There’s definitely anticipation in the air when a cavernous shed like the Molson Amphitheatre is bordering on half-full before the first of four bands have hit the stage. Then again, when the evening’s festivities boast some of heavy metal’s definitive acts such as Judas Priest, Heaven And Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio for crying out loud), Motörhead and Testament, it’s no wonder the ‘Banger Brigade is out in full-force. Interestingly, while the mullet-to-balding ratio was expectedly high, a surprising influx of young ‘uns — not just in the sea of strollers pushed around by “mature” fans, but actual spry metallions — were out representing.
Boldly facing the uphill battle of performing to people searching for their seats, Bay Area thrashers Testament made the best of their half-hour, pleasing fans yet pushing latest effort The Formation Of Damnation. Thankfully, they mostly stuck to early material, performing formidable renditions of “The Preacher,” “The New Order” and “Practice What You Preach,” saving newbies “More Than Meets The Eye” and Formation’s title track for the latter moments of the set. Enthusiastic and engaging, singer Chuck Billy made great use of minimal stage space, nailing his air guitar, striding about and hollering “metal!” every 10 seconds to applause and goat horns.
One could almost cut the eagerness with a knife as the almost-full venue awaited Motörhead, erupting as Lemmy strolled out with trademark nonchalance, announcing “We are Motörhead” and blasting into “Doctor Rock.” Maximizing their almost insulting 45 minutes of stage time, the band let the music talk, tearing through an unusual — albeit pleasing — selection including “Metropolis” (which, as Lemmy informed us, hadn’t been performed in Toronto in some 20 years), “Killed By Death” and “Over The Top.” Mikkey Dee’s five-minute drum solo mid-set was a bit much but it presumably gave Lemmy enough time for an added break to keep The Rock going for two requisite new tracks from forthcoming effort Motorizer, and, obviously, “Ace Of Spades.” Confident, aggressive and loud, Motörhead’s no-frills attack was true to form.
A lull in action before the final crescendo, Heaven And Hell’s performance was admirable if not altogether interesting. Watching Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler stand stoic while Ronnie James Dio made endless grand gestures as if performing some metallic opera was deflating after having one’s ears blown off by eight Marshall stacks. However, they wisely stuck primarily to Heaven And Hell/Mob Rules material, only tepidly venturing into Dehumanizer territory a couple of times. Again: strong and pristine but agonizingly uneventful.
As for Judas Priest, they’re clearly older but not ready to be written off just yet. Keeping things minimalist, they relied on a seamless performance to entertain as opposed to the flash pots and fireworks that are the normal accoutrements of shows in an open environment. Flanked by images of the Priest cross and a simple backdrop, they took a page from Motörhead’s performance, pulling out a mix of classics and long-unheard gems including, “Metal Gods,” “Dissident Aggressor,” “Breaking The Law,” “Electric Eye,” “Devil’s Child” and “Painkiller,” tossing in the odd tune from new album Nostradamus here and there. Despite the grey hair, Priest was quite upbeat all the while. Rob Halford isn’t able to bandy about the stage as he used to (preferring to hunch down for the most-part), yet his vocal delivery is immaculate for someone well past middle-age, and both Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing ripped out solos perfectly. While Priest could have spent a few clams on pyro to ensure the night was an event however, they nailed the encore, sending grown men into shrieks of joy as Halford rolled out the Harley-Davidson for “Hell Bent For Leather” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.” Simple yet effective.