American rock festival at 3:15 p.m.
Up next was Dope, a band I’ve been hoping to catch live for quite a while. To my surprise, their short-but-sweet set consisted almost entirely of USA-branded tough-guy nu metal meets pretty boy sleaze.
Three songs in, the crowd finally erupted into the first mosh pit of the evening, and kept the energy going until the end. Frontman Edsel Dope poked some fun at the fact that they were the only band of the night to not wear masks and costumes, and, in an effort to not take themselves too seriously, closed out their set with a cover of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).”
In many ways, GWAR were a lot of people’s motivation for getting to MTelus early that night. They were certainly mine. Their live show’s legacy far exceeds their own music, exemplified by the amount of people in white shirts enthusiastically pushing themselves through the crowd to be as front-and-centre as possible.
What followed is a near-indescribable experience. I’m talking beheadings of Elon Musk, shredding the skin off of Trump’s body, and ripping an alien baby out of Taylor Swift—all acted out by caricatures on stage alongside the band’s members, and each incident followed by gallons and gallons of fake blood being sprayed into the crowd. I had a shit-eating grin on my face the entire time out of the sheer absurdity of it all.
But aside from the elaborate and theatrical gags, GWAR’s production team deserve a serious nod. The costumes are over-the-top, and so well done. The visuals on-screen varied drastically in style, but drove the point of each song home when we might have otherwise been distracted by, well, absolutely everything going on. As someone who does a lot of behind-the-scenes work on various productions, bringing out a giant dinosaur on the MTelus stage only to stab it through the roof of its mouth with a 5’ sword is no small feat. The band’s been at it for 40 years now and I really hope they don’t stop any time soon.
As the MTelus staff mopped up the now red-stained floor, I wondered how the hell you even follow up an act like GWAR. I suppose the answer lies somewhere in Static-X’s extravagant visual show. Multiple screens and animations immersed the crowd in what felt like a simulation.
As front-machine Xer0 marched on his pedestal with the coolest and most realistic android costume I’ve ever seen—laser eyes and all—the visuals popped off alongside the headbanging riff in “I Want To Fucking Break It.” Seriously, tasteful strobes, cyberpunk-esque tube lights, and dystopian scenes on screen as lyrics flashed in time to the music. Though, as an aside, Static-X songs sound way cooler when you’re not reading their lyrics.
The industrial metal bangers continued as their set progressed, and a touching tribute was made near the end of the night to the man who was the reason we were all there tonight: the late Wayne Static.
I absolutely love how Static-X handled their reunion post-death: all other original members back into the fold, and a robot-costumed lead singer sporting his likeness to carry the torch, never making the project about himself. Wayne’s spirit very much lives on in this new incarnation of the band, and I’m glad they’re still around to give people who were too young to know them in their prime the chance to experience the band properly—myself included.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
Photos – Andres Amaya
