6:15, Montreal city: black shirts, clouds of smoke and beer everywhere. The energy is hot, vibrant. While the venue isn't quite packed yet, a small crowd of loyal fans is leaning against the stage. Little do we all know yet, that very absence of 'photographer pit' between the stage and the floor will later contribute to the hysteria of the night...

ASHES OF EDEN and URBAN ALIENS go on to give a great set of heavy and filthy songs, armed with their vulgar and sharp attitude. The proud audience cheers for its brothers of Montreal up on stage, all awaiting for the ultimate merciless performance of BELPHEGOR and KATAKLYSM.

With destabilizing blast beats and varied form of surprises through a complex type of Black Metal, NECRONOMICON offered chaos and fury, like a trio rarely ever does. The formation shredded as hard as if backed by ten other musicians, creating earthquakes and severe hearing problems afterwards. Imagine complete and total destruction, topped with a perfectly synchronized circle-moving head bang between guitarist and bassist. Satisfying, ain't it? Truly a gem to the show, a superb addition to the line up of the tour. Also from Montreal, the band however sports the image of 80's and 90's Norwegian Black Metal, with corpse paint and armours.
 

Though the crowd grew impatient as technicians had been setting the stage for 50 minutes already, the effects to BELPHEGOR's entrance were priceless. Into fog and darkness entered the satanists, dictating the audience to head bang in synchronized motion. Under a banner of inverted crosses and mic stands strewn with goat bones and skulls, one half of the crowd broke into a circle pit of drunk and excited 30 years old, as the other half was being attacked by tons of body surfers falling and rolling to the ground. If the vocals to the first two songs weren't amplified enough, buried under excessive layers of aggressive instrumentals, the sound engineer was quick to recover from the mistake. Lehner, for the rest of the gig, addressed himself to the crowd with a low and exhaled moan. The Austrians went on with a brutal setlist, including the very lugubrious: Feast Upon The Dead, Hell's Ambassador, Lucifer Incestus and In Blood – Devour This Sanctity. Wild and unleashed for the very best ''Gasmask Terror'', ''Bondage Goat Zombie'' and ''Conjuring The Dead'', the crowd fully took advantage of the band's fierce energy and Serpenth's evil grins. Under a somber lighting of ACL projectors only, the macabre and hellish ambiance was as authentic as it gets.
 

Shortly after BELPHEGOR was done with their impending doom, nostalgia filled the air when the BCI crew joined the stage and gathered around the mic to express their gratefulness. For a long and memorable 21 year, these men and women have built a solid institution for the Canadian metal scene. That night, on November 13, it all came down to an end. The audience cheered and shouted as Mellul and his colleagues gave a few moving speeches. Followed by an epic stage dive from the man, the venue was now ready for the masters of Brutal Metal.

A fade of lights, risen fog... New born, blue lights hatched as roars welcomed the brutality about to burst. A recorded male voice spoke into the PA system, as Beaudoin appeared behind his seven piece drum kit; leading the way for his three accomplices under red lights. Firmly grounded, presenting their backs to us, KATAKLYSM stood proudly; with their hands above their head. Engendering a madness that had failed to explode as violently during the first four sets, the voice lastly exhaled: "And into dusk we shall return". Instantly, blinders and strobes of blue and gold took control over the audience. KATAKLYSM, in a synchronized movement, turned their bodies and rapidly head banged to ''If I Was God... I'd Burn It All'', a cutthroat classic. From then on, the apocalyptic ambiance was truly settled. The tone was round and heavy, with a twist of groove in Dagenais' wrist. The crowd, furious, erupted into one giant mosh pit, as necks were spinning, bodies were twitching and beer was spilling. The formation offered a solid set of good ol' Northern Hyperblast and utter demolition.
 

Gathered to celebrate our local heroes, the fans cheered and cheered in total pride. The formation was at ease, obviously psyched to be back in their hometown. The attitude was authentic, the chemistry was natural. Iacono's frequent interactions with the audience lead every single fan to believe we were truly cherished to be a part of the gig. Drunkenly joking about bassist Barbe having to body surf naked, or pushing each other from one side to another of the stage, the relationship between all four members was a beautiful thing to witness. Iacono even took a moment to introduce KATAKLYSM's new beer, the ''Sainte-Tabarnak'', causing madness amongst the crowd extremely eager to chug some this summer to come. Between a load of stage divers and fans being pushed off stage and even dragged back by the musicians, Iacono eventually stopped, took a deep breath and expressed the band's most sincere condolences to the victims of the attack at the Bataclan of Paris; that had taken place the very same evening. He explained how KATAKLYSM once played at the venue and how us Quebecers were cousins to the French nation. In a gaze of hope, he shouted "Faut pas se laisser changer" (Let us not change), and moved on with the ruthless ''As I Slither''.
 

The excitement level never died out throughout the sturdy and massive set of over 13 songs. Every track was judiciously chosen, sharing a varied range of the guys' best work. Adrenaline was to its highest, as the band trashed the theatre through tunes like: At The Edge Of The World, The Ambassador Of Pain, Illuminati, Push The Venom, Like Animals, In Shadows And Dust, Crippled And Broken... The Montrealers even offered four of their heaviest, meanest tracks out of the very recent ''Of Ghosts and Gods'': The Black Sheep, Thy Serpents Tongue, Soul Destroyer and Hate Spirit. By all means, KATAKLYSM crushed and killed the gig away. The technique was meticulous, the interpretation was convincing and original... Passion fuelled every single note.

Out of control, relentless; nothing can best describe the gig other than downright savageness.

There truly is something satisfying to a KATAKLYSM gig. As their shows are always rather simple, the magic lies into the bone crushing music and the pits. Under pleasing, but basic lighting effects, the band impresses through the tough attitude they put on and the cruel music they spit out. Sustained by a memorable crowd pump with adrenaline, every gig is as hard-hitting and powerful as the next one. The set went by too quickly, leaving everyone under shock when the quartet abruptly put an end to the night after a barbaric encore, leaving the stage with few goodbyes. The lights switched back on, unveiling a beer-covered floor. Friends gathered round and left the venue with sticky hair, ripped clothes, scratched vocal cords, bruises, heavily buzzing ears and a sore body... Yep, that's when you know a gig was plain good.

All photos were taken by Thomas Mazerolles, in the name of Thorium Magazine. For more shots of the night, check the article at:  http://www.thoriumphoto.com/kataklysm-mtl-2015/