You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter: Music For the Win

Yesterday was officially the day that the 2010 Summer Slaughter Tour steamrolled through Montreal, so me and the boys hopped into a vehicle, pounded out some tunes on the stereo and drove well over under the speed limit as we made our way down to Club Soda to meet Vital Remains, Animals as Leaders, Carnifex, Decrepit Birth, Cephalic Carnage, Veil of Maya, The Red Chord, All Shall Perish, The Faceless and The Decapitated.

Admittedly there was one among us who is not a particular fan of Death Metal and was only there two see two bands.

While this would have usually put a damper on the day, it still provided some hilarity in between the thunder of blast beats and the thunder and rain outside in between sets. Out of the ten groups set to hit the stage, we stayed to see six but left on surely the high note of the evening, in my opinion.

The show started off on a moot point, seeing as how Vital Remains were without a vocalist and bassist thanks to our friends at customs. However it wouldn't be long before Animals as Leaders, the veritable odd group out of the Deathly lineup of groups, would hit the stage and set the bar for the rest of the evening. The Instrumental progressive metal and ridiculous guitar sweeps of Tosin Abasi (posed ever so slyly above) had the entire venue demanding more. But unfortunately they only had enough time for four tracks, though all of them gems, including: Wave of Babies, Tempting Time, On Impulse and closing with CAFO.

Following Animals as Leaders we took a trip into the hardcore rain that was slaughtering the Montreal streets and returned to catch the second half of Carnifex who provided some nice meaty breakdowns and brutal vocals. Decrepit Birth then followed providing a decent but somewhat lackluster performance of the six groups I witnessed in the evening. Cephalic Carnage then segued  into their set and garnered some well deserved laughs from the crowd whilst providing some solid, blistering grindcore goodness.

Veil of Maya were number one on the list of must see groups for me yesterday and they proved that my anticipation was well deserved. Their performance was definitely the show stealer, not only for me but many nearby that were on hand. Their blend of Death Metal, Progressive and Djent make them a stand out in almost any lineup. I'm definitely looking forward to the next chance I get to see these four guys again.