Allagash kicked things into high gear from the get-go. With catchy tunes and intense solos, the two guitarists’ fingers were a blur as they played to the energetic crowd. The sea of black band shirts raised the horns, the international hand sign of metal, to show their appreciation.
Category VI kept up with Allagash, giving listeners a blast from the past with their ’80s melodic metal. Vocalist Amanda Gosse, the only female performer on the roster, shocked the crowd with her Iron Maiden-esque powerhouse vocals. Their punchy set ended with the brand new title track from their upcoming release, “War is Hell.”
Up next, three b’ys from around the bay (Bonavista and Baie Verte) broke out their blackened thrash sound. Friday’s show marked Winterhearth’s first set since releasing their second album, “Resettlement,” earlier this month. Their high-powered set helped the mosh pit grow in intensity.
Wild Dream then displayed their speed-metal sound, rounded out with ear-splitting solos, so intense that some attendees had to plug their ears.
Emblem capped off the local line-up with their epic heavy metal sound. The surprisingly high singing voice of the nearly seven-foot-tall vocalist came as a surprise to some. Easily packing the floor, Emblem served as the perfect openers for Anvil, performing in St. John’s for only the second time since their careers began in 1978.
The highly anticipated set opened in unusual fashion, with Anvil lead Steve “Lips” Ludlow soloing in among the hundreds of fans, some decades younger than the band they had lined up to see.
“Growing older, we’ve got no choice,” 60-year-old Lips told the crowd. “Growing up … that’s optional,” he said with a laugh, before adding “Metal knows no f--king age.”
Anvil then jumped into their anthem “666” from their 1982 “Metal on Metal” album, followed by “Badass Rock’N’Roll” and “Winged Assassin.”
Lips dedicated 1983’s “Free As The Wind” to the late, great Lemmy Kilmister, who had once invited Lips to join Motörhead.
Lips soon whipped out a vibrator to strum along and then solo with, altering the sound by changing the vibrator’s speed. Drummer Robb Reiner had his moment in the spotlight with a blistering drum solo, while bassist Chris Robertson entertained throughout the night with his hilarious facial expressions and synchronized guitar moves with Lips.
The show ended with a perfect jam: the classic “Metal on Metal” tune. The audience sang along, fists pumping in time with the music.
After Anvil left the stage, fans chanted “One more song” in an effort to inspire an encore. There was no encore, however. Anvil had come, had seen (and thanked) the local metal scene and they had, indeed, conquered — only four tickets from a sold-out show.
Allagash kicked things into high gear from the get-go. With catchy tunes and intense solos, the two guitarists’ fingers were a blur as they played to the energetic crowd. The sea of black band shirts raised the horns, the international hand sign of metal, to show their appreciation.
Category VI kept up with Allagash, giving listeners a blast from the past with their ’80s melodic metal. Vocalist Amanda Gosse, the only female performer on the roster, shocked the crowd with her Iron Maiden-esque powerhouse vocals. Their punchy set ended with the brand new title track from their upcoming release, “War is Hell.”
Up next, three b’ys from around the bay (Bonavista and Baie Verte) broke out their blackened thrash sound. Friday’s show marked Winterhearth’s first set since releasing their second album, “Resettlement,” earlier this month. Their high-powered set helped the mosh pit grow in intensity.
Wild Dream then displayed their speed-metal sound, rounded out with ear-splitting solos, so intense that some attendees had to plug their ears.
Emblem capped off the local line-up with their epic heavy metal sound. The surprisingly high singing voice of the nearly seven-foot-tall vocalist came as a surprise to some. Easily packing the floor, Emblem served as the perfect openers for Anvil, performing in St. John’s for only the second time since their careers began in 1978.
The highly anticipated set opened in unusual fashion, with Anvil lead Steve “Lips” Ludlow soloing in among the hundreds of fans, some decades younger than the band they had lined up to see.
“Growing older, we’ve got no choice,” 60-year-old Lips told the crowd. “Growing up … that’s optional,” he said with a laugh, before adding “Metal knows no f--king age.”
Anvil then jumped into their anthem “666” from their 1982 “Metal on Metal” album, followed by “Badass Rock’N’Roll” and “Winged Assassin.”
Lips dedicated 1983’s “Free As The Wind” to the late, great Lemmy Kilmister, who had once invited Lips to join Motörhead.
Lips soon whipped out a vibrator to strum along and then solo with, altering the sound by changing the vibrator’s speed. Drummer Robb Reiner had his moment in the spotlight with a blistering drum solo, while bassist Chris Robertson entertained throughout the night with his hilarious facial expressions and synchronized guitar moves with Lips.
The show ended with a perfect jam: the classic “Metal on Metal” tune. The audience sang along, fists pumping in time with the music.
After Anvil left the stage, fans chanted “One more song” in an effort to inspire an encore. There was no encore, however. Anvil had come, had seen (and thanked) the local metal scene and they had, indeed, conquered — only four tickets from a sold-out show.