As the sun rose on Montreal on Saturday morning, there were no doubt massive quantities of sunscreen being applied to the oh-so pale skin of thousands of metalheads. Each about to brave two days of sunshine to catch some of the best and heaviest music on the planet over the course of two days of Heavy Montreal.

After taking a hiatus for 2017 the festival was ready for a triumphant return and headbangers from all walks no doubt had the highest of expectations.

The walk towards the temporary festival grounds of Parc Jean-Drapeau was sure to be full of long black hair and black t-shirts and… tricorn hats and eyepatches?

Oh that’s right, Alestorm was playing. Blasting their own unique brand heaviness the “pirate metal” band performed songs about drinking and piracy in front of a massive 10 foot tall inflatable rubber ducky. Yes that ducky ended up in the pit. Yes that ducky ended up very dead.

Allegaeon brought a more “pure” brand of metal, their technical style and complex timing changes an absolute aural assault on the fans. Judging from the number of people crammed around the trees surrounding the “Scene du Jardin” the band could have easily drawn on a bigger stage without issue.

After abruptly cancelling his performance the night before in Toronto, there was a giant looming question mark (probably an upside-down question mark) about whether or not the iconic Marilyn Manson would be making it to the main stage or not.

Despite it being unclear how much of his pale and sickly demeanor is reality versus performance these days, Manson managed to find the energy to thoroughly deliver. Streaked in black face paint and undergoing multiple costume changes, Manson seemed somewhat irritable at first on stage but he quickly warmed up to the Montreal crowd. Even an absolute deluge of rain would not stop the show from rolling forwards. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…