Metal Earthquake at Cafe Dekcuf

Jason Decay
Geddy Lee

I went to see the Metal Earthquake last night in Ottawa's Cafe Dekcuf. Great gig guys.

The main attraction was a band named Cauldron from Toronto. Although the guys were a little too gay-looking for my tastes, they put up a good show. Their writing is original and they sound great on stage. They remind me of the early Megadeth albums, which is in all respects a very good thing.

One interesting fact : I genuinely questioned myself for a good part of the show as to whether the lead singer/bass player, Jason Decay, formerly from Goat Horn, was the son of Geddy Lee from Rush. Well, who knows? 

But the highlight of the night was undoubtedly the bold performance by local band Toxicator. 

Accompanied by a handful of their very loud and energetic fans, the band managed to wake the otherwise absurdly quiet crowd up. The level of energy displayed on stage was phenomenal, despite the fact that the vocalist had to sit in a wheelchair for the whole act because of a broken leg. The band's music is pure metal. Solid riffs, powerful, fast drums, over the top guitar solos, and of course aggressive, high-pitched vocals make up for a sound which is as close to perfection as it can get. The best thing is, these guys are like 15 years old. And this is on average; one of the two guitarists must be about 12. Great things await these boys, if their moms let them at least. 

Did I just say that? Anyway...

So if you're in the Ottawa area, check out Toxicator's myspace page for upcoming shows. One of their songs, New Born Metal is also available on there. This tune is not necessarily representative of the band's overall sound, but still makes for a very good listen.

Kudos to you guys. The world need more bands like yours.