CONCERT REVIEW: DESTRUCTION with KRISIUN and MANTIC RITUAL (March 16 2009)

A sleepy Monday in mid-March dressed in a shroud of chilly, winter air could not hold back the feverous fanaticism of Edmonton's metal community.

It was an exceptional turnout for the Starlite Room in spite of the chilly pseudo-wintry weather and a sound check mishap that delayed the doors opening for almost an hour and a half.

What band could inspire such adamant dedication to a level that its followers would gladly become more frigid than an Amish singles night?

The answer my friend is Teutonic thrash legends, Destruction. The trio from Lorrach, Germany that have been making music as long as Metallica has, an original cog you could say, in the great Metal machine and a gem of the underground scene.

Joined by Brazilian all brother group Krisiun and Pittsburgh's 'steely' hopefuls Mantic Ritual, this seemingly manic Monday was about to summon forth a Saturday night feel with all the trimmings!

Firing the first shot in the thrash metal barrage were Mantic Ritual, the young Pennsylvania outfit who just recently graced the stage of Starlite back in January on their tour with Greek headliners, Rotting Christ.

It's surprising what a couple of months can do for a band, whereas their performance with RC was marginal at best, this time out, they really turned up their intensity. Debuting with their song "One by One" it was at first, lyrically very disappointing. Vocalist Dan Wetmore was accomplishing more bark than bite at first, however as their set progressed whatever it was that hindered Wetmore from really digging deep and unleashing hell was gone.

With a group like Mantic Ritual you get a pure experience, the business has yet to take its toll on these young guys, leaving them untainted in their performance, and you genuinely feel based on their actions on stage that they are out there giving it their all and are still having fun when they play.

The night's set list for MR was mostly comprised of songs from their newly released studio album "Executioner" with a well executed cover of Venom's classic track "Black Metal", thrown in for good measure, it was just the right sound for this band to tackle. Not to undersell their album's songs, catchy hook and riff laden song "Panic" got quite a positive response from the crowd.

Their performance ended on a high note and it seemed to be the general consensus of those in the crowd that Mantic Ritual given time could be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.

Where Mantic Ritual left off, Krisiun picked up and knocked out of the park. These three brothers invoked a spirit of Brazilian metal style in the same tradition as Sepultura, but with much more growl, due to Krisiun being a death metal group straight out of the abyss.

From the first chord played, a sensation danced down your spine like a spider as Krisiun ignited the crowd with fiery metal zeal. The bass lines and percussion ripped through you like automatic gun fire, coursing in the veins of every song, rattling your teeth with every tone. Songs like "Vicious Wrath", "Refusal", and "BloodCraft" from their 2006 album "AssassiNation" firmly demonstrated the ferocity of their death roars and the consistency of their technical skill and chummed the waters of the pit below, inciting a swirling rift of moshing metalheads.

At every opportunity they could, Krisiun showed their humility by thanking the fans for coming out to see them on a Monday, understanding and acknowledging the level of dedication and support fans give them. This being their first ever show in Edmonton in their nineteen year history as a literal "band of brothers" the thanks seemed very genuine and was reciprocated by the raised horns and hollers from the Edmonton crowd.

Ending their set with the song "Slaying Steel" from their most recent album "Southern Storm", Krisiun left the crowd like a school of hungry, heavy metal piranha, anxious for the next band to cross their path and sate their wanton mosh-lust.

The crowds thirst for thrash did not go unquenched as main act, Destruction took the stage. Like Krisiun, these veteran performers are a three man group that could compete if not destroy inferior thrash metal four, five and six pieces.

Erupting on stage blanketed in smoke and bathed in strobing light, all set between two giant standees of their bands logo, the onslaught began. Like a blitzkrieg of sonic chaos, front man Schmier unleashed powerful raw vocals while galloping percussion and incredible thrash riffs sent the crowd into overdrive.

It was one great song after another, as they took us through their twenty-eight year journey as a band. Album title tracks like "Devolution" and "Metal Discharge" melded harmoniously with mid-80's favourites like "Death Trap".

Schmier as a lead man hasn't lost the ability to keep a crowd pleased and stirred into frenzy, as he demonstrates with ease before leading into 1986 song "Life Without Sense". His counterpart and career long band mate Mark Sifringer did not slip one iota despite the intensity and speed of their bands playlist.

Continuing on with their set, songs like "The Butcher Strikes Back" and a cover of the Plasmatics song "The Damned" fed the fire and kept it hot, up until the encore.

After such a dynamite showing, one could not fathom what they would do for an encore or whether or not there would be one at all. Destruction did not disappoint making sure that any mosher standing wouldn't be after the they were through. Like their main set, it was a mix of everything, making your blood pump and burn with the fire that only true thrash metal can create. "Curse the Gods", followed by "Nailed to the Cross" and finally to finish a crowd weary with metal ecstasy, appropriately "Total Disaster" was chosen.

With a closing statement of true appreciation, the juggernauts that go by the name Destruction thanked Edmonton's metal community; because like Krisiun this was their first gig here in our city and in their own words they are "tired of the constant, boring cycle of Montreal, to Toronto, to Vancouver over and over again."

It seemed more than evident that with the showing of support Edmonton gave them, they will return sooner rather than later.

We'll be ready, for 100% pure thrash, ready for the next wave of Destruction and any who should choose to follow in their wake.

For more info on any of the bands showcased in the performance check out their websites below.

THE FORGE SUMMONS THE BEAST!

THE RECENTLY INSTALLED FLAGCOUNTER FOR THE FORGE OF HEAVY METAL OFFICIALLY REACHED THE 666 MARK TODAY COURTESY OF METALHEADS FROM CHILE, MAKING US OFFICAL WITH THE MAN DOWNSTAIRS. THAT IS, IF YOU EVEN SUBSCRIBE TO SUCH PRETENTIOUS DOGMA IN THE FIRST PLACE.

NEVERTHELESS, THIS DOES INDEED CALL FOR CELEBRATION AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THAN WITH LUCIFER INSPIRED TUNES.

ALSO, IF I FORGET ANY OF THE TUNES YOU WOULD PICK (I AM SURE I WILL) SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS OR HIT ME @ TheForgeofHeavyMetal@Gmail.com

IRON MAIDEN-NUMBER OF THE BEAST



AVENGED SEVENFOLD- COVER DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA




TENACIOUS D-THE FINAL SHOWDOWN (BEEZLEBOSS)

VENOM-WELCOME TO HELL

GORGOROTH-INCIPIT SATAN

LORDI-DEVIL IS A LOSER

CONCERT REVIEW: SOILWORK with DARKANE, SWALLOW THE SUN, and WARBRINGER

Hundreds of Edmonton's wayward metal souls descended on the Starlite Room Friday, as Swedish metallers, Soilwork headlined a torrential lineup of bands on their North American tour.

Leading off the attack against the crowd was Finnish outfit, Swallow the Sun. Utilizing melodic, doom, and death metal elements this group was stylistically like a shot of Jack Daniels with a Vicodin chaser, it had just the right amount of sting but left you still pretty placid and calm. They seemed an odd fit for the line up but were nonetheless entertaining, having the feel, melody, and vocal style you come to expect from scandinavian groups like them. Lead vocalist, Mikko Kotamäki's screams were swallowed up by the overwhelming sound of his band, leaving little that was discernable or audible. Beyond this minor shortfall, the six piece still comes together well, with deep, penetrating, bass lines and guitar riffs that fostered synchronized headbanging, the sight of which strikes you as something you would see if Heavy Metal had its own mosques.

Following the performance of Swallow the Sun, Californian thrash metal pentacle Warbringer roared with fury onto the stage, despite the fact that behind the scenes they were all still battling a severe case of bronchitis, (especially front man John Kevill) and a back injury suffered by one of the guitarists. I never would have been able to tell at all based on their show, these thrash warriors delivered an onslaught of punishing screams, and Slayer-esque melodies mixed with an attitude and sound akin to the thrash metal coming out of California in the 80's.

On stage the five piece really come alive, whipping up a frenzy not only in and amongst themselves but in the crowd itself, lead vocalist John Kevill, demonstrates this mid-set as he skillfully stirs the crowd into a circular moshpit like he were stirring a cauldron of testosterone driven angst. Their songs display catchy hooks that draw you in with relative ease and kept up the momentum from start to finish.

The fans now at a rolling boil, lusted for more, longing for the next band to take the stage and keep this shred-fest going. While perhaps not meeting those expectations right away, Darkane, the third group in the night's lineup, started off well with some of their more melodic tracks. It wasn't long though before these metal magi brought it back home with more thrash infused songs, casting riffs and thumps from guitar and drum that should split your skull wide open. Even with the absence of one of their own guitarist who was called away to Sweden abruptly, Darkane still succeeds in tremendous solos with open notes that ring out and fill every chasm and crevice of the brain. Crowd favourite "Rape of Mankind" stirred up the frothing assembly just before the end of the set, finally culminating in one more song, where new addition and lead man Jens Broman left the exhilarated gathering before him to the mercy of a shredding thrash guitar firing squad.

The crowd bristled with excitement as the anticipated headliners Soilwork were next to hit the Starlite Room's stage. The return of Peter Wichers on guitar after his 2005 departure from the group is a great bonus, as most would say that Soilwork wouldn't be the same without his influence. The curtain remained drawn, for what seemed like an eternity, finally parted as a back track of "Baba O'Riley aka Teenage Wastleand" by The Who, summoned the beginning of Soilwork's performance. Cutting no corners the group immediately tapped into the ferocious sound that this band is known for. Incorporating the classic Gothenburg sound with their own musical influences, these Helsingborg swedes never let up, making moshing a necessity. Front man Bjorn "Speed" Strid adopts a Pantera-like twang to his singing but used more range, switching between melodic, guttural growl, and screaming vocal stylings.

The set list was as diverse as it was fast paced, with old songs making appearances as well as new ones like "20 More Miles" which was voted onto the tour's track list by way of a fan poll posted on Soilwork's main website. The encore did not disappoint whatsoever as it featured the 2002 single "As We Speak" and a modified Edmonton version of "The Pittsburgh Syndrome" in which lead vocalist Speed Strid changed Pittsburgh to Edmonton for our shows purposes. Eventhough their set almost lasted an hour and a half; you couldn't believe it was over; it went by so fast, as most pleasurable experiences do.

The city of Edmonton was once again graced with a great metal show, one in which sold out completely, which means more than likely we will be seeing more acts of this caliber roll through. With any luck one of those acts will once again be Soilwork, so that way those who missed out Friday can truly see what the "Edmonton Syndrome" is all about.

For more info on all of the bands that played Friday, try these links below.

SWALLOW THE SUN

WARBRINGER

DARKANE

SOILWORK

I SEE A "DEAD MOON" RISING: AN INTERVIEW WITH LUNA MORTIS' LEADING LADY, MARY ZIMMER

In a world where today's metal music is inundated with bands that sound relatively the same, have indiscernible vocals or have some sort of "core" assigned to them. It's rare to find a band you cannot assign any of the useless metal subgenre labels to, try as you might, you won't be able to label Madison Wisconsin five piece Luna Mortis with one hundred percent certainty.

With elements of melodic, thrash, and death metal in their instrumentals, combined with a vocal style that is equal parts Nightwish and Arch Enemy, this group is rapidly gaining ground with several different audiences. Nothing could be more evident of this fact then the roster of bands they have opened for in the past three years, the likes of which include Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, Nevermore and Megadeth. All this completed without even having their first full length album released themselves.

To learn anything about a band so new but yet so technically skilled you have to go to the source, the man at the top or in this case the woman. Lead singer, Mary Zimmer, who surprisingly is not only responsible for the clean vocals of the group but the aggressive, harsher ones as well is a force to be reckoned with serving a vital role that separates this group away from the pack.

How did such a talented young woman, let alone a technical and harmonious group come together to create such a distinctive sound?

The chanteuse had some interesting things to say on that, as well as life, death, the possibility of a Canadian tour, and most importantly, the release of their premier album "The Absence"

Surprisingly, this mid-western femme fatale is a relative newcomer to metal music itself. She laments, "Growing up I never really had that much exposure to that kind of music, and it wasn't until I was 18, in college that I started to see how much fit under the umbrella of heavy metal, listening to stuff like Nightwish, that's pretty much where I started with it.”

Some would say that Mary is quite attractive as female vocalists go; the metal scene has seen a spike in attractive female band members in recent years, most are talented, Zimmer feels that some however, are nothing more than a marketing tool. "Oh, it's totally a gimmick! It's really hard for a female musician when there is a whole bunch of girls out there just getting by on their looks. I am not going to mention names, but some bands are riding on the image of their one female member without actually being any good at playing music."

Not to say that Mary is entirely opposed to the idea of looking good as a female entertainer, "It's okay to be attractive, just not first before anything else."

The difficulty of being a female entertainer aside, Mary and the band has had their fair share of problems getting to the top; the group has used the term "clawing their way up" in the Wisconsin metal scene. Wisconsin being more notable for "cheese-heads" than metalheads, she justifies that, "There is lots of metal in Wisconsin, lots of Thrash, Black Metal, but it is mostly in Milwaukee where it all is, ironically there isn't much of a scene in Madison."

The band has covered most of their home territory during their DIY touring days, winning fans all over, including places like Des Moines, Iowa, home of fellow metal artists and Grammy winners, Slipknot. "Every band in Des Moines sounds like Slipknot; they are heavily influenced by them there, so when we come along it's a nice surprise for them." Zimmer says, "They are not sure what to do with us."

Des Moines may not be sure what to do, the industry certainly does though, as was mentioned earlier, Luna Mortis has already opened for some top talent in the genre. Mary's favourite band however? "After Forever, we had played with them before, when we weren't Luna Mortis yet, and built a relationship with them." She gushes, "They are the nicest Dutch people you'd ever meet, and she (Floor Jansen of AF) is the best female singer in metal." This answer clearly evoked feelings of pain in Mary, as just hours before our interview, After Forever announced they broke up as a band, with her personal connection you definitely got the sense that it wasn't just another band's dissolution to her.

Such is the way of the music industry, Luna Mortis understands this, and clearly so does Mary. She offers some advice to any new bands hoping to get their start in this notoriously tough business, "You really have to bust your ass, the one the label signs is the one who works the hardest for it, just having a MySpace page and doing a couple of gigs a year isn't going to do it."

Zimmer continues to say that "there is no such thing as being discovered anymore, it just doesn't happen, work as hard as you possibly can, put yourself out there."

This Do-it-Yourself attitude has carried the group far, as well as just sheer technical skill and talent. Mary herself is a classically trained singer, who came to harsher vocals after first hearing "Heartwork" by Carcass and At the Gates' "Slaughter of the Soul". She does remark that harsher vocals are the anti-thesis of classical training and although it helped her teach herself how to "growl" it's so different you almost have to relearn everything.

For all their hard work Luna Mortis is far from a break for a while, their roster is filled now, with their debut album "The Absence" hitting stores today. It's overall dark but empowering theme, the brainchild lyrically of guitarist and primary songwriter Brian Koenig, deals mostly with the hardships of life and the task of overcoming such bleak circumstances.

Mary's contributions lyrically to the album with "Never Give In" and "Embrace the End" fit it's overall tone, with one exception in the case of "Embrace the End", which is more about complete submission to death, with no room for a happy ending.

Another song from the album "Forevermore" is the bands first music video that will be shot sometime this month. As for touring, the band has some dates in the near future with Warbringer, nothing regrettably that will bring them out our way.

Zimmer is certainly not opposed to a Canadian tour herself she says "We'd love to! I have a grandfather in New Hamburg, Ontario and I always have wanted to reinstate my dual citizenship!"

"It's just a matter of getting on the right tour."


FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LUNA MORTIS AND TO LISTEN TO SOME OF THEIR NEW STUFF FROM "THE ABSENCE" simply click HERE

CONCERT REVIEW: CRADLE OF FILTH with SATYRICON and SEPTIC FLESH

For some metal fans, especially those supposedly of the "True Black" persuasion, Cradle of Filth inspires feelings akin to those felt when nails are raked across a chalkboard. If you happen to be one of those individuals, Saturday night's performance at the Edmonton Event Centre was not for you, and you probably should stop reading right now.

Those of you that are still here, good on you because Saturday nights performance by all three bands was incredible not just Cradle of Filth. With openers Septic Flesh and Satyricon, the crowd was frothing over with fury by the time Dani Filth and the rest of those whom rock Filth's Cradle took the stage.

Although never intended as a promotional tour for CoF's new concept album Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, the show did feature some of the new songs like "Shat out of Hell", "Honey and Sulphur", and "13th Caesar". Fan favourite "Nymphetamine" also made the set list that night, the shorter "Fix" version though, not the nine minute long "Overdose" which was disheartening, but you have to make some compromises when you hammer off a list of tracks like they (CoF) did.

Here's the complete set list of the night:

1) Shat Out Of Hell
2) Guilded Cunt
3) ...Dusk and Her Embrace
4) 13th Caesar
5) Nymphetamine
6) Principle Of Evil Made Flesh
7) Honey and Sulphur
8) Under Huntress Moon

ENCORE

9) Cthulhu Dawn
10) Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
11) Her Ghost In The Fog
12) From The Cradle To Enslaved

After seeing them live, it comes as no surprise whatsoever that Dani Filth and consequently his band's sound is influenced by Iron Maiden. Dani's exuberant on stage animation, constantly jumping from raised platform to center stage and back again was very reminiscent of Maiden's front man, Bruce Dickinson. His vocal range as well make Cradle of Filth stand out among throngs of deep guttural vocalists within their own genre. Rumoured to be able to achieve eight octaves with his voice, Dani Filth can go from a brutal dirty vocal to a screeching banshee seamlessly within seconds.

Combine that with his back up vocalist/keyboardist Rosie Smith's harmonious siren song, and the gothic cathedral-like orchestration and you can't help but feel not just hear the reason why this band, however controversial is so successful.

Feel free to call them Black Metal if you want but as far as CoF is concerned, they don't fit that title that well aside from their penchants for "corpse paint". Dani even joked once on a British quiz show that his music is "heavy funk". He prefers the simple title either the bands name or Heavy Metal as he should because the whole label thing is getting a little out of control honestly

Whatever you may call them, Edmonton was proud to support them January 31st, and likely will again.

In the meantime, study up on Gilles de Rais (the French serial killer Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is based on), Get a controversial Jesus is a C**t band tee and we'll see you at the next live show.

Oh! and one more thing, Keep those horns high!

YOU REALLY SHOULD GET THAT LOOKED AT: An Interview with SEPTIC FLESH

It is starting to feel like Mount Olympus here in Edmonton with the amount of Greek Metal Gods that have graced our city in the past year, with such bands playing here as FireWind, Rotting Christ, and now Septic Flesh.

Relatively unknown to the mainstream, the group has been an entity in their native Greece since 1990. This semi-veteran level of talent, ability and skill really showed as they opened up for Cradle of Filth and Satyricon Saturday night at the Edmonton Event Center. Showcasing songs from their repertoire including some from their recent classically infused masterpiece album Communion, the depth of which is brought together nicely with the backtrack of an actual eighty piece orchestra they used while recording the album. Add in the ferocious vocal style and stage presence of lead singer/bassist Seth Siro Anton and you had an impressive showing by a band otherwise unknown to North American audiences.

This being the group's first time playing in Edmonton, not to mention doing a cross Canada tour, The Forge had the opportunity to find out what Septic Flesh (SF) thought of our city of champions.

Forge: How do you like being in Edmonton, and touring Canada?

SF: Honestly, it is probably one of the best shows we've had on the tour of North America, when the crowd did the wall of death* it was great!

Forge: You and Rotting Christ are both from Athens, any chance of you two touring together?

SF: Maybe, but not right now, they are great friends of ours, Christos (Guitar/Orchestral) has done some of the orchestral backtrack work on their album. With us still being at a different level than those guys, if we started touring with them, we wouldn't want people to think we got on the tour because we're friends. Someday we will tour, but not now. We are currently planning a tour that would include North America in the near future possibly with Behemoth, but that is still just talk. They are closer to our sound than the bands on this tour, these bands are not that different but they (Behemoth) are much closer.

(*a wall of death, is when the crowd splits and each side left and right come at each other, colliding with one another similar to a mosh pit)

A tour with Septic Flesh and Behemoth would be well received for sure, especially for Edmonton, a city that is constantly overlooked in favour of other cities in the eastern part of Canada or worse yet Calgary, just kidding Calgarians!

Bands like Septic Flesh, and their European counterparts unanimously agree that making the trip across is tough and when the rare tour including them on the bill crosses the pond, it is unfortunate that our city let alone the west gets left out of the party. We, the metal fans, need to show our support by going to these shows and who knows? Maybe we'll have a heavy metal version of the Calgary Stampede right here in our beautiful city of metal er, I mean champions, our own western Canadian version of Wacken.

Until that happens, keep the horns high Edmonton!

For more info about Septic Flesh check them out online@ http://www.septicflesh.net/

CONCERT REVIEW/INTERVIEW: EPICUREAN

Opening for Rotting Christ Jan 21st at the Starlite Room were Minnesota metalheads, Epicurean. Their performance like most opening bands was expected to be sub-par compared to the headliners, a consequence of seeing that exact formula time and time again.

Much to my surprise these five guys from Minneapolis did an excellent job at getting a crowd whipped up and ready for a night of destruction!

Front man John Laramy, can provide power in his vocals that propels Epicurean's energy all the way to the back of the room and back again. His transition from dirty to clean vocals is almost seamless and even though he is not the most animated on stage his stage presence is strong enough that he can command an audience.

Laramy's band mates cannot be undersold at all either. For young talent, guitarist Jarod Mills has all the makings of a great entertainer as well, his charismatic mannerisms, whilst still executing riffs with lightning precision makes him a well rounded performer and clearly a crowd favourite. Bassist Eli Pete and substitute guitarist on this tour, Brian Koenig (Luna Mortis) rounded off the string section well. Epicurean, like most melodic metal would be nothing if the percussion and keyboarding fell short. This group did nothing of the sort, with machine-gun drummer John Gensmer let loose on tracks like "Behind the Chapel Walls" and the backing tracks of temporarily absent keyboardist Jared Shneider setting the ominous tones over the entire set, Epicurean proves that not all melodic metal has to be Opeth-esque in nature.

This stellar performance from relative unknowns propelled this band from my periphery to dead center in my sights and in my mind as some of the new American metal talent to watch for.

I believe that with Chicago dark metal staple and metal veterans, Novembers Doom dropping off the Lucifer over America tour at the beginning of January for medical reasons left a void that allowed Epicurean some breathing room. If lead singer John Laramy's vocals are any indicator, they are taking some big breaths and making the best of their time in the spotlight.

Such a terrific set could not go unanswered for, so Epicurean agreed to sit down with The Forge and chat about all things music and many other things that had nothing to do with music whatsoever.

Joining me, were founding members, John Laramy, John Gensmer, Jarod Mills, and Eli Pete

After some deliberation about whose mall was bigger West Ed or their hometown's Mall of America, playful banter about Dave Mustaine's diva-like antics locally here at Gigantour, and some excellent song recommendations from (Jarod) Mills. We started to finally get down to our Q&A session, only occasionally being distracted by attractive female tennis players with long Russian names on the TV's behind us.

Forge-It may seem somewhat cliché to ask, but what were your first influences in metal that made you decide to get into metal yourselves?

Mills, Gensmer (almost in unison) - Megadeth! and also Dimmu Borgir's album Puritanical (Euphoric Misanthropia)

Laramy- Definitely the song "Epic" by Faith No More

Pete- Uh, I don't know, my first taste of extreme music was like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, that kind of stuff.

Forge-So, you basically made the transition from grunge into metal?

Pete-Yeah, that's it.

Forge- What do you guys like to do when you are on the road other than anything music related?

Mills-(laughs) smoke a lot of weed!

Pete- Sleep mostly

Laramy-We do a lot of stuff, I don't know we're all just a bunch of "goofy douche bags" you know?

Forge- How do you like this tour, being just signed on with Metal Blade in 2007?

Gensmer- It's way better than our old D.I.Y. tours, never being sure of whether or not you're getting paid, being stranded in places, it's way better on this tour.

Forge- Speaking of being on tour, or in this case, not. Where is your man (Jared) Schneider?

Now, at this point, the guys preferred that I not share the intimate details of it, suffice it to say, he had prior commitments that wouldn't allow him to attend the touring portion of the trip.

Mills- He's still a huge part of the creative process, he does a lot of our writing like 51% and we just put his keyboards on the back track to make up for his absence.

Forge- So, who does the other 49% of the writing then?

Mills- I think we all do, we each contribute a little bit, collectively.

Forge- Like taking each of your individual experiences and bringing it to the table?

Mills- Yeah pretty much.

Forge- Being on tour, are you guys leaving any significant others behind? girlfriends, that sort of thing?

Mills, Gensmer, Laramy, Pete- Oh yeah. Sorta

Forge- Then what's with all the talk about girls and the like from earlier?

Laramy- Hey, it's all good to preheat the oven as long as you do your cooking at home!

Forge- If you guys weren't in this band, doing metal music what would you more than likely be doing?

Gensmer, Mills and Pete- Probably working in a warehouse somewhere, thats kind of how we all know each other from working in warehouses.

Laramy- School.

Forge- What for?

Laramy- English or Physics

Forge- Oh alright guys, final question, hypothetically speaking if your careers were going to end forever with no way back but, you had the opportunity to go and play one last show in any country you wanted where would that be?

Gensmer- Romania or Greece

Laramy- Japan definitely

Mills- Japan

Pete- Japan or to play Wacken (German Open Air Festival)

The boys are in no danger at this point of having their careers ended prematurely, if nothing else the future holds big changes for the guys. Bizarrely, the band now has a Canadian connection, coming on in February, is a new lead guitarist to fill the gap that Brian Koenig is sitting in on for this tour. Originally a native of Newfoundland, this artist has resided in Windsor, Ontario for a few years and despite the guys from Epicurean completing over 150 pieces of documentation just to bring him over they still say he is not one hundred percent legal yet. From what they say he is supposed to be an incredibly talented individual and I, personally cannot wait to see what developments take place after their new addition comes onboard.

Hear the three debut EP songs released by Epicurean and much more, simply click here for their site.

CONCERT REVIEW: ROTTING CHRIST ft. EPICUREAN AND MANTIC RITUAL

As darkness fell in our beloved city Wednesday night, the cold winter air returned, biting the flesh of a very dedicated albeit relatively smaller than normal following of metal fans outside the Starlite Room.

What in all of Rotten-Christendom could bring these people out of the safety and comfort of their warm homes? The answer is quite simple, melodic black metal pioneers, Rotting Christ, have arrived.

It's been twenty years since Rotting Christ became an entity in their native Greece and even with all the notoriety they have gained in the underground annals of Heavy Metal; nothing much has changed them as people. They are still the same down to earth, salt of the earth guys who would gladly give you the shirt off their back to help rather than turn their nose up at you. You see this reflected in their offstage behaviour and their sincere appreciation of their fans. All the stigma and stereotype that has surrounded them over the years could not be further from the true heart of this group.

Supporting their ninth full length release, "Theogonia" on this, the second leg of the "Lucifer over America Tour", Rotting Christ displays that consistently, they can still produce an album that can please their fans, allow them to make something different from previous releases, and stay true to their original vision all at the same time.

Opening their set to the theme from the Frank Miller film "300" came as no big surprise given the grand presence it creates, the overall sound of Theogonia as an album, and the background of the band. A few technical issues arose during the show that interrupted the intensity of the "Herculean" performance but in live shows this is something of a common expectation.

Despite the technical pitfalls, a great set list including "The Sign of Prime Creation", "In Domine Sathana", and "Threnody" made any previous inconveniences and interruptions fade away into distant memory. Their effective blend of Greek mythological imagery, Latin verses (which didn't stop fans from singing along surprisingly) and ominous chants in the back tracks set the tone nicely, turning the intimate venue of the Starlite Room into a sort of twisted perversion of a place of worship.

In this synagogue of doom worthy of Phobos himself, front man Sakis Tolis relentlessly envelops the room in his vocalizations, stirring fervor in the crowd that is compounded by the drums of his brother Themis. Amplifying the duo on either side of the stage like great pillars are bassist Andreas Lagios and relative new addition, lead guitarist Giorgos 'George' Bokos (joined in 2005). The animation of Bokos and Lagios amplify what has already become an exceptional show with ferocity of presence and fine display of technical skill.

They finish the night the same way they began it and an air of satisfaction hangs in the room long after the last amp gets switched off.

Those that came, saw something that has a legacy going back two decades, those that couldn't make it, I hope to see you out the next time, with your horns up, in support of one of the few purist underground metal bands still around today.

More than likely it will be much warmer then; I know this because when asked about their experience touring in Canada, vocalist Sakis Tolis expressed the group’s exact feelings as best he could.

"We're freezing our asses off!"

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A DEATH METALLER?

Chances are, you probably aren't.

For years, even as early as 1986 when Heavy Metal was the most popular music in the world, it has been undersold by it's opponents as music for a lesser breed of humanity. This sort of elitist, self righteous, my excrement don't stink mentality is exactly why I wanted to start this Webpage/Blog in the first place, to provide a voice of reason to meet the mainstream and the underground in the middle.

Do not misunderstand, I do not believe that ALL metal fans are brilliant T.S. Elliot spouting intellectuals. There will always be a few less than bright 'mammals' that coincidentally happen to listen to my favourite musical genre. If you don't believe me, the next time you are at an event that features heavy metal music, watch for the guys who talk exactly like Spicoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and hang out in a pack, the "Surfers without an Ocean" as I call them. Put it this way, if these guys wrote CD reviews, it would have two categories, "THAT SUCKS!" and "THAT RULES!" I'll stop picking on these guys, because if they're going to see Heavy Metal, they must be smarter than they look and behave.

Honestly though, the stereotype over the years has always been one of inferior intelligence, violent aggression against others (outside of a moshpit), and/or suicide. For example, in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Marilyn Manson and other forms of metal music were made scapegoats for their actions, when in reality, it was done on that day to supposedly commemorate Hitler's 110th. Perhaps we should condemn marijuana because they chose to do it on April 20th (4/20, trust me, the potheads get it.)

I have said for years that this music DOES NOT inspire violence, depression, and satanism, and I am not the first, but, try as I might there was nothing but my opinion to back it up.

Until last year when numerous studies were documented that had actually looked into the psychology of heavy metal music and its people. Just as I thought, it chimed in just about everywhere with my own personal beliefs.

Unlike former president (thank god!) George W. Bush, I do not make a habit of spewing from my mouth something that someone else has written without giving credit where credit's due. (CLICK HERE FOR THE SYNOPSIS ARTICLE COMPILED FROM THESE STUDIES!)

Even with this information, there will always be opponents to metal music, as there always has been. Even one of metal's root melodies the tri-tone, was banned by the church at one point in history, because it would invoke "Satan" c'mon, if ABBA, Duran Duran, and anything done by Vanilla Ice haven't inspired the rise of the Dark One, metal doesn't stand a chance of doing so.

So, in summary, do yourself a favour, take a minute and listen to some metal and truly listen, not just hear and see it for what it is. Another form of music, that all walks of life can find cathartic, and bearing some correlation to their lives. Especially those whom are gifted intellectually. (see study above)

Not ready to delve into hardcore death metal just yet? That's okay, metal has much to offer, for "the softer side of heavy metal" click this previous posting.

Alright class! Pencils down! Horn's up!

FUNNY HA HA? OR FUNNY HELL YEAH!: PART DVA (that's Russian for two for those playing the home game).

ENTER SANDMAN: THE KAZOO EDITION

THE HEAVY METAL MONK: THIS IS ACTUALLY FUNNY BECAUSE IT'S REAL!


GREEN JELLY: THREE LITTLE PIGS (FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED THIS METAL COMEDY CLASSIC)

RICK N' ROLL (RICK ASTLEY METAL COVER)



DAVE MUSTAINE ON ROCK N ROLL JEOPARDY (He's not so much what's funny, it's Moon Unit Zappa)
PART 1


PART 2


ALL GOOD METAL IS FROM SWEDEN AND THIS GUY IS NO EXCEPTION, I THINK HE USED TO BE A CHEF ORIGINALLY

Public Service Announcement from The Forge

A new documentary on Black Metal, that surprisingly does not focus on church burnings, is available on the FORGE-TUBE. Enjoy at your own risk of self discovery.

"EDUCATION IS THE PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERY OF OUR OWN IGNORANCE"

-WILL DURANT (1885-1981)

QUEER EYE FOR THE BLACK METAL GUY?

GAAHL(in makeup above and right, below sans makeup) WITH FORMER BF, AND MODELING AGENT,

DAN DE VERO

Back in August, 2008, the news that Gorgoroth frontman Gaahl ( real name Kristian Eivind Espedal) was working in collaboration with a fashion label to start up his own line of women's clothing, was not shocking, Gaahl has always been an eccentric. Around the time of that news, rumours began to start that stated that he was in fact gay. Nothing more was really said on the matter, a lot of speculation for the most part, a background incident at Wacken, and even outright defiance to the fact by some black metal fans.

However, on January 6, 2009 in a talk with Hollands FaceCulture, Gaahl was very open and honest about his sexuality and said that he is gay. An English translation of an article regarding his sexual orientation from Germany's Hard Rock magazine became available on metal news site Blabbermouth.Net (click here for that) and since then, both himself and former boyfriend Dan De Vero have received threats, De Vero says they have come by telephone, mail and email.

Gaahl though, has never considered this whole debacle to be a "coming out" he says "It doesn't feel to me as if I've outed myself because up until now the whole thing was a non-issue for me. All this evolved very naturally. I feel how I feel and I've never made any secret about it."

In the interview, FaceCulture asked him whether or not people would react differently to him and/or his music in light of this news. His answer was this, "Mankind is known to be narrow-minded, so… maybe some [will have a negative reaction]," he replied. "But I guess it will even out the score in a way. I think it will be positive for some and negative for some. It's always good to have some negative as well. Otherwise you would end up with equality and equality is the worst thing in the world. . . Equality is stagnation. It doesn't let anything grow. It holds back."

Well said, from what I can only describe as one of the scariest gay men since Jeffrey Dahmer (a little extreme but not far off). Despite this ballsy move, and the fact that its such a non-issue for the Gorgoroth front man, one who has followed his career cannot shake the memory of his assault against a young man some time ago. In the documentary True Norwegian Black Metal, you get a look at a completely different Gaahl than the one you see depicted here.The documentary is available on the Forge-Tube (click here) for your entertainment and information needs.

Despite his strange albeit checkered past, it is the main message of black metal itself to be true to yourself without caring what others think. An excellent lesson in self-esteem, tragically skewed by satanic imagery and messages.

Gaahl is not the first metal frontman to reveal his sexual orientation publically, Rob Halford of Judas Priest (a major influence of Gaahls) came out years ago, much to the surprise of 'Priest fans. Although in hindsight, the signature leatherbar attire he wore on stage would be a dead give away in modern times. Its not just a game for boys either, L.A. screamer, Otep is a proud lesbian. I am sure there are others that remain uncounted because for them, its not what defines them and it's more about their music.

It's sad in this modern time, when one's sexual orientation can inspire such hatred and prejudice even among a band's most dedicated of fans. However, how much of a fan are you when you put the music and the message second behind the artists sexual preference? Gay, Straight, and anything in between, metal's message has always been acceptance and the breaking of barriers that separate us. Better to be a proud metalhead accepting of all that come into our fold than an ignorant breeder, probably unsure of their own sexuality (you know who you are.)

Until next time, keep those horns....and rainbow flags, high!

A VERY SPECIAL HEALTH MESSAGE FROM THE FORGE OF HEAVY METAL

Nothing, with the exception of the metal "horns" is more dogmatic to Heavy Metal music than a good old fashioned headbang.

For those not familiar with the term headbang, it is the physical action at most Metal shows where either the crowd, the band, or both, with sway their head rapidly in succession up and down, in a circular motion, or from side to side.

However, if you want to continue this practice, do so at your own risk. According to a study conducted in the UK and published in the British Medical Journal (click here for the study) headbanging can create problems such as whiplash. They found using a theoretical model that certain songs and even style of headbanging, could be responsible for serious injury.

To summarize, the study suggests the following to prevent injury.

1) Decrease the range of head and neck motion

2) Head bang to slower tempo songs by replacing Heavy Metal with adult oriented rock (Good luck on that one lads)

3) Only headbang to every second beat. (because metalheads were so in sync before, with the exception of Amon Amarth)

4) Use protective equipment

One problem with that last one, you show up looking like this:

Some metalheads may just laugh at you, others though, who didn't get enough hugs as children, may make you leave looking like this:

In all reality, headbanging is like any other physical activity, if it starts to hurt or you feel a little disoriented, um... what's the word I am looking for here, ah yes...STOP! Any athlete knows when to stop and take a second before risking injury the same needs to be done here. I have headbanged excessively throughout my deep, committed, relationship to Heavy Metal and I haven't gotten hurt, a little dizzy yes, but not hurt. It is important that we use the very brain we rattle around at these shows and take care of ourselves, its the same reason we pick a guy up that falls in the moshpit or keep a person moving along during a crowd surfing moment, because in the end we all just want to go out, have fun and not get hurt for our trouble.

Being a solid headbanger isn't all bad, check this guy out from a European Gameshow.

GUERILLA METALLICA CONCERT VIDEOS-REXALL PLACE DECEMBER 7th

METALLICA

OPENER-ECSTASY OF GOLD

THAT WAS JUST YOUR LIFE

ONE

BROKEN BEAT AND SCARRED

ALL NIGHTMARE LONG

MASTER OF PUPPETS (SOLO)


THE SWORD VIDEOS (A LITTLE BONUS FOR YOU GOOD PEOPLE)

BARAEL'S BLADE

FIRE LANCES OF THE ANCIENT HYPERZEPHYRIANS

FREYA

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: METALLICA PLAYS REXALL PLACE DECEMBER 7th

My sincerest apologies for taking ever so long to have the review for this concert to fire through The Forge. Thankfully unlike most metal shows in Edmonton, there was some excellent coverage done on the event by our cities mainstream publications.
For those, choose your Poison below:

EDMONTON SUN

EDMONTON JOURNAL

Well, the "Death Magnet" had its attraction on overdrive on sunday the 7th, as fans of every conceivable shape and size came together and packed Rexall to the roof.

Fans only began to trickle into the main venue by the time the first of two openers, The Sword, took the stage with such song essentials of theirs as "Barael's Blade" and the Guitar Hero fave "Freya". Although they had a great set, for most of the mainstream Metallica fans there, it seemed like an odd fit to them. These are also the same people who deny the existence of previous Metallica albums "Load" "Re-Load" and musical group hug "St. Anger".

If The Sword threw them off their game, they hadn't seen anything yet...

Next to take the center stage of Rexall, were Richmond Virginia's Lamb of God, the five member metal machine with the misleading name. They've been called leaders of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, and with their performance that night, its clear to see why, with gut wrenching songs like "Laid to Rest" "Redneck" and the always popular "Walk with me in Hell". In addition to their usual faire, the savage throated, head slammin', five piece gave us a taste of their upcoming album Wrath with their song "Dead Seeds" as well as sending a shout out to our military as a lead into "Now You've Got Something to Die For". With all this intensity on stage, I was incredibly surprised to see the relatively inactive crowd on the floor save two very unimpressive moshpits. Perhaps the crowd was preparing for the onslaught to come.

Anticipation and energy grew as the lights went down and the Rexall crowd became a sea of glittering lights, like stars constructed of cellphone displays and lighters. After what seemed like an eternity bathed in darkness, the long awaited kraken that is Metallica came from the darkness below to take the stage, dwarfed by the four monolithic casket shaped lighting rigs that dangle above their stage. (photo shown at the top)

Opening their set with "That Was Just Your Life" amidst a dazzling laser light display from the complex lighting apparatus that flowed throughout their almost now signature central stage setup. The band it seemed, had finally tapped into that youthful energy they seemed to lose long ago as their set continued, executing such staples as "Creeping Death", "Battery", and "Of Wolf and Man" with expert precision.

As excellent as the older songs were, for me, I wanted to hear the songs from their latest work and the force behind their tour, Death Magnetic. Sometimes a song performed live can be like the pretty girl at the end of the bar late into the night, great at first, but upon closer observation, not nearly what you were expecting. Three seconds into "Broken, Beat, and Scarred" I knew for sure that this "girl" was hot. The new stuff blended well with the old, keeping the universal theme for the night, laughing in the face of death and personal struggle. With alchohol, career wide lineup changes and the loss of Cliff Burton years ago, this band knows all too well what price can be paid in life and in death.

An element of theatre was prevalent as the band continued, songs like "One" among others had plumes of fire erupt from the stage, the heat so intense that I could feel it in the front row beyond the floor. One could only imagine how hot it got for James Hetfield and his merry men, with these eruptions going off mere feet from them. Beyond the great spires of fire, rows of coloured flame shot up from raised platforms at appropriately choreographed times. Besides the fire and lasers, the caskets that seemed to hang precariously above them, could actually move and change position almost walling up the band at certain points, bathing them with light effects.

The band ended their evening with the deployment of what can only be described as black, logo emblazened, beach balls of varying size. Adding an element of impish fun, to an otherwise traditional heavy metal experience.

All in all, eventhough, the tone of the evening and of Death Magnetic, was the macabre and the dead. One could not help but be brought back to life, empowered by a thrash metal band that had fairly humble beginnings in their native California, just a bunch of kids, trading cassettes (you remember those, right?) of heavy metal from across the world (a pre-Napster music sharing network, irony anyone?). Young kids who now, have kids of their own, but no matter the age, no matter the strife and trouble that life throws at them, Metallica will continue to inspire generations to come, ensuring that metal, particularily the subgenre they co-founded, thrash will live on.

Missed the concert and want to know what songs played that night?
Here's the SET LIST from our show here in Edmonton.
(TRY ONE, THEY'RE INTERACTIVE!)

That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Creeping Death
Of Wolf And Man
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
The Unforgiven
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
~ENCORE~
Last Caress(Misfits Cover)
Die, Die My Darling(Misfits Cover)
Seek and Destroy

Related Reading from The Forge
DEATH MAGNETIC CD REVIEW

CONCERT VIDEO FOOTAGE: DISTURBED AT SHAW CONFERENCE CENTER DECEMBER 2nd 2008

As promised, here are the videos of the Disturbed concert, a look into what goes on at these events for the uninitiated.

Regrettably, some of the videos mostly of Disturbed are quite shaky or in some cases cut short, simply because that the only place any self respecting metalhead belongs is in the mosh pit. In this case the pit was the whole crowd, an angry sea of humanity, making smooth video capture and standing at the same time quite difficult.

I'm pretty sizeable but when you get a crowd going like Disturbed did, there is nothing stopping them from pushing you around, you'll notice that this is made evident by how much closer each video seems to get to the stage. It was controlled chaos and anyone who has been to a metal show knows this, for those who do not, this will be a glimpse into the inner sanctum that is the mosh pit.

Enjoy nonetheless, it was well worth the superficial wounds and minor injuries to bring the proud Edmontonian metalhead this footage.
If you have video of your own from the event and want to share, fire it in the Forge and email it to me @ THEFORGEOFHEAVYMETAL.GMAIL.COM

Click the title below to enjoy
ART OF DYING-GET THROUGH THIS
EGYPT CENTRAL-WALLS OF INNOCENCE
EGYPT CENTRAL-TAKING YOU DOWN
EGYPT CENTRAL-YOU MAKE ME SICK
DISTURBED-ENTRANCE/PERFECT INSANITY
DISTURBED-PRAYER
DISTURBED-LAND OF CONFUSION
DISTURBED-DEIFY
DISTURBED-INSIDE THE FIRE
DISTURBED-STRICKEN

TALKING WITH TENNESSEE PHARAOHS: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS D'ABALDO OF EGYPT CENTRAL

This past Tuesday Disturbed undisputedly tore the roof off Shaw Conference Center. One of the bands leading them into battle that night was Egypt Central, a relatively unknown band in the mainstream consciousness. After their set, The Forge had an opportunity to talk with Chris D'Abaldo, one of the two guitarists in the band. If Chris looks familiar, he was once a member of Saliva back in the "Click Click Boom!" days, he left the band in 2005 for "creative differences" and after a short time, hooked up with the guys in Egypt Central and has been with them ever since.

Chris was not feeling so good the night of the performance, he said he got sick just before they hit Canada, which led to my first question...

J.R. With you feeling so bad, what gives you the strength to shake it off and give such an energetic performance?

Chris Well, its the music mostly, and the fans, the audience really gives you the energy.

J.R. So its like you feed off each other?

Chris Oh yeah, for sure.

J.R. Alright, some of the fans tonight have been wondering, who exactly is the lead guitarist, because you're both so active and up front.

Chris *laughs* Oh, thats definitely Heath, he's definitely the lead.

J.R. Now that we have that straightened out, what are some of your musical influences personally outside of the genre, outside of metal?

Chris Pink Floyd

J.R. So you like the more melodic stuff or...?

Chris Well, sort of and also get alot from Hip Hop.

J.R. Really? what aspects of Hip Hop influence you?

Chris Its the beat, there was always a lot of good rap coming out of Memphis, like Three 6 Mafia.

J.R. Speaking of Memphis, thats a very music oriented town, did you find that that was a hindrance or a help for you guys (Egypt Central) when you started out?

Chris Well yeah, in some ways there was just so much out there, in Memphis theres a ton of bands but no representation, and its even harder to get exposure in cities like Nashville too, its a little tough.

J.R. Final question, your favourite animal in the animal kingdom! and GO!

Chris *after a brief pause* Lion, for sure, actually any big cat, because its like when you play a video game, you look at the characters stats and you see some are good at one thing and another one is good at another, I like characters who are even, they're a good balance of everything, like big cats.

We parted ways as friends, brothers in metal, and hopefully the arctic winds that brought them here the first time will bring them back this way again in the near future. For more info on Egypt Central check out their site at http://www.egyptcentral.net/

In the meantime, keep those horns high!

OUTSIDE THE COLD, "INSIDE THE FIRE!"

Who: DISTURBED with EGYPT CENTRAL and ART OF DYING

Where: SHAW Conference Center

When: Tuesday, December 2nd


Metalheads of all shape, size, and age were "Stupify'd" last night, as they came to watch Alt-Metal juggernauts, Disturbed, take the stage and raise "Ten Thousand Fists" in their name.

Spawned by Illinois' windy city, the Chicago quartet has accomplished much in their twelve year run, most notably of which, being one of six rock bands that can make the claim of having three consecutive number one albums. It should seem only fitting the band choose the title Indestructible for their latest release.

Warming up the crowd last night were relative newcomers from Vancouver, BC, Art of Dying and Memphis Tennessee five piece, Egypt Central.

Art of Dying's "green" status came through in their opening performance, of all the acts, they were the least engaging and interactive, giving the impression they were trying, but still had yet to master their stage presence. One fan was quoted as saying that they were "a less talented version of SpineShank" an obscure reference but an accurate one.

Coming from a music driven city like Memphis, it came as no surprise that the next act, Egypt Central, took the stage with tremendous ferocity, animation and energy. Between lead singer, John "Jack Sparrow" Falls' powerful and uplifting lyrical resonations and the tag team effort of guitarists Heath Hindman and Chris D'Abaldo, the crowd finally began to bristle with energy, like a human thundercloud. With songs like "You Make Me Sick," "Different," and "Taking You Down" you couldn't help but think that you may see these boys again, next time as headliners themselves.

Minutes later, the stage was literally set, and a stillness set over the crowd, the calm before the torrential storm to come. It grows black, the crowd roars with anticipation, the shadowy wave of a black stage curtain falls to the stage, bathed in red light emerging alone from this abyss is Disturbed front man David Draiman, restrained in a straightjacket, afixed with a face mask a la Hannibal Lecter. An attendant wheels him to center stage, quickly removes the jacket whilst moving away himself as if setting free some terrible Jabberwocky-like terror. With the mask still on his face, David raises his hands not surprisingly leading into their song "Perfect Insanity".

This grand entrance would set the tone for the rest of the evening, iconic songs such as "Liberate", "Deify", "The Game", their cover of Journey "Shout 2000", and of course the title track of the new album release "Indestructible" kept the masses standing before them in a constant state of fervor. The song list never seemed to let up, allowing the audience to jump around wildly, mosh relentlessly, and as lead vocalist David even exclaimed himself "release our frustrations and anger" that night without impedement.

After a false conclusion to their show, they took the stage one last time ending the evening with an encore consisting of "Stricken" and their controversial song "Inside the Fire" which is the tale of a young man whose girlfriend commits suicide and in his grief, is visited by the devil, who tries to convince the young man to take his own life so that he may be with her again in Hell. This song comes from a very personal place for front man Draiman, as it is based on events in his real life.

Despite the macabre undertones of the closing songs, the crowd was sated and most went home very pleased with the performance, anxiously awaiting the next time Edmonton will come "Down with the Sickness".

FUNNY HAHA? OR FUNNY HELL YEAH?

I think it is important that fans of Heavy Metal not take themselves too seriously, otherwise, how do you explain GWAR?

Humour is a crucial component to being human, and so even metalheads know how to laugh at themselves. So, in comedic spirit I present you, the reader with a brief selection of amusing clips of heavy metal just not taking itself too seriously for once. Additionally, I did some digging and the classic Heavy Metal mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" is available on the Forge-Tube in its entirety. So sit back, relax, enjoy the ride on this comedy rollercoaster, and until next time, keep those horns high!

Meshuggah Baby, the youngest metalhead known to man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbYgvhwUfmk

Comedian Brian Posehn-"Metal by Numbers"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chiVMrWMHko

Jim Breuer Sings New Metallica Song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOn_4Mj4W7E

Stand-Up Comedian Pablo Francisco talks about Death Metal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t53E-u0U5rI

Cookie Monster Metal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWac5UT80no

Growl Metal Karaoke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq2PQm6FqVY

Heavy Metal Farmer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jag7oTemldY

European Metal Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlpaNwu7yAk

KFC Goes Black Metal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO1rYr4BXAI
...and finally the Crown Jewel of the lot!

Justin Timberlake Metal Cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVLAZtAcUBk

HEADS, STOP YOUR BANGIN, AND BOW THEM IN REMEMBRANCE

Growing up in a military family I know a thing or two about the personal sacrifices members of our Canadian Armed Forces give each and every day, so that way I can exercise my personal freedoms. Just about every member of my family is in the military and in my teenage years I had the opportunity whilst living in Germany to visit every place Canadians fought and died in WWI and WWII in the European theatre. From Dieppe to Vimy Ridge to the Somme and everything in between, I began to understand what it truly meant to be a hero and how brutal and costly war can be. I also visited places like Krakow and Auschwitz, places of immense death and suffering, the soot still stains the fences and barbed wire of Auschwitz black.

It is because of being at these historic places and seeing these sights that the phrase "Lest We Forget" has serious significance for me personally. Most Canadians however do not even know why it is we fought or more disconcerting where and when. Place the blame wherever you like, but thats not the point I am trying to make today. No matter your level of understanding of the day, just pay your respects to those who fought, people you never met, or ever will know but mark my words they affected the way in which you live your life today.

Every metal fan knows that war is a common theme in their music, speaking moreso about the atrocities committed than glorifying it as something 'cool". A good example is Slayer's song "Angel of Death". It talks about those that suffered at Auschwitz.

Like Remembrance Day, some Heavy Metal keeps our history alive, making sure the wrongs of yesteryear do not happen again because remember...

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
-George Santayana (1863-1952)

Some songs in Remembrance of those who came before us.

A short tribute to Canadian troops set to Metallica's song "One"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLOSo5Ki39o

A Remembrance day tribute set to Iron Maiden's "These Colours Don't Run"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xVue2kx1G8
System of a Down's song "Soldier Side" a little more on the American side but the lyrics and video run true for anyone who has a loved one in the Armed Forces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8YluAMCRT8