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My last visit didn't really show too much "interesting", just general park changes (e.g., fountains, some repainting, etc). I am looking forward to this year's Starlight Spectacular show. If last year's was any indication, it should be pretty darn good! I also got stuck on the brake run on Skyrider for about 15 minutes. That was the most uncomfortable 15 minutes ever.

Jeff Hanneman, from Slayer died today. It's a dark day for metal.

Firehawk - KI

Last night, a friend and I made the trip to Toronto for Paganfest IV, starring Ensiferum, Tyr and Heidevolk. It was definitely nice to be back at a folk metal show, having not seen one for a few months. This would be the third Paganfest I've been to, having been to II and III. I'm pleased to say that this show lived up to its namesake. Due to traffic coming into Toronto, we missed Helsott who opened the show. Were they good or not? Who knows? Out first for us at least was Trollfest, who I knew nothing about. They dressed up as killer bees and played loud music, so I can't complain. Also, they had a saxophone player. Heavy metal saxophone...that's a first. Heidevolk came out next. They were the band I was really there to see. They played an insanely fast paced, albeit short set that had the crowd worked up into a frenzy. During the set, the band members seemed a bit shocked and amused about how into them everyone was. There were a lot of laughs and disbelieving shaking of heads coming from them. I really hope they make another trip here soon, because I am definitely going to see them again. After them came Tyr. I've never been a big fan of Tyr, yet this is the 3rd time I've seen them. Funny how that works. I will give credit where credit is due, though. They did put on a good show. They weren't as good as the last time they came down, which was a bit of a letdown. Ensiferum came out to close the show and once again, the crowd went mental. They played songs from their entire discography, though they really didn't touch on much material from the new album. I was glad to see them play which is my favourite song of theirs. All in all, it was a great night of folk metal goodness and I look forward to the inevitable Paganfest V next year. Up next will be Three Inches of Blood in May. Here are some pictures! Trollfest! Heidevolk! Tyr! Ensiferum!

Canadian singer and icon Rita MacNeil passed away this morning. While her music was never up my alley, she had a beautiful voice and always seemed happy. Canada's lost another one of its great artists.

Phil Collins died today. No. Not that Phil Collins. The good one, Richard "Philadelphia" Collins from Trailer Park Boys. RIP, you big greasy Mustard Tiger. NSFW language ahead. Viewer discretion is advised. Best of Phil Collins

Last night, I once again made the trip down (up? whatever) to Toronto for another show. This time, it was to see Volbeat. I've liked Volbeat ever since I saw them open for Metallica in 2009. While this would be the third time I've seen them, it was the first time I've seen them headline. The opening act tonight was Spoken. Not much to say about them, really. They do have some potential and the crowd was pretty into them. A little rough around the edges though. Up next was Danko Jones. While I often hear Danko Jones on the radio, I really didn't know too much of his stuff. His performance definitely made me a fan. Very high energy set and Danko is very charismatic and has great stage presence. Also, the way he described the band was fantastic..."we're that Canadian band that sings songs about f**king". Well said, Danko. Well said. Finally, Volbeat took the stage and put on a killer set that lasted about 1.75 hours. They played their better known songs like "Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood", "Fallen" and "Pool of Booze Booze Booza". They also played a great cover of Johnny Cash's "Sad Man's Tongue" and the opening riff to Slayer's "Raining Blood". The set was very high energy and they interacted with the crowd as much as they could. I had a great time and really hope Volbeat keeps getting more popular. Each time I see them, they seem to have more and more fans. If any band deserves to hit it big, it's them. Up next will be Paganfest IV with Ensiferum, Tyr and Heidevolk on the 17th. Here are some pictures! Spoken! Danko Jones! Volbeat!

So...I just finished Bioshock Infinite. Holy crap, what a game.

So, Crosby's now out indefinitely with a broken jaw. That is a huge blow to Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup hopes.

I don't know how the planet Kashyyyk got an entry into this year's Eurovision, but I really hope they win.

Kathleen Edwards - "Chameleon/Comedian"

Emilie-Claire Barlow - "Comme Je Crie Comme Je Chante" French jazz is best jazz.

Last night, I went to the SiriusXM Indie Awards in Toronto. This is a HUGE change of pace for me, as I'm usually at death metal shows. But hey...I can like other kinds of music too! The actual awards part was pretty boring, but there were a few acts which I ended up really liking. Notably were French Canadian folk/bluegrass band Canailles. I really enjoyed their vibe and style, and ended up picking up their albums off iTunes today. Now, the reason I was there was to see Matt Mays and Metric. I hadn't seen Matt Mays since 2006 when he was still with El Torpedo. As a side note, I ended up partying on the tour bus with him after the show that night. The drummer and I argued about Zeppelin vs. Pink Floyd for about an hour. Anyways, it was great to see him live again. He still puts on a great show and it was always nice to hear Cocaine Cowgirl again. After Matt Mays played for an hour, Metric came out and blew us away. Since I last saw Metric, they've moved out of playing clubs and are now playing arenas. Their last time in Toronto, they sold out the Air Canada Centre. So, to see them in a club again was a must see type thing. They played a great hour and a half long set with a good combination of new and old songs. They closed the set with a fantastic acoustic version of Gimme Sympathy that had the crowd singing along. Up next will be Volbeat. It will be the third time I've seen them...looking forward to it. Here are some pictures! Canailles! The Wooden Sky! Cold Specks! Yukon Blonde! Matt Mays! Metric!

This is an extremely tough question. Both rides look completely out of this world. Outlaw Run is doing things no wooden coaster should and making history in the process. However, Iron Rattler looks like it's going to be a non-stop airtime and forces buffet. Iron Rattler gets the slim win (like 50.1% to 49.9%), but I greatly GREATLY look forward to riding both of them this year.

Gatekeeper seems like more of a "complete" ride. YOLOcoaster seems to have one or gimmick moments and then a sudden end. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to ride either of them, but for me...it's Gatekeeper.

... It doesn't look like it gives you any time to breathe or relax. It's just balls to the wall the entire time. After this summer, it looks like RMC will become a major player.

Just like everyone else here has said, the fastest lifts I've been on are I305, Millennium Force and El Toro. Those Intamin cable lifts are awesome.

I enjoyed my long weekend by going to Toronto last night to see Testament. Originally, Overkill was supposed to be playing as well, but had to pull out due to one of the members having pneumonia. They had to cancel the rest of their tour, which is a huge shame as I was looking forward to seeing them. No matter, there were still three other bands to see! First up was 4Arm, who were the biggest surprise of the night. Very fast, heavy and LOUD. Holy crap, were they loud. Like...Motorhead loud. I rather enjoyed them and will probably be picking up their newest album. Next was Flotsam and Jetsam who put on a mild performance. They had moments of great energy, but would immediately kill it by going into a slower part of a song or playing a slow song. The set kind of petered out in the middle where a lot of people just stopped caring. Finally, Testament took the stage. They played some great old school thrash metal which had the crowd boiling over. I somehow managed to ride the pit to the very front, where I hung on to the fence for the rest of the show. It was awesome to see one of the pioneers of thrash metal, a genre I've always liked. Also, I managed to catch two guitar picks during the set. Hurray! Up next will be quite a departure from what I normally see, as I'll be going to the Indie Awards in March. Headlining the awards are Metric (which is the reason I'm going) and Matt Mays. Here are some pictures! 4Arm! Flotsam and Jetsam! Testament!

Mine was Big Bad Wolf. Was my first "big" coaster too.

Last year, we had a train reserved for us on Behemoth. We took whatever seat we wanted, then the GP would fill in the remaining seats.

You can't even feel THAT bad for the passengers, they chose Carnival! They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say let em crash.

Just signed up for the Canada's Wonderland GKTW Day. This is a fantastic cause and I love helping support it. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mattbryane/CanadasWonderland2013

I went down to Toronto last night to see Turisas. Also appearing on the bill were Phantom, Stolen Babies and Firewind. Phantom filled in the "random local act to start the show as people come in" role. They were extremely heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They were enjoyable, though slightly generic. Stolen Babies, though having a pretty amusing name wasn't all that good. They were what I would imagine a metal band put together by Tim Burton would look like. That said, accordions are metal as hell. Firewind came out and put on a fantastic set. Hard, fast and powerful is how I like my metal to be. Turisas played an amazing show, lasting for about an hour and 45 minutes. They sounded incredible, almost as good as they do on their albums. All of the major songs were touched on (e.g., , , etc). They had two encores and closed the show with their awesome cover of Boney M's . I also managed to catch a drumstick being thrown out in the crowd after the show! The next concert I'll be at will be Gojira with Devin Townsend Project on Wednesday. Here are some pictures! Phantom! Stolen Babies! Firewind! Turisas!

Well, since everyone says El Toro's Rolling Thunder Hill (and they're right...god damn), I put forward Maverick's ejector hill for your consideration. Small and unassuming, it packs one heck of a punch.