Ladies and gentlemen,

After some delay, here are the pictures of the final day of my short Easter road trip. The weather wasn't what I had been hoping for but at least it didn't rain much last Monday. My next trip out of region will take place in about one month from here. Stay tuned.

The Spirit Catcher on the shore of Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, Ontario.

A view of downtown Huntsville, Ontario and its marina.

Huntsville Civic Centre on Main Street in Huntsville, Ontario.

A look of Fairy Lake as taken from Lions Lookout in Huntsville, Ontario.

A look of downtown Huntsville, Ontario and its shallows.

Muskoka Heritage Place in Huntsville, Ontario.

Hardwood Lookout Trail with a view of Smoke Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario.

A lookout with a view of Fork Lake on the left and Norway Lake on the right in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario.

Entrance of the Algonquin Park Visitor Centre in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario.

A female moose somewhere between Whitney and Madawaska in Ontario.

Old train station in Barry's Bay, Ontario.

Zurakowski Park in honour of a former test pilot in Barry's Bay, Ontario.

Polish Kashub Heritage Museum and Skansen in Wilno, Ontario.

Look of Bonnechere River in Eganville, Ontario.

Eganville Centennial Park in Eganville, Ontario.

War memorial in front on Renfrew's Town Hall, Public Library and Baptist Church in Renfrew, Ontario.

Archway to Ottawa's Chinatown in Ottawa, Ontario.

A band called Havok, an album cover with an illuminated skull and a Pantera cover song are strong indicators that this quartet is another aggressive nu thrash metal band. This approach can only work if the band either finds its own niche musically or is rightfully mad and delivers clear political statements that would rather come from a punk band. However, the band fails on both levels and this is what makes Conformicide particularly difficult to sit through.

The opening song is always a strong indicator for the rest of the album, so let's listen to it. ''F.P.C.'' stand for ''Fuck Political Correctness''. I don't know why the band didn't write this out but maybe they weren't even convinced of their own vapid message. Let's talk about the music instead. Occasional groove and thrash metal riffs meet funky slap bass sounds, up-tempo pop punk drumming with unnecessary blast beats thrown into the mixture and annoying vocals somewhere between hoarse shouts and weird spoken word experiments. Some people might say that this mixtures seems to be quite experimental but it's a perfect example of a failed experiment where too many ideas lead to a confusing potpourri. This song sounds like a revamped version of Exodus' and Megadeth's worst moments increased by ten with a shot of Blink-182 and Pantera. If that sounds bad to you, expect something even worse. Musically, this might however even be the best song on the album.

The other tracks aren't as experimental and all over the place as the opening disaster but stick continuously to the same tired Exodus-meets-Pantera-in-a-negative-way approach. The mixture of clinical production, one-dimensional song structures and whiny lyrics make for a quite soulless record despite its intention to spread moving messages. This band is as conform to exchangeable modern thrash metal as a case of Coors Light to a convenience store.

Let's talk about the lyrics then. What is the band so mad about? Poverty in developing countries? Increasing homophobia and racism in their home country? The rise of terrorism in our world? The negative effects of climate change? The presidency of Donald Trump? No, the band decides to criticize successful businessmen, politically correct conformists, religious haze and the usual topics that have been treated a billion times before and fail to deliver a record on the pulse of time. Terms like death, disease, famine, genocide,radioactivity, slavery and war are used so randomly in the horrid ''Masterplan'' that it's almost disrespectfully shallow. Instead of addressing one concrete problem, the band talks about everything and nothing at the same time. Their lyrics against the system, no matter what aspect of it, remind me of the biased opinions of a pseudo-rebellious teenage punk band that plays improvised concerts in trailer parks before the members are going home to their parents’ basements to study for their Latin exam. The lyrics come off as biased, naive and superficial. No, I wasn't expecting lyrics about rose unicorns in wonderland but the fact that the band transmits exactly one single emotion and topic which is negativity gets quite tiring after a while.

In the end, Havok have tried to grab metal by the pussy but have ended up falling flat on their arses. This record might sound good to you if you are fourteen years old, have never listened to thrash metal before and feel like being at war with society. For anyone else, just avoid this record altogether. The lyrics are embarrassing and almost laughable. The music rips off the usual genre suspects in a negative way without adding anything new to it. The production only increases potential headaches. I give that shiny new coaster ten percent because at least the band tried focusing on a concrete guiding line even if it didn't work out in my book. After all, Audiocide would have been a more appropriate title for that frisbee than Conformicide.

Final rating: 10%

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today was a crazy day. The weather was particularly bad and I was almost running out of fuel but I still managed to visit a few new spots and take some gorgeous pictures. Tomorrow will be the last day of my short road trip and the weather is supposed to be much better. Let's wait and see.

Wanapitei River on the border of Sudbury and Wahnapitae, Ontario.

Neilly Lake on the left and Sawmill Lake on the right in Burnwash, Ontario.

Killarney Marina, looking east through Killarney Channel towards Killarney Mountain Lodge and Georgian Bay, Ontario.

Killarney Marina, looking wets through Killarney Channel towards Killarney Harbour and Georgian Bay, Ontario.

Saint Bonaventure's Church in Killarney, Ontario.

Recollet Falls on the French River in Killarney, Ontario.

French River in Killarney, Ontario.

William E. Small Suspension Bridge for squads, snowmobiles and pedestrians across the French River in Killarney, Ontario.

The French River, looking east where one can see a highway and a railroad bridge in Killarney, Ontario.

The French River, looking west towards Georgian Bay in Killarney, Ontario.

French River Visitor Centre in Killarney, Ontario. Beware of thornbushes, rattlesnakes and mosquitoes.

Heritage Park in downtown Barrie, Ontario.

Barrie Marina and Lake Simcoe in Barrie, Ontario.

Barrie Marina with Spirit Catcher sculpture in Kempenfelt Bay, Barrie, Ontario.

Ladies and gentlemen,

You can really rely on Canadian weather forecasts. They had announced that the sun would be shining until noon and that the weather would get much nastier in the afternoon. This proved to be absolutely accurate. It started raining a few minutes past noon after a wonderful morning and the bad weather didn't stop until late at night. The weather wasn't what I had been hoping for but I was at least able to visit a couple of new spots.

Look of the Ottawa River at Petawawa Point, Ontario.

Rapides-des-Joachims Bridge between Ontario and Quebec as photographed from Laurentian Hills, Ontario.

Old ferry trail in Deux-Rivières, Ontario.

War memorial in Mattawa, Ontario.

Where the Mattawa River meets the Ottawa River in Mattawa, Ontario.

Explorer's Point Park in Mattawa, Ontario.

Champlain Tent Trailer and RV Park on the shores of Lavase River and Lake Nipissing in North Bay, Ontario.

Trinity United Church in downtown North Bay, Ontario.

Waterfront Marina in North Bay, Ontario.

War Memorial and Sturgeon Falls in West Nipissing, Ontario.

Memorial Park in Sudbury, Ontario.

Sudbury Water Tower in Sudbury, Ontario.

Big Nickel at the grounds of the Dynamic Earth science museum in Sudbury, Ontario.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here are a few pictures taken on the first day of my short Easter road trip that led me from Gatineau, Quebec to Pembroke, Ontario.

Luskville Falls in Gatineau Park, Quebec.

Look of the Ottawa River in Campbell's Bay, Quebec.

Pont Marchand Mansfield in Mansefield-et-Pontefract, Quebec.

View of Cotnam Island, Ontario.

Diocese of Pembroke and St. Columbkille Cathedral in Pembroke, Ontario.

Pembroke Waterfront Park in the evening in Pembroke, Ontario.

 Pembroke Marina in Pembroke, Ontario.

Ottawa River in Pembroke, Ontario.

Muksrat River in Pembroke, Ontario.

War Memorial in Pembroke, Ontario.

One of thirty historic murals in and around Pembroke, Ontario.

Renfrew County Courthouse and Wesley United Church in Pembroke, Ontario.

Bridges in downtown Pembroke, Ontario.