October 12, 2013
Calgary, Alberta
@ THE GOLDEN AGE CLUB
After a few hiccups in the booking process (venue issues, etc.) the day finally came for Terror to come back to Calgary. This time they managed to wrangle a diverse and intersting lineup as well. For this show the openers consisted of Secret Rivals, Code Orange Kids, Power Trip and Counterparts.
Local Openers Secret Rivals were up first. The lack of crowd did little to diswade them from blasting out their brand of NYHC groovy hardcore. In a short set they managed to remind one of classic NYHC such as Crown Of Thornz and Madball. For the sake of a M=more modern influence i'd venture to add Trapped Under Ice as well. Needless to say you knew the band we're going to bring with them a reson to mosh and that they did. Any fan of the aforementioned should be more than interested in searching them out.
Next came Code Orange Kids. While certainly the odd band out on an already diverse bill (for a hardcore show) they managed to truly stand up amongst the rest of the touring bands. Allowing for each song to stand on its own is a tough task for a band to do on record. Code Orange managed to pull it off on stage as well, even managing a spot for a guest vocal appearance. All of this made for a heady set with flares of heavy sludge, emotional calm, and absolute savage noise. This kind of set could certainly make doubters into believers.
Power Trip showed slightly late but wasted no time. After briefly thanking Canada for it's poutine women and recreational activites they quickly moved into a brutal set. While the set mostly consisted of songs from the new album (Manifest Decimation) the band managed to include a couple older songs. Somewhat surprisingly every song worked no matter how long or short (especially the longer ones from the new album). Every song sounded absolutely road ready and tight and the crowd didn't waste a single second to relish the songs.
Counterparts played as direct support for the show and came out with their stylized melodic hardcore. While the band played a longer set filled with mostly songs from their recent release (The Difference Between Hell And Home) the really great moments were relegated to the songs from their back catalog. These songs recieved strong responses from the crowd. On the other hand the seemed to be nary an interest paid by most in the newer songs. All in all the band played a completely competent set and tried what they could to get the crowd into it.
Finally is was Terror's turn to take the stage. As anyone familiar with Terror as a love entity knows there will be certain things contained therein consistently. These things include. moshing, sing alongs, stage dives and motivational speaches. If the set were to be judged solely on that Terror would get straight A's. Even with the basics covered when it came to the music and energy from the band things ran on all cylinders. For a band made up of guys that have been in hardcore bands for years they put nearly every younger band to absolute shame. With a set that mansaged to mix new and old without batting an eyelash not one showgoer would've been able to complain by the end. The band even stopped at points to ask exactly what the crowd wanted to hear before playing the requested songs. Only adding to this were some guest vocals by multiple members of each band throughout the set.
Overall this would be a tour to go see for anyone into hardcore. With a diverse bill made up of bands that work hard to consistently put on great, entertaining sets one would certainly be amiss to forget about this tour.
