Chicago – Lincoln Hall was packed with men and women donning leather jackets, and black skinny jeans. The music hall was a sea of long hair and tattoos. Not a usual sight for the Lincoln Park venue. But then again, Toronto rockers METZ aren’t your stereotypical noise rock band either.

Fans packed the main floor to see the Canadian trio unleash a fury of sound. Just this month, METZ released their sophomore album, II (Sub Pop), and took off on one heck of a tour, including stops at Austin Psych Fest and Shaky Knees Festival. The band – comprised of guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies – has become known for giving it their all when it comes to live performances, rocking hard and loud. Though Best New Bands already knew that; we last caught the threesome at TBD Fest 2014.

The guys got right down to business with “Dirty Shirt.” Fans began whipping their heads back and forth. Suddenly – and as expected, in true punk fashion – the front of the room turned into a mosh pit. Eventually the brave surfed the pit, too. METZ put on one hell of a show, but perhaps more impressive, was the reactions of fans. Chicago devotees were ripe with enthusiasm. Understandable though. They’ve waited three long years for new material, and as Edkins continuously pointed out, they had plenty. The guys played singles “Acetate,” “Spit You Out,” and “The Swimmer” and other new songs like “I.OU.” and “Wait in Line.”

Of course the night was not remiss of old. METZ dished out oldies like “Knife in the Water,” “Headache,” and “Wasted,” while mainly covered in darkness. Colored lights burst from behind them and smoke wafted around stage, leaving them mostly but blurred silhouettes, Edkins and Slorach wielding their guitars with force, darting around stage, and Menzies but a feral mess of hair behind his kit. Edkins turned red in the face, his neck veins bulging, half singing, half screaming into his microphone.

The trio played well beyond their expected time. Edkins chuckled and declared, “We already played like four more songs than we were going to, but we’re having so much fun, we’re gonna keep going!” And they did, playing well into the night. With each added song, concertgoers got wilder and wilder, going balls to wall.

Chicago metal heads Oozing Wound started the night off with plenty of head banging, flying hair, wicked guitar riffs, and screaming. The audience ate it up! Last fall, the noise rockers released their sophomore album Earth Suck (Thrill Jockey), which Pitchfork awarded a heavy 7.7.  Influences of Slayer, Metallica, and Black Sabbath can be heard in songs like “Hippie Speedball” and “Going Through the Motions Til I Die.” Guitarist Zack Weil, drummer Kyle Reynolds, and bassist Kevin Cribbin just finished touring Europe. You can keep up with the band and stay up to date on upcoming tour dates by following them on facebook and twitter.

METZ is on tour now. They have a slew of dates scheduled for North America and Europe, all summer and into the fall. Tour dates are listed on the Sub Pop website. II is available for purchase on iTunes.

Photos by Sarah Hess

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Sarah Hess

At the age of six, Sarah Hess discovered True Blue by Madonna. This resulted in her spending hours in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush microphone, belting out "La Isla Bonita" off key. Her love for music only intensified over the years thanks to her parents; her mother exposed Sarah to The Jackson Five and had her hustling to the Bee Gees, while her father would play her albums like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Some Girls' from start to finish, during which he'd lecture on and on about the history of rock & roll. Sarah would eventually stumble upon rap and hip-hop, then punk and alternative, and fall madly in love with Jeff Buckley and film photography.

After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.


You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.

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