WISDOM IN CHAINS / GRAVE MAKER / BACKTRACK / EXPIRE / HARRIERS / HEAD CHECK IN MTL: A REVIEW.

i went to Berri metro to meet up with Victor, while waiting for him i bumped into JF Pepin (of Mental Crew Canada fame) and we chit chatted for a little bit. he had just bought a ton of records and was catching a bus back to Sherbrooke. anyway Victor ended up showing up and we made our way to the venue. when we got there the doors were just opening, i said what's up to everyone as i made my way inside. there was like 6 bands and i don't have the best memory but i'll try to wrap this up real quick.

Head Check played first, they're a relatively new band and they play a 90s nyhc style with some other influences. anyway they were pretty good, the guitars sounded a bit thin and out of tune at times but it was a fun set, kids were moving a bit. good way to set it off. oh yeah those dudes are all like 15-16 so they're only gonna get better. im stoked to see what this band will grow into.

next up was Harriers, another newer band from Montreal. they have a more modern sound, alot of breakdowns, a lot of mid tempo parts and some fast parts too. they sounded fucking great, their set was tight. you could tell a lot of people were there to see them because the room felt a lot more packed when they started, as soon as they began their first song kids started moshing immediately. some even knew the words to the songs. it was dope to see. another good addition to the MTL HC scene.

Expire got up on the stage after, i saw them in Philly at This Is Hardcore this summer and they were pretty good. last night was no different, they play a hard style of NY influenced HC while incorporating other things that make them a bit more distinguishable. a couple kids were into it, for their first time in MTL it was awesome. oh yeah and they covered Hatebreed - Empty Promises. sweet.

Backtrack were next, opening with Killing Time - Backtrack. i dunno what's wrong with people here but me and victor were the only two singing along and moshing to it. oh well. they played a couple of new jams from their upcoming LP as well as the 7", demo and AHC comp songs. i've seen them a handful of times now and last night is definately up there. nothing else to say about them except lots of fun.

i had to catch my breath so i went to the store to get a water after. i didn't really feel like watching Grave Maker (im sure they were good, just not my cup of tea) so i ended up chilling outside talking to some people about bands when this drunk dude that stumbled out of the bar across the street asked us what we were talking about, then went on to say he loved Iron Maiden (awesome) then told us how his left ear has been ringing ever since he was 17 along with some other shit i can't really remember right now. we went back inside and hung out in the staircase (the best inbetween from the heat of the venue to the freezing cold outside) were a bunch of us just shot the shit for a while. we made it back upstairs to go watch Wisdom In Chains.

now i'm not too familiar with their material and i hardly ever listen to them, but i gotta say that they are definately awesome live. Joe shouted out Yan and Alexa for  travelling to see them all the time which i thought was dope. i was hanging out on the side just watching but did end up in the pit for "Die Young". lots of pile on and sing alongs, it was cool. after it was all done we hung out there for a bit then took off. last night was La Nuit Blanche which meant there was shit going on all night and the subway ran around the clock as well, so there was tons of cops and people all over the place. there was a toilet on a street corner, i took a picture sitting on it for lolz then we got in the metro. there was this girl passed out face down on the floor, probably from mixing pills and booze... welp. some other dude had gotten into a fight. the night was just getting started when we all got on the Green line going towards Honore Beaugrand toward a good night's sleep.