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
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
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 