A night to remember of sheer heaviness and brutality with three of the most must-see bands in the history of heavy music, at the best and most entertaining venue you can think of.
OPENING ACTS: Carcass and Cannibal Corpse
An amazing theater, several good friends, free parking, free pop and coffee inside the casino, no work the next day as it was a weekend, a vast selection of food options, and three of the most must-see bands in the history of extreme music. Apart from the shitty weather, with freezing rain and ice storms in parts of Ontario, Saturday night was perfect for countless metalheads at the fantastic Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, when the ruthless CARCASS, CANNIBAL CORPSE and MESHUGGAH took the venue by storm with their undisputed North American Tour 2025, and of course Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I wouldn’t miss it not even if the biggest snow storm ever had devastated the city that same day. My only complaint is that I couldn’t find the food truck (or tent) by Slayer Burger before the doors opened, and it was pouring after the show so I didn’t even dare to go outside to purchase one. Well, I wasn’t able to try their new Meshuggah’s Burger, but that’s fine. Next time I attend a concert near one of their locations I’ll definitely grab it, or another one of their exclusive burgers, because they kick some serious ass.
There was a huge line already forming way before the doors opened at 6pm, which made me a little worried if I would be able to buy a Cannibal Corpse shirt before the show started at 7pm, but the merch team was awesome and I had over 30 minutes to simply chill before the first attraction of the night hit the stage, the mighty CARCASS. They only played for a little bit over 30 minutes, but what a devastating concert by those Melodic Death Metal and Grindcore masters, or as some people like to label their music these days, “Death N’ Roll” masters. Despite their short setlist, they played some of the best songs from their most recent album Torn Arteries and Surgical Steel, plus of course my all-time favorite Carcass songs No Love lost and Heartwork, both from their 1993 masterpiece Heartwork. Let’s say it was a beyond phenomenal warmup for the upcoming attractions, courtesy of Jeff Walker, Bill Steer, Nippy Blackford and Daniel Wilding, and if Carcass ever visit your city armed with their venomous music, you know what to do.
Setlist
The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (Intro)
Unfit for Human Consumption
Buried Dreams
Incarnated Solvent Abuse
No Love Lost
Corporal Jigsore Quandary
Heartwork
Tools of the Trade
Carneous Cacoffiny (Outro)
Band members
Jeff Walker – vocals, bass
Bill Steer – guitars, backing vocals
Nippy Blackford – guitars
Daniel Wilding – drums
After a quick break, it was time for my favorite Death Metal band of all time to do what they do best, which is get onstage and “crush their enemies, see them driven before them, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” I’m talking about the one and only American institution CANNIBAL CORPSE, who precisely at 7.55pm kicked off their pulverizing show with the neck breaking Scourge of Iron, followed by Blood Blind (from their 2023 album Chaos Horrific), Inhumane Harvest and Evisceration Plague. And what do those songs have in common, you might ask? They’re not played at the speed of light, but that doesn’t make them less infuriated; quite the contrary, it’s their heaviness that counts, in special Evisceration Plague, which is always a pleasure to enjoy live. All that plus the gruesome roars and insane headbanging by Mr. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, and the flawless, jaw dropping bass playing by Mr. Alex Webster, turn their shows into memorable experiences even for nonbelievers.
As the venue is quite wide, it was not too hard to stay away from the mosh pits in case you didn’t want to experience some brutal action, or if you couldn’t because of an injury, for example, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t headbang like a beast to masterpieces like Unleashing the Bloodthirsty (and I’m so happy they’re playing this song even in this shorter than usual setlist), Stripped, Raped and Strangled and Hammer Smashed Face. And of course, participating in another “headbanging contest” against Corpsegrinder (and therefore failing miserably) during I Cum Blood is one of the coolest things one can ever do at a metal concert. The mighty corpse killed it once again, leaving all concert goers absolutely stunned, and next time they come to the city it better be as headliners because we need more of their first-class Death Metal.
Setlist
Scourge of Iron
Blood Blind
Inhumane Harvest
Evisceration Plague
Death Walking Terror
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Summoned for Sacrifice
I Cum Blood
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
Last but definitely not least, the main attraction of the night, Sweden’s own Technical Groove/Thrash Metal/Djent entity MESHUGGAH, kicked off their festivities at around 9:15pm for the delight of their diehard fans that have taken the entire venue. I forgot to mention it was a sold out event, just to give you an idea of how much Toronto loves Meshuggah, and they put on a striking, hypnotizing concert that definitely lived up to their legacy. Playing songs from all of their albums, including their most recent ones Immutable and The Violent Sleep of Reason, and their classic ObZen, the band spearheaded by Jens Kidman offered a well-balances blend of harsh vocals, rumbling bass lines, pounding drums, and a massive feast of lighting that made the whole concert even more impactful.
All fans were going wild, with some headbanging, jumping up and down, or raising their fists like there was no tomorrow, and the band seeing that made sure they kept kicking ass onstage. When it was time for the encore, with their hits Bleed and Demiurge, the synchronicity between the band and their fans was absolutely fantastic, proving why they’re one of the most beloved bands in Toronto in present-day metal. After the show was over, a huge amount of fans stayed at the casino to try their luck, who knows, maybe some would even recover the money spent on tickets, merch or drinks, and I love the fact that there’s that option at the casino, so you don’t need to rush home nor anything like that. I mean, you can savor the post-concert adrenaline still at the venue, spend some extra time with your friends and family, grab a bite, and start thinking of your next metal show. And if it is at the Great Canadian Resort Toronto, that’s a no-brainer. Simply buy your tickets, and go enjoy some high quality music at the best venue in the entire GTA, or maybe I should say in the entire province of Ontario.
Setlist
Careless Whisper (George Michael song)
Intro (Atmospheric soundscape)
Broken Cog
Violent Sleep of Reason
Rational Gaze
Combustion
Kaleidoscope
God He Sees in Mirrors
Lethargica
Born in Dissonance
Dancers to a Discordant System
Swarm
Future Breed Machine
Encore:
Bleed
Demiurge
Boombastic (Shaggy song)
Band members
Jens Kidman – vocals
Fredrik Thordendal – guitars
Mårten Hagström – guitars
Dick Lövgren – bass
Tomas Haake – drums
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 