AGGRESSOR, ASH LEE BLADE, MIDNIGHT MALICE, SHOTGUN CURE Live Show Review

January 22nd, 2011 Toronto, ON - Poor Alex Theater

Fuck the Poor Alex venue. If you took a venue that had incredible potential and threw it all out the window you would have the Poor Alex. Words alone cannot describe the anger and frustration that I have towards this venue. Here I am, spending up to 6 dollars on beer, 7 dollars at the door, for a local metal show and you tell me that I can’t mosh? Who the hell do you think you are? If you don’t want people to mosh, then don’t hold a metal show at your venue.  Although, the venue allowed moshing  for the final band later in the night, the fact that they banned it for the opening acts is inexcusable.

SHOTGUN CURE

The show would start off with Toronto locals, Shotgun Cure. Now, if you’ve been following my articles on X-plosive Metal you know how much I worship this band. Shotgun Cure played a great set; unfortunately a series of technical difficulties would plague the band throughout their set, preventing them from having a flawless performance. From picking up radio signals (thanks to the professional work of the Poor Alex), to guitars being unplugged, Shotgun Cure was finding themselves cut off at some of the best parts in their music. However, it’s a true testament to the bands dedication and personality that they were able to play around these difficulties and keep a positive attitude.

Shotgun Cure played two songs aside from their standard work, a new song of theirs which I regretfully forget the name of, the second song being Sepultura’s Territories, a thrash metal classic. It was in the final three songs that a mosh pit opened up to Shotgun Cure.  It was during the second last song of Shotgun Cure’s set when the SS told the fans, including myself, to stop. Although not having the ability to mosh was a huge piss off, it didn’t make watching Shotgun Cure any less enjoyable.

MIDNIGHT MALICE

I nearly left the concert early because of this band. Hair metal died at the end of the eighties (Thank you Kurt Cobain) someone, however, didn’t tell the members of Midnight Malice this little know fact unfortunately. Needless to say, I found myself disgusted by the mix of emotionless music, and the endless visuals of bracelets, mullets, and tight jeans. To describe the sound of the band, it was almost as if Poison had reunited (...God Forbid...). I know I’m sounding a little harsh with this but... bands like Midnight Malice are the types of bands that I’m glad never get signed.

ASH LEE BLADE

This band was a little all over the place for me. Needless to say anything would sound good to my ears after having to endure Midnight Malice. In all seriousness though, these guys were pretty good. Their sound was very New-Wave of British Metal with Judas Priest being the nearest comparison that comes to mind. The band had plenty of energy, and encouraged the crowd’s participation. It was a solid set; there was the odd song that I found to be a bit cheesy, but at the same time incredibly catchy. What really impressed me is although it was a local show Ash Lee Blade nearly put on a solid hour performance. Overall, if you’re looking for very old Judas Priest, pre-painkiller, then I would check this band out.

AGGRESSOR

Ottawa’s been hiding a legendary band from the rest of the world and their name is Aggressor. I had no knowledge of Aggressor’s existence until that night. Needless to say the Poor Alex SS couldn’t hold back the pit this time, with the crowd nearly consumed within minutes of the Aggressor taking the stage. Songs like “Mission to Mosh” and “Chooper” just cry for a floor to open up and that’s what the thrash metal band from Ottawa received.

Aggressor is one of those bands that you can clearly tell have been performing live for a long time. Their live performance is incredible, with members of the band covering every inch of the stage. It’s hard to determine what the perfect formal is to put on an excellent live show, but Aggressor figured it out. This fact became concreted when the crowd rushed the stage for Aggressor’s final song to show their love and support.

Aggressor put on such a great performance that I HIGHLY recommend seeing them if you have the chance. Aggressor is what a thrash metal band should be: Fun, loud, brutal, and honest.

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