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Concert Review – Cattle Decapitation (The Concert Hall, Toronto, ON, 12/06/2025)

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And Toronto partied like it was 1349 together with the mighty Cattle Decapitation on a emotional, memorable and heavy-as-hell night of extreme music.

OPENING ACTS: Grindmother, Tribal Gaze, Frozen Soul and Aborted

After seeing four albums played in full in the past couple of weeks, those being Rivers of Nihil (by Rivers of Nihil), Citadel and Exul (by Ne Obliviscaris), and Somewhere Far Beyond (by Blind Guardian), it was time for another absolute blast with album number five this Saturday, when the indomitable CATTLE DECAPITATION, with the support of GRINDMOTHER, TRIBAL GAZE, FROZEN SOUL and ABORTED, took the stage of The Concert Hall in Toronto with their No Fear For Tomorrow North American Tour 2025 to melt our faces with the full play of their 2019 bestial opus Death Atlas. That was maybe one of the heaviest and most emotional events brought to the city by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment this year, and of course Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there to be part of such a phenomenal celebration of extreme music by some of the best bands of the current scene worldwide.

As it was a Saturday I managed to get to the venue just in time for the farewell concert by the mighty GRINDMOTHER, a 77-year old retired social worker from Canada whose footage from a rehearsal in 2016 went viral, having played over 50 times live with her bands across Germany, Japan, Canada and the United States (and you can enjoy all of her songs on BandCamp, by the way). In July 2025, she announced her retirement due to dementia, kicking ass on the stages in Montreal on Friday and in Toronto on Saturday as her way to say “thank you” and “au revoir” to all Canadians who have supported her through the years. In Toronto she had the phenomenal support of the she-wolf Chelsea Marrow of Blackened Death Metal beast Visitant (who I had the pleasure of chatting with for a brief moment) and of the electrifying Elizabeth Selfish of Crossover Hardcore act BRAT, adding even more adrenaline to a very emotional goodbye from the stages. I’m sure her son Rayny Forster, who plays bass with her live, is immensely proud of his mom, a strong and relentless woman who proved once again there’s no age limit when it comes to heavy music. It was an excellent warmup for the other bands of the night, and hopefully Grindmother can now enjoy her retirement in great fashion together with her family while listening to some ass-kicking Extreme Metal. Thank you for your music and for your passion for Heavy Metal, Grindmother!

Band members
Grindmother – vocals
Chelsea Marrow – vocals
Elizabeth Selfish – vocals
Topon Das – guitar
Rayny Forster – bass
Mathieu “Vil” Vilandré – drums

After a quick break it was time for Texas-based Death Metal brigade TRIBAL GAZE to ignite some wild mosh pits in the floor section with their short but extremely violent and heavy performance. Led by the charismatic frontman McKenna Holland, the band has just released the excellent Inveighing Brilliance, available on both BandCamp and on Spotify, which was basically what they played during their entire set. Songs like Smiling From Their Chariots and Emptying the Nest sounded inhumane live, with drummer Cesar De Los Santos dictating the pace of his own band and of the entire crowd, who went mental inside the pit and slammed like there’s no tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll hear more from those talented guys in a not-so-distant future, and I can’t wait to see one of their concerts again as they definitely know how to make our good old Death Metal sound incredible live.

Setlist
Smiling From Their Chariots
Emptying the Nest
To the Spoils of Faith
The Irreversible Sequence
Godless Voyage
Twitching on the Cross
Beyond Recognition

Band members
McKenna Holland – vocals
Quintin Stauts – guitars
Ian Kilmer – guitars
Zachary Denton – bass
Cesar De Los Santos – drums

The next attraction of the night is one of those bands you know they’ll quickly become a reference in the genre. I’m talking about Fort Worth, Texas’ own abominable men (and woman) FROZEN SOUL, bringing absolute chaos, frost and heaviness to the stage with their ruthless blend of old school Death Metal. Playing songs from their two awesome albums Crypt of Ice, form 2021, and Glacial Domination, from 2023 (both available on BandCamp and on Spotify), plus a few new killer tunes like Skinned by the Wind and Invoke War, from their upcoming yet-to-be-titled 2026 album, the band led by the unstoppable Chad Green on vocals (who also gave an emotional speech by dedicating one of the songs to his deceased younger brother, therefore showing a lot of heart) put everyone to slam, stage dive, crowd surf, and even do some push ups during their incredible performance, leaving us completely disoriented after all was said and done. One thing I must say about their concert is that the sound quality was superb, allowing the bass by the fantastic Samantha Mobley to punch us hard in the head for our total delight. Needless to say, she’ll (very) soon be one of our metal ladies of the month. I’m now desperate to listen to their upcoming album, because based on what we were able to witness this Saturday, it’s going to be a real banger. Hell yeah, winter is coming again, courtesy of one of the must-see names of the current Death Metal scene.

Setlist
Skinned by the Wind
Beat to Dust
Chaos Will Reign
Morbid Effigy
Merciless
Absolute Zero
Arsenal of War
Invoke War
Crypt of Ice

Band members
Chad Green – vocals
Chris Bonner – guitars
Michael Munday – guitars
Samantha Mobley – bass
Matt Dennard – drums

After everyone had a short break for having another beer, checking the merch stands, going to the washroom, or simply recovering their energies from the chaotic show by Frozen Soul, it was time to “get do da choppa!” together with the unparalleled Belgian Death Metal machine ABORTED, and oh boy, what an apocalyptic performance it was. Sven De Caluwé was not only on fire with his demented guttural, but he was also in his best comedian mode, impersonating the best action hero of all time, the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger, multiple times, making jokes with his own mother, and asking fans to do some jumping jacks during one of the songs (after pushups and jumping jacks, I was wondering if Cattle Decapitation were going to ask us to do some abs later). What an amazing frontman, and let’s say their setlist helped him a lot, with several songs form their 2024 masterpiece Vault of Horrors, including Dreadbringer, The Shape of Hate and Death Cult, plus classics the likes of Retrogore and The Saw and the Carnage Done, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify, setting fire to the atmosphere just like what happened during their headlining concert in Toronto in February. The icing on the cake happened when Darude’s pop hit Sandstorm was played over the speakers and Sven invited everyone to dance with him, showing we metalheads are not just anger, hatred and darkness. We can also dance. See you at the party, Sven!

Setlist
Dreadbringer
Retrogore
Brotherhood of Sleep
The Origin of Disease
Infinite Terror
The Shape of Hate
Death Cult
Insect Politics
Threading on Vermillion Deception / The Saw and the Carnage Done
Sandstorm (Darude song)

Band members
Sven De Caluwé – vocals
Daníel Máni Konráðsson – guitar
Ian Jekelis – guitar
????? – bass
Kévin Paradis – drums
Siebe Hermans – drums

CATTLE DECAPITATION

We witnessed an emotional farewell, had fun with two of of the new-ish names in Death Metal, and became part of a Belgian death cult this Saturday night. Was that enough for us avid metalheads? Of course not, because we still wanted to party like it was 1349 together with the almighty Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore creature CATTLE DECAPITATION, playing in full their 2019 opus Death Atlas, plus three songs form their 2023 killer album Terrasite, both available on BandCamp and on Spotify, and both paying “homage” to the putrid, gory and visceral downfall of the human race. It was pure Armageddon on stage, and of course that transpired to the floor section where the mosh pits were simply insane.

Anything I say about Travis Ryan at this point of his career is not enough to represent his importance, talent and passion in extreme music. The guy is unstoppable, ruthless, and his goblin screeches are one of those things you must experience live at least once in your miserable life. Songs like Be Still Our Bleeding Hearts, Vulturous, the phenomenal Bring Back the Plague, Death Atlas, and the humanity-is-doomed trio formed of A Photic Doom, We Eat Our Young and Scourge of the Offspring sounded brilliant live once again, and as Travis himself said they’ll be back in April or May I’m wondering if next time we’ll have Terrasite played in its entirety. I love when bands play their albums in full live, as I believe any album is meant to be listened in full without skipping any songs, so let’s wait and see what they’ll bring to the city in the coming months. I’ll be there for sure, because when Cattle Decapitation invites you to party (like it’s 1349), no is definitely NOT an answer.

Setlist
Death Atlas
Anthropogenic: End Transmission
The Geocide
Be Still Our Bleeding Hearts
Vulturous
The Great Dying, Pt 1
One Day Closer to the End of the World
Bring Back the Plague
Absolute Destitute
The Great Dying, Pt. 2
Finish Them
With All Disrespect
Time’s Cruel Curtain
The Unerasable Past
Death Atlas

Encore:
A Photic Doom
We Eat Our Young
Scourge of the Offspring

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

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Album Review – Discovery Through Torment / Telesynthetic Rebirth EP (2025)

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This up-and-coming Deathcore ensemble is ready to attack armed with their newborn EP, telling a video game-inspired story of collapse and replacement.

Blending elements of Brutal Death Metal, Slam, and Black Metal into a sound defined by relentless aggression and technical intensity, Montreal, Quebec’s own Deathcore beast Discovery Through Torment has been building a reputation in the Canadian underground metal scene for uncompromising heaviness, surgical precision, and a clear artistic identity rooted in themes of Sci-Fi, aliens, and existential decay. Now in 2025 the band formed of vocalist Alexandre Desroche, guitarists Samuel Fortin and Frédéric Ricard, bassist Alexis Lafrance, and drummer Charles-Étienne Lafrance returns to the battlefield with a new EP titled Telesynthetic Rebirth, following up on their demented 2022 sophomore opus The Mangled God. Recorded and produced by the band itself, mixed and mastered by Maxime Lacroix of House of Gain Studio, and displaying a sinister artwork by Mark Erskine of Erskine Designs, the EP tells a video game-inspired story of collapse and replacement, following the downfall of a former entity and the rise of a new force that abducts humans, reshapes them into telepathic killing machines, and unleashes them in a genocidal conquest of Earth. The lyrics weave themes of experimentation and domination, closing with a cliffhanger that sets up the next chapter.

Eerie sounds permeate the air in the opening track Dethronement, exploding into a beyond brutal and technical slab of Deathcore led by Charles-Étienne’s demented beats and fills while Alexandre delivers those deep, inhumane growls we all love so much. Their demented feast of Blackened Deathcore goes on in full force in Arcane Inception, showcasing an amazing job done by Samuel and Frédéric on the guitars, being therefore perfect for some action inside the circle pit; and Charles-Étienne doesn’t let the band’s aggressiveness and heaviness go down not even a tiny bit in Veil Unferling, with those insane breakdowns providing Alexandre with exactly what he needs to roar like a demonic entity. Moreover, the song has a nod to the first F.E.A.R. game, with a hidden line straight from Paxton Fettel. Lesions is by far the most infernal (and consequently the most trilling) of all songs from the EP, where Alexis hammers his bass manically accompanied by the thunderous drums by Charles-Étienne; and finally, they add hints of Melodic Death Metal to their core sonority in First Encounter Assault Regiment (a play on the aforementioned game’s acronym), and the final result is obviously incendiary.

As an unsigned and self-produced act, Discovery Through Torment exemplify the raw potential of modern underground metal music, always ambitious, unfiltered, and driven entirely by passion, and their brand new EP is the perfect depiction of all that hard work and focus. Hence, you can show those relentless metallers your total support by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming their music on any platform like Spotify, and of course by purchasing their excellent new EP from BandCamp or by clicking HERE. It certainly won’t take long for Discovery Through Torment to attack again with the next chapter in their already solid career, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for such an up-and-coming Deathcore ensemble after the striking and incendiary Telesynthetic Rebirth.

Best moments of the album: Arcane Inception and Lesions.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Independent

Track listing
1. Dethronement 4:36
2. Arcane Inception 3:40
3. Veil Unferling 4:29
4. Lesions 3:35
5. First Encounter Assault Regiment 4:19

Band members
Alexandre Desroche – vocals
Samuel Fortin – guitar
Frédéric Ricard – guitar
Alexis Lafrance – bass
Charles-Étienne Lafrance – drums

Concert Review – Blind Guardian (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON, 11/29/2025)

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And the bards brought to Toronto another unforgettable night of first-class, undisputed Heavy Metal.

OPENING ACTS: Seven Kingdoms and Ensiferum

What an unforgettable night of first-class, undisputed Heavy Metal this Saturday in Toronto at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, courtesy of the most ass-kicking bards in history, the unstoppable BLIND GUARDIAN, supported by SEVEN KINGDOMS and ENSIFERUM, during their must-see Somewhere Far Beyond North American Tour 2025. I need to personally thank Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment for bringing the bards back to the city less than two years after their phenomenal concert at Rebel in 2024, and I must say this time the entire show was even better, more powerful, and more exciting. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were lucky enough the be there to cover such a metallic party, and judging by the reaction of the crowd during the entire night, all metalheads in Toronto will keep talking about the three bands for a long time, wishing they could go back in time to experience everything all over again, and again, and again.

Deland, Florida’s own Power Metal brigade SEVEN KINGDOMS kicked off the festivities around 7:20pm with a highly energetic performance led by frontwoman Sabrina Valentine, properly warming us up for the upcoming attractions of the night. Blending songs from their already solid discography, including their 2022 album Zenith (available on Spotify), the band whose name was taken from The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire did exactly that during their short but sweet performance, setting fire to the atmosphere with their classic blend of Heavy and Power Metal (although I have no idea why they don’t have a bassist). Camden Cruz was absolutely phenomenal armed with his axe, kudos to Kevin Byrd for sporting a classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt (and if you don’t like the TMNT, you’re not a good person), and as the icing on the cake, or maybe I should say on their cheeseburger, we got the indomitable Krista Shipperbottom, former frontwoman for Canadian melodeath band Lutharo, as the night’s cheeseburger. Yes, we definitely need more Seven Kingsdoms and more cheeseburgers in Toronto soon.

Setlist
Diamond Handed
A Silent Remedy
The Serpent and the Lotus
Valonqar
Wilted Pieces
Through These Waves
In the Walls

Band members
Sabrina Valentine – vocals
Kevin Byrd – guitars
Camden Cruz – guitars
Colton Zietler – drums

After a short break (and certainly not enough to brave the endless line for merch for all bands) it was time for Helsinki, Finland’s Epic Folk Metal warriors ENSIFERUM to bring a true winter storm to the stage with songs from all of their albums, including of course their latest one Winter Storm, released in 2024, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify. Petri Lindroos, Markus Toivonen, Sami Hinkka, Pekka Montin, and Janne Parviainen put on a fantastic show for an already packed venue, yielding their sonic weapons in great fashion for the delight of everyone inside the considerable circle pit that was moving frantically in the middle of the floor section. Their maniacal bassist Sami Hinkka didn’t stop screaming, running around the stage, jumping up and down, headbanging, and of course hammering his bass not even for a single second, and it was beautiful witnessing that extreme energy flowing from him into the hearts of all fans at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. What a great performer, my friends. And of course, with a name like that, which if you don’t know is Latin for “sword bearer,” the top moments of their concert were the fighting songs Guardians of Fate, Into Battle, and the classic In My Sword I Trust, turning the venue into a true battlefield. Please return to Toronto as soon as you can, Ensiferum, because you guys rock.

Setlist
Aurora
Winter Storm Vigilantes
Way of the Warrior
Andromeda
Fatherland
Heathen Horde
Guardians of Fate
Into Battle
In My Sword I Trust

Band members
Petri Lindroos – harsh vocals, guitars
Markus Toivonen – guitars, backing vocals
Sami Hinkka – bass, clean and backing vocals
Pekka Montin – keyboards, clean and backing vocals
Janne Parviainen – drums

BLIND GUARDIAN

I honestly have no idea why Teutonic Power Metal masters BLIND GUARDIAN decided to do this Somewhere Far Beyond North American Tour only in 2025, as they already celebrated 30 years of the album Somewhere Far Beyond back in 2022, having even released in 2024 a live album of that tour recorded at Rock Hard Festival in June 2022, but who am I to complain about that, right? Quite the opposite, it was a dream come true watching the iconic Hansi Kürsch & Co. deliver a flawless live rendition of one of their classic albums, plus of course a bunch of other superb songs. The first part of the set itself was already worth the price of the ticket, as Into the Storm, Blood of the Elves, Nightfall, and Violent Shadows are killer metal tunes, with all fans already losing their voices screaming those songs together with the bards.

Hansi was in an excellent mood, showing once again he’s not just a phenomenal vocalist, but also a great frontman and entertainer, keeping the audience engaged and hypnotized form start to finish. After they started playing Somewhere Far Beyond, with Time What Is Time and Journey Through the Dark sounding incredible, Hansi joked about the fact he was surprised that they said in 2024 they would return soon, and they actually did. The crowd was on cloud 9 with each and every word pronounced by Hansi, but it was of course when they played The Bard’s Song – In the Forest, and The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit, another majestic moment of the show, that the whole venue turned into a true celebration of heavy music and bards. One of those moments in the life of a person that confirms we all made the right choice in becoming metalheads.

And then came the encore. But it wasn’t just an encore. It was THE encore, one of the best I’ve ever experienced in my life. When the crowd started chanting “Majesty! Majesty!” I had on idea the band was actually going to answer our call. Hansi even joked about it saying that we were not allowed to ask for what we wanted to hear, but we were lucky that was exactly what they were going to play anyway. It was beyond orgasmic seeing them playing Majesty live. I pretty much lost my voice screaming. Then came the biggest surprise of the night for me, Lord of the Rings, and then I lost the rest of my voice. Simply incredible. I don’t know how I was still able to scream with the band during the epic Valhalla and Mirror Mirror, and when we all thought the show was over, the band fired upon us the also breathtaking Lost in the Twilight Hall. What an epic conclusion to a concert full of mosh pits, fists and horns in the air, ad the certainty that the bards will return to Toronto again, hopefully sooner than later for the “surprise” of Hansi and his henchmen themselves. Thank you once again, Blind Guardian. I’m a very happy man.

Setlist
War of Wrath
Into the Storm
Blood of the Elves
Nightfall
Violent Shadows

Somewhere Far Beyond
Time What Is Time
Journey Through the Dark
Black Chamber
Theatre of Pain
The Quest for Tanelorn
Ashes to Ashes
The Bard’s Song – In the Forest
The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit
The Piper’s Calling
Somewhere Far Beyond

Encore:
Majesty
Lord of the Rings
Valhalla
Mirror Mirror
Lost in the Twilight Hall
Sacred Worlds (Orchestral outro)

Band members
Hansi Kürsch – vocals
André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Marcus Siepen – rhythm and acoustic guitars
Johan van Stratum – bass, backing vocals
Kenneth Berger – keyboards, backing vocals
Frederik Ehmke – drums

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Concert Review – Ne Obliviscaris (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 11/21/2025)

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Thousands of lucky fans in Toronto experienced a mesmerizing display of Progressive Death Metal this Friday night, courtesy of three of the must-see names of the current extreme music scene worldwide.

OPENING ACTS: Psycroptic and Rivers of Nihil

What a phenomenal night of pure heavy music this Friday in Toronto at The Phoenix Concert Theatre thanks to Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment, who brought to the city three of the must-see names of the Extreme Metal scene worldwide. I’m talking about PSYCROPTIC, RIVERS OF NIHIL, and NE OBLIVISCARIS with their North American Headline Tour 2025, hypnotizing everyone who attended the concert from start to finish. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were obviously there to witness an overdose of heaviness, intricacy, energy and creativity blasted by all three bands, offering us almost six hours of top-of-the-line music that made every penny invested in the tickets worth it. That’s exactly what you should expect from true hardworking and talented bands, who put the music and the happiness of their fans above any type of business or economic requirements. In other words, kudos to all bands, to Inertia Entertainment, and to everyone who was at the show to support heavy music in a city where music concerts are becoming pure cash grabbing opportunities for scalpers.

The first band to hit the stage, precisely at 6:45pm (which is way too early taking into account the nightmare that getting in and out of Toronto has become in recent years) were the ruthless Tasmanian Technical Death Metal devils PSYCROPTIC, who have been bringing extreme violence to our avid ears since the already distant year of 1999. Spearheaded by the Haley Brothers, those being drummer David Haley, of Australian Death Metal beasts Werewolves, as well as other insane bands like Faustian and Abramelin, and his demented brother Joe Haley on the guitar, the band showed zero mercy for our putrid bodies with a no shenanigans, in-your-face metal attack, blending songs from their entire discography, including their latest opus Divine Council, release in 2022, and their infernal 2025 single Architects of Extinction (all available on BandCamp and on Spotify). After their show I had the pleasure of chatting with the talented and super cool David Haley, telling him how much I love his style and that we need a Werewolves concert in Toronto. Who knows, maybe he’ll send the message to Sam Bean and Matt Wilcock, right? And if Pstycroptic visit your city any day, you know what to do.

Setlist
We Were the Keepers
Frozen Gaze
Architects of Extinction
Cold
Ob(Servant)
Carriers of the Plague
The Watcher of All
Enslavement

Band members
Jason Peppiatt – vocals
Joe Haley – guitars
Todd Stern – bass
David Haley – drums

The second band to set foot on the stage at the Phoenix was Reading, Pennsylvania’s own Progressive/Technical Death Metal machine RIVERS OF NIHIL, performing their excellent 2025 self-titled album (available on BandCamp and on Spotify) in full for the delight of everyone at the venue. If their headlining concert was already phenomenal back in June at Lee’s Palace, this time the band formed of Adam Biggs on vocals and bass, Brody Uttley and Andy Thomas on the guitars, Jared Klein on drums, and the unparalleled Patrick Corona on the saxophone offered a very unique experience to their fans, kicking ass from start to finish with their refined technique, undisputed brutality, and of course, the mesmerizing sound of the sax. Songs like the opener The Sub‐Orbital Blues, Water & Time, House of Light, and in special the headbanging American Death ignited some killer mosh pits in a considerably crowded venue, and when you’re able to slam into the pit to the sound of a saxophone, you know it’s going to be an absolute blast. Those guys are becoming fan-favorites in Toronto, and I guess it won’t take long for the Rivers of Nihil to cross our city again in the near future.

Setlist
Rivers of Nihil
The Sub‐Orbital Blues
Dustman
Criminals
Despair Church
Water & Time
House of Light
Evidence
American Death
The Logical End
Rivers of Nihil

Band members
Adam Biggs – vocals, bass
Brody Uttley – guitars
Andy Thomas – guitars, backing vocals
Jared Klein – drums, backing vocals
Patrick Corona – saxophone

NE OBLIVISCARIS

After a quick break it was time for an overdose of awesomeness by Australia’s most innovative metal band to date, Melbourne, Victoria’s one and only Extreme Progressive Metal horde NE OBLIVISCARIS, simply pulverizing our senses with their inspiring, visceral and mesmerizing performance, playing in full their 2014 album Citadel, and their 2023 masterpiece Exul, both available on Spotify, by the way, offering us all over two hours of the best extreme music imaginable. It was a collective catharsis for every single person at the venue, with the crying violin and the melodic clean vocals by Tim Charles making a stunning paradox with the harsh roars by James Dorton, while the rest of the band fired a full-bodied, complex and utterly captivating blend of Progressive Death Metal with an array of different music genres. And what can I say about bassist Martino Garattoni? The guy is a beast armed with his metallic bass, adding endless groove to the band’s already deep sonority.

Let’s say Tim stole the spotlight during the first part of the show when they played Citadel, making it impossible to take our eyes from his performance, specially when he played the violin AND sang at the same time, and I have no idea how he’s capable of doing such difficult things combined to perfection like that. It was brilliant to say the least, and he was also in an excellent mood joking with the fact that they were only one song in, the three-part Painters of the Tempest, but already at 23 minutes of show. Of course, all fans had a blast with the wild mosh pits generated during their most violent song Pyrrhic, but their most magical moments came with those multi-part songs, with Devour Me, Colossus sounding beautifully inhumane.

There was no significant break from Citadel to Exul, just some words from Tim to an already happy crowd, and when they started playing the astonishing Equus I thought the venue was going to collapse due to its power, strength and electricity. The following songs were just as superb, with the crowd even igniting an Amon Amarth-like rowing on the floor to the surprise of the band (and Tim even mentioned that although he couldn’t understand why we were doing that, he loved it and loved the fact we were all having a great time), before all converged into the darkly gorgeous Anhedonia, with Tim once again sounding like an angel on vocals and the violin. After that, when we thought the show was over, the band came back with a very special encore playing the glorious And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope, from their 2012 album Portal of I, and if you’re familiar with the band you know the crowd was treated to another ten minutes of first-class metal where, instead of a wall of death, Tim asked everyone to simply grab a partner and dance together with the band. It was one of the coolest moments of the year, and I must say I can’t wait to see those beasts from Down Under live again in a not-so-distant future. To be fair, everyone who enjoys good music must see Ne Obliviscaris live at least once in life. What they do onstage, no other band can. It’s amazing.

Setlist
Citadel
Painters of the Tempest (Part I): Wyrmholes
Painters of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux
Painters of the Tempest (Part III): Reveries from the Stained Glass Womb
Pyrrhic
Devour Me, Colossus (Part I): Blackholes
Devour Me, Colossus (Part II): Contortions

Exul
Equus
Misericorde I – As the Flesh Falls
Misericorde II – Anatomy of Quiescence
Suspyre
Graal
Anhedonia

Encore:
And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope

Band members
James Dorton – harsh vocals
Tim Charles – violin, clean vocals
Benjamin Baret – lead guitars
Matt Klavins – guitars
Martino Garattoni – bass
Daniel Presland – drums

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Concert Review – Lorna Shore (Great Canadian Toronto, Mississauga, ON, 10/27/2025)

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Fans from all over Ontario and the rest of Canada felt the everblack festering within them in one of the heaviest and most emotional performances of the year in the entire country.

OPENING ACTS: Shadow of Intent and The Black Dahlia Murder

I don’t think there’s another way to start this review without stating my profound disappointment (and I’m sure everyone else who attended the show also feels the same) for not having PEELINGFLESH as one of the opening bands for LORNA SHORE this Monday night at Great Canadian Toronto during their North American Tour 2025. I mean, SHADOW OF INTENT and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER were both phenomenal guests, but I strongly believe the raw energy emanating from the Brutal Death Metal blasted by PeelingFlesh would have been beyond welcomed by the crowd. We should have had the pleasure of witnessing the unstoppable Damonteal Harris and his henchmen mercilessly kicking our asses onstage like when they opened for Aborted a few months ago in Toronto, and although I don’t want to start with any politics bullshit, I’ll never understand why a band that simply wants to play their music in any city in Canada during their US and Canadian tours has their entry denied into the country. I wish I could say more about it, but I’ll try to remain calm, and blast some of PeelingFlesh’s sickest tunes on Spotify to lighten up my mood. Well, at least before the other bands started I was able to try Slayer Burger’s new creation In Darkness, and I must say it’s by far their best burger to date. Hopefully they’ll get a lot of positive feedback from fans and keep it as part of their regular menu for a while, because that burger is indeed absurdly tasty.

Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi was also pissed off he wasn’t going to take some crazy photos of PeelingFlesh, but of course he was more than ready to fire his camera during the brutal performance by Connecticut, United States-based Symphonic Deathcore beast SHADOW OF INTENT. The second “low point” of the night was the fact their frontman Ben Duerr didn’t make it to the show in Toronto as he went back to the US to join his wife for the birth of his second child (congratulations to both!), but his replacement Adam Mercer, former vocalist of the also killer Deathcore entity A Wake in Providence, did a superb job and inspired all fans at the venue for some wild headbanging and mosh pit action. Having recently released the pulverizing Imperium Delirium, available on BandCamp and on Spotify, the band put on a demonic concert, with their heaviness, breakdowns, and the gruesome guttural by Adam making the entire venue tremble like in the best song of the night, the demented hymn Vehement Draconian Vengeance. I can’t wait for Shadow of Intent to visit Canada again, but of course next time I want to see them with Ben Duerr on vocals (despite having enjoyed Adam on the mic a lot). So please, Ben, no more babies during your next Canadian shows, alright?

Setlist
Prepare to Die
Flying the Black Flag
Mechanical Chaos
Vehement Draconian Vengeance
Infinity of Horrors
Feeding the Meat Grinder
The Heretic Prevails

Band members
Adam Mercer – vocals
Chris Wiseman – guitars, samples, backing vocals
Andrew Monias – bass
Bryce Butler – drums

I guess each band on the bill had at least two or three massive walls of death with mosh pits right after during their shows, and of course Detroit, Michigan’s own Melodic Death Metal masters THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER made sure their fans had a great time while inside such a unique experience only available at extreme music concerts, one of them offered as a “birthday gift” to one of their guitarists, by the way. The band now spearheaded by the charismatic Brian Eschbach was also on fire from start to finish, blending songs from their entire career with their latest album Servitude, released in 2024 (all also available on BandCamp and on Spotify), inspiring everyone who still had enough stamina left to slam like a maniac inside the pit. The gorilla with a giant inflatable banana during Statutory Ape was a nice touch to their already incendiary show, and I just wish their sound, in special the vocals, was a little bit better as it sounded muffled at times. Anyway, those guys put on a tremendous warmup for Lorna Shore, and I’m sure they’ll keep blasting their undisputed blend of melodeath for many years to come, always in honor of our beloved Trevor Strnad (RIP).

Setlist
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse
Everything Went Black
Nightbringers
A Vulgar Picture
Warborn
Statutory Ape
Cursed Creator
Unhallowed
Funeral Thirst
Deathmask Divine

Band members
Brian Eschbach – vocals
Ryan Knight – guitars
Wes Hauch – guitars
Max Lavelle – bass
Alan Cassidy – drums

LORNA SHORE

Finally after a short break it was time for New Jersey’s own Deathcore behemoth LORNA SHORE to kick off one of the heaviest performances of the year in Canadian lands. Blending songs from their three releases with Will Ramos on vocals, those being their 2021 EP …and I Return to Nothingness, their 2022 masterpiece Pain Remains, and their recently released beast I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify, the band was on absolute fire from start to finish, already hypnotizing the entire crowd from the very first notes in Oblivion. They made sure their show was not only a lecture in Deathcore, but also visually appealing, with the big background screen and the lights adding an extra touch of electricity to their already insane performance.

Songs like Unbreakable, Sun//Eater, Cursed to Die, Into the Earth, and the extremely emotional Glenwood reached deep inside our hearts and souls, but I must say as a fan of really heavy music I had a total blast with Prison of Flesh and To the Hellfire. Those breakdowns were demented, plus of course the inhumane guttural by Will and the crushing blast beats by Austin Archey, igniting some of the wildest mosh pits of the entire night. Everyone was having a great time, including our lord and savior Jesus Christ, leaving the doors open for another concert by those guys in Canadian lands in a not-so-distant future. The highlight of the night was obviously their three-part masterpiece Pain Remains during the encore, and until today I can’t decide which one is my favorite. Sometimes it’s Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames, sometimes Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear, and sometimes Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire, like this Monday night. Those were flawless, and I bet several fans were crying of joy during such an intense part of their set.

On a side note, a few minutes before the first band hit the stage, when I was eating the In Darkness Burger at the Slayer Burger food truck, I met a very young and cool guy (and I’m so sorry, I forgot his name just because I’m terrible with names) who flew from Saskatoon to Toronto only for the show, and if you know the geography of Canada you have a very good idea of how lengthy and exhausting that journey can be. He said he was beyond excited to see his favorite band of all time live for the first time ever, and I bet he was on cloud 9 after the show was over. Furthermore, that’s a good indication of how big Lorna Shore are getting to the point people are going out of their way to see them live, just like Iron Maiden and Metallica fans do all the time. Another guy, for instance, was flying to Montreal the next morning to see Lorna Shore again. Because Lorna Shore are simply awesome, and as long as they’re around, heavy music will remain.

Setlist
Oblivion
Unbreakable
Of the Abyss
Sun//Eater
Cursed to Die
Into the Earth
Glenwood
Prison of Flesh
To the Hellfire

Encore:
Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames
Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear
Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire

Band members
Will Ramos – vocals
Adam De Micco – guitar
Andrew O’Connor – guitar
Michael Yager – bass
Austin Archey – drums

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Album Review – Scorching Tomb / Ossuary (2025)

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This ruthless Death Metal ensemble from Canada will kill armed with their debut album, a delight for the lovers of bone-crushing rhythms and inhuman gutturals.

A delight for the lovers of bone-crushing rhythms and inhuman gutturals, the hard hitting Ossuary, the debut album by Montreal, Canada-based Death Metal ensemble Scorching Tomb, is an album definitely not for the weak, offering fast, hard and heavy pummeling riffs, punishing mosh parts and skull crushing vocals that follow the path laid down by the 2023 split Primal Tomb (by Primal Horde and Scorching Tomb). Recorded, mixed and mastered by Dominic Grimard, with drums engineered by Christian Donaldson of Cryptopsy, the full-length debut by Vincent Patrick Lajeunesse on vocals, Philippe Leblanc on the guitars, Miguel Lepage (Blind Witness, Obey the Brave) on bass, and Émile Savard (Profane Order, Malebranche) on drums brings the grinding heavy, being highly recommended for fans of both old school and modern-day harsh, scorching Death Metal.

The opening tune Stalagmite Impalement offers a no shenanigans, in your face and ruthless start to the album, with the pounding drums by Émile exhaling of pure old school Death Metal. Then we have the vicious Skullcrush, featuring the demented guest vocals by Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg, with Miguel’s menacing bass bringing absolute heaviness to their core sound in a lecture in modern-day Death Metal. Émile takes the lead once again in the pulverizing Diminished to Ashes, while Vincent barks and roars like a rabid creature, followed by Sanctum of Bones (Ossuary), another bludgeoning tune by the quartet with the caustic, harsh riffs by Philippe inspiring us all to headbang like true maniacs. Philippe then ignites the hammering Sentenced to Rot, sounding slow and absolutely evil from start to finish, with Vincent’s guttural sounding even more visceral. Feel the Blade, featuring guest vocals by Alex Cloutier of Primal Horde, presents classic Death Metal in the vein of Immolation and Unleashed, keeping the album at a hellish level of heaviness; and get ready to break your damned neck headbanging to Bloodlust Sacrifice, with all riffs, bass lines and beats providing Vincent with exactly what he needs to bark like a beast. And lastly, they showcase a Cannibal Corpse-inspired vibe in Expired Existence, living up to the legacy of such an amazing genre.

Striving to follow in the footsteps of Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis and Despised Icon, Scorching Tomb seek to show the world that Montreal is still to this day an unrelenting force of Death Metal armed with their debut album, available from BandCamp or from the Time To Kill Records webstore. Not only that, go check what those Quebec metallers are up to on Facebook and on Instagram, including of course their demented live performances, and get into the pit to their sick creations by streaming them all on Spotify. Ossuary is Canadian Death Metal at its finest, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the promising career of Scorching Tomb in a not-so-distant future.

Best moments of the album: Skullcrush, Sanctum of Bones (Ossuary) and Bloodlust Sacrifice.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Time To Kill Records

Track listing
1. Stalagmite Impalement 2:58
2. Skullcrush 3:46
3. Diminished to Ashes 3:41
4. Sanctum of Bones (Ossuary) 3:53
5. Sentenced to Rot 2:32
6. Feel the Blade 4:08
7. Bloodlust Sacrifice 4:05
8. Expired Existence 3:27

Band members
Vincent Patrick Lajeunesse – vocals
Philippe Leblanc – guitars, backing vocals
Miguel Lepage – bass
Émile Savard – drums

Guest musicians
Devin Swank – vocals on “Skullcrush”
Alex Cloutier – vocals on “Feel the Blade”

Album Review – Drofnosura / Ritual of Split Tongues (2025)

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A strange beast that’s absolutely comfortable in its own iridescent, translucent skin, this Canadian entity will stun us all with their expansive, stirring, and dissonant new album.

A strange beast that’s absolutely comfortable in its own iridescent, translucent skin, Toronto, Canada-based Blackened/Atmospheric Sludge/Post-Metal entity Drofnosura has been taking elements from multiple styles since their inception back in 2010, finely grounding them, and using the material to sculpt a new body entirely, just like what they have to offer in their sophomore opus Ritual of Split Tongues, following up on their scathing 2019 debut Voidfever. Showcasing a beyond menacing, disturbing artwork by Dusty Ray Art, the new album by W.L.F. on guitars, vocals, and synthesizers, M.A.D. on bass, vocals and synthesizers, and D.A.S. on drums, percussion, vocals and synthesizers sees the band traversing various realms, with a few songs surpassing the 15-minute mark, putting the emphasis on creating a meditative, transcendent atmosphere more than anything else.

Like a vile creature arising from the pits of the netherworld, the trio comes crushing our cranial skulls mercilessly in Selection of a Corpse, with the hammering drums by D.A.S. and the visceral guitars by W.L.F. complementing each other in great fashion. Then in the context of Hindu cremation, Kapala Kriya is a ritual where the skull of the deceased is pierced with a stick during the cremation process, while in heavy music it’s a ten-minute demented creation by Drofnosura where their venomous, minimalist vocal lines will haunt your damned souls for all eternity, sounding almost like the actual Hindu ritual. Then the title-track The Ritual of Split Tongues brings to our putrid ears over 15 minutes of primeval, sinister Doom Metal with Post-Black Metal elements led by the once again slow but fierce beats by D.A.S., followed by ἐγείρω (egeirō), a Greek verb that primarily means to raise, awaken, or stir up. It can also mean to wake up from sleep or to be awakened, as well as it can refer to the act of resurrecting or raising someone from the dead, resulting in a ritualistic interlude that sets the tone for The Well of Seven Heads, where the band shows absolutely no mercy for our damned minds and bodies while their Atmospheric Sludge Metal vein pulses harder than ever during its venomous 12 minutes, flowing into the also atmospheric, gloomy and dissonant Desounen, putting a Stygian ending to an album not recommended for the lighthearted.

Highly recommended for admirers of the music by Blut aus Nord, Devenial Verdict, Eibon, Amenra, Lurk, Isis, Pillar of Light, and The Angelic Process, among others, Ritual of Split Tongues is an astounding album where multiple influences converge to create music that’s at once expansive, stirring, and dissonant, and lingers on in the mind for longer than one would think, with the music naturally evolving within each of the songs as they progress, and it isn’t fatiguing just because it’s done in such an intuitive manner. You can get more details about Drofnosura, their music, live concerts and so on by checking what they’re up to on Facebook and on Instagram (or by clicking HERE), stream their cryptic creations on Spotify, and of course show your support to those talented Canadians by purchasing their bestial new album from their own BandCamp, as well as from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. In the end, Ritual of Split Tongues is certainly not an album for the lighthearted as mentioned, but let’s face it, that’s exactly what Drofnosura wanted to achieve with their multi-layered, grim and absolutely stunning new album.

Best moments of the album: The Ritual of Split Tongues and The Well of Seven Heads.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Selection of a Corpse 6:23
2. Kapala Kriya 10:22
3. The Ritual of Split Tongues 15:27
4. ἐγείρω 3:48
5. The Well of Seven Heads 12:28
6. Desounen 15:01

Band members
W.L.F. – guitars, vocals, synthesizers
M.A.D. – bass, vocals, synthesizers
D.A.S. – drums, percussion, vocals, synthesizers

Concert Review – Crypta (The Garrison, Toronto, ON, 10/08/2025)

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On a cooler night in Toronto, metalheads from all over the city had an absolute blast with one of the must-see Death Metal beasts from the worldwide extreme music scene.

OPENING ACTS: Pretty Face and Death Club

This Wednesday was by far the coolest day from the past three or four months in Toronto, but that didn’t stop the metalheads from different parts of the city to head to The Garrison for a sold out show with PRETTY FACE, DEATH CLUB and CRYPTA during their In the Other Side Tour 2025, another killer event organized by the unstoppable Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. As the first band was only going to hit the stage at 8pm, I decided to take my time at home, had proper dinner, relaxed a little, and therefore avoided the chaotic madness of QEW during rush hour. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi got to the venue a little earlier to get ready to take some amazing shots of all bands, which by the way are all led by super talented ladies who make heavy music way better, heavier, and more fun. The merch selection was also great for all bands, including some kick-ass guitar picks from Crypta, and everything with good quality and for a reasonable price. Not only that, the variety of beer and other drinks at The Garrison is way bigger and cheaper than at bigger venues like Budweiser Stage. Supporting the underground definitely has its advantages, with the main one being the much lighter impact on your pocket for an even higher amount of adrenaline and energy onstage.

On a side note, before and after the bands kicked some serious ass onstage, I had the pleasure of chatting with the organizers of the Icelandic festival named Satán, who were on vacation in the city, enjoying a few concerts like Judas Priest/Alice Cooper last week, and Crypta this Wednesday. Gísli Sigmundsson, an Icelandic metal legend who fronts the old school Death Metal band Sororicide, and Kristján Guðmundsson, drummer for the ruthless Blackened Death Metal horde Nexion, were having an amazing time at The Garrison, and of course I enjoyed a lot talking to them about heavy music and both the Canadian and the Icelandic underground scenes. I told Kristján that Nexion must come to Toronto for a show, to which he replied “do people enjoy that type of blasphemic music here?” Well, I guess I don’t even need to say what I answered to him, right? And if you have the time and money available for a trip next summer, the Satán festival is happening between June 4 and 6, 2026. Who knows, maybe I can visit Iceland for a share of their own blasphemy then.

Labeled as a queer-fem metal band hailing from Brampton, Ontario, expressing experiences and struggles growing up as teenage fem-presenting people through their music, PRETTY FACE kicked off the party with their fusion of Hardcore with elements of Death and Doom Metal, and the reaction of the fans at The Garrison was excellent. Although they only have one song officially released, the 2024 single The Gore Road, available on Spotify, those girls sounded excellent onstage and showed endless energy during their short but effective set. I have zero idea of which songs they played, or who the band members are as there’s nothing online about that (and I’m sorry, but I forgot to ask them in person after their show), but those girls have a bright future ahead of them. As long as they release an EP or a full-length album in the coming months to keep their momentum going, of course.

The second opening band of the night was another local band, Hamilton, Ontario-based modern Sludge Metal/Deathcore act DEATH CLUB, who released their debut Betrayal back in 2024, available on both BandCamp and Spotify. Formed of Dana Bowman on vocals and guitar, Adam Baldwin on bass and backing vocals, and Chelsea Todd on drums, plus another unknown musician who’s probably just their tour guitarist (and again, sorry for not asking him his name), the band kept the heaviness flowing inside The Garrison, which was already packed by the time they hit the stage. You can get more details about the band by clicking HERE, and if they ever play a concert at your city or town, I highly recommend you go watch them live because their music is great, and their stage presence is just as awesome.

CRYPTA

There was some uncertainty in the air if the indomitable Brazilian Death Metal beast CRYPTA was actually going to play this Wednesday night in Toronto as the iconic Fernanda Lima and another one of her bandmates got stuck at the Canadian border when trying to cross it from the United States, forcing them to fly from a city near Buffalo into YYZ and going straight to the venue for the show. Fortunately, those girls are absolute badass, and nothing would stop them from delivering their slab of Death Metal to one of their most loyal fanbase worldwide. The band was on absolute fire from the very first seconds of one of my favorite Crypta songs, The Other Side of Anger, and their setlist blending their two album Echoes of the Soul (2021) and Shades of Sorrow (2023), both available on BandCamp and on Spotify, brought sheer chaos and anarchy to The Garrison to the point Keith didn’t even dare to try to get a spot in front of the stage for his photos. Yes, it was wild.

Fernanda was insane on stage as usual, the mesmerizing Tainá Bergamaschi kept shredding her axe in great fashion, headbanging like a maniac, and making what was supposed to be an “angry” face during the heaviest parts of their songs (although she looks way to nice and cool to really look angry), Luana Dametto showed no mercy for our necks and bodies, crushing her drums nonstop for our total delight (therefore igniting some demented mosh pits), and their new touring guitarist Victoria Villarreal, from bands like Chaos Rising and Syrebris, proved why she was chosen by the band to support them on this tour, also kicking some serious ass with her flammable riffs and solos. I just think the overall sound volume was a bit low, but nothing that could make their performance less demolishing.

Some of the songs were phenomenal live, including Kali, The Outsider, Stronghold, Starvation, and of course From the Ashes, and when you have that high quality material in your hands like the girls from Crypta do, you can rest assured you’re in for a treat when they take the stage of your city by storm like this Wednesday night in Toronto. Not only that, Fernanda might be one of the sweetest musicians from the current scene worldwide, as even after going through all that hassle to make it to Toronto for the show she didn’t leave the stage after their concert was done, taking photos, signing albums and shirts, and chatting with each and every fan that stayed at The Garrison way past 11pm to meet one of the most talented women in heavy music. Toronto loves you, girls! And we’re ready for another round of your ruthless Death Metal anytime you decide to return to our metallic city.

Setlist
The Aftermath
The Other Side of Anger
Kali
Lift the Blindfold
The Outsider
Possessed
Lullaby for the Forsaken
Stronghold
The Limbo
Trial of Traitors
Under the Black Wings
Starvation
Dark Clouds
Lord of Ruins
From the Ashes
The Closure

Band members
Fernanda Lira – vocals, bass
Tainá Bergamaschi – guitars
Victoria Villarreal – guitars
Luana Dametto – drums

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Concert Review – Signs of the Swarm (The Mod Club, Toronto, ON, 10/03/2025)

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***Review by Kevin Ibbitson and photos by Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi***

OPENING ACTS: Face Yourself, Carcosa, Ten56 and Mental Cruelty

Friday October the 3rd, 2025 The Mod Club located in Toronto’s Little Italy neighborhood played host to a night of pure deathcore delight, with such bands as FACE YOURSELF, CARCOSA, TEN56, MENTAL CRUELTY and headlining act SIGNS OF THE SWARM, another amazing event organized by our metal hero Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Headbangers from across the Greater Toronto Area enjoyed a night of self-inflicted whiplash and bodily torment as they moshed their brains out to some kick ass, heavy and hard as fuck deathcore from start to finish. I was also pleased to see that the venue now had a photo pit/barrier as well as a newly remodeled stage.

From the onset, New York band FACE YOURSELF, who has just released an amazing new EP titled Fury, had the crowd moshing in circle pits for the entire duration of their incredible and energetic first set. I could barely look away from the drummer the whole time as he was clad in a shirt with the face of Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys on it and couldn’t shake the image of Bubbs slaying on the drum kit out of head to my own personal delight. Lead vocalist Yasmin Liverneaux Belkhodja has quite a set of pipes on her that could strip the paint off the walls and could curdle blood with her guttural screams. Face Yourself totally kicked ass to open up the show. 10/10

Band members
Yasmin Liverneaux Belkhodja – vocals
Dave Ricco – lead guitar
Thomas Cardone – guitar
Corey Doremus – guitar, backing vocals
Kyle Muenzner – bass, backing vocals
Eric DiCarlo – drums

Next up was CARCOSA, a band created by Viral TikTokers Andrew Baena and Johnny Ciardullo out of Vancouver, British Columbia. They were absolutely brutal and didn’t let the crowd slack up, not even for a second. These guys crushed it on stage with their blend of doom & gloom, brutality, sick breakdowns, low end bass drops and humour. I also caught Andrew’s pick at the end of their set. The last album released by those guys was the EP Wrath of the Tyrant, back in 2022, which means I don’t think it will take long for them to attack us all again with their undisputed blend of death metal and hardcore. C’mon, Carcosa! WE need new music from you guys asap!  10/10

Band members
Johnny Ciardullo – vocals
Andrew Baena – guitar, backing vocals
Cooper Lagace – guitar
David Hicks – drums

French deathcore outfit TEN56 came on next and delivered a fantastic set which kept the crowd frantic and buzzing with energy. Non-stop moshing was the theme of the night. I found their drummer Arnaud Verrier to be quite impressive and he reminded me a lot of Dave Grohl mixed with Mario Duplantier. I kept getting blasted in the face with puffs of air from the bass drum as it was directly in line with me in the front row, and as I left the venue towards the end of the show I ran into Arnaud on the street outside of the club and he told me he was looking at me the whole set, and noticed that he was not exactly set up perfectly straight on to which I let him know that I felt the percussive air puffs hitting my face and thanked him for the air conditioning. I let him know that he is a hell of a drummer. Ten56 were seriously good. 10/10

Band members
Aaron Matts – vocals
Quentin Godet – guitar
Luka Garotin – guitar
Steeves Hostin – bass
Arnaud Verrier – drums

Germany’s MENTAL CRUELTY was up next and they proceeded to absolutely destroy. The crowd ratcheted up even more and exploded into wave after wave of crowd surfers and lead vocalist Lukas Nicolai eventually made his way closer to the crowd and braced by fans and balanced on top of the barrier where he continued to melt faces. The audience was losing its collective mind for Mental Cruelty. This band is pretty fuckin’ sick! Thier new song Helheim, which features the guys from Signs of the Swarm in its studio version, was a nice addition to their setlist, and a great indication of what to expect from those Germans after their 2023 masterpiece Zwielicht.  10/10

Setlist
The Venerable One
King ov Fire
Helheim
Forgotten Kings
Obsessis a Daemonio
Ultima Hypocrita
Nordlys
Zwielicht
Symphony of a Dying Star

Band members
Lukas Nicolai – vocals
Nahuel Lozano – guitars
Marvin Kessler – guitars
Viktor Dick – bass
Danny Straßer – drums

SIGNS OF THE SWARM

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania deathcore gods SIGNS OF THE SWARM headlined the show with a intensely killer set. Having just released their new album To Rid Myself of Truth, SOTS are always awesome to see live as they are one of those bands that burn with such intensity, brutality and raw aggression. Vocalist David Simonich blew me away with his brutal gutturals and sheer power. His vocals cutting straight through all of the brutally intense instrumentation to deliver a sonic assault not unlike a shotgun blast to the chest. The audience was in a frenzy with moshing in the circle pit when I decided my body couldn’t take any more of the brutality. My neck and back were sore from all of my non-stop headbanging and I regret that I couldn’t stay until the very end. I ended up out front of the club where my brother Keith and I ran into Members of Carcosa and Ten56. We shot the shit and got out of there as soon as possible while thanking them for a great show. I have no doubt in my mind that the crowd had an amazing time. 10/10

Setlist
Borrowed Time
Pray for Death
To Rid Myself of Truth
HELLMUSTFEARME
Natural Selection
Scars Upon Scars
Chariot
IWONTLETYOUDIE
Between Fire & Stone
Revelations Ov a Silent King
Creator
Pernicious
Amongst the Low & Empty

Band members
David Simonich – vocals
Carl Schulz – guitars
Michael Cassese – bass
Bobby Crow – drums

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Album Review – Ültra Raptör / Fossilized (2025)

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The fast and furious Cadillac driving dinosaurs hailing from Canada will rock your world to the sound of their incendiary sophomore full-length album.

Formed in 2015 in the charming Quebec City, and having already released their self-titled debut EP in 2018 and their first ever full-length album Tyrants in 2021, Heavy/Speed Metal antediluvian creatures Ültra Raptör are back with album number two, the incendiary Fossilized. Recorded, mixed and mastered by David Lizotte, and displaying an insane artwork by Mario López, the new beast by Phil T. Lung on vocals, Criss Raptör and Zoltan Saurus on the guitars, Dick Van Heuß on bass, and Tony Bronco on drums offers another round of the band’s blend of primeval speed and savagery with meticulous, precision playing, or in other words, everything a metal hungry headbanger could ask for and more.

Those prehistorical Québécois warriors already put the pedal to the metal in the title-track Fossilized, with the frantic, sharp riffs by Criss and Zoltan bringing even more adrenaline to their striking Speed Metal sound. Then the glory of the 80’s, or maybe I should say from “metal’s prehistoric age”, comes in full force in Spinosaurus, led by the hammering drums by Tony in a headbanging feast of heavy music. In Hard ‘N Fast that’s exactly what you’ll get, with Phil T. Lung stealing the show with his old school, passionate vocals, sounding perfect for some action on the dance floor; and Criss and Zoltan show no mercy for their stringed axes in Livin’ for the Riff, delivering nonstop incendiary riffs and solos just the way we love it in Thrash Metal, followed by Bitter Leaf, which starts in a weird way before morphing into a decent thrashing tune, despite still lacking an extra kick.

They get back on track with an 80’s-inspired rock and metal train titled X-Celerator, offering more of the band’s trademark riffs and the raspy vocals by Phil T. Lung, and the band keeps speeding things up and invading our senses with their Thrash Metal-infused sounds in Pterö-Ranger, living up to the legacy of the genre. Those Canadian bastards will invite us to slam into the circle pit once again and shake our bodies to the sound of Down the Drain, where Criss and Zoltan will cut your skin deep with their caustic riffage. Then in the interlude Le voyageur d’Oort, melodious guitar lines will transport you to the whimsical world ruled by Ültra Raptör before facing the closing tune Face the Challenge, a pure Hard Rock and Rock N’ Roll feast inspired by giants the likes of Scorpions, perfect for heading out to the highway with your beloved ones.

In summary, the impact of the new opus by the Cadillac driving dinosaurs from Canada on the metal scene will be seismic. Fossilized is the epitome of energized, exhilarating metal, and you can join the band in their quest for fast and heavy music by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming their thrilling creations on Spotify, and of course by purchasing Fossilized from the Fighter Records’ BandCamp or from the Xtreem Music’s webstore. The Raptör is back, baby! And if you don’t want to be fossilized as a dull and prehistorical being, you better jump inside your Cadillac and rock to the sound of this newborn beast made in the icy cold Great White North.

Best moments of the album: Fossilized, Hard ‘N Fast and X-Celerator.

Worst moments of the album: Bitter Leaf.

Released in 2025 Fighter Records

Track listing
1. Fossilized 4:08
2. Spinosaurus 3:55
3. Hard ‘N Fast 4:19
4. Livin’ for the Riff 4:14
5. Bitter Leaf 4:40
6. X-Celerator 3:58
7. Pterö-Ranger 4:09
8. Down the Drain 4:54
9. Le voyageur d’Oort 1:10
10. Face the Challenge 5:11

Band members
Phil T. Lung – vocals
Criss Raptör – lead guitar
Zoltan Saurus – rhythm guitar
Dick Van Heuß – bass
Tony Bronco – drums