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Concert Review – Wacken Metal Battle Toronto Round #1 (Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON, 01/25/2025)

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The iconic Hard Luck Bar in Toronto became a “metal ring” where four brave bands started wrestling for the undisputed prize of playing at the greatest metal festival in the world this summer.

INTRODUCTION: ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?

It was time to set this bitterly cold winter on fire in Toronto this Saturday with this year’s edition of Wacken Metal Battle Canada, starting with Wacken Metal Battle Toronto Round #1 with the bands PURVEYOR OF CHAOS, UNKLE SKURVEY, ISCHEMIC and PILLARS OF AUTUMN at Hard Luck Bar, the first step for each one of those four bands to win the coveted slot at Wacken Open Air taking place from July 30 to August 2 this year in Wacken, Germany, plus $1,000 CAD towards expenses, and VIP camping at the festival. Not only that, they also have the opportunity to win monetary and gear prizes at the international Wacken Metal Battle. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there to cover such an important night for the underground metal scene in Toronto, and of course enjoy the music by those four amazing bands.

As a matter of fact, this year I was invited by the one and only JJ Tartaglia, responsible for Wacken Metal Battle Canada, and the vocalist and drummer for Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band Thunderor, to be one of the guest judges alongside Claus Nader (Futhark Records), Andrew Craig (Zombitrol Productions) and Ryan Hofing (Crimson Shadows). It was a true honor being chosen to evaluate the future of heavy music in Toronto, and I hope I did a good job to the point I get invited to this unique event more times this year and in all future editions of Wacken Metal Battle Canada. Having said all that, are you ready to rumble?

PURVEYOR OF CHAOS

The first band of the night was Heavy Metal/Hard Rock quartet PURVEYOR OF CHAOS, who hit the stage at 9pm armed with their heavy riffs and the soaring vocals by frontman Maxel Black. Playing songs form their 2022 self-titled album, which is by the way available on BandCamp and on Spotify, the band did a good job onstage and put everyone to bang their heads and raise their horns in the name of classic heavy music, and I’m sure if they refine their sound a bit, maybe by adding a second guitarist to their lineup and making the sound of their drums clearer, they’ll have a much better overall performance during their future live shows.

Band members
Maxel Black – vocals
Bulldog Bess Ross – guitars
Tenbears – bass
Fast Eddie – drums

UNKLE SKURVEY

Right after a quick break, Heavy Metal/Hardcore outfit UNKLE SKURVEY delivered a fun and vibrant performance to a very decent crowd at Hard Luck Bar, sometimes sounding like a Thrash Metal band, sometimes like a System of a Down cover band, which was a bit confusing but in the end worked relatively well. The songs Covid Mosh, World War 3, and Next Generation, all available on Spotify, sounded great live, with frontman Ché Cleland’s energy and facial expressions adding an extra touch of insanity to their show. I personally think if they focus on the sound from the song Next Generation in their future releases, and add a second guitarist to the band, they’ll definitely go places.

Band members
Ché Cleland – vocals
Doug Noel – guitars
Stephen ‘Stiv’ Scott – bass
Sean Mollison – drums

ISCHEMIC

The third band of the night was most definitely the heaviest of all, blasting a dark and deep fusion of Blackened Death and Doom Metal not recommended for the lighthearted. I’m talking about the five-headed beast known by the name of ISCHEMIC, spearheaded by the talented growler Isabelle Tazbir, who melted our faces with their undisputed heaviness and obscurity. Having released the album Condemned to the Breaking Wheel in 2024, which you can purchase or stream on BandCamp and on Spotify, their performance was beyond fantastic, proving Isabelle and her henchmen are more than ready for bigger stages worldwide.

Band members
Isabelle Tazbir – vocals
Adam Korchok – guitars
Jon Radic – guitars
Lyndon Quadros – bass
Mrudul Kamble – drums

PILLARS OF AUTUMN

Last but certainly not least, it was time for Technical/Symphonic Deathcore act PILLARS OF AUTUMN to deliver a massive, electrifying, technical and very professional performance to the crowd at Hard Luck Bar, with all songs, in special their new single Crestfallen Emissary, sounding amazing live. I highly recommend you go check their music out on BandCamp and on Spotify, paying very good attention to the demented fry screams by Nick Young and the insane bass lines by Kevin Chan Kin Fung, as those two guys sounded brilliant during their set this Saturday night in Toronto.

Band members
Nick Young – vocals
Devon Groat – guitars
Carl Pike – guitars
Kevin Chan Kin Fung – bass
Doug Noel – drums

AND THE WINNER IS…

…the Blackened Death and Doom Metal creature ISCHEMIC! Congratulations for the win! They now move on to the Ontario Final on March 21 at Rivoli in Toronto, and if you want to know more about the whole competition, the next rounds across Canada and so on go to the official Facebook page of Wacken Metal Battle Canada. Also, thanks to all media partners and promoters, including Bravewords.com, Metal-Rules.com, Metal Devastation Radio, Boonsdale Records, Asher Media Relations, and many others, for keeping the fires of underground music in Canada burning brighter than a thousand suns. I’m sure Ischemic will have another killer performance during the Ontario Final in March, and who knows, maybe they’ll be the ones to “rule them all” and venture through the sacred lands of Wacken Open Air in Germany this summer, proudly representing Canada at the greatest stage of all.

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Album Review – Mutank / W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. EP (2017)

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They have a lot of thrashing songs that have abbreviated titles, and they kick some serious ass with their old school music and hardcore attitude.

They have a lot of thrashing songs that have abbreviated titles on their menu, and all those songs will certainly put you to slam into the circle pit with their endless electricity and catchy melodies. I’m talking about Canadian Crossover/Trash Metal act Mutank, who have just released a new EP titled W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. (which according to the band means “We Have Alotta Thrash Songs That Have Abbreviated Titles”). Displaying a kick-ass old school cover art by Andrei Bouzikov (Holycide, Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch), W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. is not just a set of five amazing Crossover Thrash songs, but it’s also a follow-up to the band’s 2014 debut album M.E.C.H. METAL, which carved Mutank’s name in the Montreal Thrash scene and led them to play at Wacken Open Air that same year, as well as a taste of what’s to come as the band will have a full-length album to follow the EP later this year.

Inspired by Megadeth, Overkill, Iron Maiden, Municipal Waste, Mike Patton and the golden age of Thrash Metal, this Montreal-based quartet describes their sound as a “T-Rex skateboarding down a volcano”, which is exactly what you’ll find in W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. “Our upcoming EP W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. sort of started as a joke. I just thought it would be funny to force an acronym for ‘what’s that?’ and I came up with ‘We Have Alottta Thrash Songs That Have Abbreviate Titles’. From there we came up with the concept of an EP with a bunch of forced acronym titles. The EP itself was written somewhat conceptually with the individual songs being very short thrash songs that come together to make one longer progressive thrash track, which harkens back to the title since we don’t even know what it is! We have a ton of new material in the works as well, people can expect new stuff sooner rather than later!”

In the opening track, titled  L.I.F.E. (“Lament Infinity, Forlorn Eternity”), we’re treated to the sharp, thrilling guitar riffs and solos by Costa Skoulikas and Lee Whiskey in one minute of old school Thrash Metal, warming up the listener for I.D.I.O.T. (“I’ll Do It Over Tomorrow”), with its sick lyrics being nicely declaimed by lead singer and bassist Stephen Reynolds (“My brain’s a backed-up toilet / Can’t function cuz’ somebody soiled it / The posterior of prosperity / Thoughts too inbred to decongest / They’re unrelated so it can’t be incest / As I plunge into depravity”), whose rumbling bass also adds an extra kick to the song. Slam into the pit, have a beer with your buddies or simply bang your head nonstop to this uncompromised and electrified tune, before Mutank brings forth more shredding and thunderous bass lines for our avid ears in the faster and more hardcore mosh pit-generator P.O.P.U.L.O.U.S. (“Price Of Progress: Ugly Little Organisms Undermining Society”). This awesome composition sounds like the Thrash Metal played by Anthrax with Mutank’s own touch, turning it into the best track of the EP in my opinion.

F.O.G. (“Frailty Of Genius”) can be summarized as a minute and a half of pure madness led by the groovy beast by drummer Ahmed Daas and the inebriate vocals by Stephen, who once again sings the song’s old school demented lyrics with all his strength (“I walk around saying “It’s too late” / I know it ain’t / I guess that’s why I hold my breath under the water / ’til I come back up and drown in air”). And D.E.A.T.H. (“Divine Evaluation Awaits Thee Human”), the longest of all tracks, is also the one with the highest amount of complexity, showcasing thrashing guitars and a badass attitude, with Stephen and Ahmed sounding simply bestial with their bass and drums, respectively.

In ten minutes, Mutank slam more than several bands in their entire careers, and that says a lot about the overall quality of the music found in W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. You can get to know more about Mutank and their wicked acronyms and abbreviations at their Facebook page, listen to their high-voltage music on YouTube and on SoundCloud, and purchase W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T. through their BandCamp page. I was trying to come up with a fun abbreviation to conclude this review, but you know what? Leave those to Mutank, as they definitely know how to condense words and, more important than that, amazing music into their short but extremely fun compositions.

Best moments of the album: I.D.I.O.T. and P.O.P.U.L.O.U.S.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2017 Boonsdale Records

Track listing
1. L.I.F.E. (Instrumental) 1:01
2. I.D.I.O.T. 2:06
3. P.O.P.U.L.O.U.S. 1:40
4. F.O.G. 1:33
5. D.E.A.T.H. 3:50

Band members
Stephen Reynolds – vocals, bass
Costa Skoulikas – guitar
Lee Whiskey – guitar
Ahmed Daas – drums