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Concert Review – TÝR (Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON, 04/03/2024)

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A pleasant (and rainy) night full of pirates, trolls and battle ballads for the delight of all fans of Folk Metal in the city of Toronto.

OPENING ACTS: The Dread Crew Of Oddwood, Aether Realm and Trollfest

Rain or shine, the Toronto metalheads are always there to support their favorite bands, which is exactly what happened this (very) rainy Wednesday night at the Horseshoe Tavern when THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD, AETHER REALM, TROLLFEST and TÝR offered a folk feast full of pirates, trolls, goblins, orcs, beer mead and other whimsical creatures and objects during their Battle Ballads North American Tour 2024, a fantastic event brought to the city by the one and only Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Of course, Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I couldn’t be left out of that party, and I must say I had an absolute blast seeing all those four bands for the first time ever in my life.

The first band to hit the stage was a “Pirate Folk Metal” crew beautifully named THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD, which is in fact an acoustic pirate band, referred to by the band as “Heavy Mahogany”, from San Diego, California, United States, and they put on a very entertaining show for all concert goers who were already at the venue. Playing songs from all of their albums, including their brand new album Rust & Glory, those American privateers kicked some ass and turned up the heat inside the Horseshoe Tavern, therefore properly warming up the fans for the upcoming bands. If you’re curious to know more about their pirate music, go check their crazy tunes on BandCamp and on Spotify, including amazing songs that were part of their setlist like Give Me Your Beer and Giant Fucking Demon Crab, and let’s be honest, it can’t get any more pirate than this, right?

Setlist
Dead Man’s Medley
Leather Ship
Side Quest
Give Me Your Beer
Raise Your Pints
Binged and Purged
Giant Fucking Demon Crab
The Dread Crew of Oddwood
Lawful Evil

Band members
Wolfbeard O’Brady – accordion, whistles, vocals
Smithy Crow – bass, orchestral strings, vocals
Stark Cordwain – Irish bouzouki, whistles, vocals
Deckard Cordwain – mandolin, ukulele, vocals
Pete – drums

Then after a short break it was time for Greenville, North Carolina, United States-based Melodic Death/Folk Metal act AETHER REALM to bring an overdose of heavy music to the venue, which was getting packed by the minute. Playing heavy and fast songs from all of their albums including songs from their latest effort, titled Redneck Vikings from Hell, released in 2020, plus a brand new single named Should I?, the band inspired the fans to get into a sweet mosh pit, which obviously raised the temperature inside the venue considerably. I highly recommend you go after their music by streaming and/or buying their albums on BandCamp and on Spotify (or click HERE for all things Aether Realm), and don’t miss a chance to see the band live whenever they take your city by storm.

Setlist
Slave to the Riff
The Tower
Cycle
The Magician
Should I?
Swampwitch
She’s Back
Guardian
TMHC
The Sun, the Moon, the Star

Band members
Vincent Jones – vocals, bass, orchestrations
Heinrich Arnold – guitars, vocals
Donny Burbage – guitars
Tyler Gresham – drums

Sporting the weirdest and coolest costumes you can think of, and by that I mean pink flamingo costumes, Oslo, Norway’s own Folk Metal army TROLLFEST were absolutely perfect from start to finish, driving their fans crazy throughout their fantastic set and generating a huge mosh pit, including tons of beer-drinking, horns-raising tunes from their entire catalogue (which features albums with stunning names such as Flamingo Overlord), like Dance Like a Pink Flamingo and All Drinks on Me. The band spearheaded by frontman Trollmannen is a must-see for anyone who enjoys a wild fusion of heavy music, beer, trolls and flamingoes, and you can enjoy all that on BandCamp and on Spotify, or on any other streaming platform, and if you’re planning to go watch them live get ready for one of the wildest rides you’ll ever experience at a metal concert.

Setlist
Kjettaren mot strømmen
Happy Heroes
Dance Like a Pink Flamingo
Steel Sarah
Twenty Miles an Hour
Professor Otto
Renkespill
Piña Colada
Kaptein Kaos
Flamongous
Byttingenes Byttehandel
All Drinks on Me
Espen Bin Askeladden
Hevlette

Band members
Trollmannen – vocals
Mr. Seidel – guitars
Fabio Grimdrap – guitars
Böesse Basshöl Nybazist – bass
Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow – drums
Drekka Dag – saxophone
Fjernkontrollet – accordion, keyboards
Trollbank – bouzouki

TÝR

Finally, after three amazing bands, it was then time for the main attraction of the night to kick some serious ass and close the entire event on a high and brilliant note. Denmark/Faroe Islands’ Progressive/Folk Metal institution TÝR didn’t care about the small size of the stage and simply killed it, delivering a beyond fun setlist for their avid fans with songs like By the Sword in My Hand and Hail to the Hammer, plus the brand new songs Dragons Never Die and Hammered, from their upcoming new studio album Battle Ballads (to be released on April 14), sounding insane live. As mentioned for all other bands, you can have a very good time enjoying all of their creations on different streaming platforms like BandCamp and Spotify, and of course don’t miss their concerts if they ever hit your city because they’re an amazing live band, and of course Toronto is waiting with arms wide open for another explosion of TÝR in the city in the near future.

Setlist
By the Sword in My Hand
Dragons Never Die
Mare of My Night
Tróndur í Gøtu
Valkyrja
Ragnars Kvæði
Hammered
The Lay of Thrym
By the Light of the Northern Star
Hail to the Hammer
Regin Smiður
Axes
Blood of Heroes

Encore:
Sinklars vísa
Hold the Heathen Hammer High

Band members
Heri Joensen – vocals, guitars
Hans Hammer – guitars
Gunnar Thomsen – bass, backing vocals
Tadeusz Rieckmann – drums

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Album Review – Strangle Wire / Shaped By Human Frailty (2022)

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A gargantuan collision between the heaviest of Death Metal and the darkest of emotions, submerged in an unsettling atmosphere of grief and isolation, masterfully crafted by a ruthless Belfast-based quartet.

A gargantuan collision between the heaviest of Death Metal and the darkest of emotions, submerged in an unsettling atmosphere of grief and isolation, Shaped By Human Frailty, the first full-length album by Belfast, Northern Ireland-based horde Strangle Wire, is a demonstration of Death Metal at its most effective and affecting, with sheer power being shaped by superb song writing following up on their 2018 EP The Dark Triad. Branding themselves as “Psychological Death Metal”, the band currently formed of Pete on vocals, Ross on the guitar, Daff on bass and John on drums delivers fast, groove laden and devastatingly heavy Death Metal throughout the entire album with the assistance of Chris Fielding (Electric Wizard, Primordial, Napalm Death) at Foel Studios, being therefore tailored for fans of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Grave and Benediction.

Arising from the pits of the underworld, the band kicks things off with a demented Death Metal attack entitled Heavily Medicated, where the vocals by Pete sound inhumane, also showcasing an amazing stringed work by Ross and Daff while John decimates our souls with his crushing drums. Pete roars deeply in the also pulverizing Learned Wretchedness, bringing forward old school Death Metal for lovers of the genre while again inviting us all to slam into the circle pit like demented metalmaniacs, with Ross extracting sheer obscurity from his riffs and solos. Are you tired already? Because there’s more of the band’s demolishing Death Metal in Judas Switch, an ass-kicking, infernal creation bringing to our avid ears more of the putrid guttural by Pete and the hammering drums by John, and get ready to be smashed by Strangle Wire in the demonic The Human Tensile Experiment, where the sensational blast beats by John offer Pete exactly what he needs to bark like a rabid beast, not to mention how heavy and visceral the guitars and bass by Ross and Daff sound.

Take a deep breath to the sound of the melancholic instrumental interlude An Abhorrent Intervention before all hell breaks loose in the title-track Shaped by Human Frailty, offering us all old school, in-your-face Death Metal with no shenanigans, being vile and aggressive from start to finish spearheaded by the intricate and demonic beats by John. Dead Before the Still brings forward less than three minutes of pulverizing groove and heaviness by the quartet, with the bass by Daff making our heads tremble in an ode to classic Death Metal; whereas their second to last blast of insanity and darkness, titled Psychology of the Sick, is a lesson in violence inspiring us all to headbang like there’s no tomorrow. And there’s nothing better than ending an album of crushing Death Metal with another crushing song, named Horrors Beneath, where Pete roars in great fashion supported by the stunning instrumental by his bandmates.

If you would like to explore the vicious, psychological world of Strangle Wire, you can do so by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news and tour dates, by subscribing to their YouTube channel, by streaming their music on Spotify, and by purchasing Shaped By Human Frailty from their own BandCamp page or from Apple Music sooner than you can say “Death Metal”, or simply click HERE for all things Strangle Wire. Absolutely dark and sinister, Shaped By Human Frailty provides us with the exact message that the band wanted to send when they started working on the album, with its cruel atmosphere proving that once you’re captured by the Death Metal brought into being by Strangle Wire, there’s no escape.

Best moments of the album: Heavily Medicated, The Human Tensile Experiment and Horrors Beneath.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2022 Grindscene Records

Track listing
1. Heavily Medicated 3:25
2. Learned Wretchedness 3:58
3. Judas Switch 4:08
4. The Human Tensile Experiment 4:24
5. An Abhorrent Intervention 1:03
6. Shaped by Human Frailty 5:26
7. Dead Before the Still 2:39
8. Psychology of the Sick 3:33
9. Horrors Beneath 5:38

Band members
Pete – vocals
Ross – guitar
Daff – bass
John – drums

The Walking Dead Review – Episode 407: Dead Weight

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Now the Governor we were all waiting for is back for real!

***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***

If you haven’t seen Dead Weight yet, I suggest you scroll down to the end of this post first and watch the entire episode before reading the rest of the text.

twd_407_01This post is going to be as fast as the Governor when killing people due to the amount of work that is, well, killing me. Last night we learned a few lessons while watching episode 7 of season 4 from The Walking Dead, most of them taught by our “friend” the Governor, who simply deceived all of us last week with that “I’m Brian and I’m a good person” character. It took him only 5 minutes this week to throw all that garbage away and get back to what he really is: a violent and gruesome man who will kill absolutely anyone that stands on his way or tries to fool him. And it’s amazing to see him back in action like that.

The first lesson was to avoid at all costs playing golf with a crazy man you abandoned to death in the past. In fact, you shouldn’t do anything with that guy, because he will kill you for sure. That was the last lesson learned by Martinez, right before becoming an afternoon snack for a bunch of starving zombies inside a pit. Why the hell did he think the Governor was going to accept all his new rules and become one of his henchmen? Did he really think he could have more power than the Governor? That was a really stupid decision, but at least he died having some fun, playing golf after drinking some beers. Goodbye, Martinez! You were a great guy, especially for having the honor of being killed by two of the most badass characters in recent history: the Governor and Chev Chelios (if you know what I mean).

The second lesson was that there’s no such thing as a safe camp in The Walking Dead. Just forget about it. If you join some campers, you’re either going to be killed by other humans or devoured by zombies, and we had both examples during last night’s episode: first with the mysterious death of all people in that other camp, and then by Meghan almost being eaten by a walker that appeared from out of nowhere. Even the prison is not really safe, as we were able to bear witness in the past few episodes. In my opinion, moving on from place to place is the best you can do to survive because this way you might face some trouble, but at least you won’t be waiting for all the trouble to come to you.

The next lesson is so basic that we almost have an example in every single episode: extremely good people cannot survive a zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t matter what they do or who they are, if they are too good they will either die or get someone they love killed. Last night we saw Mitch’s brother, Pete, trying to be some kind of Good Samaritan, and then ending his days on earth as an underwater zombie. Of course people have to protect their families and friends, but that doesn’t mean they have to be good, right? I hope Michonne sees that as soon as possible, because her current “happy version” won’t be useful at all when the Governor attacks. I have a feeling she won’t do it, she seems too happy now, and because she’s chilling out so much the Governor will have his vengeance against her before she notices his presence.

twd_407_02And the final lesson was that, despite all the violence and madness, there’s still time for love in The Walking Dead, although we know the ending is never good for both parts. We saw the Governor and Andrea, Rick and Lori, Glenn and Maggie, and now we have the Governor and Lilly (doesnt’she look a lot like Maggie?) and, surprise, Tara and Alisha (it’s interesting to see a lesbian couple in the show now). As Martinez said a few moments before being hit in the head with a golf club by the Governor, he wasn’t ready to get married or have a family again in that world, and normally when one of the characters says something like that it’s because it’s true. We all know those couples are not going to last much longer, and that the pain they’ll suffer for losing someone they really love is a billion times worse than anything else. We saw what happens when the ones you love become zombies, when they reached that cabin in the woods last night, right?

In summary, the Governor has a new family, a new camp, new soldiers, even an expanded new version of his “aquarium” for walkers, and his thirst for revenge is back in full swing. Besides, he has a fuckin’awesome tank now, like in the comics, so it’s time for things to get as awful as they can be for Rick and his crew! Let’s get ready to say goodbye to some of our favorite characters next Sunday during the mid-season finale.

Oh, I almost forgot about the last and most important lesson: Cogeco sucks here in Toronto. I pay them to watch just TWO HOURS of TV per week, and guess what? It wasn’t working last night during the entire episode of The Walking Dead and later during Talking Dead. Great job, Cogeco!

Dead Weight (FULL EPISODE)