Until Dec. 2, artists can send in their applications for the chance to perform at Heavy MTL. The Montreal heavy metal/hard rock summer festival is one of the largest of its kind and has been headlined by some of the biggest names in the genre, including Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Disturbed, Slayer, Megadeth, KISS and Alice Cooper. The contest is the perfect opportunity for Quebec bands to showcase their talent and meet important members of the metal music industry.
Twenty bands will be selected out of hundreds of applicants and will perform in front of a rotation of judges over five nights. From January to May 2013, En Route to Heavy MTL 2013, presented by Evenko and Dungeon Works Productions, will take place at Les Katacombes on the first Thursday of every month. Those selected for the competition will be announced Dec. 9 at the venue.
In June, the five winning bands will battle it out at the Corona Theatre and the top two groups will win spots on Heavy MTL’s festival line-up.
Last year’s winners Dark Century and HolloW performed at Heavy MTL 2012, and the group with the third highest score, Bookakee, replaced the New Jersey thrash-metal band, God Forbid, after they cancelled their scheduled performance at the festival.
Bands are judged on their overall performance, originality, musicianship, image representation, crowd reaction and interaction and this year’s edition will feature the category of time efficiency.
The panel of judges will include representatives of Evenko and the Heavy Metal Music Association of Canada, as well as local press representatives, members of booking agencies and other relevant representatives of the local and international music scenes.
Last year’s judges included band members of Annihilator, Megadeth, Testament, Heaven & Hell, and Cannibal Corpse along with local judges Jason Rockman and Mike ‘Metal’ Babins of CHOM and the former editor-in-chief of the alternative weekly Hour Community, Jamie O’Meara.
According to Michelle Ayoub of Dungeon Works Productions, Evenko plans on diversifying the festival. This year, the organizers are looking forward to incorporating more genres into the contest, so bands that fall outside of the typical metal spectrum are encouraged to apply.
Applications, press kits and demos can be submitted at Labyrinthe Rock Boutique at 486 Ste-Catherine St. W. or online atwww.heavymtl.com. For more information visit www.dungeonworksprods.com.
