HeavyTO 2011

July 23-24, 2011- Downsview Park, Toronto

Between July 22 and 23, 2011, Toronto hosted one of its most prolific heavy metal festival in years.  With an amazing lineup that included three of "the big four" of trash metal, it was a festival for the ages.

Despite the torrid temperatures in the city, crowds of fans gathered to watch Diamond Head, As I Lay Dying and Children of Bodom. Diamond Head stood out as the highlight of the day for playing their own songs, made famous by Metallica (Am I Evil, Electric, The Prince and Helpless). As I Lay Dying put on its own spectacle with two giant mosh pits fit for true headbangers. Children of Bodom was a show full of energy and brought on by aggressive songs and stage runs by the band. Following the later band, Anthrax came on. Returning from a break brought on by the birth of Scott Ian’s first child, Anthrax made up for lost time and rocked it’s North American fans. Headed by Joey Belladonna, their original lead singer, the band sounded and looked very different from the Anthrax of the early 2000’s. Their version of Sepultura’s Refuse/Resist gave the original band a run for their money. This thunderous performance was brought to an end by I Am the Law, an Antrhax classic. 

Opeth followed with a great set that included: The Grand Conjuration, Face of Melinda, The Drapery Falls before finishing up with a bone chilling performance of Hex Omega that brought out the rain. Though a great highlight of this festival as far as we are concerned, Opeth’s progressive metal performance was not drawing the same energy from the audience as the bands before. That is until Motorhead came in and brought the crowd back to life. It was a perfect moment, marked by sudden rain that cooled the air and reenergized the public after a long, hot day. Their one hour long show upstaged other bands by reminding us why we were there in the first place: to delve deep into the roots of pure hard rock. They finished with two of their greatest songs, Ace of Spades and Overkill, and hyped up the crowds into a mosh pit frenzy. 

California metal superstars Megadeath headlined the evening, and started their show with a fine rendition of their song, Trust. Although the band played other hits such as Headcrusher, 1320, In My Darkest Hour, Wake Up Dead and Peace Sells, the energy of the audience just wasn’t the same. Spent from a full day of headbanging and prolific bands, the fans appeared just about ready to call it a night. Just before ending the show, Dave Mustaine came back on stage with a gold award from EMI for their greatest hits album, and  thanked their Canadian fans, honouring them for their support and loyalty.

Day Two featured Dead And Devine, Death Angel, Exodus, Volbeat, Melissa Auf der Maur, Anvil, Baptized In Blood, Testament, Mastodon, Slayer, Billy Talent and Rob Zombie.  During Volbeat’s performance, the monitors acted up. As a result, the Danish band did not complete their set. A pregnant Melissa Auf der Maur changed the pace just before Scarborough’s very own Anvil took the stage, playing a headbanging, vibrating set list. The highlight of the festival was Slayer, whose show started at 7pm and delivered a blazing hour and fifteen minute set. It was agreed by most that this was the best of all performances. Powerful drum sets made the dust fly off the stage, and sent shivering thunders up and down our spines. It was an unfortunate decision to follow a quintessential heavy metal act with a ska indie band, be it a pretty decent one. Billy Talent might have expected a warmer welcome from its home town, but instead were received with plastic bottle projectiles, obscene signs and booed. Although the band maintained its professionalism and completed the seemingly never-ending set, the consensus amongst metal heads remained that “Billy’s got no talent”. Rob Zombie saved the night with a very dynamic and visual set. The band’s show included robots, skeleton mic stands, flames, smoke, horror movie screens, fireworks, bubbles, giant balls, confetti and elaborate make-up.  

The festival was a great first step for Toronto and we hope it will grow from here. Although the turnout could have been bigger, the bands gave some memeorable performances, there were plenty of talented artists to feed the appetite of the TO metal heads, and with the exception of the Voltbeat technical difficulties, the acoustics were very good. Watch out Montreal, there’s another Heavy Fest in Canada, and this one will give you a run for your metal!

Review: Julian Avram | Photos:Julian Avram

Special thanks to Live Nation Canada for allowing News & Writers to review this festival.