It was a headbanging good time in the back room of Average Joes for a big, well attended night of face melting Calgary metal, Jan. 25.

 Due to being on the air as usual on Saturdays, I missed local band Gepetto’s opening set and just caught the end of late addition Illyrian’s set.
 Illyrian played a relative laid back set of big riffs and hot solos featuring some sweet dual guitar leads.

 I was hoping to make it back for  Balrogath’s Lethbridge debut, but wasn’t able to .
 I caught an ear bleeding set from  Calgary’s Hyperia. featuring the ear bleeding vocals of Marlee Ryley who formed the band with Colin Rylee in 2018.

 She looked completely possessed, yelling and howling and growling over the  fast riffs and hot solos of thundering drummer Jordan Maguire and bassist Scott DeGruyter and  lead guitarists Colin Ryley and David Kupisz who also played some hot twin leads.

 That all come together on a blistering cover of Iron Maiden’s “Two Minutes to Midnight.”