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Concert Review – Carnifex (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 10/22/2024)

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Metalheads from all parts of Toronto enjoyed a killer Tuesday night in the city, celebrating the brutality and energy of Death Metal and Deathcore blasted by five incredible bands.

OPENING ACTS: Heavy//Hitter, Organectomy, Mental Cruelty and Cryptopsy

What a wild night of love, friendship and collective tree hugs brought to the city of Toronto by HEAVY/HITTER, ORGANECTOMY, MENTAL CRUELTY, CRYPTOPSY and CARNIFEX during their Necromanteum Part II USA and Canada Tour 2024 at The Opera House, setting the circle pits on fire throughout the entire event. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there to witness such a moshing party blasted by those five amazing bands, and although I had to miss Orlando, Florida’s own Deathcore unit HEAVY//HITTER due to work, as the whole show was a very early one with doors opening at 5pm and Heavy//Hitter hitting the stage already at 6pm, I highly recommend you go after their music as it’s freakin’ heavy and hits you in the face mercilessly, just like what the name of the band says. You can find their music on Spotify and BandCamp, and get ready for their brand new EP Moments of Misery out this November 8.

Setlist
(Unknown) (unreleased)
Paved in Blood
(Unknown) (unreleased)
Waste Of Life
No Mercy, No Remorse
Heaven’s Gate
Wall of Wax

Band members
Austin Hayes – vocals
Dane Loeprich – guitar
Chris Perez – bass
Josh Archeval – drums

However, I was lucky enough to get to The Opera House just in time for New Zealand’s heaviest band of all time, the demented Christchurch-based Brutal Death Metal squad ORGANECTOMY, who led by the infuriated, unstoppable frontman Alex Paul (and sporting shirts of their idols Cryptopsy, by the way) put on a fantastic show, crushing our damned souls and demanding us all to slam into the pit like there’s no tomorrow. I’m a fan of all of their albums, I had seen them live once, but I must say their new songs Plague Mouth, Corpsethrone and Tracheal Hanging (all available on Spotify, by the way) sounded absolutely insane live, and I can’t wait for their next full-length album whenever they’re thinking about releasing it. After their show I went to their merch booth and got a very cool, high-quality beanie for a very decent price, and had a chance to chat a little with Alex about his music and his stunning country (as I was there recently on my Maiden quest in Australia and New Zealand). He’s a really nice guy, an extremely talented growler, and a hardworking musician, putting his heart and soul into his onstage performance. Having said that, don’t waste a single second and go check the music by one of the best bands ever hailing from New Zealand, and get ready to be smashed like an insect if you have a chance to see those ruthless metallers live.

Setlist
Concrete
The Third Mutation
Corpsethrone
Plague Mouth
Tracheal Hanging
Terror Form
Entropic Decay

Band members
Alex Paul – vocals
Sam McRobert – guitars
Matthew Bolch – guitars
Tyler Jordan – bass, backing vocals
Levi Sheehan – drums

The other band that I was utterly eager to see live again was Karlsruhe, Germany-based Symphonic Deathcore beasts  MENTAL CRUELTY, and let’s say their show this Tuesday night was way more explosive and fun than the first time I saw them at Hard Luck Bar, despite the fact the setlist was pretty much the same based on their most recent opus, the masterpiece Zwielicht (available on Spotify and on BandCamp). The band kicked some serious ass during their entire set, with their frontman Lukas Nicolai stealing the show with not only a flawless vocal performance, but his interaction with the crowd was amazing as well, with him getting on top of the barricade to sing together with the crowd and with a nice show of flashlights during Zwielicht, right before they blasted our minds with their best song to date, Symphony of a Dying Star. I also had a chance to talk to Lukas about Mental Cruelty, about the fact I keep trying to convince my German friends to listen to their music, and got a nice patch from those guys. Needless to say, the next time Mental Cruelty takes the city of Toronto by storm, I’ll certainly be there.

Setlist
Midtvinter
Obsessis a Daemonio
King ov Fire
Forgotten Kings
Nordlys
Zwielicht
Symphony of a Dying Star

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

After a very quick intermission, it was time for the iconic Montreal, Quebec-based  Brutal/Technical Death Metal institution CRYPTOPSY (aka the “Kings of Hallmark Romantic Christmas Movies”) to simply destroy anyone who dared to face them inside the circle pit. What a bestial show by Matt McGachy, Christian Donaldson, Olivier Pinard and Flo Mounier, sounding one hundred percent heavy, enraged and evil from start to finish, with songs like Slit Your Guts, Crown of Horns, Open Face Surgery and Flayed the Swine (this one from their amazing 2023 album As Gomorrah Burns, available on Spotify and on BandCamp) demolishing our souls and melting our faces, all while Matt kept roaring like a demonic creature and headbanging in the best Corpsegrinder stile. Hell yeah, Canada has its own Corpsegrinder, ladies and gentlemen! Flo was also infernal behind his drums, proving why he’s one of the best of the entire genre, and his dexterity, fury and passion for heavy music inspired the fans to keep the circle pit moving absurdly fast. I honestly don’t know how I was able to catch one of the guitar pics thrown by Christian because the floor section was nonstop madness, but I can’t wait to see them again live and, who knows, grab something else like a drumstick next time.

Setlist
Slit Your Guts
Crown of Horns
Graves of the Fathers
Sire of Sin
Open Face Surgery
In Abeyance
Flayed the Swine
Phobophile

Band members
Matt McGachy – vocals
Christian Donaldson – guitars
Olivier Pinard – bass
Flo Mounier – drums

CARNIFEX

The last attraction of the night was also the one most fans at The Opera House (a mix of very young fans and way older metalheads, but still young at heart) were waiting for, and they didn’t disappoint the crowd at all, bringing forth a massive display of heaviness and hatred on stage. I’m talking about San Diego, California-based Deathcore masters CARNIFEX, who armed with their pulverizing 2023 album Necromanteum, available on Spotify, sounded insane on stage and, therefore, fueled some of the sickest mosh pits of the night. Vocalist Scott Ian Lewis didn’t stop screaming, barking and roaring, and I honestly don’t know how he can do that night in, night out without losing his voice, bringing even more fury to already furious songs the likes of Torn in Two, Graveside Confessions, Hell Chose Me and Heaven and Hell All at Once. It was total chaos until the very last second of Drown Me in Blood, and I must say I was very happy the show ended before 10:30pm as I had enough time to get back home and have a decent night of sleep. To be fair, if their show had been longer I wouldn’t have complained at all, because you know, first comes heavy music, then the superficial stuff like sleeping, eating and working, right?

Setlist
Torn in Two
Graveside Confessions
Dark Days
Necromanteum
Slit Wrist Savior
Crowned in Everblack
Lie to My Face
Hell Chose Me
Heaven and Hell All at Once
Dark Heart Ceremony
Hatred and Slaughter
Drown Me in Blood

Band members
Scott Ian Lewis – vocals
Cory Arford – guitars
Neal Tiemann – guitars
Fred Calderon – bass
Shawn Cameron – drums

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Concert Review – Ingested (The Velvet Underground, Toronto, ON, 06/02/2023)

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The “slam tour of the year” beautifully crushed the “slam capital of the world” to pieces on a hot and humid night thanks to five of the best bands of the current extreme music scene.

OPENING ACTS: Mendacity, Organectomy, Vomit Forth and Devourment

A night of nonstop brutal slammin’ death metal. That pretty much summarizes what happened at The Velvet Underground this past Friday in Toronto, when MENDACITY, ORGANECTOMY, VOMIT FORTH, DEVOURMENT and INGESTED brought to the city the ruthless, venomous Ingesting North America 2023 – The Slam Tour Of The Year, another beautiful event organized by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. By the way, he was explaining to my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography that the guys from Belarusian Death Metal horde Extermination Dismemberment couldn’t get their Canadian visas ready on time and, therefore, couldn’t make it to the concert in Toronto. However, all five bands demanded the fans to raise their horns for those Belarusian slammers, showing how united the scene is and will always be.

And although there was no Extermination Dismemberment it was still a night to remember, with Innisfil, Ontario-based Technical/Brutal Death Metal trio MENDACITY kicking off the event at around 7:30pm, and they more than nailed it with their fusion of technical and progressive sounds with the brutality of Death Metal. Kyle Lam was fantastic on bass, and I just wish the sound of it was a little bit higher so we could all enjoy his rumbling lines better, while Jason and Jeff Burt were crushing their respective guitars and drums. There weren’t any mosh pits as the crowd was still very small when they started, but they got some great feedback form the audience with lots of horns in the air, shouts and claps, and if you’re curious to know how technical and brutal they sound at the same time, you can find their music on BandCamp and on Spotify.

Band members
Jason Burt – vocals, guitars
Kyle Lam – bass, backing vocals
Jeff Burt – drums, backing vocals

After a really short break, more precisely at 8:05pm, Christchurch, New Zealand-based Slam/Brutal Death Metal unity ORGANECTOMY began their pulverizing performance, and I must say they were in my opinion the most impressive of all bands. I didn’t know anything about those guys before the show, and now I’m listening to their music nonstop on Spotify. Frontman Alex Paul was vicious throughout their entire set, inspiring everyone at the venue to slam into the pit, to jump up and down, to do some sick crowd-surfing and so on, to a point that there were only two options for all attendees, which were either being slamming into the pit, or being outside the venue. Their 2022 album Nail Below Nail is freakin’ amazing, and the songs played live from that album such as Concrete, the title-track Nail Below Nail, The Third Mutation, Entranced by Calamity and Coerced Through Submersion sounded insane live! I really hope those guys return to Toronto soon, because their live shows are infernal, and based on the reaction of the band itself to all the action going on inside the pit they’ll surely carry Toronto inside their hearts until their next visit to the city.

Setlist
Impale the Bitch
Terror Form
Entrapped Savagery
Concrete
Nail Below Nail
The Third Mutation
Entranced by Calamity
Severed From Humanity
Coerced Through Submersion

Band members
Alex Paul – vocals
Sam McRobert – guitars
Matthew Bolch – guitars
Tyler Jordan – bass, backing vocals
Levi Sheehan – drums

After such demolishing performance by Organectomy, it was time for Connecticut, United States-based Death Metal horde VOMIT FORTH to turn The Velvet Underground into a cauldron of blood to the delight of all lovers of some brutal slamming. Their frontman Kane Gelaznik looks like a younger version of the almighty George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer, having the same looks, clothes, and even his headbanging and vocals, and that was already enough for me to enjoy their concert to the fullest. Of course the rest of the band was also on fire, in special Nick Herrmann with his sick blast beats, and the songs form their 2022 album Seething Malevolence, those being Eucharist Intact, Carnivorous Incantation, Unrecognizable, Severely Wounded, Predatory Savior and Pain Tolerance drove the audience crazy inside the endless circle pit, including a nice a wall of death. You can enjoy all their sick creations on Spotify or you can click HERE for all things Vomit Forth, and if they have a concert scheduled in your city, don’t think twice and go slam together with those awesome death metallers.

Setlist
Eucharist Intact
Carnivorous Incantation
Unclaimed Cadaver
Rotting Wool
Unrecognizable
Untitled
Severely Wounded
Predatory Savior
Pain Tolerance

Band members
Kane Gelaznik – vocals
Ricky Brayall – guitars
Tyler Bidwell – bass
Nick Herrmann – drums

It was already past 9:30pm when one of the highly anticipated bands of the night, Dallas, Texas-based Slam/Brutal Death Metal institution DEVOURMENT, hit the stage with one of the heaviest concerts you’ll see anywhere. Still promoting their 2019 album Obscene Majesty, the band formed of frontman Ruben Rosas, guitarist Chris Andrews, bassist Dave Spencer and drummer Brad Fincher was ruthless from start to finish, inspiring obviously the crowd to slam into the pit like maniacs and to crush their skulls into a sick wall of death to the sound of songs such as A Virulent Strain of Retaliation, Fucked to Death and Devour the Damned. I just think the lights for those guys were way too red and low, making it almost impossible to see them (and impossible for Keith to take proper pictures of them, by the way), but their brutality was there, stronger and heavier than ever. Their last song, the visceral Babykiller, was the icing on the cake on their flawless and demonic show, leaving all fans eager for more Devourment in Toronto in a not-so-distant future.

Setlist
A Virulent Strain of Retaliation
Fucked to Death
Postmortal Coprophagia
Choking on Bile
Self Disembowelment
Narcissistic Paraphilia
Devour the Damned
Babykiller

Band members
Ruben Rosas – vocals
Chris Andrews – guitars
Dave Spencer – bass
Brad Fincher – drums

INGESTED

Finally, as the clock hit 10:35pm, Manchester, England’s own Slam/Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore institution INGESTED began the destruction of The Velvet Underground with one of the most electrifying performances of the past few months in the city. Spearheaded by their lunatic frontman Jay Evans, and promoting their 2022 album Ashes Lie Still, the band delivered an incendiary performance for an avid crowd eager for some intense circle pits, crowd-surfing and walls of death, and let’s say they got everything they asked for from those UK metallers. There were bodies being carried around nonstop in a lecture in crowd-surfing, with one guy maybe going from the front of the stage all the way to the back, showing how happy the fans were with Ingested’s visceral music.

Their new songs like Shadows in Time and Echoes of Hate sounded even heavier and more caustic live, not to mention of course their demented grand finale with Skinned and Fucked. Jay and his henchmen were absolutely impressed with all the action going on inside the pit, opening a huge smile every single time they saw how excited their Torontonian fans could get while slamming into the pit. Speaking about Jay, that gentle and very polite guy selling their own merch and the stand turned into a monster on stage, with his demonic, piercing eyes, sick grim and demonic vocals setting fire to the concert while the rest of the band was merciless armed with their respective sonic weapons. The Velvet Underground might be a small venue, but the energy flowing from Ingested’s concert on Friday was the equivalent to any arena shows, and I’m sure those guys will return to Canadian lands for another wicked performance sooner than we can say “SLAM!”

Setlist
Rebirth
No Half Measures
The List
Shadows in Time
I, Despoiler
Impending Dominance
Invidious
Echoes of Hate
Copremesis
Skinned and Fucked

Band members
Jay Evans – vocals
Sean Hynes – guitars, backing vocals
Andrew Virrueta – guitars
Thomas O’Malley – bass
Lyn Jeffs – drums

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