BARN BURNER and guests at The Mansion, Feb. 25, 2012

Some things in life are a given. The oceans will be salty. The government will suck. And Barn Burner will put on a great show. It's natural. It's logical. It's a universal law. In this case, Barn Burner just happened to be headlining. As an added bonus, the three local support acts didn't totally suck. Win-win!

The night's festivities were kicked off by a band called Basalisk. This young band really impressed me. Definitely not a one-dimensional band, they mixed a handful of styles into their songs. I could hear influences ranging from Iron Maiden, to latter-day Mastodon and other proggy outfits. The keyboards were a pleasant surprise. I'm not much for keyboards unless  they're Hammonds and I was worried the Korgs would remind me too much of Dragonforce but that wasn't the case at all. I could put it this way, when I noticed the drummer was wearing a Scale The Summit shirt, I was not in the least surprised. The band gave me a copy of their demo and I look forward to giving it the full treatment in a future KofN post.

 I have to be honest. I don't remember much of Ponderous Chain. Their set coincided with the peak of my 3 tall cans of PBR buzz. I haven't seen them play with a clear head yet. It's not intentional though. The tiny stage at The Mansion can tend to hinder the performance of the band but these guys didn't let it get in the way. However, the somewhat technically precise nature of their music doesn't necessarily lend itself to much in the way of jumping around and such. I originally labelled them "Meshuggah-core". While not entirely inaccurate, it was kind of an off the cuff remark. While not nearly as "djent" as Meshuggah, that "flavour" struck me along with their otherwise melodic deathcore sound. I'd have to hear them again to really figure it out, but I can say, their performances have been improving each time I see them.

As of yet, I have been unable to find any sort of internet presence for Vera Pearl. Thus, I had no idea what to expect. Sometimes that's for the best. You can't be disappointed that way. There would be no chance of disappointment anyway. Vera Pearl floored me. Despite being down a couple regular members and having the venerable Dan Vokey (ex-I Hate Sally, ex-The Chariot) fill in on bass/vocals, they still delivered an extremely energetic and intense show. Math-core, noise-core, whatever you want to call it, it hit me like a cinder block to the face. Complicated arrangements, red-faced screams/bellows/yells, absolutely crushing (on a small kit) drums and a tight, tight performance left nothing to be desired. Except more of it. These guys could do some damage on the Canadian scene alongside KEN Mode and Fuck The Facts. And beyond.

 With what little hearing I had left at this point, it was time to damage some other parts of my body. You guessed it. Bangin' time! Montreal's Barn Burner blew the roof off that place. By my estimate, the turnout was low for a Saturday night. But what may have lacked in numbers, was counter-balanced by enthusiasm. Adequately lubricated by $4.25 tall cans of PBR, the gathering of bangers put on a clinic in "How To Fuck Up Your Neck." But that's typical for a Barn Burner show. Tunes like "Scum of the Earth" and "Holy Smokes" were made for banging your head. The Kingston show was originally supposed to be in support of Priestess (as I assume the rest of the date on the mini-tour were). But from what I hear Priestess is pretty much kaput. Barn Burner decided to press on and as such, turned the string of dates into headlining gigs. Deservedly so. During part of guitarist/vocalist K. Keegan's always entertaining between song banter, he informed the attendees that the last handful of shows all went very well. He said "That's what we call steady giggin'".That would actually sound pretty good as the name of their as yet untitled third album. Bangers III: Steady Giggin' sounds pretty good to me. In fact, Barn Burner played two songs from said (unsaid?) album. The first was untitled and the second was dubbed "No Rest For The WIccan".Both were rip-tacular. Don't you just love the BB play on words? As on other setlist inclusions such as "Beer Today, Bong Tomorrow "(one of my personal faves), "Dark Side of the Barn", and "Brohemoth". Their phenomenal set was bookended by "Earth's Crust" and "Wizard Island". They say "Saturday night's alright for fighting". Not this Saturday night. This Saturday night was alright for banging. I can't think of a better band for a night of beers, bongs, bangin', and the brotherhood of metal camaraderie. All hail the Giggernaut!!

Barn Burner's most recent release, Bangers II: Scum of the Earth is now available on vinyl! Get it here: www.barnburner.bigcartel.com  But, um, save me one will ya? I've been busy.

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#9: Barn Burner - Bangers II: Scum of the Earth

Montreal's Barn Burner are one of Canada's best young bands. On the their second album, Bangers II: Scum of the Earth (Metal Blade) they have further entrenched themselves as such. These beasts of the stage are equally as stimulating in recorded format. Last year I snuck Bangers on to my list due to a release date technicality. That wasn't necessary this year. There's nothing sneaky about Bangers II. Right from the opening/title track "Scum of the Earth" (bitchin' video) you know this baby is rip-tits. But it's not the kind of album that sounds all "FUCK YEAH!" the first few times but fails to garner the same reaction a dozen times later. I knew this barn burner (he he) was going to rank on my list. But the fact that I never got tired of it and actually as I got to listen to it more and more and picked up more lyrics and what not, it continued to grow on me and that vaulted it to its current position. It became my preferred album for making boring things better. Cooking Kraft Diner, cleaning house, mowing the grass for 3 hours + Bangers II = a kickass good time! I probably did a better job articulating my adoration when I reviewed the album a few months so I'll leave you with this: Buy the album. Go to the shows. Party hard and have your face melted off. Support Canadian Metal!

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Barn Burner - Bangers II: Scum of the Earth (Metal Blade)

Sometimes a band sneaks up on you. That band that didn't really get tons of press. So instead of you seeking out that band, you just happened across them.  I saw Barn Burner as an opener for Kylesa. I thought they were alright but I was really focused on Kylesa so I didn't really give them a fair shake.  When I saw that they were coming back around, opening again, I checked out the debut album. That's when it hit me. Once I was able to focus on it, The full awesome slapped me in the face. "These dudes are pretty fuckin' rad!"

Fast forward to 2011. A year or so after Bangers became the fist vinyl I ever bought. (I'm a little behind on the retro format movement) I hear Metal Blade is releasing Bangers II: Scum of the Earth. Right.Fucking.On.Dude.

Bangers II makes the sophomore jinx look like a myth. In fact, it's probably better than their debut. It's a wonder these tour monsters even found the time to write and record 42 minutes of music, let alone music this good! The 10 tracks found within follow pretty much along the same stylistic lines as their predecessor without sounding like a rehash. While there's no doubt it's Barn Burner (thanks in no small part to vocalist Kevin Keegan's unique snarl) this isn't the kind of band you can get bored with.  Bangers II serves up a veritable riff-fest of stoner-thrash jams. They draw from the galloping rhythms of thrash and the swagger of stoner metal (much like fellow Canadians, Priestess) punctuated by the energy and attitude of punk.

As ripping as the album is, with the those nimble fingers dancing over the fretboard, the groove element keeps it at a pace that'll definitely keep you movin' but won't put you in traction. I've been trying to avoid using the word, but this album is "fun". I suppose that's something that tends to be lacking from a lot of metal these days. (At least good metal)  You can take the music seriously (please do) but it doesn't have to BE serious. How serious can it be with song titles like "Keg Stand and Deliver" and "Skid Marks The Spot"? Music is entertainment and it doesn't get more entertaining than Bangers II. Well, maybe their live show. It's what you need to see! I missed them last time they were in town. That's a mistake I won't make again. Especially since they'll be playing tracks from Bangers II: Scum of the Earth.

You heard it here: Canadian Release Of The Year.