Tag Archives: skinned and fucked

Concert Review – Archspire (Factory Theatre, Sydney, NSW, Australia 10/13/2023)

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There’s nothing better than slamming into the circle pit Down Under on a Friday the 13th, courtesy of three of the best tech death bands of the current worldwide scene.

OPENING ACTS: Werewolves and Ingested

I honestly still can’t believe that in the middle of my business trip to Sydney, Australia, I was able to catch WEREWOLVES, INGESTED and ARCHSPIRE during their phenomenal Tech Trek Australia Tour 2023 at this really cool and well-located venue named Factory Theatre this Friday night. Not only that, if you’re not familiar with the public transportation system in Sydney, let me tell you that it makes it extremely easy to get anywhere you want, which allowed me to get to the venue as soon as the doors opened at 8pm without rushing or anything like that, giving me enough time to buy some merch from Werewolves, grab a beer, and even chat with some locals who were all truly surprised I came all the way from Toronto for the show.

Precisely at 8:30pm, with the venue being almost full already, Melbourne, Australia’s own Technical Black/Death Metal savages WEREWOLVES kicked off the night with a pulverizing and memorable performance for the delight of everyone who was already positioned inside the pit for some action. Vocalist and bassist Sam Bean, guitarist Matt Wilcock and drummer David Haley (that man is a beast on drums!) took no prisoners during their short and sweet set, blasting our ears with their uncompromised, venomous hybrid of Black and Death Metal with songs from all of their insane albums, including their latest beast My Enemies Look and Sound like Me. Those Aussie metallers know exactly what needs to be done on stage to inspire the crowd for some wild headbanging and circle pits, and songs like No More Heroes, Under the Ground, Crushgasm, and specially the closing one, the antisocial hymn I Don’t Like You, sound even better live than in the studio. There were even some wild howls coming from some (drunk) fans in the audience, just to prove how awesome the band was.

I’m extremely happy that I had the chance to see those guys live in Australia, and hopefully the metal community worldwide will give them the attention they deserve and we’ll finally see Werewolves assaulting the stages in North and South America, Europe, and anywhere else where violence and hatred are an intrinsic part of music. Furthermore, don’t forget to stream their visceral creations on BandCamp and on Spotify, and if you ever witness Werewolves live I highly recommend you go chat with the band after their show as they’re fantastic guys. Sam even joked by asking me if I had a suggestion for a name of their next album, which they’re already working on, but I missed the chance to say something like “Powerslave”, “Painkiller” or “Reign In Blood”. Well, maybe next time I’ll be quick enough to come up with something like that, right?

Setlist
Know Your Place
No More Heroes
Sublime Wartime Voyeurism
Under the Ground
Crushgasm
Crushing Heaven’s Mandate
Showering Teeth
I Don’t Like You

Band members
Sam Bean – vocals, bass
Matt Wilcock – guitars
David Haley – drums

After a short break, it was time for Manchester, England-based Slam/Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore outfit INGESTED to crush their fans in Sydney for the first time ever  with their infectious brutality and endless energy on stage. I must admit they sounded even tighter in Sydney than the last time I saw them in Toronto, just to prove how excited they were to finally blast their wicked music Down Under. Still promoting their 2022 album Ashes Lie Still, the band spearheaded by the charismatic and lunatic Jay Evans was on fire throughout their entire performance, with songs like I, Despoiler and Skinned and Fucked turning the circle pit at the Factory Theatre into pure madness and devastation.

Jay was by far the most excited for playing in Australia, and it was actually hard to take pictures of him on stage because the guy doesn’t stop moving not even for a single second, as if he was part of the crowd, like a fan who will slam into the pit until the very last second of the last song. By the way, when the band announced their last song, the bloodthirsty aria Echoes of Hate, all hell broke loose inside the pit for the pure delectation of Jay and his crew. It’s a real pleasure seeing a hardworking band like Ingested going places, and based on the rowdy reaction they got from their fans in Sydney I’m sure they’ll return to Australia sooner than you can say “slam”. Hence, don’t forget to also check the band’s furious fusion of extreme styles on BandCamp and on Spotify, and to keep an eye on their tour dates to avoid missing the opportunity to see them crushing your city to pieces live.

Setlist
Impending Dominance
Invidious
I, Despoiler
Shadows in Time
Skinned and Fucked
Echoes of Hate

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

ARCHSPIRE

It was close to 10:30pm when the main attraction of such fun and entertaining night, Canadian Technical Death Metal masters ARCHSPIRE, kicked off their breathtaking, mesmerizing performance, generating a schizophrenic atmosphere with their flawless fusion of violence, wrath, dexterity and energy on stage. Their flammable frontman Oliver Rae Aleron is not only a superb growler (and I’ll never be able to fully understand how that guy can sing guttural so fast as if he was rapping in the name of evil), but his charisma allowed him to basically control everything the crowd was doing, with his requests for some insane mosh pits being promptly answered by an avid Australian crowd.

Having released the album Bleed the Future in 2021, the band put on a beyond extraordinary show, with songs like Bleed the Future, A Dark Horizontal and Involuntary Doppelgänger sounding perfect live thanks to the undeniable, superb musicianship by all band members, with guitarist Dean Lamb and bassist Jared Smith stealing the spotlight with a lecture in shredding. If you’re curious to know more about one of the fastest and most talented bands of the current Technical Death Metal scene worldwide, you can enjoy all of their wicked albums in full on BandCamp and on Spotify. However, I must warn you that the demented vocals by Oliver will haunt your damned soul for all eternity so insane they are.

And last but not least, I have to say the Canadian humor and jokes the band presented on stage were simply awesome, adding a very welcome touch to their irreprehensible performance. For instance, before playing one of their bestial songs, Oliver asked the crowd to split the pit in the middle, but this time it wasn’t for a traditional wall of death; he threw a Twister game mat to the crowd, and then out of nowhere several sweaty fans were playing Twister instead of doing their regular slamming and headbanging. Then after another couple of songs he invited two fans for a shoe drinking contest named “shoey”, a gross Australian drinking tradition that for some reason Archspire seem to love. Well, it was gross, no doubt about it, but seeing the winner receiving a custom shirt made by one of the guys form the band with some weird drawing of Wolverine and a dingo was a really cool moment of their show. I would never, ever drink beer directly from my shoes, but one thing I’ll certainly do is to attend all concerts I’m able to by Archspire in the future for more awesomeness in the form of Canadian tech death.

Setlist
Bleed the Future
Abandon the Linear
A Dark Horizontal
Remote Tumour Seeker
Golden Mouth of Ruin
Human Murmuration
Calamus Will Animate
Involuntary Doppelgänger
Drone Corpse Aviator

Band members
Oliver Rae Aleron – vocals
Dean Lamb – guitars
Tobi Morelli – guitars
Jared Smith – bass
Spencer Prewett – 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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