Eternal Judgment shines through at Toronto thrash metal summit
Written by Jason Daniel Baker
Saturday, 09 July 2011 05:00
On July 2nd, 2011 Toronto’s Blue Moon Pub played host to one of the most distinguished thrash metal bills in the city’s recent history. Bands like local favorites Fatality and Vancouver outfit Titan’s Eve anchored a roster which also featured Ash Lee Blade, Reanimator and Spewgore (Great name!).
The slam-dancing and power-drinking you get used to at thrash shows were to be seen in evidence intermittently. They predictably go hand-in-hand in a manner which is familiar but not tedious.
Yet sometimes the unexpected happens and it was kind of a weird night. The layout of the club features a skylight and a thunderstorm raged outside with spectacular bolts of lightning as a band called Eternal Judgment, young guys from Montreal’s South Shore who drove six hours to play this one show, hit the stage and just killed it with delicious thrash licks tinged with melodic touches.
You seldom see an unknown band from out of town drive in and so readily own a crowd. The band’s capricious lead vocalist Remy ‘Redneck’ Roy felt confident enough to walk up to the mic mid-set and exclaim “Fuck your Maple Leafs” in reference to the local pro hockey team which would be like a band of Chelsea FC fans playing a club in Manchester and saying “Fuck Man United.” I think it is a testament to their playing that only five patrons walked out after that outburst and nobody chucked anything at him.
The lightning which flashed through the skylight during their set mysteriously dissipated when it was over as if the gods of metal were throwing horns down at this one band which held its own sharing a stage with several formidable older acts. It was only their third show
in Toronto and I hope they have plenty more, not only here but other places outside of their Rive-Sud Montreal stronghold. This is one smoking hot young band you do not want to miss.
I got to talking with their rhythm section (Matt Blanchet – bass & Pierre-Luc LePage – drums) outside between sets and they roped me into doing an impromptu interview with them. They’re a nice bunch of young guys who can hold their own in both French and English which is handy for doing PR in sober conversations in both languages. But they like to kick back and party in a way that suggests they each have a screw loose.
Their fans, whom lead guitarist Simon Racine affectionately refers to as “drunk motherfuckers” are even less reserved and a couple of shows in their hometown have resulted in near riots.
Eternal Judgment formed three years ago out of the ashes of defunct band Eclipse which Pierre-Luc and Remy were in. Since then they have rocked a thrash vibe with melodic touches that set them apart from other thrash outfits and carved out a devoted following in a short time.
I asked why they don’t do any songs in their own language. They each have their own way of saying they just don’t like the way thrash metal sounds with French lyrics. “English sounds a bit more bad-ass than French”, muses Remy.
They have a six song EP coming out later in the summer called ‘Fatal Virus’.