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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 – Skeletal Remains & Bewitcher (The Rockpile, Toronto, ON, 10/10/2024)

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Two of the most demonic bands of the current American scene fragmented the city of Toronto to a small but very active crowd.

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

OPENING ACT: Dominant Species, Phobophilic and Witch Vomit

Unfortunately, due to the show by Nervosa at the exact same day and time at Hard Luck Bar, I had to miss DOMINANT SPECIES, PHOBOPHILIC, WITCH VOMIT, SKELETAL REMAINS and BEWITCHER during their Toronto stop of their Fragmenting North America 2024 Tour at The Rockpile, but my friend Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi was there to cover the show and take some amazing shots of all bands involved. It’s frustrating when you go from a period of almost zero shows like July and August to an avalanche of concerts happening all at once like this September and October in the city, which in my opinion is nastily hurting the attendance of all shows, in special the underground ones, because it’s just humanly impossible to go see all bands under those circumstances.

The first band of the night, DOMINANT SPECIES, is a Toronto based Heavy Metal and Hardcore band that’s part of Reel Wolf Productions. This band is quite new in the scene but it is gaining some traction here in Toronto. As a matter of fact, their singer is actually the owner of Reel Wolf Productions, a small video production company used for rap and metal bands, so if you’re curious to know more about the band and the company you can visit their official website. They say they play “grimy brutal riffs with hip hop fusion”, and according to Keith that’s exactly what they delivered at The Rockpile.

Then hailing from North Dakota, PHOBOPHILIC are a Death Metal band with two demos, an EP, a split and a 2022 full-length album titled Enveloping Absurdity already under their belts. Although vocalist and guitarist Aaron Dudgeon is no longer with them, that didn’t stop the band from moving forward as a three-headed beast formed of Christian Alm on bass, Vincent Tweten on drums, and Josh Poer on vocals and guitars, plus lead guitarist Miles McIntosh during their live concerts, and they surely put on an energetic show with their no shenanigans Death Metal. And after that it was time for the third opener of the night, Portland, Oregon-based Death Metal act WITCH VOMIT, formed in 2012 by vocalist and guitarist Temper and drummer Filth. Witch Vomit play dark Death Metal in the American tradition with elements of Scandinavian evil and ancient Doom Metal, and that combination of styles created a truly demonic vibe when they hit the stage at The Rockpile for the delight of all fans present at the venue.

SKELETAL REMAINS

Founded in 2011 under the name Anthropophagy, Whittier, California’s own Death Metal squad SKELETAL REMAINS was one of the headliners of the night, kicking some ass with their share of brutality and speed. The band led by founding members Chris Monroy (guitars and vocals) and Mike De La O (guitars) was phenomenal on stage, and despite the smaller than expected crowd their whole performance was insane. Their new album Fragments of the Ageless, released in the beginning of 2024, is an amazing piece of Death Metal that’s definitely worth a listen if you haven’t done so already, and the songs from that album sounded even more fun live, like for example Void of Despair and Relentless Appetite. I’m sure they’ll soon return to Toronto and to a much bigger crowd if all logistics and promotion are done properly next time.

BEWITCHER

The second headliner of the night, Portland, Oregon-based Black/Speed Metal horde BEWITCHER, also has a new album out, Spell Shock, released only a couple of weeks ago. Formed of A. Magus on bass and backing vocals, M. Von Bewitcher on vocals and guitars, and A. Hunter on drums, the band kicked ass at The Rockpile for a crowd of less than 100 people, and just like Skeletal Remains they didn’t care about that small attendance at all, keeping the fires of the underground burning nonstop during their pulverizing set. Their new songs Starfire Maelstrom and Spell Shock worked really well with their classics Satanic Magick Attack and Bewitcher, and again, just like what was said about Skeletal Remains, I’m sure next time they visit Toronto they’ll play to a much bigger audience.

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