It’s that time of the year again and Parc Jean-Drapeau will host 3 full days of Punk and Metal music this weekend. As with any festival, one of the problem is that it’s impossible to watch every band, with many bands playing at the same time over multiple stages. We always have to make difficult choices, so here are our suggestions of 7 bands not to miss for each day of the fests (none of them overlapping), and a playlist with one song from each of these bands to put you in the mood for the weekend!
Montréal ’77
Charly Bliss
When Ruby came out in 2016 it was the only song I could listen to for days. The 90’s “alternative” revival of the last couple of years has given us some great bands and many mediocre ones but when I hear a song this good, done so well, in that sound, it really takes me back to moments from my early teenage years like having a crush on a random girl in math class or throwing AA batteries at random cars passing by and then running off in the corn fields. Rejuvenating! ha.
Avengers
Like the day’s headliners, The Avengers are one of the best bands to come out of the early LA Hardcore scene. Desperation is one of their best songs: the vocals are so on point, moving from blasé to energetic at just the right moments. I love this song so much that one of the imaginary bands I’m always talking about starting and writing songs for (but that I’m never actually starting) even discussed covering this song once! Kind of half a fact!
The Menzingers
With so many great songs to choose from I initially went with Nice Things but switched it last minutes to Gates because that line “It’s not hard to fall for a waitress / When you both smoke, smoke the same cigarettes ” is just one of my favorite “hopeless romantic” lines of all time. If you’re that type of romantic dreamer who randomly and suddenly falls for that person who works at the dep or that person who you just passed by in the parc, then you know it doesn’t take more than a silly reason like “smoking the same cigarettes” (or liking the same bands or laughing at the same ridiculous thing) to get a crush on someone. That line expresses that beautifully. It’s also a great song, kind of a ballad, but upbeat enough to dance and with that big chorus that makes it perfect for a festival! (I also swtiched it because I was going to have to spend hours rambling about the genius progression and outro to Nice Things).
Cro-Mags
It’s 2019 and Hard Times are definitely coming our way. What more can I say on the mighty Cro-Mags that hasn’t already been said? John Joseph is back in town with an all-star line-up which includes AJ Novello on guitar, Mike Dijan on bass and Mackie on drums! Since this is JJ’s version of the band, I’m going with an AOQ-Era song, because “Revenge! Revenge is sweet!”
OFF!
To keep with the “early LA Hardcore” theme of the day, Keith Morris and the gang are gonna deliver us some short, high energy tunes that sound like they could have been recorded in 1981, just the way we like it! I’m going with I Don’t Belong because is there a more classic punk sentiment than “I Don’t Belong”? That’s what brought us all here at some point!
The Exploited
Punk is definitely not dead and, in 2019, it feels especially alive, maybe more than it’s been in years. Stoked to see these UK82 defining old timers for the first time. Disorder is the selected song here because it’s fast and angry and “Chaos! Chaos! Chaos! Don’t give a fuck!”
Bad Religion
Had to include the headliners, as they’re one of our all time favourite here at The Thanks List. They have literally dozens of perfect songs, and you can find perfect Bad Religion songs at any point throughout their discography, from the oldest to the most recent albums, but through all of these, one song stands out to me and it’s Skyscraper, the closing song of their 1993 major label debut Recipe For Hate. Few songs achieve that balance of expressing feelings of both sadness and hopefulness as well as this one, and the progression, with the vocals especially growing in intensity throughout the song, is fantastic. They still deliver a great live show after all these years and are definitely not a band to miss.
Heavy Montréal Day 1
Anonymus
Local legends Anonymus will take the stage early on Saturday to perform songs in french, english, spanish and italian with their very unique brand of Thrash Metal. Stress was the soundtrack to my high school years so I have to go with a song from this album, and Sans Dessein is definitely one of the highlights, with its weird intro that would be at home on a Tech Death album, its totally furious vocals and super heavy mid song breakdown.
Quiet Riot
Honestly, I’m really stoked for the inevitably massive sing alongs that will occur when they play their Slade cover. “Cum on feel the noize! Girls rock your boys! We get wiiiiild, wiiiiild, wiiiiild!”. Such a classic. Definitely planning on getting wild!
Hatebreed
To this day, Satisfaction Is The Death of Desire is one of the albums I’ve listened to the most in my life. Every single day for at least a year, after it came out. It helped me feel strong and conquer my teenage depression. Smash Your Enemies is one of the Hardest Songs of All Time with lyrics about conquering pain and hardship and riffs that will make you want to punch through a wall.
Municipal Waste
6:20 PM will definitely be Party Hour as Steel Panther and Municipal Waste are playing at the same time but when forced to chose, we have to go with the Waste. They will be playing songs from The Art Of Partying exclusively so let’s go with Beer Pressure because I feel like it might end up being the story of the weekend ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Cattle Decapitation
I’ll admit it, I wasn’t much into Cattle Decapitation early on, but they just keep getting better and at some point, I just couldn’t deny them. The opening track to their latest, and best, album, is a definite highlight. It has everything: an epic intro, brutal slow riffs, fast as hell blast beats, technical yet catchy guitars, a super spastic and unique solo and a weirdo clean vocals parts that shouldn’t work but somehow really does. I love it and I can’t wait to see how they pull it off live!
Watain
One of the best modern Black Metal bands, Watain keeps things simple and keeps the “Metal” part of “Black Metal” intact. You won’t find any “post”, “gaze” or “atmospheric” Black Metal here, but pure Black Metal that is indebted to the second and first wave. Legions of The Black Light is a great example of their sound: it opens with a simple but ultra catchy melodic riff over a blast beat that reminds us of second wave Norwegian Black Metal and then transitions into a heavy riff over a midtempo beat that reminds us of Black Metal’s Heavy Metal roots and that wouldn’t be out of place on a Bathory or Celtic Frost album.
Dying Fetus
In 2016, I left a job that I hated and on my last day, when I opened the door to leave after my last shift, I put my headphones on and selected Praise The Lord (Opium Of The Masses) as my walkout song. That intro groove is so heavy and brutal, it was the perfect soundtrack to leaving this place and feeling like I’m kicking the door on my way out, setting the place on fire and leaving it in ashes (that obviously didn’t happen. I left politely and said bye to everyone). Also, by the time their set will be over there will still be time to catch at least half of Ghost’s set, so you can see both bands if you want, even if they overlap!
Heavy Montréal Day 2
Dopethrone
One of Montreal’s heaviest and dirtiest sounding sludge bands. A lot of touring has also turned them into an extremely tight and solid live band that you won’t wanna miss. They’re not on spotify so not on the playlist but you can listen to their latest album in its entirety below:
Fu Manchu
Back when I was DJ’ing every week at a bar, Urethane was one of my favorite songs to open with. I would come in at 10 and before that the person working the bar would just play their ipod. Sometimes it was great music, but often times it was terrible (sorry guys! Love you all the same!), and Urethane was just a great song to announce a musical shift. Blasé and chill enough to transition from anything but definitely rockin enough to let you know that it was gonna be Rock’N’Roll from this point for the rest of the night.
Corrosion Of Conformity
With so many albums with different sounding records (and singers) throughout their career, it’s hard to select a COC song for this playlist, but with Pepper Keenan back in the band, I’m going with the Blind-era but Keenan lead classic Vote With A Bullet, for its ultra greasy main riff played over an upbeat and dynamic midtempo beat.
Terror
It’s not one of their most popular songs but Disconnected is one of my favorite Terror songs. An overlooked gem in their répertoire. It is just a perfectly constructed hardcore song. The intro and how it comes back at the end over a different beat, the chorus, every transition and every detail is on point. And those riffs are so heavy! Don’t miss out on one of the best live bands of our generation.
Demolition Hammer
What a treat it is to have Demolition Hammer back as an active touring band. For so long I thought I would never see them. They were superb at Deathfest last year and I expect nothing less this year. Skull Fracturing Nightmare is a good representation of their violent sound, with multiple fast riffs and heavy riffs is constant alternance.
Anthrax
Having seen them a few times in recent years, I can confirm that almost 40 years on Anthrax still gives a great show full of energy and enthusiasm. Since re-uniting with Joey Belladonna, they released two very well received albums and are touring constantly. It’s an obvious one but I’m going with the undeniable classic Crossover anthem Caught In A Mosh, always a crowd favorite live.
Slayer
Once again, can’t miss the headliners! Especially since it’s our last chance to see them. Raining Blood is probably the best Thrash Metal song of all time, and South of Heaven is the song that got me obsessed with them, but whenever I feel anger or distress and I need a really agressive song to help process my emotions, War Ensemble is my go to. There’s something about that song, as soon as it starts you know you’re in for a high speed ride. Regardless of actual tempo, there’s just something about the way that they play that makes them feel faster than any other band. They make fast riffs feel as heavy as the heaviest slow or mid tempo riffs, which is no small feat.
It goes without saying that there are many great bands playing this weekend that we didn’t mention, but unfortunately, you can’t catch ’em all! Hope you enjoy the playlist (and my dumb commentary about each song)! Let us know in the comments which bands you’re the most excited to see this weekend, which song you would have selected as a highlight if you were making a playlist, and don’t forget to catch a wrestling match or two if you can!
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