Last week I had the magnificent opportunity to join in a pre-show Tailgate party hosted by none other than Sony Music Canada. This event didn’t promise much, but it promised a brewery, like-minded fans, and of course the opportunity to meet with members of Orbit Culture and Ov Sulfur before their headline show in downtown Toronto.

Prior to Tuesday night’s concert at the ever famous The Opera House, Eastbound brewery opened their doors for an exclusive event to host fans of bands Orbit Culture and Ov Sulfur. This event allowed us to not only mingle with one another, but grab a light snack, have a few drinks, and discuss one of our favourite overall topics – music.

While not expected, a few exclusives were included, and it was nice to meet fans, photographers, and artists while we swigged back our band-labeled beers and pondered on what the night would behold. It didn’t take long after we all settled in for members of Orbit Culture to casually slip in the door alongside members of Ov Sulfur, the bunch easily mixing into the crowd like some late party-goers rather than heralds of Metal Mysticism.

As I made my way through the crowd, I was happy to speak with Niklas first, tackling topics such as touring burnout, setlist decisions, and how it felt to finally be headlining North America. Each question was met not only with warmth, but a smile and complete honesty. He reiterated that, often times, Meet and Greets were not available due to the overall workload of the band during tours. Long hours before and after shows left members not only with a minimal social battery, but little time to eat, sleep and shower as well before it was onto the next gig. I appreciated the genuine response, and it’s something most fans may not consider when hyping themselves up to see their favourite artist finally touring close to home.

Of course, I couldn’t sit idle, but my friend Miles was kind enough to initiate the topic of setlist choices with haste and, naturally, I wondered why my own personal favourite “Wings of Dragons” has never been put on. Simply put, the band members may be climbing into their 40’s, but they still have the energy to keep speed and heaviness at the forefront. “Wings of Dragons“, like others, is more of a ballad-type track that is being reserved for weak knees and tired backs in the future. Or as Niklas put it kindly ‘phase 3’ of their touring life.

The ultimate question, ‘What’s it like to FINALLY be headlining North America?‘ was met with unified responses across the board. The band was STOKED. They finally had the chance to bring not only their best, performance-wise (which of course we all debated), but their stage set as well. “We brought 6 light rigs, so maybe bring your sunglasses” Fredrik joked. Not only were there 6 enormous light rigs, they also brought their backing banner, alongside smaller, symbolic banners as well. The only thing left behind was the unveiling curtain – far too big for the venues chosen, but a future desire, as spoken.

As I wandered from crowd to crowd, and of course, vocalist to bassist to drummer to guitarist, the energy was the same. The idea that they were finally headlining was unreal, and while they were beyond excited, it still seemed so surreal to them it was finally happening. The ‘oh wait, we’re not on yet’ moments. ‘We can browse this town longer!’ and other eureka moments that had us and them in stitches.

I was also delighted to talk with Richard about his photography, his desire to not simply be in a few photos, but rather be on the other side taking them as he snapped shots across the venue to capture this tour’s ‘firsts’ and memorable moments. We also spoke hockey, why his favourite team is the New York Rangers (hello? King Henry of course!) and what he liked most about the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Speaking with Chris, we got into more serious topics like touring burnout, stress, and how important it is to check in on your bandmates and friends. Touring life is stressful enough, but when you’re feeling alone and nearly at a wall, it’s important those around you take notice and offer support. However, the entirety of our conversation was not all on heart-to-hearts, but on how Canada uses a rodent, every single year, to determine whether or not we’ll have an early Spring. This brought up suggestions of an early February tour in the future, so the band could witness the fabled predictions of ones like Wiarton Willie and whether or not his shadow would foretell our doom.

As I rounded out my little interview-like conversations and serious discussions, I was finally able to speak to Fredrik not only about Morthal Sounds – his fantasy-inspired instrumental project, but on how it became a backbone to my own creative writing sessions. He was honoured, not only to hear of my favouritism for his unique works, but on my recognition for the Skyrim-inspired roots (Morthal, hi!), and oh how we both absolutely LOVE Skyrim.

However, one question still remained. After opening for bands like Slipknot at the stadium-like venue that was the Scotiabank arena, why, on this tour, did they choose more intimate venues?

This was mentioned, a few times as I met with other fans, but I learned from smaller rounds turning back to Niklas that it wasn’t due to ticket sales, no, most shows were sold out easily, or low on tickets. The band wanted smaller spaces. They wanted the intimacy, the closeness. Having been on a stage, far from the reach of fans, the crowd surfers, the pit, Orbit Culture felt disconnected from their own support network – the people who greeted them before shows and after, the people who went feral the moment the drums kicked in. While they LOVED the opportunity to open for legendary acts, and staples in the Metal community, they didn’t like the distance, and that left many of us with jaws on the floor. How could an act, such as Orbit Culture, who is climbing the Metal ladder rungs so quickly, still hold their fanbase so closely? It definitely wasn’t what we all expected, but damn if we weren’t all delighted after.

While I didn’t get to speak deeply with members of Ov Sulfur this round, their genuine ability to simply slink into the crowd and just exist like fans themselves was wild. They had similar questions, similar interests, and most of all they were there to mingle with like-minded people.

With hearts full and autographs in hand, I took my departure, dropping off my new memorable pieces before heading into the venue around 6:30pm for one of the best nights of the year.