Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, At The Gates, & Grand Magus @ REBEL (October 9, 2019)

    I've been sharpening my blades for weeks in preparation for the Berserker World Tour which is set to invade Toronto as Amon Amarth lead the charge with Arch Enemy, At the Gates, and Grand Magus at their six. I never miss a good opportunity to unite with my viking brothers and sisters for a good clash and some beers over an evening of metal. As with most metalheads, I've been a big Amon Amarth fan for years! Much of my heritage is from Norway and they strike a perfect chord between the best aspects of melodic death metal and some of the most interesting mythology and lore in human history. I would have come out for this reason alone but with such a stacked bill I did my best to crash the doors.

    I met up with some good friends and fellow viking soldiers near the end of Grand Magus's set. They opened the night hard and fast with a tremendous display of power and brutality. The crowd was growing fast and the drinks were flowing as their set closed and At The Gates took the stage. Playing a generous mix of old and new material, I was amped to hear songs like "Slaughter of the Soul", "Cold", and "Blinded By Fear". While it was obvious many were saving their energy for the battle to come, they still did a great job stoking the crowd even further.

    By the time Arch enemy took the stage there wasn't an inch of breathing room left as I forced my way towards the pit! I haven't seen this band since Angela was at the helm, but I was blown away by Alissa White-Gluz's energy and power on stage. Not to mention fucking Jeff Loomis... What an absolute beast. Most of the material was from their latest albums with Alissa but the pit kicked it up a notch to "My Apocalypse" and even more so for their encore of "Nemesis". Arch Enemy are wicked and still put on a hell of a show.

    Amon Amarth took the stage like an out of control fire burning a freshly pillaged village. Opening with "Raven's Flight" and the foundations were nearly ripped off with the push towards the front line of the stage. They delved into a mix of songs from the last decade of material, with a focus on material from their latest release "Berserker". We tried to send people up for crowd surfing but their legs were stuck in the crushing masses. Tracks like "Deceiver of the Gods", "Guardians of Asgard", "Crack the Sky", "Shield Wall", and "Twilight of the Thunder God" drove the pit into an absolute stupor, with drinking horns, cloaks, tunics, and massive motherfuckers committing acts of carnage in every direction!

    They closed the night showing a lot of respect for the crowd and fans, clearly acknowledging the battle that just took place! On top of a dialed performance from the band, the stage was full of live sword fights, powerful gods, and deadly sea monsters! Overall this was an unbelievable night of metal! This tour should be a priority for every metalhead in its path! A massive cheers to the bands and especially all the crazies I clashed with in the pit throughout the night! Sam Dunn even made an appearance! Check out some photos from the madness below!

Amon Amarth

ODIN! Guide our ships! Our axes, spears and swords!! Guide us through storms that whip! And in brutal war!! 🤘💀🛡⚔️ #Metal #AmonAmarth pic.twitter.com/DKCePP5gkd

— Heavy Metal Yeti (@HeavyMetalYetii) October 10, 2019

  
Arch Enemy

At The Gates

Grand Magus

-Heavy Metal Yeti /../;,,;/../

Skeletonwitch, Sabaton, & Amon Amarth @ The Sound Academy, Toronto (Oct10/ 2014)

    Last night the Metal Yeti had the opportunity to witness the guardians of Asgard, Amon Amarth destroy Toronto with guests Skeletonwitch and Sabaton. I had been waiting a long time to see Skeletonwitch and was completely consumed by berserker rage for their entire set, which I am happy to say featured many classics from the Beyond the Permafrost album. Sabaton and their phantom keyboard player took the stage next and did an honourable job getting the crowd amped for the headlining viking gods. By the time Amon Amarth started the show off with Deceiver of the Gods, the Sound Academy was completely packed. The next 90 minutes were jam packed with viking chants and songs of war, leaving the Yeti and every single person in the audience thoroughly satisfied! I have been to a lot of gigs in my day, but this one will definitely be remembered for a long time. A special shout out to Skeletonwitch for their killer set, as well as all the kids I clashed with in the pit /,,/

Skeletonwitch

Sabaton

Amon Amarth

- Heavy Metal Sasquatch out /,,/

The Beards of Metal \m/

   For some reason, may it be its raw power and authority or its curious sexual appeal, the beard is a prominent facial feature throughout the metal industry. While they vary drastically in shape, size, and colour, every self respecting metalhead has had or tried to grow an epic metal beard at one point or another. Yet, there is more to these beards than meet the eye; for they draw upon the forces of hell and fury to empower the artists to create metal of extreme proportions. The following is homage to some of the best beards I've seen in my local as well as global metal community. Feel free to leave links to your own beards to add to #TheBeardsOfMetal. Cheers to all my bearded metal brothers! Enjoy! \m/

 Tom Araya - Slayer

Kirk Windstein - Crowbar / Down

Scott Ian - Anthrax

John Petrucci - Dream Theater

Chris Adler - Lamb of God, Protest the Hero, Megadeth

Craig Laro - American Hell (ok not a beard I know, but look at this god damn moustache!)

Johan Hegg - Amon Amarth


"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott - Pantera

Brent Hinds - Mastadon

Mark Morton - Lamb of God

Zakk Wylde - Black Label Society

Chris Kael - Five Finger Death Punch

Sean Zatorsky - Chimaira

Rob Zombie - White Zombie

Kerry King - Slayer

 Paul Di'Anno - Iron Maiden, Battlezone, Gogmagog

Wayne Static - Static X

Joey Glacken - Wretchedpain

Andy Thomas - Black Crown Initiate

The Heavy Metal Sasquatch & Eddie Hermida - All Shall Perish / Suicide Silence

"Big"James Arsenian & Ryan Miller - ENDAST

Derek Nelson & Nick Pauli - Unscathed

 - This list is no where near complete, however feel free to leave comments for who I missed or for pics of your own insane metal beards. I will retweet all tweets sent to @HeavyMetalYetii with the hashtag #TheBeardsOfMetal!
-Cheers to the photographers of the pics above and all of you who are bad-ass enough to sport a brutal beard in the name of Satan! \m/
-Heavy Metal Sasquatch out!