Heavy Metal masters Act of Defiance played The Brass Monkey in Ottawa last week and delivered an absolute stellar performance. Flawless to say the least and a clinic for the guitarist in the crowd.

Opening for Act of Defiance was Ottawa’s own Sings of Chaos treated the audience to their unique style of groove thrash metal-core kicking things off in the right direction. This isn’t their first time playing The Brass Monkey and fans of their music knew what they were in for. If this was your first introduction to them then you’re likely a fan now. Playing as one cohesive unit these guys demonstrated they can deliver an extraordinary performance in style. Every song is creatively constructed and carried out in a thrash metal groove style with a moderate harsh heaviness. My favorite song was their 2nd last song “Break You”. Starting with a nice gallop style lick and continuing throughout it had my attention – very catchy.

The headlines of the night Act of Defiance featuring ex Megadeth members Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover with Henry Derek and Matt Bachand took the stage and you could just feel their presence almost immediately. The crowd was pressed right up against the stage making it hard for a photographer to capture the moments but then hell who cares – it a metal show and everyone was into it. Just standing back taking it all in was spectacular and the crowd was getting precisely what they paid for. I couldn’t be happier being part of it.

Sometimes you know what you’re going to get before you listen to an album or see a live performance by merely looking up the artists or watching past performances but in this case you got so much more; you got to feel that intensity that envelopes you in the moment especially in a group that is experiencing the same feelings that you are. The vocals of Derek are so strong and precise and thorough that if you closed your eyes you might think you’re listening to the album version of the song but then you open your eyes and realize this is the real deal. He controls his vocals at will and maneuvers methodically throughout each song and between the passages of the shredding guitar riffs of Broderick.

Broderick has always stated he will stay true to its roots and he certainly did that tonight demonstrating his complete complete mastery fretboard in a style all of his own. The one appealing piece about his playing is that even though he can dazzle and wow anyone with even a remote understanding of guitars he isn’t overbearing in his playing. His settings and tone are very complimentary to the songs and he mingles ever so sweetly between the parts of the song. Part of being a master is knowing when not to play a note and he’s always understood and shown this to be true. Sometimes it feels as though he’s left you hanging out there but then he picks up and takes you home. You can feel the emotion and confidence in his playing. Ever since Broderick emerged as a technically proficient shred guitarist he has been on a pursuit to fine tune and further develop his craft and I look forward to seeing where he goes next.

The Brass Monkey is the perfect venue for live music with plenty of space, great lighting for photographers and a fantastic staff who represent the establishment extremely well. The performance of Act of Defiance met and exceeded my expectations in every way. The entire band stepped it up tonight and gave us a special night that for me will not soon be forgotten. I’d give their performance at 10/10.