Paul Ablaze, frontman for Montreal's extreme folk metal act BLACKGUARD, has issued the following recap of their recent North American tour with ENSIFERUM and LAZARUS A.D.:

"Another tour in the bag, another notch on the belt, and another round of good times were had by all.

For a tour that seemed destined to fall apart on itself just before it's start, I believe it exceeded all expectation by a long shot. With EX DEO pulling out for the majority of the tour and HYPOCRISY having to bail all together, the future looked very bleak. But at the end of the day it was Ensiferum's call to bite the bullet and pull ahead with the tour, and for that we cannot thank them enough.

As disappointed as we were not being able to tour with those two amazing bands, their absences proved to be a blessing in disguise. Being bumped up to direct support might have been one of the best things to happen to us, and with the addition of Lazarus A.D. we got to become friends with some of the most badass people we've ever met.

Although the crowds might have been smaller overall, we got to play to more people every night and our new position on the tour certainly motivated us to step up our game.

This tour being quite the contrast to our last tour (Summer Slaughter) in pace and scale, it was a little more relaxed and offered us some more down time to breath. That being said here are some of my more memorable moments from From Afar:

* Universal Studios:

We were lucky enough to have a day off in Orlando so Kim, Etienne and myself decided to treat ourselves to an afternoon at Universal studios. I hadn’t been there since I was 9 or 10 and I’m pretty sure I felt the same way back then as I did when i walked through the gates this time. Amazing rides, gigantic Turkey leg vendors everywhere, overpriced crappy beer, this was truly heaven. Tearing it up with our new buds in Lazarus A.D made the day that much better.

* Austin TX:

Our first experience with the great state of TX during the Summer Slaughter was less than encouraging, so for our second time around I wasn’t expecting much. This time however seemed to be the opposite and I can finally see why every metal band I know raves about TX. I was particularly blown away by the show in Austin. It’s not every day you get a crowd reaction in a different country that reminds you of a hometown show.

* Houston: The Marcy Playground experience:

Regardless of what you think of the band Marcy Playground, there’s still a good chance back in high school you rocked their only hit song “Sex and Candy” (I know I did). So when we arrived in Houston at the Meridian and found out they were playing one of the other stages, we had no choice but to investigate for nostalgia sake. Parking lot hang outs after the show was much cooler than I expected. Hats off to them for keeping it going as long as they have.

* Hollywood:

Went to the Rainbow (again) after the show, didn’t see Lemmy (again), this is getting discouraging. Post show parking lot party was amazing. I didn’t realize vodka and apple juice mixed so well. Gotta love those finns and their crazy drinking.

* Winnipeg bro deo:

Day off in Winnipeg resulted in massive hotel party. The party quickly had an influx of naked people but nobody really cared. Added note: When you get back from tour and co-workers jokingly ask how many chicks you got with, then you realise you saw more naked men (see above) than women, you start to question why you go on tour at all.

* New York

Last day of tour. From Afar tour gets put back-to-back with California Love Tour (WINDS OF PLAGUE, STICK TO YOUR GUNS, SLEEPING GIANT, OCEANO, CIRCLE OF CONTEMPT) at the Blender Theatre. Despite what you might think of the above bands we were all very excited about this show, specifically because Winds of Plague were some of our best tour buddy’s on Summer Slaughter and being able to spend time with friends is always nice. I watched the entire California Love Tour back to front and I must say how much I enjoyed the entire show.

A huge thank you must go out to all the Ensiferum band and crew who were a pleasure to work with and went out of their way to accommodate us on multiple occasions. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. We’re looking forward to this next time!(sooner than later hopefully).

2009 saw us entering the international metal world, we toured North America 3 times, got taken off one European tour (the pirates will pay for that), and have grown more as people and musicians than I ever thought. Of course none of this would have been possible without all the amazing people who have been supporting us at the show and rocking out with us every night. So cheers to anyone and everyone of you, can’t wait to see you all in 2010.

Our 2010 schedule is already booked almost to Oct, with some amazing touring opportunities and a new record that is currently being honed to perfection. This is shaping up to be a darker, more bombastic record and we’re all very eager to start playing these songs live.

See you all in Jan / Feb with EPICA and THREAT SIGNAL!"

Blackguard's tour schedule is currently as follows:

January

26 - Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA
27 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
29 - The Blender Theater at Gramercy - New York, NY
30 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
31 - Club Soda - Montreal, QC

February

1 - MOD Club - Toronto, ON
3 - Peabody’s - Cleveland, OH
4 - The Pearl Room - Mokena, IL
5 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
6 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
8 - Royal Albert Arms - Winnipeg, MB
10 - Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB
11 - Warehouse - Calgary, AB
13 - Sugar Nightclub - Victoria, BC
14 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
15 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
17 - Slims - San Francisco, CA
18 - The Key Club - Hollywood, CA
19 - U.B’s Bar - Mesa, AZ
20 - The Rock - Tucson, AZ
22 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
23 - Marquee - Tulsa, OK
24 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
25 - Scout Bar - San Antonio, TX
27 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
28 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA