Diecember Fest

   You need to get stoked on the bands from your city for the same reason you root for the Vancouver Canucks. So when a whole bunch of local bands are descending on a bigger venue that is usually saved for popular touring acts, you have to get out and support these types of shows so they can happen more than a few times a year. So be sure to hit up The Rickshaw Theatre on December 4th to see a bunch of great local metal bands tear up the big stage. Plus it's December, cold out, you may as well get in the pit.



   Among the bands playing is Anion. I had the liberty of writing them a review for their cassette tape. Yes, cassette tape, and it was run in the pages of the Skinny Magazine.




Anion Tape Review

Find someone who thinks tapes aren’t cool and I’ll shove my Sony Walkman up his bum. Tapes are still rad and this Anion tape is no different. It’s red in colour and resembling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack cassette tape that I owned as a kid, but don’t worry, there is no ninja rap here. The first track, oops I mean song, (no tracks on a tape) starts out slow, sludgy and powerful with some angst-ridden screams. As it progresses to some feedback it leaves you wondering what is to come next. And what comes next is a killer riff, a pick up in the tempo and more bad-ass screams from Johnny Matter. Yes, the same Johnny from Assimilator and Chosen fame. Ireland didn’t suit him, (I heard he is deathly afraid of leprechauns) he’s back in Vancouver, coming full circle and getting back to his hardcore roots. And this is some riffy hardcore, almost a crossover of stoner metal and sludgy doom shit. The tape came in a rad cloth case that could be chopped into a cool patch. It also came with an insert that had some sick art. Not like how the kids say sick, but actually sick. Pictures of a body in a bathtub full of acid, a fetus and a fatty having a puke. All good stuff. 2 songs per side and there’s no separation between them, (other than some feedback) so when the tape clicks to an end you are left wanting more. But you’re gonna have to check out a show for that, and I heard the tapes were limited to only 100 copies made, so you better get down to their next show and get yourself one. If not for the rad tunes, the cool colour of the tape, or the cloth case, do it for the picture on the inside of fatty having a puke.

Another of the bands taking part in Diecember Fest is Burning Ghats.  This was Cam Strudwick the bassist of Burning Ghats' answer to the question: How did you spend your summer vacation. This ran in the pages of Absolute Underground. 




"Despite the sweltering heat, rip-off rental vans and our endless pursuit of higher education, we still managed to do a mini-tour through Alberta and the Okanagan, rock some killer local shows, AND finish recording and release a four song EP called “Fool’s Gold”. Calgary, Edmonton and Kamloops reminded us why we do this foolish thing called being in a band and made sure we didn’t miss Vancouver one bit. We were also reminded why basement shows are the soul of hardcore and that thousands of kilometres go by a lot quicker with large amounts of Pig Destroyer on the playlist. We probably drank some beer too…probably."

   Diecember Fest also features Life Against Death, fronted by Mya May-hem they will not disappoint. Also it marks the first show for Ancients, featuring members of Spreadeagle, and The Villain Avian Symphony (wow, that's a mouthful) featuring members of 3 Inches of Blood. Throw in Mendozza and Galgamex and you've got more than enough metal to fill your plate. So if metal is your bag you might want to be at The Rickshaw Theatre this Saturday. 



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