Concert Review – Belphegor (Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, 02/22/2026)

Metalheads from all across Toronto gathered this Sunday night to praise the beast together with one of the most influential Blackened Death Metal bands of all time.

OPENING ACTS: Narcotic Wasteland, Hate and Incantation

In the middle of what’s perhaps the harshest winter in the past few decades in Toronto, NARCOTIC WASTELAND, HATE, INCANTATION and BELPHEGOR brought to Lee’s Palace some welcome heat this Sunday night with their infernal Praise the Beast North America Tour 2026, another massive event organized by the mighty Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there to cover such a feast of heavy sounds. There were also two bands billed to play in “The Cave” (aka the room upstairs at Lee’s Palace), those being Nashville, Tennessee’s own Experimental Folk/Black Metal band Primeval Well, who released back in 2021 the excellent album Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits (available on Spotify), and Hamilton, Ontario-based Progressive Death Metal act Cryophilic, who released in 2023 their sophomore opus Damned and Decayed (also available on Spotify). The only issue is that due to some delays they ended up playing pretty much at the same time as Incantation and Belphegor, so I have absolutely no idea if anyone was able to watch their performances.

The night started with the awesome performance by South Carolina-based Death Metal trio NARCOTIC WASTELAND, who kicked some ass onstage with their undisputed energy and heaviness. Mixing songs from their two albums with newer singles like the brutal Barbarian, all available on Spotify, the band formed of Dallas Toler-Wade, Kenji Tsunami (who’s not only a phenomenal bassist, like a Death Metal version of Dream Theater’s own John Myung, but his bass is also a thing of beauty) and Austin Vicars took no prisoners in their quest for pure Death Metal, and after they finished playing the closing song of their short but very sweet set, Introspective Nightmares, we were all left wondering when we’ll be able to see those guys live again, perhaps with a bigger set. You can get more details about such a fun extreme music act by clicking HERE, and if they ever take your city by storm, don’t miss the chance of seeing those excellent musicians live.

Setlist
Morality and the Wasp
Faces of Meth
Barbarian
Delirium Tremens
Keeping Up with the Jones
We Agnostics
Introspective Nightmares

Band members
Dallas Toler-Wade – vocals, guitars
Kenji Tsunami – bass, vocals
Austin Vicars – drums

Poland’s own Blackened Death Metal institution HATE also had a very short set, but that didn’t mean the concert by Adam “ATF Sinner” Buszko, Dominik “Domin” Prykiel, Tomasz “Tiermes” Sadlak, and the stone crusher Daniel “Nar-Sil” Rutkowski (who returned later that night drumming for the mighty Belphegor) was not heavy enough. Quite the contrary, they made sure they used their limited time to deliver a ruthless, no shenanigans performance for our total delight. Having released the excellent Bellum Regiis in 2025, available on both BandCamp and Spotify, the quartet proved once again why Polish extreme music is so marvelous, leaving us completely disoriented after all was said and done. The mosh pits were already getting out of control, the temperature inside the venue was getting scorching, and the horns were being raised high, all thanks to the fires of Black and Death Metal by one of the heaviest bands to ever arise from the stunning Poland. Toronto wants more Hate. We deserve more Hate. And hopefully they won’t take long to return to the city with another pulverizing concert.

Setlist
Intro
Sovereign Sanctity
Erebos
The Wolf Queen
Bellum Regiis
Iphigenia

Band members
Adam “ATF Sinner” Buszko – vocals, rhythm guitar
Dominik “Domin” Prykiel – lead guitar
Tomasz “Tiermes” Sadlak – bass
Daniel “Nar-Sil” Rutkowski – drums

There were a few delays during the entire night, not sure if due to sound issues or something else, which ended up extending the whole event a lot longer than previously planned. Good thing that there’s no curfew at Lee’s Palace, and even better that when the next attraction is Pennsylvania’s Death Metal masters  INCANTATION, it never feels too late to get caught in some of the wildest mosh pits of the entire fest. Their latest releases Unholy Deification, from 2023, and Onward to Golgotha Live, from 2025 (both available on BandCamp and on Spotify) are very good sources if you want to familiarize yourself with their setlist, with songs like Golgotha and Impending Diabolical Conquest sounding sensational live, and of course, it’s always a true pleasure witnessing the talent, passion and charisma of the one and only John McEntee onstage. He’s a true metal warrior, no doubt about it. Furthermore, one very interesting fact about the show in Toronto was the amount of girls doing crowd surfing and stage diving during their concert. I think it was easily over 10 different girls doing those during one of the songs, with one even showing her athleticism and flexibility by doing a few splits onstage, which was pretty badass. Let’s see when Incantation return to Toronto if those girls will have other nice tricks to prove once and for all who runs the world.

Setlist
Golgotha
Carrion Prophecy
Emaciated Holy Figure
Iconoclasm of Catholicism
Concordat (The Pact) I
Blissful Bloodshower
Profanation
Vanquish in Vengeance
The Ibex Moon
Impending Diabolical Conquest

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

BELPHEGOR

Sunday is always a day for regular people to go to the church, but for us metalheads it’s the perfect day to do the exact opposite, and let’s say Austrian Blackened Death Metal beast BELPHEGOR more than helped us succeed in such a blasphemous activity with one of the darkest and heaviest concerts of the past few months in Toronto. Playing a mix of their entire discography with their latest album The Devils, from 2022, plus their two fantastic new singles Sanctus Diaboli Confidimus and Scarlet Beast-Leviathan (a beautifully haunting song, by the way), all available on BandCamp and on Spotify, such a malevolent horde led by the unrelenting Helmuth Lehner was breathing fire and sulfur during their entire show, and if you were on the left side of the stage you would also feel everything tremble to the demented drums by Daniel “Nar-Sil” Rutkowski. It was a really fun experience to be honest, despite the fact the trembling got way too heavy at times.

I wonder what some fervent Catholics would say about Belphegor’s music and live performances. Those guys almost cracked the earth in half with their music, allowing Satan himself to arise from the underworld. The mosh pit was like a cauldron of fire, their demonic vocals and reefs exhaled sulfur and blasphemy, and it was easy to see all faces in awe during their satanic and cathartic mass. After their black mass was over, I noticed one girl that’s in pretty much every extreme music show in Toronto with a busted lip and some blood down her chin, and based on her happy face she was more than fine with that. She’s a total badass, she doesn’t fear any mosh pit, and she’s the perfect depiction of the love of Toronto for Black and Death Metal. Belphegor more than deliver it in both genres, usually at the same time, and if they provde us with half of the darkness and electricity from this Sunday next time they visit Toronto, I bet we’ll see more happy faces and busted lips around the venue. Praise the beast, praise all ladies who make heavy music a much better place, and praise the almighty Belphegor.

Setlist
The Procession
Baphomet
The Devil’s Son
Sanctus Diaboli Confidimus
The Devils
Stigma Diabolicum
Pactum in Aeternum
Lucifer Incestus
Virtus Asinaria – Prayer
Scarlet Beast – Leviathan
Totentanz – Dance Macabre

Encore:
Belphegor – Hell’s Ambassador

Band members
Helmuth Lehner – vocals, guitars
Wolfgang Rothbauer – guitars
Chris Bonos – bass, backing vocals
Daniel “Nar-Sil” Rutkowski – drums

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Album Review – Season of The Dead / Zombie Chronicles Vol.1 (2025)

This newborn beast of blood-soaked, horror-infused Death Metal will eat your flesh to the sound of their debut album, a soundscape where zombies, decay, and gore come to life in audio form.

A visceral, cinematic Extreme Metal project born from the twisted minds of Titta Tani (former drummer of Necrophagia and Goblin), Giacomo Anselmi (former Goblin guitarist and current member of Goblin Legacy), and Enrico Giannone, founder and owner of Time To Kill Records, acting as producer and visionary behind the entire concept, United States-based Death Metal brigade Season of The Dead aims at resurrecting the blood-soaked legacy of horror-infused Death Metal, channeling the rotten spirit of bands like Necrophagia, Mortician, and Fulci, while paying tribute to the grotesque imagery and raw energy of cult underground horror films. Formed of the aforementioned Giacomo Anselmi (Goblin Legacy) on the guitars and Titta Tani on drums, alongside John McEntee (Incantation) and Fiore Stravino (Fulci) on vocals, and Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog) and Chuck Sherwood (Incantation) on bass, the album delivers a relentless assault of Death Metal brutality, layered with cinematic tension and ritualistic atmospheres, a soundscape where zombies, decay, and gore come to life in audio form.

Just like in a horror movie, the intro Necromancy brings to our putrid ears three unsettling minutes of obscurity, warming us up for Then We’ll Rise, inspired by Romero’s masterpiece Day of the Dead (and featuring related audio contributions), with John vomiting the song’s zombified words mercilessly supported by the crushing beats and fills by Titta. Voodoo Ritual starts in a phantasmagorical way, evolving into another slab of insanity by the band, even sounding Doom Metal at times to make things even creepier, whereas Giacomo fires classic, unrelenting riffs in the pulverizing, demented Events Of Flesh, accompanied by the venomous bass by Dave, again bringing absolute horror to our minds and souls just the way we like it in Death Metal.

In Open The Gates the vocals by Fiore exhale pure gore for our vulgar delectation, not to mention Titta is also ruthless behind his drums, while disturbing sounds ignite one more explosion of Death Metal by such an amazing supergroup entitled The Other Side, with John once again sounding like a zombified vocalist, and with Chuck and Titta making the earth tremble in this ode to insanity. The Stygian riffage by Giacomo kicks off the headbanging beast entitled Burning Moon Sickness, providing John with exactly what he needs to haunt our souls with his visceral growling; and closing such a unique album we have Bloodfreak, with its eerie sounds matching perfectly with the Doom Metal-infused beats by Titta while John continues to attack us all with his demented screams.

With influences ranging from Killjoy to City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and Cannibal Holocaust, creating a soundscape that feels like a soundtrack to a lost VHS splatter nightmare, Zombie Chronicles Vol. 1 is just the first full-length chapter of Season of The Dead, a macabre journey into the heart of horror-infused Death Metal, and you can get in touch with those anti-heroes of blood and gore via Facebook and Instagram, and feed your excruciating hunger for Death Metal by streaming their music on Spotify and by purchasing their excellent debut album from their own BandCamp, or from the Time To Kill Records webstore. However, do not forget Zombie Chronicles Vol.1 is not just an album. It’s a chronicle of the undead, a sonic descent into rot, fear, and splatter, and you might not come out of it alive, joining their army of the undead for all eternity.

Best moments of the album: Then We’ll Rise, Events Of Flesh and Bloodfreak.

Worst moments of the album: Voodoo Ritual.

Released in 2025 Time To Kill Records

Track listing
1. Necromancy 3:13
2. Then We’ll Rise 4:37
3. Voodoo Ritual 4:03
4. Events Of Flesh 3:57
5. Open The Gates 3:53
6. The Other Side 4:54
7. Burning Moon Sickness 4:20
8. Bloodfreak 5:14

Band members
John McEntee – vocals
Fiore Stravino – vocals
Giacomo Anselmi – guitars
Dave Neabore – bass
Chuck Sherwood – bass
Titta Tani – drums

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

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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Concert Review – Suffocation & Incantation (Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, 11/13/2023)

Four of the best Death Metal bands of the current scene worldwide delivered a night of sheer brutality, rage and endless circle pits last night in Toronto.

OPENING ACTS: Stabbing and Skeletal Remains

What a night of brutality and circle pits in Toronto, my friends! SUFFOCATION and INCANTATION, with very special guests SKELETAL REMAINS and STABBING, put on a sensational performance for the delight of all attendees at Lee’s Palace last night during their Ancient Unholy Uprising Tour 2023. Although it might be getting colder and colder in Toronto as winter is almost upon us, all four bands made sure we remained as warm as possible while they blasted their instruments on stage in the name of our good old Death Metal. I just think the venue should have opened their doors a little earlier than 6:30pm to give everyone enough time to buy merch and have a few drinks, but nothing that would make the whole night less enjoyable, of course.

Shortly after the doors opened, the first band of the night, Houston, Texas-based Brutal Death Metal entity STABBING, kicked of the Death Metal ceremony with a ruthless and demonic performance spearheaded by the she-demon Bridget Lynch, who by the way looked possessed on stage and made it almost impossible to see her face during the entire show. Having released the album Extirpated Mortal Process in 2022, plus a brand new demo earlier this year, the quartet showed no mercy for our necks and bodies, demanding some vigorous headbanging and already inspiring the crowd to slam into the circle pit frantically, playing songs such as Inhaling The Dead, Gutted By The Beast, and Pulsing Wound with endless rage and dexterity. If you know nothing about Stabbing, go check their wicked and beyond brutal creations on BandCamp and on Spotify, and if you’re attending any of the shows form this tour make sure you get to the venue in time to witness Bridget and the boys crushing the souls of the lighthearted on stage. You’re going to love it!

Setlist
Inhaling The Dead
Final Flesh Feast
Gutted By The Beast
Visions Of Eternal Suffering
Vortex Of The Severed Dead
Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught
Pulled Apart
It Ends With Flames
Pulsing Wound

Band members
Bridget Lynch – vocals
Marvin Ruiz – guitars
Matt Day – bass
Nat Conner – drums

After a quick intermission (and by the way, kudos to the house DJ for playing tons of Death and Thrash Metal songs during the breaks instead of some generic stuff), it was time for Whittier, California’s own Death Metal squad SKELETAL REMAINS to ignite some of the sickest mosh pits of the night armed with their sonic savagery and heaviness. If I said it was almost impossible to see Bridget’s face during Stabbing, well, it was ABSOLUTELY impossible to see the face of vocalist and guitarist Chris Monroy during Skeletal Remains. Was it really him on stage? Jokes aside, it was another phenomenal display of classic Death Metal by the quartet, with drummer Pierce Williams sounding infernal throughout the entire concert. Blending songs from all of their four amazing albums, including their latest one The Entombment of Chaos, released in 2020, plus their brand new single Void of Despair (and judging by how demolishing the new song is, we should get ready for another merciless Death Metal attack by those guys in their upcoming album), those American metallers pulverized everyone who dared to brave the nonstop circle pit at Lee’s Palace, and if you want to get a sense of how vile and thunderous their music sounds before seeing them live, I recommend streaming all of their catalogue on Spotify. And on a side note, I must say Skeletal Remains had the best merch available hands down, offering so many cool shirts and other items you must see their merch stand to believe it.

Setlist
Void of Despair
Parasitic Horrors
Beyond Cremation
Illusive Divinity
Internal Detestation
Conquer
Congregation of Flesh
Torture Labyrinth
Tombs of Chaos

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

INCANTATION

One of the main attractions of the night, Johnstown, Pennsylvania’s own Death Metal machine INCANTATION, was supposed to have started their concert at around 8:35pm, but it was already past 8:45pm when they finally hit the stage. That small delay didn’t mean anything to their avid fans at all, because as soon as they began playing the first notes from the opening song Concordat (The Pact) I it was absolute carnage and violence in the floor section with a wild circle pit that looked like it was going to last forever. The new songs from their recently launched beast Unholy Deification, such as Invocation (Chthonic Merge) X, worked really well mixed with some of their most demolishing classics, while the band’s iconic frontman John McEntee kept his horns high in the air every single second he wasn’t shredding his guitar, being always promptly followed by all of the band’s diehard fans in the pit.

One of the funniest moments of the concert happened between two of the songs from their setlist when John said that every single time Kyle hits his drums, a poser dies. Guess what? Kyle hit his drums, and John simply said “another poser just died”. A simple but effective joke that added an extra touch of intimacy to their incendiary performance, building an even stronger connection between the band and their fans. Hence, if you want to feel all the fury blasted by Invocation and get more than prepared for their killer concert in your city, you can stream all of their wicked creations on BandCamp and on Spotify, warming up your blood vessels for the music by one of the most hardworking and vibrant veterans in the history of Death Metal.

Setlist
Concordat (The Pact) I
Rites of the Locust
Carrion Prophecy
Shadows of the Ancient Empire
Fury’s Manifesto
Blasphemous Cremation
Ascend Into the Eternal
Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII
Invocation (Chthonic Merge) X
The Ibex Moon
Impending Diabolical Conquest

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

SUFFOCATION

It was a little past 10pm when Long Island, New York-based Brutal/Technical Death Metal institution SUFFOCATION began their violent, ruthless performance, and I honestly don’t know how all photographers, including my friend Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography and Kim Baarda, managed to take proper photos of Suffocation or of any of the other bands without a barrier separating them from the crowd, as they had to endure all mosh pits while holding their cameras. It was insane, and I must say they’re really brave for facing that. Promoting their brand new opus Hymns from the Apocrypha (their first without Frank Mullen on vocals), the band now fronted by the talented growler Ricky Myers (Disgorge, Sarcolytic) simply kicked us all in the ass with their fast, heavy and evil songs, including some newborn killers the likes of Seraphim Enslavement, Dim Veil of Obscurity, and the title-track Hymns From the Apocrypha, all by the way available on Spotify.

There was this guy who spent more time up in the air doing crowd surfing than actually standing on his feet. I don’t know his name, but holy shit, he was going up and down the stage pretty much the entire time doing crowd surfing. Does anyone know his name? He deserves a medal for crowd surfer of the year. Anyway, one of the coolest moments during Suffocation’s thunderous concert, if not the coolest moment of the entire night, was when Bridget from Stabbing joined the band on stage and made one of the most visceral duos in the history of Death Metal with Ricky, with both growling, barking and roaring like beasts for our total delight. And suffocation kept the momentum going nutil the very last second of their show, leaving us all eager for more of their music in a not-so-distant future, and proving once again that singing about death, murder, blood, gore and so on can indeed put a smile on ourfaces, just like what happened last night in Toronto.

Setlist
Catatonia
Seraphim Enslavement
Breeding the Spawn
Dim Veil of Obscurity
Pierced From Within
Funeral Inception
Perpetual Deception
Bind Torture Kill
Hymns From the Apocrypha
Liege of Inveracity
Infecting the Crypts

Band members
Ricky Myers – vocals
Terrance Hobbs – guitars
Charlie Errigo – guitars
Derek Boyer – bass
Eric Morotti – drums

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