GALLERY: Megadeth Massacres Edmonton on Crush the World Tour - May 1, 2023

Dana Zuk May 4, 2023

Photographed & Reviewed for v13.net

The forefathers of thrash and heavy metal as we know it graced Alberta’s capital at the Edmonton Convention Centre on Monday night, as Megadeth brought the formidable “Crush the World” tour to Edmonton with the likes of Oni and Bullet for My Valentine leading the charge, kicking off the month of May in the best and heaviest way possible.

Read on right HERE to learn more about my take on this gig, and check the gallery below!

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Loud As Hell Festival 2018 - DAY 1

Dana Zuk August 8, 2018

It's been long, long overdue, but I've finally gotten some local festival shooting back into my life, and I really couldn't be more stoked on it. I made my return to beautiful Drumheller, Alberta for the seventh rendition of Loud As Hell Festival. Playing host to some of Canada's heaviest hitters, Loud As Hell crushed their seventh year, and I couldn't possibly be any happier for them. Sadly for me, I was only able to attend the first night of the fest, but hey, I'll take what I can get!

Opening night of Loud As Hell was easily one of the best Friday's that the festival has seen yet; Bringing some of the heaviest hitters on the bill to kick off the weekend, Friday night consisted of music by: Red Cain, Hammerdrone, Sarah Longfield, Tessitura, Burning Effigy, The Kennedy Veil, Stab.Twist.Pull, and Vancouver's tech death masters Archspire.

Being a small part of the festival is always something that will warm my heart, and that I'll forever be proud of. Festivals like Loud As Hell are so vital to metal scenes all across western Canada, and Canada as a whole. I'm so happy that the team was able to pull off another sold out fest for the third year in a row, and I cannot wait to see how next year's Loud As Hell turns out!

ARCHSPIRE

STAB.TWIST.PULL

THE KENNEDY VEIL

BURNING EFFIGY

TESSITURA

SARAH LONGFIELD

HAMMERDRONE

RED CAIN

The Agonist Treats Union Hall to Audible Annihilation - September 19, 2015

Dana Zuk September 22, 2015

PHOTOGRAPHED FOR AMPSANDGREENSCREENS.COM

Montreal's metal sensation, The Agonist, made a stop at Union Hall on Saturday night to kick ass and take names with new powerhouse femme-fatal frontwoman, Vicky Psarakis, leading the charge. Being a fan of The Agonist for many years, seeing them dominate the stage for the first time was so exciting for me.

Tearing into their set with "Thank You, Pain" and "Gates of Horn and Ivory", demonstrating the dynamic shreddery of Danny Marino and Pascal (Paco) Jobin, the audience immediately erupted into a whirlwind of headbanging hair and moshers, causing smiles to form on the faces of the band. Playing an adrenalized 9 song set, the Canadian 5-piece band was pleasantly received by their Edmonton crowd. Carrying on to play a handful of tracks both old and new to the tastes of long time fans, The Agonist thrashed and bashed their way through old fan favorites such as: "Panophobia", "The Tempest" and "Business Suits and Combat Boots", causing an uproar of break-neck headbanging to the thundering drumming of Simon McKay, and bubbling bass lines of Chris Kells.

With their in-your-face performance, The Agonist stole the show on Saturday night. Positive vibes were at an all time high, and the excitement in the air was contagious. Seeing a Canadian metal band doing so well while on tour makes me proud to be a (very small) part of the Canadian music scene, and inspires me to keep on keepin' on. I can't wait until The Agonist is back in town, because I know that they will not only dominate the stage, but totally blow the minds of everyone who goes to see them!

Breakdowns for BreakFEST 2015

Dana Zuk August 25, 2015

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

Loud As Hell Festival 2015 - DAY 1 - July 31, 2015

Dana Zuk August 4, 2015

On Friday July 31st, I hit the road to Drumheller, Alberta for the 4th year of Loud As Hell festival. It was my 3rd year shooting LAH, but was unfortunately cut short for me due to having to leave on account of personal reasons. However, I did catch some snaps of the Friday night bands. Headlined by Edmonton's Striker, an arsenal of killer acts hit the stage such as: Death Toll Rising, Stab Twist Pull, Black Pestilence and Maimed Wolf, opening day for Loud as Hell was just that... LOUD AS HELL!
Kicking off opening day was Didsbury's own, Maimed Wolf, who were awarded by festival organizers, Ryan & Geoff, for playing the festival for four consecutive years, and kicking ass on stage even harder than the year before, making them an excellent opener for the festival. Following on to Calgary's noisy black metal-punks, Black Pestilence. Despite slight guitar troubles on stage, these punkers brought the chaos to Drumheller! Playing a crushing set, packed with apocalyptic and unusual imagery and that thrashy-crossover goodness. Third of the night, Stab Twist Pull, was absolutely WILD! Also from Calgary, Stab Twist Pull drew their audience in by blasting hardcore ferociousness through the monitors with no mercy. Second last on the bill was Edmonton's death metal heavy weights, Death Toll Rising. Playing fast and heavy, with relentless shreddery, Death Toll Rising had a full floor of people headbanging and moshing with no remorse. Headlining Friday night was Edmonton's own, Striker. Playing the festival for two years in a row now, they were an excellent choice for Friday's headliner. With energy thick in the air, Striker smashed, bashed and crashed their way through their set, exchanging mile-wide smiles with each other and their crowd, and playing a number of fan favorite songs that had the audience singing along from the bottom of their hearts and the tops of their lungs.
I always look so forward to hitting this festival every year, as the great people who work so hard to put this event on truly know the meaning of the word 'hospitality'. It breaks my heart to have had to leave early, but hey! Shit happens! All the more reason to rip it up even harder next year! Until next time, Loud As Hell!

MAIMED WOLF

BLACK PESTILENCE

STAB TWIST PULL

DEATH TOLL RISING

STRIKER

Armstrong Metalfest 2015

Dana Zuk July 22, 2015

Heavy metal lovers flocked to Armstrong, British Columbia this past weekend for western Canada's most notorious metal festival, Armstrong Metalfest, as they triumphed over their 7th year of creating a dangerously awesome, fun-filled festival weekend at Armstrong's Hassen Arena. This was my second year shooting AMF, and I had an absolute blast. I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't waiting for this weekend all year long, and though it's come and gone in the blink of an eye, my time here was just too great to put into words. It was refreshing to get out of Alberta for a weekend, and to marvel at the beauty of British Columbia along the way; I love being in B.C, and this was totally an adventure that my soul needed. The majority of my time spent in Armstrong consisted of shooting 36 incredibly sick bands over the course of 2 days, as well as reconnecting with friends who I only get to see a few times a year, and of course meeting a few new cool kats that made the weekend that much better.
Friday July 17th - Day #1 was jam packed with all sorts of in-your-face bands, all from across Canada; each dominated the stage, and had the room spinning from start to finish. Kicking off the show with Ziege Schwanze, followed by the talented likes of: Apollyon, Slitsoul, Drop Dead Fred, Seraphic Nihilist, Bushwhacker, Galactic Pegasus, Blackest Sin, Without Mercy, The Hallowed Catharsis, Neck Of The Woods, Display of Decay, Xul, Out Of The Ruins, The Order Of Chaos, Terrifier, and Toronto's Crimson Shadows, with Vancouver's Anciients as our Friday night headliner.

ZIEGE SCHWANZE

ZEIGE SCHWANZE

ZIEGE SCHWANZE

APOLLYON

SLITSOUL

DROP DEAD FRED

SERAPHIC NIHILIST

BUSHWHACKER

GALACTIC PEGASUS

BLACKEST SIN

WITHOUT MERCY

THE HALLOWED CATHARSIS

NECK OF THE WOODS

DISPLAY OF DECAY

XUL

LYLIA CHOROSIVE

XUL

OUT OF THE RUINS

THE ORDER OF CHAOS

TERRIFIER

CRIMSON SHADOWS

ANCIIENTS

CRIMSON SHADOWS

ANCIIENTS

Saturday July 18th had another bangin' bill of musicians that came to wreak havoc on stage and kick every ass in the room. Starting off headliner day with Nomessiah, followed by: Odinfist, The Press Gang, The Hellsmen, Tribune, Eye of Odin, Caveat, Stab Twist Pull, Skull Vultures, Dead Asylum, Planet Eater, Angel Maker, Wake, Mortillery, Villainizer, with Wacken Battle Canada winners, Vesperia, as our first full stage headliner, accompanied by the thrashing antics of fellow Canadians, Aggression, and finally, San Diego, California's very own, Cattle Decapitation, as the 2015 headliner for Armstrong Metalfest, whom, might I add, absolutely blew the roof off of the Hassen Arena.

NOMESSIAH

ODINFIST

THE PRESS GANG

THE HELLSMEN

TRIBUNE

EYE OF ODIN

CAVEAT

STAB TWIST PULL

SKULL VULTURES

DEAD ASYLUM

PLANET EATER

ANGEL MAKER

WAKE

MORTILLERY

VILLAINIZER

VESPERIA

AGGRESSION

CATTLE DECAPITATION

The audience on Saturday night was especially wild; Stage diving and moshing more aggressively than the night before, creating an energetic vibe that you could feel the moment you step foot into the venue. The general atmosphere of AMF is something beyond words. It's like one big family reunion with people you've never met, and people you already know, who all share the same passion towards aggressive music, and are all there for the same reason. I'm so honored to be a part of this killer event, and I'm so looking forward to coming back next year! Stay sweet, Armstrong!

Mulefest 2015

Dana Zuk July 14, 2015

On Sunday July 12th, 2015, a wide variety of music lovers of all ages flocked to the YEG Event Centre in Edmonton to catch the debut of Mulefest, put on by one of the leading local promoter companies, Raised Fist Productions. Mulefest catered to a number of excellent local acts such as: Dusty Tucker, Elements, Wolfrik, Stranger Danger, Tyrant, Brother's Grim, The Most of August, Savage Playground, KBL, Nasty Boys, Arrival of Autumn, Dieuponaday, Knights of Valor and Our Darkest Moments; a mixed bag of tricks for those who love rock, metal and hip-hop.
It was great to see so many familiar faces out and about to support their local music scene on a Sunday afternoon, and of course all of the awesome new people that I had the pleasure of meeting! I'm quite honored to say that I was a part of this wicked event, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to next year!