On August 22nd 2015, heavy metal fans of all ages flocked to the St. Albert Community Hall for the first installment of Breakdowns for Break-FEST, put on by the rock stars at Breakdowns for Breakfast, who are working non-stop to put on epic all-ages shows for everyone to enjoy. With Edmonton's delectable death metal heavy-weights, Death Toll Rising as the evening's headliner, volunteers generously catered to about 150 people while serving breakfast to attendees of the festival, making this a truly tasty event!
Saturday's stage was jam packed with excellence. The likes of: Sleeping in Traffic, Protosequence, Krepitus, Valyria and Great White Shark Fight, were pleasantly received by all in the room, each having a lively crowd, chanting and cheering for more. Not only was this the first festival put on by Breakdowns for Breakfast, it was also a goodbye to Great White Shark Fight. The St. Albert deathcore band has decided to go on hiatus under personal reasons, but being their last show, Great White Shark Fight shredded and boomed through their set, more aggressively than I have ever seen before. As the rhythms of their songs bled through the monitors for one last time, smiles and hugs were exchanged among band members and their nearby fans, making this a sentimental evening for all. Finally, as Death Toll Rising took the stage, the 10-year-strong, five-piece death metal masterpiece sliced and diced their way through their performance with precision and excellence. Playing a hefty amount of songs from their newest album "Infection Legacy", and surprising their audience with a new track, as well as some older songs, and one of my personal favorites, "Demon Rot".
It warms my heart to be a small part of events like Breakdowns for Break-FEST; Seeing smiling faces in the crowd and on stage all while happiness in general sits thick in the air, is a pleasant reminder of why I photograph concerts. The power of music and how it brings people together is unmatched! Here's to more sweet shows and smiling faces!

SLEEPING IN TRAFFIC

PROTOSEQUENCE

KREPITUS

VALYRIA

GREAT WHITE SHARK FIGHT

DEATH TOLL RISING

When the bill for round 3 of the Edmonton Wacken Metal Battles was announced, I couldn't help but feel all sorts of excited, as Valyria, Cat the Adversary, Dieuponaday and BLËED would be going head to head with each other for a spot in the Edmonton finals, alongside round one winners Elnora, and round two winners Arrival Of Autumn.
After missing the second round of the Wacken Battles due to covering another concert, I was eager to check out round 3 after previously hearing only 2 of the 4 bands on the bill. Starting off the night was St. Albert's own Valyria. As these melodic death metallers galloped and thrashed their way through a 30 minute set, Valyria had their audience going nuts! Moshing and headbanging, and not missing a single beat. Second up was Cat the Adversary, a 3 piece experimental metal band with a very unique sound. Despite technical difficulties with guitar gear on stage, Cat the Adversary played tracks that I found to be similar to that of Animals As Leaders, and Frank Zappa, with just a touch of grunge to pull it all together. Dieuponaday was up next, after hearing many positive comments about the band, I was curious to see what these guys could do. With a sound similar to that of Killswitch Engage, Dieuponaday had made a great impression on their audience, which lead to numerous people hurrying to the merch tables to pick up on of their tee-shirts and a CD. Last, but certainly not least, Edmonton's horror kings, BLËED, was up to bat. This theatrical thrash band stands a part from any other within the Alberta music scene. With music inspired by bands such as Black Sabbath, Strapping Young Lad and the obvious GWAR, BLËED had the blood of their audience pumping like never before as they shredded their way to victory for the third round of the Edmonton Wacken Battles.