Recording: Droid

Artist: Droid

Song: Excommunicated

Recorded at Jam Factory (Intersection – Day 1/The Music Gallery's Departures Series), August 31, 2017.

Droid - Excommunicated

In recent years, the Intersection Festival would normally consist of a paid concert, usually the night before the day-long extravaganza in Yonge-Dundas Square. This year, however, under the continued guidance of Burn Down The Capital's Tad Michalak the festival expanded to four events, including a pair of concerts at The Jam Factory. In an echo of last year, this opening night was once more a co-presentation with the Music Gallery's Departures Series, mixing Thin Edge's chamber styles with a visiting composer/musician.

After music composed and performed by Mick Barr, this metal-themed night closed out with a set from Brampton trio Droid. From what I sampled of their recorded work (and their excellent album covers), there's a bit of a prog undertone that's subsumed in the live show by pure crunching velocity, although they do have an affinity for letting their songs stretch out and shift gears a few times. Loud, pummelling, hair-flinging stuff that nevertheless has enough range to keep things interesting, this brought together all the themes that the night had been exploring.

[You can see some footage from this set over at Brandon Caswell Douglas' Intersection playlist.]

[Droid will be celebrating the release of their new Terrestrial Mutations album at Coalition on Saturday, October 21st.]