All the punk and more at Burning Bridges Fest

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The Moose Hall featured an exhaustive line up of punk and metal music  for a day long salute to most Alberta punk, hard core and metal music, July 25 for Deathbridge Disease’s  Burning Bridges FYF Festival I arrived in the early afternThe Kroovy Rookers vocalist/ guitarist Rod Rooker puts on his moose antlers at Burning bridges Fest. Photo by Richard Ameryoon as Calgary screamo/ punk band the Reckless Heroes, wielding guitars and skinny ties entertained approximately 30 people.


 Another Medicine Hat metal band, Nuclear Oath Followed that up with a wall of of low register energy, no bass but an eight string and a regular downtuned six string guitar. They said they only has seven songs, but they seemed longer.


 One of my new favourites, Edmonton punk trio  Grizzly Trail were up next with an exuberant set of short, sweet bursts of punk energy and all three members shouting vocals.


They mostly played their own songs, but added obscure covers including a catchy number called “My Bike” from the likes of Australian punk band the Bennys. I enjoyed their song “ We Come Alive.”

They even had a mosh pit going started by local punk band the Scallywags, one of who brought his young daughter for a dose of punking rock and roll music.


 Another new favourite from Edmonton — Rebuild/Repair closed off the afternoon with a complex set of music blending plenty of riffs and  punk intensity, punctuated by bursts of ear shredding feedback plus lots of different sounds of songs mostly off their CD “Damage Stories.”.

A lot of them sounded like Black Sabbath playing punk music, though they veered of into more groove based sludge and stoner rock.Nuclear Oath’s Pete Mercer at the Moose Hall, July 25. Photo by Richard Amery

Reckless Heroes drummer Nolan Semenoff watches Nuclear Oath. Photo by Richard Amery
 One of my favourites was “Two Betrayals” off the CD.


I didn’t get back there until near the end of the show, but in time to catch a tight set of energetic, fun filled oi punk from Edmonton’s Kroovy Rookers.

“Bad News” was a highlight of that set as was  the buzzsaw guitar and Bunchofuckingoofs style barking vocals of “Another World.” A ferocious mosh pit started.


 Their song about small town boredom called “ Stagnation” was a crowd favourite. I also enjoyed “Not for Sale, ” their ode to old punks.

Grizzly Trail playing Burning Bridges. Photo by Richard Amery
 Newfoundland transplanted Calgarians The Press Gang finished off the night with a set that added elements of metal and Celtic music to straight ahead punk.

“Cornerstone” was one of the ones with a Celtic feel.

In addition to ferocious, driving riffs, they also had guitar solos that would do many a metal band proud.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 August 2015 11:09 )