Written by:	Doc G.
Published:	September 06, 2011
Event:	Toxic Holocaust: North American Tour 2011
Location:	Dickens Pub, Calgary, AB, Canada
Galleries:	Toxic Holocaust At Dickens Pub, Calgary, AB Canada by Doc G. (11)

Finally! A show worth getting stoked for! Now, it was no surprise Toxic Holocaust were going to slay, but along with a staple name providing a top-notch show, there were a few pleasant surprises thrown in, it was all very emotional.

Treeburning
http://www.myspace.com/treeburning
Typical opening band material, to say the least. Can't say these guys were all that terrible, but it was just aimless metalcore with a severe lack of any kind of solid direction. The various styles incorporated into their music were too subtle to have that super-eclectic appeal, yet too obvious to have it's own identity. One minute they wanted to be hardcore, the next they wanted to be melodeath. In layman's terms, it didn't have any impact, neither did the completely forgettable performance (literally, I can't remember what these guys looked like on stage).



Ninjaspy
http://www.myspace.com/thetriadinblood/music
Now here was something special - a band that could actually pull off an eclectic sound. It was a real funky Protest The Hero/Primus/Devin Townsend/Red Hot Chili Peppers metalcore mash-up type feel. Hell, even throw in some Reel Big Fish, maybe. The stage show was just as entertaining. If there was one (unknown) band of the night that I'd recommend people to check out, it would be these guys. Ballsy experimentation is something that isn't done nearly enough.

They had it all; interesting, fresh sounding music paired up with a great live show. If the name Ninjaspy isn't a household name within a few years, I'll pull a Dan Swanö, and eat my keyboard.



Weapon
http://www.myspace.com/theweaponchakra
...And now for something completely generic. Can't say I see what's so special about these guys, but they managed to pull the local favour. Despite coming across as some kind of unimaginative paint-by-numbers blackened death metal, the crowd were really behind these guys, and that counts for a lot when putting on a show with energy. The feeling of being stoked on a show is all about reciprocation between band and audience - they knew how to get the people into it, I'll at least give them that.





Holy Grail
Normally, I'm all for belittling power metal, but these guys actually hauled a lot of ass on stage. Can't say much for the music, listening to these guys on CD leaves me with very little feelings one way or the other...but live is something else. To say they really know what they are doing would be an understatement. The crowd was having shit-tons of fun, the band, whether genuine or not, seemed to share the same sentiment.





Toxic Holocaust
Listening to Toxic Holocaust's music, there's no question it translates perfectly live, so no surprises there. The disappointing part of the show was the fact the energy seemed a little toned-down from when Holy Grail was playing, through no fault of Joel Grind & company. Calgary is a lame-ass city that completely shuts down by 1:20am, that includes public transit, so naturally, a band that has to wait until 12:50am to hit the stage is going to suffer from a diminished crowd, limited to those within stumbling distance of the venue, enough left over money for a cab, or the willpower to hang out downtown for another 3-4 hours until buses & trains start running again.

That being said, they played exactly the type of set you'd want to see from a band like Toxic Holocaust - no bullshit, just pure, straight-forward, high-energy rocking out. And to answer your question, yes, they played that song you really like from one of their older albums.




*Photos courtesy of Jean Guy