Words by "Metal" Tim Henderson

Photos by Dave Cardoso

It was akin to walking into my first Wacken adventure in 1998 with Polish death metal veterans VADER playing to a sea of thousands of people just after lunchtime. I just shook my head and thought, 'this many extreme metalheads are part of the club?' A spectacle unseen at the time by these eyes and consider that was years before the fest's worldwide reputation today where the 22nd edition Wacken Open Air (set for August 4th - 6th) has been sold out for months and will attract close to 100,000 sets of devil horns (watch our report when we return!). So when I ventured into the grounds at Downsview Park in north Toronto, to see the two mammoth stages from a distance like brothers in metal side-by-side it cast a glowing feeling. This was also the same "arena" the famous SARS-stock took place on July 30, 2003 where AC/DC, RUSH and THE ROLLING STONES played to over 500,000 people (yes you read that number correct). Well, certainly those crowds weren't present at this past weekend's metal feast (some day perhaps, but over 15,000 is a helluva start!), but Heavy T.O.'s inaugural event was the grand beginning (and blessing) and the Wacken comparison is noted as organizers in Montreal (Heavy MTL) and Toronto see such a European fest a viable model in North America. It's about time. Fingers crossed as it will save a ton of expense for people who have been forced to take part in such spectacles overseas.

Organizers got off on the right foot in Toronto with one helluva bill featuring the likes of MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, OPETH, MOTÖRHEAD, CHILDREN OF BODOM on Day I and SLAYER, ROB ZOMBIE, MASTODON, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, ANVIL, DIAMOND HEAD on Day II.

Festival-goers were greeted by enormous gates to gain entry into the festival, with security poking, probing for materials not allowed on site like booze, drugs, glass, coolers etc… not uncommon for such outdoor events. One unopened bottle of water (any size) was allowed into the grounds but vendors were rubbing their hands as the heat easily hit 40 celsius (about 100-plus degrees) on the dry, sun-burnt grassy grounds; this area hasn't seen "proper" rain in weeks. Point is, any liquid was near a bubbling boil in minutes and virtually useless so you were forced to keep buying more. And unlike Wacken where you had in-and-out access, you were stuck with the amenities provided. Food vendors selling everything from pizza to barbecued "anything on four legs" were easily accessible and reasonably priced, but I had to laugh as I watched people with their hot dogs/sausages in a "proper-sized" bun as I'm so used to seeing schnitzel wrapped in bread a third the size! As well, the European booze concept needs to be embraced. It's sad enough that Ontario liquor laws force those of us who enjoy lager and ales (and of course bourbon) to seek out hard-to-find beer and liquors stores as the customer-friendly concept of corner store service hasn't resonated through the political channels yet. So you either snuck it in and it was a warm froth in seconds or you were forced to purchase a maximum of six beer tickets in one line and then trod over to the tap to redeem only two at a time! Double-fisted I say! At Wacken for example you purchase a commemorative plastic glass with any number of relevant logos on it for a 1/2 a Euro and then fill up to your heart's content for three Euros each (about $4 Canadian). And with these various logos on the mug, it enticed fans to collect them all. And they do … I have dozens! Another revenue stream fyi! Beer at Heavy T.O was eight bucks a pop. Jägermeister is a main sponsor of the show, so shots were easy to find, especially when you were lined-up to meet n' greet many of the artists on the bill.

But we were all here for the musical camaraderie and shockingly the sound was virtually flawless and both stages were on time to the second. A band's set would be complete and another would begin in moments. This is how a fest needs and should be run. Both sight-lines and audio needs were satisfied, especially if you were in the LiveNation VIP area that was stage-right above the crowd.

For us "media", it's a juggling act at best as the BraveWords.com team were balancing photos, interviews and video interviews which you will see soon. Some of the highlights included a very deep, heartfelt chat with ANVIL legend Steve "Lips" Kudlow (yes, there will be another film!), SLAYER drum tornado Dave Lombardo (who gave us a long interview about Jeff Hanneman's status, more Big 4 shows and personal musical secrets!), OPETH leader Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson (psychedelic metal discussed and more Heritage details revealed), ANTHRAX' Charlie Benante and Joey Belladonna (who hyped up Worship Music), TESTAMENT's Chuck Billy (who chatted us up about The Dark Roots Of Earth), CHILDREN OF BODOM's Henkka Blacksmith and Jaska Raatikainen (the Canuck journey continues), DEVILDRIVER's Dez Fafara, TIMES OF GRACE's Adam Dutkiewicz and BAPTIZED IN BLOOD's Johl Fendley (Mustaine's baby band).

Day I (Saturday, July 23rd) highlights included CHILDREN OF BODOM - featuring young whizkid Alexi Laiho who holds a crowd like none other for such a youthful band - playing a career-spanning set including 'Hate Me!', 'Children Of Bodom', 'Blooddrunk ' and the pleasing 'Are You Dead Yet?'. COB love this country and recently toured Western Canada prior to the fest. In Montreal the reaction was tenfold!

MOTÖRHEAD delivered the goods and are as faithful as Big Ben's chimes in London where they hail. The retro classics 'Metropolis', 'Stay Clean' and 'Overkill' reminded me of the band's famous CNE gig in the early '80s just before the band parted ways with Fast Eddie Clarke, Heavy T.O. being a rare 'Head open air event in these parts. "We are Motörhead and we play rock and roll,” lead singer and bassist Lemmy proclaimed and kicked into 'Iron Fist'. The obligatory 'Ace Of Spades' satisfied fans much better than the piss-warm beer in their hands.

The ANTHRAX-Belladonna reunion was a hit while guitarist Scott Ian (back from maternity duty) bounced around to the classics 'Caught In A Mosh', 'Madhouse', 'Indians' and the cover of JOE JACKSON's 'Got The Time'. The John Bush-era 'Only' didn't work, Belladonna lacking the deep power the ARMORED SAINT frontman holds. Maybe blow the dust off a Fistful Of Metal classic instead! We were greeted by the Worship Music newbie 'Fight 'Em Till You Can't' which shows much hope for the new studio album.

OPETH ruled the day though and are one of those shining gems in the metal scene that will continue to take over the scene, especially with their upcoming album, Heritage, looming in the not-so-distant future. 'The Grand Conjuration', 'Master’s Apprentice' and 'Face Of Melinda' brought an epic flavour to the event, the band seemingly stick out like a sore thumb among their contemporaries. Frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt's dry sense of humour asked the crowd if (Canadian folk-rock legend) JONI MITCHELL was watching! 'The Drapery Falls' from the band's Blackwater Park masterpiece toppled the set.

Not sure why Mustaine and Co. - with a massive back-wall of Marshall amps - would kick-off their set with the latter-era, whining 'Trust', since MEGADETH have been thrashing audiences with the Big 4 and are celebrating the landmark anniversary of Peace Sells. Not matter, the band are firing on all cylinders these days, even with the (much-needed) down-pour of rain that met them! 'In My Darkest Hour', 'Wake Up Dead' and 'Peace Sells' did get the crowd in headbanging-mode, meanwhile we were treated with 'Public Enemy No. 1' from their upcoming studio album TH1RT3EN. The closer 'Holy Wars... The Punishment Due' echoed throughout the city as the crowds walked into the night after a long day at metal camp.

Day II, with the same sweltering heat (the rains barely made a dent in the humidity), the thrashfest began with (the other) beloved Canuck trio ANVIL who kicked things off in fine form with the instrumental classic 'March Of The Crabs' and devilishly delectable '666'! The title track to their latest album 'Juggernaut Of Justice' went over politely well, but 'Mothra' and set-closer 'Metal On Metal' emerged as the anthem of the day.

NWOBHM icons DIAMOND HEAD - who have been on a high since being part of the recent (July 8th) Big 4 encore of 'Am I Evil?' at Sonisphere Knebworth - made a rare appearance, but most of the crowd understood their value. We've all heard the METALLICA covers of Evil and the equally potent 'Helpless' and 'The Prince', but it was invigorating to see the original band reform the tunes live!

TESTAMENT are monsters, clawing pieces of flesh off each and every individual within range of Chuck Billy's swath. Seriously, he may have retained the finest set of lungs out of all the '80s acts as 'The New Order', 'Practice What You Preach' and the pit-friendly 'D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)' and fitting 'Into The Pit' terrorized! Guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick traded off riffs with ease as the crowd roared.

MASTODON - who were a little confused where they were - pounded through a thick, blistering set of material including 'March Of The Fire Ants', 'Crack The Skye' and the rousing closer 'Blood And Thunder'. Sadly, no sign of any material from The Hunter though.

Ahhhhhh SLAYER. The band caused a desert storm in the dry heat as hell erupted from below. Two tracks from the band's new album World Painted Blood (the title track and 'Hate Worldwide') kicked the violence into gear immediately, followed by 'War Ensemble', 'Postmortem' and 'Dittohead', headmaster Tom Araya preaching to all of his children in the darkened manner we all know and love. 'Chemical Warfare' and 'Silent Scream' were a pair of surprises as Jeff Hanneman fill-in Gary Holt (of EXODUS fame) strolled with extreme comfort playing tag-team with the menacing Kerry King. Lombardo of course shone brightly as the unmatched backbone during the grand finale of 'Raining Blood', 'Black Magic' and 'Angel Of Death'.

To follow Slayer was the strange and beyond bewildering addition of BILLY TALENT (piss bottle anyone) who saw the first boos and heckles from the molten metal crowds. Not fair to the band and fans unless the intention was to calm them down after a vicious Slayer set? ROB ZOMBIE closed off the festival in his new king of shock-rock role dusting off some vintage fare including 'More Human Than Human', 'Super-Charger Heaven' and 'Thunder Kiss '65'.

No date set yet, but there's already talk about a second coming Heavy T.O. next summer as per the Montreal extravaganza. Long overdue to these parts so do your best support the cause!

More photos from BraveWords.com's Dave Cardoso can be found in a gallery here.

Check out our Heavy MTL report at this location.