Blog Archives

The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada, was alive with energy as the alternative rock band Nothing More took to the stage to deliver an unforgettable performance.

Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom hosted a night of immense musical prowess on Wednesday, October 26th, welcoming American acts; Animals As Leaders, Car Bomb and Alluvial.

While these acts may sound like an odd pairing to some, they could not be better suited to share the stage together, as they all share one important ingredient – incredible instrumentation.

From the intricate terrain of Animals As Leaders’ progressive and stunning landscapes to the mind-boggling heaviness of Car Bomb’s musical mathematics, all supported by the cavernous complexities of Alluvial – this bill was one for fans of metal mastery.

Finland’s extreme metal superstars Children of Bodom brought their 20 Years Down & Dirty to Ottawa on Wednesday night and things were bound to get crazy!

The progressive death metal band Uncured from New York opened the metal night at the absolutely packed Bronson Centre.

The second to hit the stage was Lost Society from Jyvaskyla, Finland. The young band has an insane amount of positive energy on stage, and their short but solid set was sure to warm up any trash metal fans in the audience with influences from Megadeth and Pantera.

Lost Society at Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

The much anticipated Dutch horror metal band Carach Angren entered the stage surrounded by ghostly holograms was sure to be a memorable performance. The haunting synth combined with the heavy guitar riffs and some extreme drumming combined with singer Dennis Droomer’s guttural vocals left more than a few people collecting their jaws off the floor and wanting to see more of the theatrical band.

Carach Angren at Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

It’s hard to believe it has been 20 years since Children of Bodom released their debut album Something Wild. The front man Alexi Laiho seems to be in the best shape ever and making his larger than life guitar solos look absolutely effortless.

Children of Bodom at Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

The band has been on the road most of the year, touring in Europe in the spring, and bringing in the North American leg of the tour in October, having only two shows left in Canada after the Ottawa show. There was no sign tiredness showing from any of the band members as they put on a show that turned the ecstatic Bronson Centre crowd into a giant mosh pit and a flow of crowd surfers going through the floor for most of the second half of the show.

It has been a while since I’ve seen such a passionate audience, singing almost every song from word to word. Laiho was clearly enjoying his time on stage as well, encouraging the crowd to be louder.

Children of Bodom is one of the biggest bands to come out of the promised land of metal bands, and showed us what it takes to conquer the world, over and over.

Setlist:

1. Deadnight Warrior
2. In The Shadows
3. Needled 24/7
4. Hatebreeder
5. Lake Bodom
6. Warheart
7. Hate Me!
8. Red Light In My Eyes Part 2
9. Downfall
10. Everytime I Die
11. Children of Bodom
12. Hate Crew Deathroll
13. Bed of Razors
14. Kissing the Shadows

Encore:

1. The Nail
2. Towards Dead End

By Laura Collins.