For a late starting show, a pair of B.C based metal bands had a decent Wednesday night turnout at the Slice, April 1.
I arrived in time to catch Nanaimo based dual guitar powered classic metal quintet No Operator.
They played an extremely tight set full of big riffs, harmonized guitar solos from Oliver Galloway and Ben Hughes and a whole lot of energy. Drummer Dave Wiebe sported a Incura T-Shirt as he thundered away behind his kit locked in with bassist Steve Holtby.
Lead vocalist T.J Muhl sang in a quasi-operatic style which was reminiscent of Incura’s Kyle Gruninger.
As some audience members started shoving, he advised them to “ party but make sure nobody gets hurt.”
They embarked on several metal infused jams, including the highlight “Spider and the Fly,” after which Muhl brought out an acoustic guitar for a couple prettily picked ballads.
They ended their set with another perfect jam on “Assembly Line” which Muhl said they would try out. But it blended those big riffs with some beautifully harmonized guitar solos so it was a highlight of the show and resulted in the enthusiastic audience calling for an encore of a song called “Brother.”
While No Operator were pretty much fun, upbeat metal, Vancouver’s the Ugly Men were more raw, angry and ugly.
Frontman/ bassist Scott Whalen played some impressive bass alternating between funky slapping and with picking. He growled and shouted and dedicated “ their song “Hatebreed” to “ the asshole pushing” our friends around.
Drummer Phil Gardner added a thundering groove. Guitarist / vocalist Jon Wu added lot of sonic noise and textures.
They ended their song with a gritty cover of Motorhead’s “ Ace of Spades ” as Whalen said this is a cover from the best band in the world. If you disagree you’re wrong.”
They were also called back for an encore of the fittingly titled “ This is It” after which Whalen thanked the crowd for coming out on a weekday for the band’s first Lethbridge appearance.
