RAVEN, SLACKJAW, INFRARED, ENFORCER In Ottawa, Canada

Andrew DePedro

Ottawa Correspondent

May 5, 2026

RAVEN, SLACKJAW, INFRARED, ENFORCER In Ottawa, Canada

Fire It Up! NWOBHM Firestarters Get Lit At The Rainbow On April 17, 2026

Photos By Andrew Depedro, KNAC Ottawa Correspondent

Metal madness!
Local support!
Brave and efficient server’s assistants!

You could take the live music events out of the much-missed/permanently-closed Brass Monkey, but you couldn’t take out their fire as this particular tour had alluded to, celebrating 45 years of stark ravin’ New Wave Of British Heavy Metal madness along with some of its future torchbearers.

Like Hollywood, Ottawa also has a similarly-named venue known as the Rainbow, which is more of a small-sized bistro than a full-fledged bar and grill. And while Lemmy never hung out here as much due to the lack of slot machines, neither did Corey Feldman during one of his manic episodes either – specifically his dance routine during “Smooth Criminal” at a recent ALIEN ANT FARM gig. That said, we have our own local talent to grace the hallowed Rainbow stage as such on that evening.

The band ENFORCER were one such local band when they formed back in 1985. Brash, heavy and with a drive for success, they appeared to be poised for stardom before they even recorded their first full-length album – and even before they graduated high school for that matter, having opened for the likes of WARLOCK and PAT TRAVERS at regular Ottawa venue staples such as Barrymore’s and Roxanne’s. They’d otherwise released a series of demos during their 8-year tenure before they split up in 1994, the original lineup of Ron Proulx (guitar), Pete MacCormack (drums), Ray “La Machine” Drouin (bass) and “Metal John” Pottier (vocals/guitar) being the main and best-known lineup, which rotated a lot more frequently than it should have. Christ knows that there should’ve been at least 3-4 studio albums bearing their name during their 8-year run, but the changing 90’s musical landscape was likely why the band members either joined or formed other bands outside of their main outlet. Luckily, “Metal John” Pottier, with the help of one-time former drummer Louis “Thunder” Clement, was eager to reform the band once more in 2019, a quarter century since their breakup, with a new lineup featuring Dan Lafleur (bass), Frank Madore (drums) and John Perinbam (vocals). Unluckily, during their hiatus and several lineup changes over the years, the Ottawa version of ENFORCER had overlooked in registering their band name as a trademark, which laid the opportunity for the more well-known Swedish trad thrash band of the same name to do so when they formed in 2005. This prompted an immediate name change to avoid general confusion and overseas cease-and-desist letters as the local band formerly known as ENFORCER were reborn as…..OTTAWA’S ENFORCER.

It’s probably not the most creative-sounding name in the industry, but otherwise, it highlights the band’s pride in their communal roots while giving them a completely new identity with the new name addition. Worked for the ENGLISH BEAT when they had to amend their name to break into the North American market in the early 80’s.

And on their opening slot that night at the Rainbow Bistro, OTTAWA’S ENFORCER, with their new lineup comprised of Lafleur, Madore, Perinbam and Rob Gravelle, honored both the name and its late founder “Metal John” Pottier with a six-song performance that captured both the band’s classic sound and future course. Opening with “Emergency 911”, the quartet are faithfully reveling in their classic metal influences of SABBATH and PRIEST but it’s around “In The Line Of Fire”, “Tales From The Darkside” and their latest (actually 2024) track “Endangered Earth” that OTTAWA’S ENFORCER appear to have picked up some influences in the form of SYMPHONY X, ARMORED SAINT and even WATCHTOWER in parts over the years. Credit for their current musical direction goes specifically to both Rob Gravelle and John Perinbam here, as their own previous history in IVORY KNIGHT and their own current Gravelle/Perinbam side project bear not only a solid chemistry, but also a musical transgression. The aforementioned “Endangered Earth” is perhaps the most progressive-sounding number the band have ever released, as Gravelle’s playing balances both classic heavy metal and neo-progressive elements, while Perinbam’s fiery vocals and rapid delivery make for the ideal match for OTTAWA’S ENFORCER’s strengthening sound; I’m pretty sure that Perinbam was channeling BIOHAZARD on “Tales From The Darkside” at one point simply because of the near-similarity of the song titles from either band. Climaxing their set with “Underneath”, OTTAWA’S ENFORCER prove to be a force to be reckoned with on the local touring circuit some 40+ years later even with its members involved in about two dozen of their own musical side projects. Now if they could just finally enforce themselves to put out a full-length studio album, they’d be set – and “Metal John” Pottier would undoubtedly approve from up above.

https://www.facebook.com/ENFORCERBAND/
https://www.instagram.com/enforcerband/

Having already put four whole studio albums into their own revamped comeback now on year 12 and counting, the return of local thrash heroes INFRARED has been anything but a red eye flight back to the front. Yet, the band, comprised of frontman/guitarist Armin Kamal, guitarist Kirk Gidley, bassist Mike Forbes and drummer Alain Groulx, remain in fine form as they open with their warm-up signature number “Inframental”. Quite a bit has changed since I last saw INFRARED rage alongside their peers, as was the case when they opened for ANGELUS APARTIDA back in 2023 at the equally-cramped Dominion Tavern. They’ve released a fourth studio album titled Manifestation whose review by yours truly can either be found on KNAC’s new revamped site or on the band’s website, and they’ve been quasi-active with live shows while Armin’s been busy balancing his time between INFRARED and a new local EXCITER-centered project known as MAD ALESTAIR.

And, yet, you wouldn’t have known how busy the whole band have been with balancing their work-life schedule just by watching them play that night. Maybe it’s because they’ve never viewed their 12-year comeback as a chore to begin with. Armin’s already encouraging the entire front row to rage during “Temple Of Sin” followed by the merciless onslaught of “Lockdown” before he even addresses the crowd. “The Demagogue” then prompts some further pit action during the opening riffs to “Some Kinda Disease”. Upon the closing chanting anthem “All In Favor”, the crowd appear to just barely have enough fire to reply to the chorus with a resounding “I!” but still persevere as their echoes resonate across the establishment. Yet, while a short set, INFRARED continue to stoke favor amongst their loyal fans in many forms.

http://infraredmetal.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/infraredmetal
https://x.com/infraredmetal
https://www.instagram.com/infrared_metal/

If you’re probably wondering why up-and-coming groove metallersSLACKJAW haven’t been much of a fixture in the local scene up here despite having two studio albums to their credit in their nearly decade-long career, it’s likely because the trio are based in South Carolina. Their guitarist Brady Riggenbach’s Housecore Records T-shirt was probably the giveaway that the trio wasn’t from town but they quickly made some new local fans on their first visit to Ottawa. Their love for PANTERA is easily obvious but their talent and passion is just as evident as they open their set with the crushing rager “Caught In The Crossfire”. Frontman/bassist Dallas Young addresses the crowd right after the power trio tear through “House Of Broken Bones” and “Vindication” and thanks us for our gracious hospitality. Truth be told, the trio were more focused in delivering a heavy-sounding performance for the ages and definitely for their newfound northern fanbase – and they succeeded as further numbers such as “Give ‘Em Hell”, “WMD”, “Mean It” and the circle-pit closer “Death Can’t Save You” would attest to. That wouldn’t mean that the band weren’t above hanging out with their fans after the set as I and several other punters were able to do. Dallas Young was definitely overwhelmed when he saw how many Ottawa fans had heard of SLACKJAW simply through, well, word of mouth(and, yes, in typical dad joke fashion, I did use that actual reference, and, yes, he did actually laugh at the reference), and he did make a promise that SLACKJAW would make a return in due time back to our fair city, more armed to the proverbial teeth with their brand of biting groove metal.

https://www.slackjawband.com/
https://www.instagram.com/slackjawx
https://x.com/slackjawmetal

With my third time catching headliners RAVEN grace the stage – and my second time catching them at the Rainbow – one has to wonder how can describe their performance without almost repeating the same review I’d given in 2024 when they last played here? Luckily, with their introductory number “Can’t Take Away The Fire” off from their similarly-titled latest and limited release which is also the name of the tour commemorating their 50th anniversary as one of the lesser-known stalwarts of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene still flexing their wings after all these years, the dream trio of brothers John (bass) and Mark Gallagher (guitar) and Mike Heller (drums) sound as every much the revitalized band that same night as they did since their first hometown gig back in Newcastle in 1974. The crowd favorites such as “Hell Patrol”, “On And On”, “Break the Chain” and the criminally-underrated “Rock Until You Drop” were still present on the setlist, but there were also new inclusions from the latest release such as “Top Of The Mountain”, “Pick Your Window” and “For The Future”. They have the distinct RAVEN sound, from John’s thunderhorse-style bass playing and high-volume falsetto to Mark’s wild one-man dual axe attack all the way towards the added bonus of Mike Heller’s fiery percussion magic.

As always, RAVEN have always been a band that had honed their craft and sound from only the best of the forefathers of the NWOBHM, starting first with a noticeable nod to LED ZEPPELIN in the form of a couple of chords from “The Rain Song” before launching into their medley of UFO, BLACK SABBATH and JUDAS PRIEST numbers; there was even a hint of QUEEN’s “Tie Your Mother Down” that made its way in to climax the medley, likely just to give John the best reason to perfect his Freddie Mercury-inspired screams as the band finished the night with a powerhouse version of “Chainsaw”.

So, in short, RAVEN have kept the flame going as well as the momentum some 50+ years into their career – a milestone that, as the billing title has enforced with teeth, can’t be taken away from them.

Setlist:

“Can’t Take Away The Fire”
“Hell Patrol”
“The Power”
“Top Of The Mountain”
“Surf The Tsunami”
“All For One”
“Rock Until You Drop”
Guitar solo w/teaser intro to “Don’t Need Your Money”
“Faster Than The Speed Of Light”
“Pick Your Window”
“For The Future”
Bass solo w/inclusion of “The Rain Song” by LED ZEPPELIN
“All Hell’s Breaking Loose”
“On And On”
“Break The Chain”
“Rock Bottom” (UFO cover)
“Supernaut” (BLACK SABBATH cover)
“Symptom Of The Universe” (BLACK SABBATH cover)
“Victim Of Changes” (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
“Tie Your Mother Down” (QUEEN)
“Chainsaw”