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Concert Review – Warbringer & Allegaeon (The Garrison, Toronto, ON, 03/31/2025)

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The unstoppable Allegaeon and Warbringer joined forces to take the city of Toronto by storm in another breathtaking night of the best of the underground.

OPENING ACTS: Summoning the Lich and Skeletal Remains

Only two days after the humongous metal attack by Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse and Carcass, it was time to pay a visit to The Garrison on a Monday night for a wild feast of the best of the underground with the bands SUMMONING THE LICH, SKELETAL REMAINS, ALLEGAEON and WARBRINGER during their The Vortex Of Violence Tour 2025, another awesome event brought to Toronto by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Any concert on a Monday night doesn’t have the same appeal as a weekend concert at a casino, of course, but that doesn’t mean that the four bands on the bill didn’t kick some serious ass, proving why they’re the future of extreme music worldwide. And as weird as this might sound, getting to Toronto on a Monday night is actually easier than on any other day of the week, maybe because it’s not a chosen day for entertainment or because a lot of people take the day off or simply work from home, making traffic a lot more manageable than usual. I was very excited to see all bands live for the first time, in special Allegaeon, one of the best bands of the current scene, and I wasn’t disappointed at all with their performances; quite the contrary, I’m more than happy I decided to spend a cold Monday night in Toronto enjoying their undisputed heavy music. Furthermore, Keith couldn’t make it to the show, unfortunately, but our friend Afrida Nawar was more than happy to help us with the photos this time (soon to be added to this review, I promise!).

The doors at the venue opened at 6:30pm, and just 30 minutes after that the first attraction of the night, St. Louis, Missouri-based Melodic Death Metal/Deathcore act SUMMONING THE LICH, kicked off the festivities with a beyond energetic and vibrant performance according to some friends already at the venue (as I had to miss them due to a private appointment). Having recently released the album Under the Reviled Throne, available on BandCamp and on Spotify, the band set the stage at The Garrison on fire, and if some brutality in the form of music is your cup of tea, you must listen to this band and go see them live. Well, next time they come to Toronto, I’ll try my best to be there in time to witness their visceral performance.

Setlist
My Horrors Unending
Descend
Demon of the Snow
The Nightmare Begins
Return to the Soil
Reviled Crystal Wielders
The Forest Feast

Band members
David Bruno – vocals
Muck – guitars
Ryan Felps – guitars
John Flynn – bass
TJ Chilton – drums

I made it to the venue with plenty of time to see the performance by California’s own Death Metal horde SKELETAL REMAINS; however, their vocalist Chris Monroy didn’t. Apparently he wasn’t allowed to cross the US-Canada border for a reason beyond my knowledge, and what we got from the other three band members was a feast of instrumental Death Metal that despite sounding a bit weird without the vocal parts, was also totally devastating. Playing songs from their latest opus Fragments of the Ageless, available on Spotify or any other streaming platform, plus of course some of their older material, the trio put on their hearts and souls into their concert, doing everything they could to entertain us even without their vocalist, and in the end they got a huge positive reaction from fans who recognized all their effort and passion for heavy music. The show must go on, and Skeletal Remains did exactly that.

Setlist
Void of Despair
Beyond Cremation
Relentless Appetite
To Conquer the Devout
Devouring Mortality
…Evocation (The Rebirth)
Unmerciful

Band members
Chris Monroy – vocals, guitars*
Mike De La O – guitars
Brian Rush – bass
Pierce Williams – drums

*Chris couldn’t make it to the show in Toronto as he had his entry in Canada denied.

ALLEGAEON

It was getting close to 9pm when the band I wanted to see the most hit the stage for a flawless performance, proving why they’re the best band in the world to mix Melodic and Technical Death Metal in a beyond exciting manner. I’m talking about Fort Collins, Colorado-based outfit ALLEGAEON, who were simply demolishing with their blend of dexterity, violence and heaviness, spearheaded by their returning charismatic frontman Ezra Haynes. Their concert was phenomenal, and I think they deserved to have played at a bigger venue like Lee’s Palace or even The Opera House, but of course they made sure their performance was memorable even with the limited space onstage. Blending old school material with two songs of their brand new album album The Ossuary Lens (available on BandCamp and on Spotify), those being The Swarm (the best song of the night in my humble opinion) and Driftwood, the band sounded tight, ruthless and electrifying from start to finish, and again I hope they get a bigger venue next time they headline a concert in Toronto, because their music demands more space, as well as a bigger audience to go wild inside the circle pit while they shred like there’s no tomorrow.

Setlist
All Hail Science
The God Particle
To Carry My Grief Through Torpor and Silence
The Swarm
Terrathaw and the Quake
Driftwood
Dyson Sphere
Of Beasts and Worms
Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination
Parthenogenesis
1.618
Behold (God I Am)

Band members
Ezra Haynes – vocals
Greg Burgess – guitars
Michael Stancel – guitars, backing vocals
Brandon Michael – bass, backing vocals
Jeff Saltzman – drums

WARBRINGER

And last but definitely not least, it was already past 10pm when Ventura, California-based Thrash Metal brigade WARBRINGER brought total war to the stage with one of the most electrifying, visceral and fun performances of the year in the city. All of their songs sounded amazing, in special the new metal hymn The Sword And The Cross, from their brand new album Wrath and Ruin (already available on BandCamp and on Spotify), with their lunatic frontman John Kevill even yielding a sword onstage (although he was missing the cross, right?), and of course the hard hitting Total War, which closed their show on a high note. The circle pits were insane, the crowd surfing was pure madness, and the band was having an amazing time to the point even John himself went crowd surfing and played a little “jungle gym” with the venue’s lighting equipment attached to the roof, leaving all concert goers absolutely happy and ready for more Warbringer in a not-so-distant future. Again, hopefully at a bigger venue, because just as Allegaeon, Warbringer are undoubtedly one of the best bands of the current metal scene worldwide.

Setlist
Severed Reality
A Better World
The Black Hand Reaches Out
Woe to the Vanquished
Crushed Beneath the Tracks
Firepower Kills
The Sword And The Cross
Through a Glass, Darkly
Hunter-Seeker
Remain Violent

Encore:
Total War

Band members
John Kevill – vocals
Adam Carroll – guitars
Chase Becker – guitars
Chase Bryant – bass
Carlos Cruz – drums

Concert Review – Decapitated (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/13/2025)

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It doesn’t matter how much snow there is in Toronto, the metalheads in the city will always be there for a night of sheer violence with bands like Decapitated and Incantation.

OPENING ACTS: Exmortus, Darkest Hour and Incantation

After the massive snow storm that hit the city of Toronto and most of the province on Ontario from Wednesday night until Thursday morning, bringing an endless amount of snow to the streets and, therefore, turning any commute into a true nightmare, I thought all roads would be clear Thursday evening when Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I headed to The Phoenix Concert Theatre for a night of sheer brutality offered by EXMORTUS, DARKEST HOUR, INCANTATION and DECAPITATED during their Nihility Across North America Tour 2025, another killer event brought to the city by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Unfortunately, my predictions about the roads being clear of snow were wrong (although I was right about traffic being light that evening due to people staying home instead of going to work that day), and Toronto was still a huge freakin’ mess when I got to the show, but in the end no one seemed to care about the gargantuan snow banks blocking every single sidewalk and some streets, as the crowd at the venue was really good for a night when the best thing to do was staying home.

Less than half an hour after the doors opened, Whittier, California’s own Technical Thrash/Death Metal beast EXMORTUS kicked off the festivities with a frantic, very technical and absolutely fun performance, igniting some of the coolest and wildest circle pits of the entire night. Spearheaded by the talented vocalist and guitarist Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez, the band played a short but powerful set including songs form their latest opus Necrophony, available by the way on Spotify, and the reaction form the fans already at the venue was superb. Those guys are simply amazing live, playing all songs to perfection, and I guess it won’t take long for Torontonians to see them again in the city, and hopefully next time they’ll be the headliners and play a full set for our total delight.

Setlist
Oathbreaker
Feast of Flesh
Storm of Strings
Warrior of the Night
Let Us Roam
Metal Is King

Band members
Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez – vocals, guitars
Chase Becker – guitars
Brice Snyder – bass
Adrian Aguilar – drums

After a very short break, Washington, D.C.-based Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore act DARKEST HOUR hit the sage at the Phoenix Concert Theatre for a very energetic show, thanks in part to the breathtaking performances by guitarists Mike Schleibaum and Nico Santora, who didn’t stop shredding their axes, headbanging, running and jumping around the stage, not even for a single second. Currently promoting their 2024 album Perpetual | Terminal, available on both BandCamp and on Spotify, the quintet was eager to get more action from the crowd, which seemed a bit tired most probably due to an entire day of shoveling and braving snow banks across the city. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get some sick mosh pits during their show, and of course every single time frontman John Henry asked people to move inside the pit, he was promptly answered with some nice action by the crowd.

Setlist
Societal Bile
The Sadist Nation
Stand and Receive Your Judgment
The Flesh & The Flowers of Death
Rapture in Exile
Doomsayer (The Beginning of the End)
Tranquil
Amor Fati
Convalescence
With a Thousand Words to Say but One
Goddess of War, Give Me Something to Die For

Band members
John Henry – vocals
Mike Schleibaum – guitars
Nico Santora – guitars
Aaron Deal – bass
Travis Orbin – drums

I guess fans were also saving some energy for the ruthless performance by Johnstown, Pennsylvania’s own Death Metal veterans INCANTATION, who after a considerable delay started playing their 1994 cult album Mortal Throne Of Nazarene in full, just like in all other stops from their current tour. And let me tell you, the live rendition of such a classic album of Death Metal with Doom Metal influences sounded utterly evil, heavy and demented onstage, with the bass by Chuck Sherwood making our heads tremble during their entire show. The iconic John McEntee sounded as infernal as usual on vocals, inspiring us all for some brutal headbanging and, therefore, reminding us all why Incantation have been a staple of the extreme music scene worldwide for so many decades. It was just my second time seeing those guys live, and hopefully not the last one, as I’m sure Incantation love Toronto as much as we love their music.

Setlist
Mortal Throne of Nazarene
Demonic Incarnate
Emaciated Holy Figure
Iconoclasm of Catholicism
Essence Ablaze
Nocturnal Dominium
The Ibex Moon
Blissful Bloodshower
Abolishment of Immaculate Serenity

Band members
John McEntee – vocals, guitars
Luke Shively – guitars
Chuck Sherwood – bass
Kyle Severn – drums

DECAPITATED

Last but not least, it was time to turn up the volume to 11 with the infuriated performance by the main band of the night, Poland’s unrelenting Technical Death/Groove Metal horde DECAPITATED, and when I say it was loud, it’s because it was LOUD. Performing their 2002 classic album Nihility in full, plus a few other songs as part of the encore, the band now fronted by vocalist Eemeli Bodde (who by the way contributed vocals for the track “Flooding Secrations”, performed by a fictional band called Impaled Rektum from the 2018 Finnish movie Heavy Trip), Decapitated crushed our damn minds, souls and bodies with endless heaviness and violence, inspiring all mosh pit lovers to have a very good time inside the hurricane formed in the middle of the floor section. My only complaint is that the show started late, after 10pm, and some fans had to leave before the end because they had to take public transportation home, or simply because they were absolutely tired. As I said, the snow storm drained a lot of our energy during the day, but of course there’s always some left when the band in question is as infernal and vibrant as Decapitated.

Setlist
Nihility
Perfect Dehumanisation (The Answer?)
Eternity Too Short
Mother War
Nihility (Anti-Human Manifesto)
Names
Spheres of Madness
Babylon’s Pride
Symmetry of Zero
Suffer the Children (Napalm Death cover)

Encore:
From the Nothingness With Love
Cancer Culture
Kill the Cult
Hello Death
Iconoclast

Band members
Eemeli Bodde – vocals
Wacław Vogg Kiełtyka – guitars
Paweł Pavlo Pasek – bass
James Stewart – drums

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Album Review – Exmortus / Necrophony (2023)

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California’s own Neoclassical Thrash and Death Metal institution returns with a collection of twelve piercing hymns, sounding blacker and more nefarious as illustrated by the eeriest and evilest Lovecraftian and Tolkien-esque tales.

Formed in 2002 in Whittier, California, in the United States, the unstoppable Neoclassical and Technical Thrash/Death Metal outfit Exmortus is back in action in 2023 with their amazing sixth studio album, titled Necrophony, a portmanteau of “necro” and “phony” (or “dead sounds”), offering nothing but a savage rebirth and a fierce renewal in the form of twelve tracks highly recommended for fans of Hatchet, Warbringer, Havok, Toxic Holocaust and Skeletonwitch, among others. Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren at Sharkbite Studios, and displaying a striking artwork by Indonesian artist Toha Mashudi, Necrophony showcases a beyond focused and inspired band currently formed of Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez on vocals and guitars, Chase Becker also on the guitars, Phillip Nuñez on bass, and Adrian Aguilar on drums, emerging stronger, faster and crazier from the throes of the pandemic while going from a Conan the Barbarian and Gladiator aesthetic from their previous records to something blacker and more nefarious as illustrated by the eeriest and evilest Lovecraftian and Tolkien-esque tales.

Melancholy flows from the intro Masquerade, evolving into a cinematic sonority before the quartet kicks some serious ass in Mask of Red Death, with Conan roaring like a beast accompanied by the pounding drums by Adrian and scorching, visceral guitar riffs in a great display of Melodic Death Metal, whereas in Oathbreaker we face poetic words declaimed by Conan (“Over the western lands a long shadow lies / And in evil times the dead awaken and arise / Until the end, they know no peace, remain forlorn / As punishment of old for an oath they have forsworn”) while the music is as vile, fast and heavy as it can be. Mind of Metal is another classic Melodic Death Metal creation by Exmortus where the guitars by Conan and Chase will pierce your mind mercilessly, keeping the album at a high level of animosity; and Yanni’s “The Storm” and Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” are blended together in Storm of Strings, an instrumental metallic extravaganza perfect for banging your head nonstop or simply enjoying some high-end shredding. Then back to their trademark Melodic Death Metal mode we have Test of Time, inspired by the classic sound from the Gothenburg scene, with Adrian dictating the pace with his intricate but thunderous beats.

After such striking tune, strident, melodious guitar lines set the tone in Darkest of Knights, presenting elements from classic Thrash and Death Metal with Phillip and Adrian making the earth tremble with their kitchen while Conan continues to vociferate rabidly, followed by Prophecy,  another neck-breaking tune by the quartet, with Conan roaring nonstop and blasting his stringed axe at the same time, feeling like a fusion of Megadeth, Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne. The low-tuned, metallic bass by Phillip will crush your head in Children of the Night, a high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal extravaganza spearheaded by the demonic growls by Conan while Adrian speeds things up considerably behind his drums; whereas the slashing riffage by Conan and Chase keep darkening the skies in Beyond the Grave, blending the brutality of Death Metal with the rebelliousness of Thrash Metal. After that, the melodic and introspective interlude Overture will pave the band’s obscure path until all explodes into the title-track Necrophony, which takes away some of the energy from the rest of the album despite not being a bad song. The guitar work by Conan and Chase is once again truly solid, though.

“We wanted everything on this album to be a fresh take of what we envisioned Exmortus to be,” said Conan about Necrophony. “We had a lot of time to reflect on that during the isolation period of the pandemic, and so, this new material is a sort of rebirth of our approach to writing and performing our music.” Hence, don’t forget to give the guys from Exmortus a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, to subscribe to their official YouTube channel, to stream their wicked music on Spoitfy, and above all that, to purchase a copy of Necrophony from their own webstore, or by clicking HERE or HERE. Exmortus are going to invade your senses with their piercing, scorching “dead sounds”, and there’s nothing you can do about it but succumb to the thunderous music by one of the most innovative and hardworking bands of the current scene.

Best moments of the album: Mask of Red Death, Darkest of Knights and Children of the Night.

Worst moments of the album: Necrophony.

Released in 2023 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Masquerade 2:33
2. Mask of Red Death 4:42
3. Oathbreaker 3:24
4. Mind of Metal 4:33
5. Storm of Strings 2:55
6. Test of Time 4:48
7. Darkest of Knights 8:11
8. Prophecy 4:14
9. Children of the Night 7:13
10. Beyond the Grave 3:48
11. Overture 2:05
12. Necrophony 5:10

Band members
Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez – vocals, guitars
Chase Becker – guitars
Phillip Nuñez – bass
Adrian Aguilar – drums