Fuck The Facts Concert Review!!

Hey guys, apologies for this being later than I'd have liked, but I've been going through some computer issues intermittent with other stuff. The joys of being home! This post will comprise of our review of last night's Fuck The Facts concert, but stay tuned this weekend, as it's a huge weekend comprised of special features and reviews! After we catch up on news and notes tomorrow (including stuff on Woods of Ypres), we'll have our Destroilet EP review on Thursday, our Harsh Heads defunct profile on Friday, our Gravity Crash out of town profile on Saturday, our Going Underground book review on Sunday, and other news, previews, and notes scattered in between where needed! Stay tuned for all of that, but now, let's review last night's show!

First up last night were WinkStinger, after a month away from the stage, and if you missed their unique take on extreme metal, they brought it in their set! Along with older well known originals like "Chudnugget" and "Poop", the band broke out a few new originals, including some unnamed new stuff at the beginning of the set, and a new song named "Sadist" later on, which both sounded good! Jesse Cook, dressed rather normal than we've been used to seeing, was awesome all night long on guitar, and the rest of the band held their own, though there was the occasioanl rough patch. Alan Wells' singing was still very brutal, with his Peter Dolving-esque tone, but his stage presence was more reserved than I'm used to. He didn't move too much and seemed to look above the crowd, not at them But when you're having a good time with their metal assault, it's all good! Shorter set than I was expecting too, and I missed hearing "Fuck The Rest", but you can't go too wrong with how they did last night! Very heavy and unlike any "-core" band we have locally, they weren't to be missed!

After them was a surprise late addition to the concert: As It Stands, letting them open for Fuck The Facts once again after opening for them their last local show in 2008! No word on why they were added to the show, maybe it was to get a late attendance boost or to compensate for time, I'm not sure. Either way, they were a welcome addition, and they delivered a fun and heavy set of hardcore mayhem to the audience! They sounded a bit rusty given the lack of preparation time, but with a band this talented, you know they'd still sound good, and they did! Angelo Huckson and Garrett Masters' energy still amazes me as to how they can bounce around and headbang constantly, and I think I was detecting some better guitar playing last night too! I could have swore I heard a mini-solo in one song! Along with originals like "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky" and "One Last Chance", the band also covered "Stay Together For The Kids" again, and despite some lyrical flubs, it also delivered! I'm still really impressed by Justin Pregent's vocal improvement too, he'd definitely win a "Most Improved Singer" award if such ever existed locally! Solid set, if short, and make sure to check As It Stands out at The Rosie on Thursday night as well!

The last local opening band was Shit Liver, with another grimy crusty assault for their fans last night! Their new instruments continue to make their music sound clearer while still retaining that murky noisy brand of death metal that they've came to typify, and I was happy to see more of the As It Stands crowd remain up front than I was used to. I missed hearing their MXC theme song cover that I saw at their last show (that was awesome), but they unloaded a pile of originals and covers from bands from A Global Threat to Macabre, and their own songs like "Survival Of The Shittest", "Contribute Or Perish", and "Friendly Old (Uncle Joe)"! This set was better than their last one expecially thanks to the lack of a guitar string break to grind the set to a halt, but musically, they were on form! Their sound is still polarizing, but they play what they play well, and fans enjoyed their set! Hell, the moshpit roughed me up a bit, and if a band can get one going, they are doing something right! Good stuff, all things considered!

Headlining were Ottawa grindcore band Fuck The Facts, returning to Sault Ontario after a 2 1/2 year absence! I have to say, their set is very well done and set up, and they still use their backing tracks well to set the tone with creepy and affecting samples and sounds, but when the band launches into gear, it's a relentless assault! I'm still very impressed with the vocal abilities Mel Mongeon has, you wouldn't expect very many women to growl like that! Marc Bourgon added well to the death vocal work along with some great bass playing, but at times, you couldn't hear much enunciation or clear delivery. That's probably the point though. Topon Das' guitar work deserves lots of credit, great brutal playing all set long, even if he was kinda to himself on the left of the stage. From the well known "Disgorge Mexico" material we heard at the 2008 show to select older classics, Fuck The Facts were great, but their set left us hanging a bit. It was very short, only clocking at around a half hour in length, and it definitely didn't seem like they played long enough. If intentional, it left us wanting more, but I would have wanted them to go until at least 2:00 AM last night! Still, this was a successful return to the Soo for Fuck The Facts, kudos to Rich Moreland for bringing them back, and fingers crossed they're back soon!

Great show, if having a slightly rushed pace with the set lengths, but what better way is there to spend a Monday night? Click here for my photos, or visit our Facebook page, and apologies to Fuck The Facts & Shit Liver for the photo quality on some of the photos from your sets, I was saving battery life, as it was draining faster than I assumed it would. And I did get videos, so here's WinkStinger's new original "Sadist", As It Stands' song "Rise Above", Shit Liver's original "Survival Of The Shittest", and the first song from Fuck The Facts' set, "Driving Through Fallen Cities"!









That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for our 10 posts in 5 days run, featuring tons of features, reviews, profiles, previews, news, and more! Thanks everyone!