2013 Montréal Take Over, Schwag, Final Words and Thank You

The day of departure. These are the days when you wake up and ask yourself "what did I just go through?". This question is usually reserved to reflect on the trip you just finished while it is still in your memory fresh. In one way its meant to help the visitor have a better understanding why they came in the first place. In all my visits, Montreal has to be the most familiar place I have been to without never being there. The cars, the city, and even the local people and establishments seem to have a certain familiarity from where I am from.

This trip came about unexpected and was a "on-the-spot" moment that I normally don't do. I also relearned one of the core lessons about Metal Festival Rules (buying the Metal Fest ticket in advance instead of waiting until the last minute). I hope what you see here is something to be learned but most important, should something happen in your trip, you can always improvise.

As I packed my bags in my hostel and departed for the 747 Express Bus Stop, the long ride allowed me to view Montreal one more time. When I got to the airport, the US Customs folks were on the Canadian side waiting to check if I was bringing back anything I shouldn't, making my trip even more convenient as once I arrived to America, all I had to do was grab my checked luggage and head off home.

2013 Montréal Take Over, Day 5

The last full day of my visit and the (almost) primary reason for coming to Montreal, the Wings of Metal Market Event. This day, like the entire trip, had its ups and downs, as well as many more surprise discoveries.

The day was incredibly clear and crisp, and this was a good way to start the day.

2013 Montréal Take Over, Day 4

The chill day. This is the day that I have come to appreciate in my trips as this is the day that it is all about taking it easy and just let things "float".

This day started out with what I call "Partially Gelatinated Non-Dairy Gum-Based Beverages" of doughnuts, aka Tim Hortons. In my neck of the woods, we only have Dunkin Donuts (and at one time, many Krispy Kreme's, until the day of the Miami-fast-food-exclusivity-due-to-local-consumers-being-afraid-to-try-something-different massacre happened, leaving only 3 locations beyond my convenient reach, fuck you Miami.). On this day, a stereotype was going to unfold as true.

2013 Montréal Take Over, Day 3

In all my travels, I have found Montreal to be one of the most convenient cities to get around thanks to its Metro (subway system). It's always a challenge to get around a city when visiting for the first time, and the worst part is that one mistake can throw things into a disarray (like my 2nd day with the whole bus debacle). After recalibrating my senses and itinerary, I took the Metro to the next chapter of my journey, the Biodome (don't think this is going to be a reenactment of the film of the same name).

2013 Montréal Take Over, Day 2

Day 2, and my first full day in Montréal. Waking up in a city never before visited has a tendency to throw someone off as the unexpected of what lays ahead gives a person plenty of surprises, but for some reason, this city feels like I have been here before, considering the architecture of the buildings, the roads, the cars, even the people for that matter. This was very weird.

The first part of the day was all about visiting a museum that packed a "bite" of an exhibit, but before getting there, a unusual vehicle was awaiting some passengers to take from dry to wet in 2 shakes of a second. Unfortunately, couldn't get on as it would have taken precious time away from today's planned adventure (something else came along that did that, more on it later).

2013 Montréal Take Over, Day 1

The day of departure. Rainy as usual. For some reason, the last couple of years my city has seen a lot of rainy days during the summer season. I hate to be a superstitious person, but when I stepped outside and the weather was looking "bleh", this should have been an omen from the Metal Gods telling me this trip was going to have its moments. Unfortunately, it was... more on this later.

2013 Belgian Invasion, Emden & Düsseldorf (Germany), Schwag, Final Words and Thank You

The day after the PPM Fest. It was a peaceful start to the next journey of my tour. When I went to Wacken 2009 & the Euro Metal Fest Tour 2011, the day after the festivals were hectic, as the 2009 Edition of Wacken I woke up to a fire 10 feet away from my tent, and the 2011 Edition of Wacken I woke up at 4:00AM so me and my best friends can beat the traffic, with the rain pounding the living shit out of the camp grounds & the 2011 Edition of Brutal Assault saw me and some newly made friends camp out in a train station on the last night, with many of the other campers not too far behind us. Waking up at the PPM Fest provided a unusual calm I haven't experienced before at a campground, and it was a huge difference. I soaked in the camp site one more time before breaking down my tent.

2013 Belgian Invsasion, PPM Fest Day 3

The last day of the PPM Fest. Waking up today was tough as I knew this chapter of the trip was coming to an end, and with it, a great story that was about to have its final period. When moments like these occur, you got to make the most of it because it won't happen again for a while (especially if you live in the United States, where we don't have the luxury of having a kickass Metal Festival every weekend to keep us entertained). To say this trip has met my expectations and beyond would be an understatement as I had the opportunity to delve deep into a country I have enjoyed its products (specifically beer), and while I can leave it at that, I have managed to be better acquainted through the experiences and people I have encountered \m/

Lets begin this final chapter by having Myrath take the lead point.

2013 Belgian Invasion, PPM Fest Day 2

Day 2, and one of the \m/ HEAVIER \m/ days of this leg of the invasion. The sad reality of some Metal Festivals is that you have go make that executive decision of which bands you want to see, and as I say it before and often, if you have seen "X" band 20x times versus "Y" band 0x times, its best to go with "Y" band as seeing "X" band has already been on your previous agendas for some time and "Y" band probably has not played in your country (yet...).

The beauty of the PPM Fest is they have the 2 stage set up, which allows one band to go at a time, and with this configuration, you are not put in that executive decision making process. Than there's the dilemma of how the bands are spread out, and the majority of the bands on the first day, with respect to all of the bands that went through the process of coming over to this awesome festival, were not on my agenda to watch as I haven't had a chance to check out their material and while this festival would have provided that opportunity, there's the concept of the "burnout" (not the Scorpions song), meaning, you can only watch so many performances before you get tired and eventually need to lay against a wall/sit down/or sprawl yourself on any random floor and sleep/be inside your tent and sleep and before you know it, your itinerary is ruined. This is why the importance of resting during a festival cannot be underestimated, coz before you know it, that one band you came all the way from thousands of miles will be missed because you're sleeping off the first 5 bands you decided to mosh/crowd surf/headbang.

The first band in my itinerary was Seven Kingdoms, and coincidentally, they happen to be my neighbor to the north (Near Daytona Beach, Florida). Power Metal coming out of the Original Death Metal Capital? Welcome aboard my different subspecies brethren.

2013 Belgian Invasion, PPM Fest Day 1

The first official day of the PPM Fest. Its days like these that have the heaviest anticipation of whats to come, and especially if it's a Metal festival one has never been to before. So far, everything has gone perfect as having my tent right next to the venue was a very unexpected but pleasant surprise.

Remember the circus-style tent that Musca brought yesterday? The Wind Gods has cast down its judgement on Musca's tent (among many others, more on this later) and cast it down to the layer of the bowels of earth (aka floor). After several attempts to save the tent, the circus left the town (sort of).

2013 Belgian Invasion, Day Before the PPM Fest

As the Brussels leg of my tour is wrapped up, I woke up in the morning anticipating what's to come as I prepare my bags for the departure. In retrospect, I'm still surprised by everything I managed to do in Brussels, Antwerpen & Leuven in the span of 2 days, leaving me with a heavier appreciation and admiration for a city and country I have the privilege of knowing intimately.

As the hotel shuttle bus arrived, I took one last long look at the hotel I called "home" during my visit to Brussels before departing on the next leg of the tour.

2013 Belgian Invasion, Brussels and Leuven Day 3

The third day of the trip, and quite possibly the easiest so far. Considering the major mistake I did on Day 2, today was more about enjoying Brussels and Leuven in a relaxed state-of-mind instead of the neck-breaking "squeeze everything in 1 day" like the day before. A word of advice to all who are reading my texted words, pace yourselves, cuz even a seasoned traveler like myself can really get caught off-guard due to the hectic atmosphere that is "visiting another country and trying all their beers" and before ya know it, smashed out of your mind".

Before going to my first stop, the Mannekin Pis was not done with me yet.

I6Z6A6N Inerview by Mons Television

During the 2013 PPM Festival, I was interviewed by Mons Television about the people who visited the festival from outside of Belgium. I gave my feedback on the festival and if you want an idea of my reaction to this interview, it is just like my reaction to Belgian Beer \m/

Click here for the interview

Many thanks Sabine Dupont and the camera guy (sorry I forgot your name) of Mons Television for the opportunity and the chance \m/