It all came down to this…1800 peoples, 14 bands, 7 judges, 8 different awards and 1 band crowned to represent Canada at the international final in Germany in August. It's been quite an adventure for all those bands since they registered to participate 6 months ago. None of them really thought that they could go this far after the first meeting, knowing how many bands were involved. For most of them, IT was just a chance to write new songs and practice seriously. Then the day of the first gig came along and changed everything. They realized that it was worth IT, they were playing in front of plenty of people, had a good sound, were making contacts with other bands and were moving on to a bigger and better venue in a couple of weeks…giving them enough time to work on their set list and stage presence (little details the Emergenza manager point out to help them). Then the second and third gig came along just so we could really witness their ups and downs, their struggles with pressure and anxiety, their attitude and mostly their potential…With over 400 bands competing in Canada, just being qualified for the regional final was already something special for them, almost a dream come true, but being part of the national final was just surreal. For two of them, ASHDOWN and SLAVES, it was a second chance to rock this incredible stage just like they did last year at the Montreal final. [ASHDOWN came in with an incredibly high energy level, and so did their fan. It looked like a stadium show at one point. They gave the best they had from start to finish. Their improvement since last year is undeniable. They finished 6th in 2004 and this year the jury gave them the 3rd position. SLAVES was the only real, straightforward metal band of the night and they woke the dead with some tight and loud riffs. They've been thru some changes lately and lost a singer on the way but the overall show didn't suffer from it. Good job NUNU . They won the best drummer award.] For two others, FORGERY (Toronto) and LACHAMBRE (Quebec City), it was the thrill to play in a different city after their qualification in their regional final. Both of them told me that they came to Montreal with little expectation, they wanted to have fun and to play in front of a big, jam-packed venue full of strangers. Feeling the reaction over their music. They did just that, but the jury also had a few surprises for those guys. [FORGERY did a great performance just like in Toronto. The crowd stood there, mesmerized by those strangers that were so comfortable on stage. Their hard rock spirit shined intensively. The jury awarded them with second best drummer, best guitar player and 4th place overall. LACHAMBRE brought from Quebec City there own little brit-rock vibe. People loved it and so did the jury that gave them the second position overall, as well as second best guitar player to Fred.] There was 2 bands particularly anxious to get on stage on Saturday. Taking part in an event like this is something really special but even more when you are the youngest amongst all the finalists. The band MOZAIC and the even younger VOX POPULI got qualified by the public to get ranked by the jury. Young bands tend to improve much faster than the older bands and both did their best performance of the festival on the Medley stage. [MOZAIC is the kind of band constantly trying to push the limits. They are not only good musicians (second best bassist award), they are good songwriters and good performers. They brought on stage a second drum-set for their big finale …and that was a crowd pleaser! They were ranked 5th overall. VOX POPULI has surprised me since the beginning by their unique approach of music. Usually, young bands are playing punk-emo-hardcore-alterno-clash-trash…but this band is going the opposite way. With more in common with Sonic Youth than with SUM 41…they are playing some good melody over some odd tempo catchy riffs. They Ranked 8th overall.] Most