Though they’ve been building quite a name for themselves in Europe and on the underground sludge/doom scene, Montreal’s Dopethrone had never actually played Toronto until last Friday. These guys are pretty much Canada’s answer to Weedeater and/or Bongzilla; a no-frills, super-slow-mo sludge trio well worth the wait. A bit of a late show, though–I walked in just in time to catch local veterans Electric Magma around 10:45, but I wasn’t close enough to the stage to take any decent photos of ’em.
The Music for the Masses festival, as this event was called, was also the occasion for one of Sons of OTIS’ semi-occasional local gigs. (Pretty sure their last one was opening for Black Pussy back in June.) The Bovine might not be the best venue for this legendary local trio–their drumkit was sliding all over the place in the early going–but they still put on a solid, heavy set.
Interestingly enough, every act on this bill was a trio, including the Montreal headliners. Dopethrone didn’t take the stage till 1 am, but they gave us a solid hour of heavy sludge–busted foot, and all. I don’t think anybody actually left early…no one who paid to see ’em, anyways.
