This past weekend, heavy metal fans got to experience the newly renovated, Parc Jean-Drapeau, for the very first time. After a few years in different locations around the island and a hiatus, Heavy Montreal returned in 2019 with a brand new look. From the first steps off the metro, the new changes were obvious and brought excitement to metalheads entering the gates. Once inside, people wandered around to check out the different vendors, merchandise booths and other festival attractions. While some took their time to make their way to the stages, many others flocked to grab a spot on the rail early each day.
The weekend’s top guests were none other than the legendary Slayer and first-time headliners, Ghost. Alongside those two, each day had a variety of artists spread across 4 different stages, which included bands such as Godsmack, Slash, and Evanescence. On top of that, there was even a wrestling ring that drew large crowds throughout both days.
Day 1 of Heavy Montreal wasted no time getting into the swing of things. Right from the get-go, Galactic Empire and FEVER 333 performed on the two main stages. Galactic Empire is a Star Wars-themed band was a fun way to get the party started. Once they wrapped up their set, FEVER 333 took the stage and set the bar for every other band over the weekend. The things that vocalist, Jason Aalon Butler, does on and off the stage can certainly make someone’s head spin. Destroying gear on stage, jumping into the crowd and ripping apart a blow-up doll and climbing everything he could are just a few examples why FEVER was the band to see at Heavy Montreal 2019. They aren’t all just fun and games though, their music packs a very powerful message for fans and they absolutely deserve applause.
Later in the afternoon, on Saturday, fans were able to catch the musical genius himself, Devin Townsend in back on the Blabbermouth Forest Stage. Although Townsend left all of his electric guitars at home, his acoustic show certainly drew a huge crowd. Poking fun at himself and why he was playing a metal festival acoustically drew laughter from all of his devoted fans and allowed him time to interact with them much more than he’d be able to at a regular show. Sticking with the smaller stages, immediately after Devin Townsend, Nekrogoblikon took the Garden Stage; the smallest stage of the weekend. Scrambling to start on time after delays getting into Canada, the group, lead by their very own Goblin, was still able to pull off an insane show for the fans who came out to see them.
From that point in the day, the focus was on the Monster Energy Stage and Black Label Heavy Stage. One after another, the bands on the main stages traded energy back and forth, keeping the crowd going in the scorching July heat. Bands like Quiet Riot, Beartooth, Hatebreed, and Killswitch Engage were just a few who opened up the mosh pits and drew waves of crowd surfers. One of the bands that really stuck out and left a lasting impression was Beartooth, who is still on fire after their most recent release Disease.
As the sun started to set, the greatest heavy metal band of all time, Steel Panther, gave Montreal an ass-kicking. The group busted out both new and old tracks while helping promote their upcoming album Heavy Metal Rules. After Steel Panther, the crowd shifted back over to the left-hand side for a hard-hitting set from Boston rockers, Godsmack. Sully Erna, their frontman kept the crowd entertained with both his music and jokes. The highlight of their show comes as no surprise, which was the Sully and Shannon drum duel towards the end of their set. Prior to Saturday’s finale, Evanescence got the chance to show Montreal metal fans that they still could put on a show to remember. After previously touring the last few years with an orchestra, Amy Lee and her band dropped the strings and went all out for Canada. Their show certainly didn’t disappoint anyone on the island.
Last but certainly not least was Ghost, lead by the man himself, Cardinal Copia. This wasn’t just an ordinary Ghost show. Heavy Montreal marked their only festival show in Canada this year and may have certainly been their first time ever headlining a festival on the continent. Copia and his Ghouls stuck to their last two albums Meliora and Prequelle for the most part of the set, as the band is still touring as a part of their “A Pale Tour Named Death” tour. Throughout the evening, Copia took his time to speak to the crowd and test his French skills. He certainly had a fun time with “Oui,” the French word for “Hello.” If there’s one thing to note during a Ghost show, it’s that the Cardinal likes to talk and he likes to have a good time. He can make you laugh as well as make you sing your asses off. After songs such as “Mummy Dust,” “Dance Macabre” and “Square Hammer,” Ghost said goodbye in typical fashion with the one and only “Monstrance Clock.” With Saturday wrapping up on such a high note, the bands waiting to play the next day certainly had the pressure on them.
There was no escaping the heat on Sunday. With no sign of rain in the sky, fans had to make do with the hoses used to spray the crowd down throughout the day. If that wasn’t enough to cool them down, there was always the fountain located by the Monster Energy Stage that was quite popular all weekend for people who wanted to head-bang in the water.
Sunday featured bands such as Mountain Dust, Knocked Loose, Dopethrone, Dirty Honey and many more. This day was also host to a few bands that came a long way away, such as Beast in Black. These guys come from Helsinki and certainly came to impress. Their vocalist Yannis took the award for best vocalist of the weekend in our opinion. The notes that guy was hitting were absolutely ridiculous. They are one band we certainly hope makes their way back to North America soon because they kicked ass.
A few other stand-out groups from Sunday were Atreyu and Skillet. Atreyu who has been on the road as part of the Rockstar Disrupt Festival drew a huge crowd for their set. The guys, of course, busted out classics like, “Becoming the Bull” and “Bleeding Mascara.” Something that Montreal probably didn’t expect though, was a Bon Jovi cover. Bon Jovi at Heavy Montreal, it could happen, you never know. But instead, a heavy metal cover of “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Atreyu will have to do. Surprisingly, it worked and it sounded awesome. The entire crowd joined in to sing it and it was a highlight of their show.
Skillet, who took the stage right after, had their own surprises. Packed with fireworks on stage and CO2 cannons, the guys and girls of Skillet rocked Parc Jean-Drapeau. Lead singer John Cooper and his wife/guitarist Korey Cooper make an unstoppable duo. Those two combined with guitarist Seth Morrison and drummer Jen Ledger certainly create some magic. For anyone who doubts Christian Rock and the things that bands like Skillet are capable of, were proved wrong on Sunday. Hard-hitting tracks like “Whispers In The Dark,” “Hero,” and “Monster” are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s too bad Skillet didn’t get more time to show off at Heavy Montreal, but afterward, it was announced that they would be back in October with Alter Bridge.
Wrapping up the rest of the afternoon were bands such as In This Moment, 3TEETH, Clutch, and Slash. In This Moment brought their entire stage set and wardrobe with them and received a huge response from their Blood Legion up in Canada. Industrial metal band, 3TEETH, competed with In This Moment at the same time on the Forest Stage. Unfortunately, overlapping set times happens at festivals and it leaves many people with tough decisions. 3TEETH still drew a large crowd and wasted no time in their 40-minute set. Guns N Roses’ guitarist Slash was part of the lineup with Myles Kennedy and his band The Conspirators. Together, Slash and Myles make some serious magic happen. The crowd turnout for them was massive so Slash and Myles took full advantage of it. The two of them lead The Conspirators for an hour-long show that consisted of material from all 3 of their albums plus a cover of “Nightrain” by GNR.
The final two bands of the weekend consisted of 1/2 of the “Big 4.” Those were the thrash legends themselves, Anthrax and Slayer. Earlier in the day, Anthrax was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal at Heavy Montreal. If one thing’s for sure about Montreal, that’s that they know and love their heavy metal music. It’s a no brainer that they would honor Anthrax by presenting them with this award. When the band took the stage, they came out to “Cowboys from Hell,” which absolutely set the crowd off into chaos. From there, Joey Belladonna and Scott Ian lead the band with a trio of bangers, “Caught in a Mosh,” “Got the Time,” and “I Am the Law.” By the time anyone caught their breath, the band was wrapping things up with “Indians.”
Anthrax could have gone for another hour or so but needed to hand the microphone over to Slayer so they could say their final goodbye to Montreal. There was absolutely no time wasted by Slayer, who ripped open the set with “Repentless” and blasts of fire. For a final Quebec show, Tom Araya and Kerry King made sure Montreal heard a little bit of everything. The band played a total of 20 songs which was spread across a catalog of 10 Slayer albums such as Seasons in the Abyss, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven and more. The pyrotechnic display that the band put on was nothing less than expected from a band on their final farewell tour. There was nothing spared in terms of putting on a show for their fans. It was safe to assume the final songs from Slayer would be classics such as “Raining Blood,” “Black Magic,” “Dead Skin Mask,” and last but certainly not least, “Angel of Death.” As the band made their way off stage, Tom Araya said his final goodnight and goodbye to the city of Montreal and surrounding areas. It’s unfortunate that Slayer has decided to call it quits but there was no better place to say goodbye to Quebec than at Heavy Montreal.
