The glue that binds

With its second edition this past weekend, Heavy MTL once again proved itself one of the world’s most prestigious metal fests—at least on the first day of the two-day fest. Truthfully, outside of Lamb of God, the second day didn’t have that much to offer me, but the triple threat of High on Fire, Mastodon and Slayer on Saturday, July 24, was just too good to pass up. As of this writing, it was too early to get the official attendance figures, but to the naked eye, Parc Jean-Drapeau was bursting at the seams, only further proving that while most media outlets continue to ignore the metal genre at large, the fanbase and their commitment to the music is without equal.

High on Fire, despite having a start time of 2:15 in the afternoon and a truncated half-hour set, were once again jaw-droppingly good. “Frost Hammer,” “Snakes for the Divine,” “Fire, Flood and Plague” and two surprises from days gone by—“Cometh Down Hessian” and “Rumors of War”—were amazing. Mastodon were simply devastating as usual, with a set list that touched on “Quintessence” and “Divinations” from their last epic Crack the Skye, offered three from Blood Mountain and even dug all the way back to “Iron Tusk” and “Megalodon,” from Leviathan, and an absolutely ear-shattering version of “March of the Fire Ants” from Remission.

Finally, the true capper to my day was witnessing the almighty Slayer. Trying to encapsulate the sheer force Slayer puts out live is near impossible. Getting two songs from their last record, World Painted Blood, out of the way right off the top, they cleared the path for a set laced with hits picked from their almost three-decade career. “Dead Skin Mask,” “Angel of Death,” “War Ensemble” and “South of Heaven” to name just a few. Despite the suspicious absence of “Raining Blood,” this set once again proved that Slayer’s impact on metal is immeasurable. With songs actually busting through their established tempos, they also proved they are hardly resting on their laurels and are just as hungry as ever. Simply put, the crown of metal supremacy is still firmly in Slayer’s grasp.

Before I sign off this week, I would like to hip you to a local group that is fighting to keep the mere act of putting up a poster alive. C.O.L.L.E. Montreal, made up of both individuals and organizations, is helping to put pressure on city hall to provide public space in which people can legally put up posters without facing fines. As it stands, members of C.O.L.L.E. have collectively racked up over $215,000 in fines, which is not that outlandish when you consider fines start at $300 and can escalate to $1,960, depending on jurisdiction and other factors. The proposed solution, which was initially brought to city council on July 5, is to affix rubber collars on public poles, to which posters can legally be stapled (no more glue), with hopes that C.O.L.L.E. Montreal can weigh in on the locations of the proposed collars, as well as the design and the quantity. To help ensure the city doesn’t just put a band-aid on this sucking wound of a problem, you can get more information and get involved at collemontreal.org.

CAN’T WE JUST GET A BONG?
JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM