Show Review: Crush 'Em All Tour

Reviewed By: BloodGutter

Location: Toronto, ON.
Date: February 21st, 2009
Venue: The Reverb


Sumerian Records presented this awesome lineup to showcase some of the talent on their label. Both of Veil of Maya and After the Burial have been touring relentlessly as of late in support of their latest releases, landing some pretty impressive spots on upcoming tours in the process. Having recently released their debut album, ABACABB have to start getting their name out there. U.K. band Fellsilent were originally on the lineup as well but dropped out (due to reasons out of their control, as their MySpace states.) I attended the Toronto and Hamilton stops of the Crush 'Em All Tour, here's my review.

I'll start off with some noteworthy local openers. Although all of them put on good performances, a few caught my attention musically. Scarborough's Speak of the Devil definitely were my favorite, if not for their refreshing take on progressive metalcore (in the vein of bands like Between the Buried and Me, Protest The Hero), then definitely for the eye-catching and colorful light show they had during their set. On top of that, they had a great stage presence and got the crowd to move around alot. Markham/Oshawa's On Burning Shores kicked off the Toronto show to a great start, with the right attitude and good amount of energy throughout the set, their music on first listen was decent to me, but their were some parts here and their that did stick out and they definitely have the potential. Hamilton's Call the Calvary also impressed me. Fronted by two vocalists (a male and a female), their set consisted of songs with catchy melodic riffs, which really complimented the choruses which were sung by the female vocalist. My only criticism was that they lacked a strong stage presence, but apart from that they've got it going with good music!

ABACABB: Named after the "blood code" from Mortal Kombat, ABACABB matches up their name with the sheer brutality of their music. At first I didn't think much of the music, to be honest it isn't anything really new or original, but watching the band live definitely won me over. Just to have these raw, blunt riffs, crushing breakdowns, and a goodstage presence (with synchronized headbanging!) was enough to get you into it. The Toronto crowd got into them real quick with some moshpits, while Hamilton wasn't as enthusiastic. Their setlist consisted of songs from their debut album "Survivalist".

After the Burial: Hailing from the Twin Cities, this quintet took the stage and was probably the band everyone wanted to see, seeing as it was their first time in Canada. If you haven't heard After the Burial before, their music can be described as blend of math metal and deathcore, with alot of technical guitar solos thrown into the mix. Their performance was phenomenal to say the least, all their songs were spot on, especially the guitars which were "shredtastic". Their setlist consisted of alot of songs off their latest album "Rareform" but also included some old songs like "Pi" and "Fingers like Daggers".

Veil of Maya: Having seen these guys many times before I knew what to expect from them, I always have a sore neck after they play and this time was no exception. Although on both shows people left after their set, they still managed to have a good number of people in the crowd stick around and go nuts. Veil of Maya's music is pretty much alot of staccato riffs mixed in with the occasional breakdowns. Although their set wasn't as crazy as After the Burial's, they still managed to put on a really good and lively performance. I'm pretty sure their entire setlists consisted of songs from their latest album "The Common Man's Collapse".

Overall, it was a great two nights of shows for the tour, After the Burial is a very promising band and I think everyone should check them out and try to see them live if you can. The other bands were also pretty good, and will probably be touring for the next couple of months. Nothing too extraordinary, but a great package tour nonetheless.

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I'd like to thank BloodGutter for another awesome show review !

Make sure you check out the bands links and to keep an eye out for more reviews from BloodGutter.


Myspace:

Veil Of Maya

After The Burial

ABACABB

FELLSILENT