One of the largest rock and metal festivals in North America took place over the past weekend in Canada. Heavy Montreal is a beast of a festival, as big-time acts played all throughout the day under the sun at Parc Jean Drapeau.

On Day 1, Korn headlined the Scène Molson Canadian stage and the band celebrated 20 years with obliterating performance of their first album. Those three special words every Korn fans wants to hear hovered over the crowd until the time came for Jonathan Davis to belt out, “Are You Ready?!” The band's debut album is very important to the band and their fans, and one of the highlights included David coming out with his trusty bagpipes for “Shoots and Ladders.” The frontman also gave a heart wrenching performance of “Daddy” to end the performance of the first album.

With 20 years under their belts, Korn's tenacity and creativity remain stronger than ever. Their encore included hard-hitting tracks, “Falling Away From Me” and “Here to Stay.” While there was no performance of “Got the Life," the set ended with another favorite, “Freak on a Leash.”

Fans were out of their minds from the start for Meshuggah, who took the stage previously, as the band unleashed “Rational Gaze” and “obZen” at the beginning of their set. Frontman Jens Kidman greeted fans with his signature facial expressions. The crowd was hosed down but that didn’t stop them from being rowdy. The encore featured “In Death – Is Life” and “In Death – Is Death.”

Veteran rockers Extreme and punk band Strung Out performed earlier in the day on the Molson stage but one of the most surprising and memorable acts of the day was Anonymous, who thrashed around the stage like a young Canadian version of Anthrax. Their constant energy was infectious and we can only hope that they make it to the states!

Canada’s own Alexisonfire gave one heck of an energetic performance as they headlined the Heavy Stage. The band played Heavy Montreal as part of one of their reunion shows and it was evident that their fans missed them dearly.

Hometown band Gorguts gave a crushing performance to kick off the Heavy Stage. Artist and motion designer Kim Holm was front-row headbanging and creating incredible art at the same time right in front of the band throughout the festival. (Check out a photo of him in action in our gallery above.) Other notable acts who hit the Heavy Stage included Venom Inc., and Arch Enemy featuring Montreal’s own Alissa White-Gluz.

The Blabbermouth Stage, located in a foresty part of the park, was headlined by Montreal metal act Augury. Notable acts Nothing More were one to steal the show even as the only rock act on a heavier stage. Cattle Decapitation and Beyond Creation also gave crushing performances earlier on.

Another smaller stage with massive bands was over on the Scène de l’Apocalypse which included blistering performances by Revocation, the Acacia Strain accompanied by a slew of bubbles. Veil of Maya also performed and the appropriately titled Apocalypse Stage was headlined by none other than Neurosis.

Whew and to think that was only day one! Check out our gallery above and stay tuned for our coverage of day two!

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