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Concert Review – Dark Funeral (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 05/27/2023)

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The Decibel Magazine Tour 2023 brought another night of blasphemy, rage and heaviness to Toronto, spearheaded by one of the pillars of Swedish Black Metal.

OPENING ACTS: Blackbraid, 200 Stab Wounds and Cattle Decapitation

If there’s one thing that the Toronto metal scene has specialized in, that’s undoubtedly mosh pits, and it doesn’t matter which concert we’re talking about. Add to that the perfect weather on Saturday and four insanely heavy bands, and there you have the perfect recipe for nonstop action on the floor section. The venue chosen for such metallic celebration was The Phoenix Concert Theatre, and the bands featured in that night of rage and blasphemy were BLACKBRAID, 200 STAB WOUNDS, CATTLE DECAPITATION and DARK FUNERAL, as part of The Decibel Magazine Tour 2023. My only complaint was that the line to get in was ridiculous, and between the doors opening at 6pm and the first band starting at 7pm, there wasn’t much time to do anything like buying merch, having a beer, or simply getting into the venue. I myself just got in at 6:55pm, and I was there as soon as the clock hit 6pm.

Fortunately, I just made it for the openers, Adirondack Mountains, New York-based Atmospheric Black Metal horde BLACKBRAID, and I must say I’m beyond happy to have arrived in time for such intense and unique performance. The solo project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sgah’gahsowáh (pronounced “SKA-Gah-SoW-Ah”, a Mohawk name meaning “the witch hawk”), supported by touring musicians Y. E. and an unknown musician on the guitars, another unknown guy on bass, and Johnny Violence on drums, the band simply nailed it with their fusion of Atmospheric Black Metal with elements of traditional indigenous music, such as the Native American flute, generating a mesmerizing and ominous atmosphere that captivated everyone already at the venue. They might have played only four songs from both their 2022 debut Blackbraid I and their upcoming sophomore album Blackbraid II (to be released in the beginning of July), but as they’re all long songs let’s say the fans had plenty of time to enjoy their unique music, and of course, ignite some decent mosh pits. If you’re curious to know more about their music, you can find their creations on BandCamp and on Spotify, and I really hope Sgah’gahsowáh and his henchmen return to Toronto sooner than later because they’re awesome.

Setlist
The Spirit Returns
The River of Time Flows Through Me
Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon
Barefoot Ghost Dance on Blood Soaked Soil

Band members
Sgah’gahsowáh – vocals
Y. E. – guitars
Unknown – guitars
Unknown – bass
Johnny Violence – drums

After a really short break (and I think maybe there shouldn’t be so many bands on the lineup so fans can at least try to buy some merch and go for a bathroom stop without missing any of the action on stage), it was time for Cleveland, Ohio-based Death Metal marauders 200 STAB WOUNDS to give their Torontonian fans all the fuel they needed to slam into some sick mosh pits like true headbanging bastards, delivering a pulverizing concert that left everyone at the venue absolutely on fire. Playing songs form all of their albums, with a bigger focus on their 2021 album Slave to the Scalpel plus the two songs form their brand new EP Masters of Morbidity, the band spearheaded by vocalist and guitarist Steve Buhl was ruthless from start to finish, praising their Torontonian fans for always showing everything they got inside the circle pits, and saying that Toronto is one of their favorite places to play. I guess you know why, right? And if you’re also a lover of some good old mosh pits, you can enjoy the music by this fantastic band on BandCamp and on Spotify.

Setlist
Phallic Filth (Intro)
Fatal Reality
Skin Milk
Tow Rope Around the Throat
Drilling Your Head
Itty Bitty Pieces
Masters of Morbidity
Phallic Filth
Release the Stench
Stifling Stew
She Was Already Dead

Band members
Steve Buhl – vocals, guitars
Raymond Macdonald – guitars
Ezra Cook – bass
Owen Pooley – drums 

As the temperature kept rising inside The Phoenix Concert Theatre, American Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore masters CATTLE DECAPITATION hit the stage with another pulverizing performance, proving why they’re one of the most admired bands of the genre worldwide. I strongly believe Travis Ryan, Josh Elmore, Belisario Dimuzio, Olivier Pinard and David McGraw love Toronto as much as the Torontonian metalheads love them, because the synergy was incredible, and the mosh pits even more. Blending classics with new songs from their 2023 masterpiece Terrasite (to be reviewed soon here at The Headbanging Moose), those being the fantastic We Eat Our Young, Scourge of the Offspring and A Photic Doom, the band fired a flawless concert overflowing heaviness, dexterity and feeling, putting a smile on the faces of everyone at the venue, including the band. I don’t think Travis was expecting such powerful reception from their fans in the city, but let’s be honest, when the music is great like what Cattle Decapitation have to offer us, of course the concerts will be incendiary! I can’t even describe how insane the mosh pits were throughout their entire set, to a point the entire floor section became one massive, unstoppable circle pit. It was superb, to say the least! Thank you, Cattle Decapitation!

Setlist
Intro (Jurassic Park theme)
The Carbon Stampede
We Eat Our Young
Scourge of the Offspring
Bring Back the Plague
The Great Dying, Pt. 1
Finish Them
Lifestalker
A Photic Doom
Kingdom of Tyrants

Band members
Travis Ryan – vocals
Josh Elmore – lead guitars
Belisario Dimuzio – rhythm guitars
Olivier Pinard – bass
David McGraw – drums

DARK FUNERAL

The night was getting darker and the temperature inside the venue even higher, setting the stage for another sulfurous performance by the one and only Swedish Black Metal institution DARK FUNERAL to conclude the night on a high and devilish note. It was great to see them as the headliners this time, instead of “just” an opener as it happened last year when they played alongside Cannibal Corpse, and based on the reception of the fans this Saturday we’ll surely see Dark Funeral headlining more impious nights in the city in a not-so-distant future.

Still promoting their amazing 2022 album We Are The Apocalypse, the horde formed of Heljarmadr on vocals, Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol on the guitars, Adra Melek on bass and Jalomaah on drums was demonic from the very first notes of Nosferatu until the climatic Where Shadows Forever Reign, proving why they’re one of the pillars of Swedish Black Metal. I have to admit if there was a little less smoke the fans would have been able to see the band better on stage, but of course I’m pretty sure that was part of their plan, to look and sound as dark and evil as possible, and with the iconic Heljarmadr as their frontman the whole stage smoke and lightning made total sense.

Their setlist was an ode to blasphemy, including precious gems the likes of Vobiscum Satanas, My Funeral and Nail Them to the Cross, with Heljarmadr demanding a huge HAIL SATAN! from the crowd while the mosh pits kept moving like the fires of the pits of the underworld. The setlist could have been slightly longer, though, but nothing that could harm such beautiful performance by Dark Funeral. And if you think slow songs are not Black Metal, simply witness Dark Funeral playing When I’m Gone and Let the Devil In live, and you’ll feel absolute darkness taking over your damned soul. Thanks a million to Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment and to Metal Blade Records for bringing such venomous tour to Toronto, and thanks also to metal photographer Kim Baarda for letting us use her fantastic photos (as my buddy Keith could not make it to the concert this time). May Dark Funeral return to the city soon for another impressive concert and, of course, HAIL SATAN!

Setlist
Nosferatu
Hail Murder
My Funeral
In the Sign of the Horns
Vobiscum Satanas
Goddess of Sodomy
The Secrets of the Black Arts
When I’m Gone
Unchain My Soul
Temple of Ahriman
Nail Them to the Cross
Let the Devil In
Where Shadows Forever Reign

Band members
Heljarmadr – vocals
Lord Ahriman – guitars
Chaq Mol – guitars
Adra Melek – bass
Jalomaah – drums

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Concert Review – Cannibal Corpse (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 11/06/2022)

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And there we had another fantastic night of sheer brutality and blasphemy in Toronto spearheaded by the Corpse. 

OPENING ACTS: Black Anvil, Immolation and Dark Funeral

What a fantastic night of sheer brutality and blasphemy at The Danforth Music Hall yesterday in Toronto! If you’re a diehard fan of Death and Black Metal you must attend one of the concerts of the North American Tour 2022 this fall with the bands BLACK ANVIL, IMMOLATION, DARK FUNERAL and the unstoppable, unparalleled CANNIBAL FUCKIN’ CORPSE, with the sold out night yesterday in Toronto proving how strong extreme music still is even with all the bad music that’s dumped onto us everyday by the “specialized” media. The weather was perfect and the line to get into the venue started to form really early, maybe even before 4pm, showing it was going to be indeed an unforgettable night to all 1,500 fans who were lucky enough to get a ticket.

The first band to hit the stage was New York-based Black/Thrash Metal outfit BLACK ANVIL, but I had to miss the first few minutes of their setlist due to the massive line to buy merch. Unfortunately, the never-ending merch lines seem to be the new norm as that has happened in every single concert I’ve been to after the end of the pandemic, which makes me wonder if the fans are willing to spend a lot of extra money with shirts and other merch fearing that a new pandemic might hit anytime, or that the organizers have no clue what they’re doing and can’t put together a decent way to serve all fans that want to buy some merch. Anyway, back to the music, as soon as I was able to get into the main hall I could enjoy Black Anvil’s straightforward, no shenanigans performance, with their drummer stealing the spotlight with a solid performance. They’ve just released a new album this Friday, entitled Regenesis, which was basically everything they played last night, so if you know nothing about them and are attending one of their concerts opening for Cannibal Corpse you must listen to their new opus. Well, you should listen to it even if you’re not attending any concert, as those guys are great.

Setlist
The Gates of Brass
In Two
The Bet
29
8-Bit Terror
Grant Us His Love
Castrum Doloris

Band members
P.D. – vocals, bass
Sos – guitars
Travis Bacon – guitars
R.G. – drums

After a very short break (and the main reason for that is because all four bands had to finish their concerts by 11pm at the latest due to the neighborhood where the venue is located), it was then time for American Death Metal masters IMMOLATION to crush our souls with their extremely aggressive and technical creations, blending songs from their newest album Acts of God, such as the title-track An Act of God, Shed the Light and the closing song Apostle, with old school stuff including one song from their 1991 debut album Dawn of Possession, the fulminating Burial Ground, which ignited one of the most ravenous mosh pits of their infernal performance. Vocalist and bassist Ross Dolan was on fire throughout their entire set, while his bandmates made sure the electricity kept flowing between the band and the crowd. I’m sure it won’t take long for Immolation to return to Toronto,  and whenever that happens I’m sure I’ll be there to slam into the pit once again to the sound of their visceral music.

Setlist
Abandoned
An Act of God
The Age of No Light
Swarm of Terror
Noose of Thorns
The Distorting Light
Overtures of the Wicked
Burial Ground
Shed the Light
Of Martyrs and Men
When Halos Burn
Apostle

Band members
Ross Dolan – vocals, bass
Robert Vigna – guitars
Alex Bouks – guitars
Steve Shalaty – drums

Of course I was at The Danforth Music Hall last night mainly to see the headliners Cannibal Corpse, but I was also very excited to witness the scorching Black Metal by Sweden’s own DARK FUNERAL for the very first time live, and let me tell you it was indeed a unique experience as the band spearheaded by the talented frontman Heljarmadr delivered endless obscurity and blasphemy to their avid fans. Promoting their awesome new opus We Are The Apocalypse, Dark Funeral fired a great fusion of their early days and more contemporary creations, with songs the likes of Leviathan, The Secrets of the Black Arts and Let the Devil In receiving a huge roar back from the crowd showing all their admiration for the band. It was also funny seeing Heljarmadr asking every single fan at the venue to scream “HAIL SATAN!” together with him, and I can’t imagine what the girls at the bar and the guys from security felt during such inspirational moments. The top moments of their performance for me were the neck-breaking, evil tune My Funeral, and the closing song Where Shadows Forever Reign, turning Toronto into the worldwide Black Metal capital for one night and, therefore, guaranteeing Dark Funeral will return to the city to darken the skies once again with their undisputed Black Metal in the near future.

Setlist
Unchain My Soul
Hail Murder
Leviathan
My Funeral
The Secrets of the Black Arts
Open the Gates
When I’m Gone
Nail Them to the Cross
Let the Devil In
Where Shadows Forever Reign

Band members
Heljarmadr – vocals
Lord Ahriman – guitars
Chaq Mol – guitars
Adra Melek – bass
Jalomaah – drums

CANNIBAL CORPSE

And finally there they were, three years after their hammering performance at The Opera House back in 2019 (which was by the way my last concert before the world went to shit with the pandemic), Buffalo, New York’s one and only Death Metal institution CANNIBAL CORPSE took the city of Toronto by storm once again with their rage, speed, heaviness, precision and groove, driving the entire floor section mental and, consequently, igniting a massive circle pit that lasted for their entire performance. Frontman George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher (armed with his monstrous neck and his beyond cool T-shirt “Respect the Neck”), guitarists Rob Barrett and Erik Rutan, the bass phenom Alex Webster, and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz were in absolute sync from start to finish, turning up the eat at the venue to the point you would sweat even if you were not moving at all.

What I love about Cannibal Corpse is that their setlists are always a journey through all of their phases, mixing classics the likes of Unleashing the Bloodthirsty and Stripped, Raped and Strangled with newer stuff such as Kill or Become and Inhumane Harvest, this one form their most recent album Violence Unimagined. Corpsegrinder had the crowd in his bloody hands instantly, delivering not only a savage vocal performance but also interacting in a very fun way with all fans, either by throwing bottles of water to them or by challenging everyone to try to beat him in a headbanging duel during I Cum Blood (and of course, we all failed miserably as Corpsegrinder himself predicted). Another fun moment with Corpsegrinder was before Fucked With a Knife, when he dedicated it to all women and instead of hearing guys cheering that, he actually listened to A LOT of women screaming at the venue. He commented on that by saying there are usually only 20 women in their concerts, which is already a lot in his opinion, and when he asked the ladies to scream again they were even louder. Well, after such nice moment, the circle pit kept moving ferociously to Fucked With a Knife, as expected.

Every single time I write anything about Cannnibal Corpse I need to say how much I admire Mr. Alex Webster and his wicked bass lines, and yesterday in Toronto he proved once again why he’s the best bass player of the entire Death Metal universe. That man is a beast on bass, and the best part is that you can actually listen to each and every note coming from his bass clearly. And while Mr. Webster was demolishing our ears with his bass during masterpieces the likes of Devoured by Vermin, A Skull Full of Maggots and Hammer Smashed Face, the rowdy crowd in Toronto kept having a very good time inside the circle pit in the name of first-class metal music. It’s so nice to be a fan of a band like Cannibal Corpse, as not only all of their albums are amazing, but their live performances are a thing of beauty. There should be a law for the band to play here at least once a month, but as that’s not possible I’m happy if they kept releasing ass-kicking albums and keep coming back to Toronto every couple of years. LONG LIVE THE CORPSE!

Setlist
Scourge of Iron
The Time to Kill Is Now
Inhumane Harvest
Code of the Slashers
Fucked With a Knife
The Wretched Spawn
Gutted
Kill or Become
I Cum Blood
Evisceration Plague
Death Walking Terror
Condemnation Contagion
Necrogenic Resurrection
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Devoured by Vermin
A Skull Full of Maggots
Stripped, Raped and Strangled
Hammer Smashed Face

Band members
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – vocals
Rob Barrett – lead and rhythm guitar
Erik Rutan – lead guitar
Alex Webster – bass guitar
Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums

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Album Review – Dark Funeral / We Are The Apocalypse (2022)

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One of the pillars of Swedish Black Metal returns from the underworld with a new opus to prove once and for all that they’re the apocalypse.

The year of 1993 was when it all began, when Lord Ahriman and Blackmoon founded the infernal war machine we now know as Stockholm, Sweden-based Dark Funeral, one of the most intense and prominent Black Metal acts ever. Now in 2022, vocalist Heljarmadr, guitarists Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol, bassist Adra Melek and drummer Jalomaah are back from the underworld with another opus of sheer obscurity and hatred, beautifully entitled We Are The Apocalypse. Mixed by Daniel Bergstrand at Dugout Productions, mastered by Paul Logus at PLX Mastering, and displaying a devilish artwork by by Marcelo Vasco, the band’s long-awaited seventh full-length album is a lecture in Swedish Black Metal not recommended for the lighthearted, proving why the band has been haunting our damned souls for almost three decades.

The evil guitars by Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol will pierce your minds in the infernal opening tune Nightfall, a classic Scandinavian Black Metal onrush with no artificial elements, only our good old darkness and hatred, while the tribal beats by Jalomaah ignite the Stygian aria Let The Devil In, with Heljarmadr vociferating the song’s wicked words rabidly (“I take a deep, good look inside myself / I open up the gates to let the Devil in / He’s riding on the shadow of my soul / And everywhere I go, he’ll be there walking beside me”). Then get ready to be pulverized by Dark Funeral in When Our Vengeance Is Done, a fast, furious and demented creation by the band showcasing those old school Black Metal riffs we all love so much, whereas Nosferatu carries a beautiful name for another blackened sonic attack by the quintet, with Jalomaah being on fire behind his drums with both his rhythmic and demented beats.

Slowing things down a bit it’s time for the Blackened Doom-infused chant When I’m Gone, perfect for the darkest days of your useless lives, with Adra and Jalomaah making our heads tremble to the sound of their respective bass and drums. Their evil sounds keep permeating the atmosphere in Beyond The Grave, with Jalomaah’s hellish blast beast providing Heljarmadr all he needs to growl like a creature from the underworld. A Beast To Praise brings forward absolutely dark, psychological lyrics barked by Heljarmadr (“In solitude I am talking to ghosts / And while the netherworld is being ripped open wide / My human flesh is still keeping me / Between these walls, and I am eager to die”) while Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol slash our senses with their otherworldly riffs in a lecture in Black Metal; whereas cryptic guitar lines kick off their second to last breath of obscurity titled Leviathan, not as inspiring nor as visceral as the other songs form the album, albeit still extremely violent. And last but not least, it’s time for one final explosion of pure Black Metal in the form of We Are The Apocalypse, with the demolishing drums by Jalomaah walking hand in hand with the strident riffage by the band’s guitar duo.

Such beast of an album can be enjoyed in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, but if I were you I would certainly purchase your favorite version of this devilish masterpiece by clicking HERE. We Are The Apocalypse, which will undoubtedly feature among the best metal albums of the year in countless lists from all over the world, has no artificial elements added to it, just the wrath of five insanely talented Swedish black metallers who remain loyal to the foundations of the genre even after so many years on the road. Hence, don’t forget to follow Dark Funeral on Facebook and on Instagram, and to subscribe to their official YouTube channel for more of their disturbing Black Metal. Because you know, when it comes to Black Metal, Dark Funeral are indeed the apocalypse.

Best moments of the album: Nightfall, When Our Vengeance Is Done, Beyond The Grave and A Beast To Praise.

Worst moments of the album: Leviathan.

Released in 2022 Century Media

Track listing
1. Nightfall 5:13
2. Let The Devil In 4:40
3. When Our Vengeance Is Done 4:20
4. Nosferatu 4:41
5. When I’m Gone 5:46
6. Beyond The Grave 5:08
7. A Beast To Praise 4:49
8. Leviathan 4:34
9. We Are The Apocalypse 4:33

Band members
Heljarmadr – vocals
Lord Ahriman – guitars
Chaq Mol – guitars
Adra Melek – bass
Jalomaah – drums