Zimmers Hole, The Hard Luck Band and Snuff Maximus
October 26th 2002 at Studebaker’s in Burnaby B.C, Canada

Usually my trips to Canada are marred somewhat by hassles at the border but fortunately there were none this time and we made it to the venue in record time. After hanging out in our room at the majestic Inter City Motel and watching game 6 of the World Series we decided to cross the 4 lanes of traffic to cross the street to Studebakers. After a couple of weak drinks and chatting with some of the local metal luminaries it was time for the first band, Snuff Maximus.

One would think that a band whose name comes from the tombstone in the tacked-on intro to the US version of “Dr. Butcher, MD” would be a death metal band. One couldn’t be more wrong! Snuff Maximus is a couple of guys from Burnaby, one on vocals and the other playing guitar, playing some noisy assed stuff that is almost hard to describe as music. Drums and bass were either pre-recorded or sampled and didn’t seem to mesh well at all with everything else. I think most of the audience felt the same way as no one was on the floor during their set and response was nearly null after each song. I’ll give them credit for trying but that’s about it.

The Hard Luck Band was the next to go on. They played a brisk set of alcohol fueled (and themed) punk rock that was somewhat reminiscent of The Meatmen. The vocalist looked to be dressed as a giant beer and had two large squirt guns, one filled with whiskey and the other with tequila. Throughout the course of the set all who wanted a drink were treated to hits off the quirt guns along with a countless number of “beer bongs”. One amazing guy from the audience did a beer bong with nearly a half liter of tequila, a very impressive feat if I may say so myself! Audience interaction was great, the vocalist and guitarist (Cam from The Almighty Punchdrunk) talled it up quite a bit between songs and the crowd responded well to it. Then again, maybe it was just the copious amounts of free booze that they were doling out to all who wanted it! The guys put on a entertaining show although I get the feeling that the band is nothing more that a joke to the members.

After a short while of waiting the mighty Zimmers Hole came onto the stage amidst a thick cloud of Metal Fog. Chris “The Heathen” Valagao, the frontman, was sporting a great upper torso piece that made him appear to be even more demonic and powerful than the last time I saw the Hole perform. The audience went wild from the opener of “The Hole is the Law” to the closer of “The Death of the Resurrection of the Death of Metal”, moshing and screaming and just having a great time. Byron Stroud pounded his bass like a madman to complement the insane percussion of Steve Wheeler while Jed Simon expertly flailed away on his shiny white ESP guitar. Val once again demonstrated that he can do any sort of vocals, from the clean and operatic to the lowest of guttural death metal growls, there are few who can compare with his prowess. Flame jets, towering fountains of sparks, and loud flash pots punctuated the furious metal mockery that is the Zimmers live show. From my two experiences it seems as though audience participation is a big part of the show, from people filling up cups with the piss (actually vodka and lemonade) from Val’s huge red prosthetic cock to the beers handed out from the cheese cooler for the song “That’s How Drunks Drink”. All in all these guys played one HELL of a show as usual. Zimmers Hole is the only band that I can honestly say put on a better live show than GWAR and that says a lot about their performance. For people whose music is a mockery of metal (not in a bad way though, just the stereotypes) it's almost surprising that they are one of the best metal bands around. I was informed that they will be inking a deal with Century Media soon so hopefully more people can join up with the Legion of Flame and see that this band is a force to be reckoned with. They will be touring Europe in the near future with Strapping Young Lad and there was also talk of a US tour with Zimmers Hole, Strapping Young Lad, and the Devin Townsend band in the near future. Check these guys out and buy their album(s)!

Set list:
The Hole is the Law
Death to the Dodgers of Soap
Evil Robots
Metal
Legion of Flames
P.B.C.
Fully Packed
Anaconda
This Flight Tonight
Sodomanaz
1000 Miles of Cock
Gender of the Beast
Bred
Mushroom Mattress
Platinum Shine
That’s How Drunks Drink
Hell Come To Breakfast
Cuntry
Blister/Bound By Fire
Rent a Cop
Viddy
The Death of the Resurrection of the Death of Metal

Photos from this show can be found in our Photo Gallery

Rating: 10 /10