Ottawa is in the midst of a hot spell, and that included a hot and sweaty Sunday night as Wage War and Volbeat brought some metal to the Canadian Tire Centre.
Wage War at the Canadian Tire Cente, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
Opening the night was Florida band Wage War, who wasted no time kicking things off with ferocious set, including songs like “NAIL5” and “Low,” the latter of which featured a striking contrast between the guttural scream-y lead vocals of Briton Bond and the melodic backing vocals of guitarist Cody Quistad.
Wage War at the Canadian Tire Cente, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
Danish rock/metal band Volbeat were next and lead singer/guitarist Michael Poulsen led the band through a 14-song set of rockers driven by chugging guitars, often with the added low-end heft of dropped D tuning.
Volbeat at Canadian Tire Centre, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
The highlight of the set for me was the infectiously catchy 2013 single, “Lola Montez,” which tells the historically inspired tale of the famous dancer, and her various exploits and adventures, with Poulsen singing, “Feel the fire where she walks. Lola Montez, so beautiful. Shady and a tempered dame. Blinding your eyes with her spider dance.”
A friend in the crowd posted on social media, “Heavy music is good for the soul,” and I think that the CTC crowd would have agreed.
Volbeat at the Canadian Tire Centre, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
While Volbeat has a sound that is uniquely theirs, there is an indelible imprint of their influences in what they do, whether it’s the riffs and vocal stylings that give a tip of the hat to Metallica in songs like “By a Monster’s Hand,” or Poulson’s notable Elvis tattoo on his left arm that reflects his love of early rock icons whose songs still hold a place in the hearts and minds of so many. Volbeat ended the set with my second favourite Volbeat song, “For Evigt,” and “Still Counting,” a song from Volbeat’s 2008 album, Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood.
Wage War at the Canadian Tire Centre, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
Volbeat at the Canadian Tire Centre, June 2025. Photo by Marc Lepage.
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