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Concert Review – Thy Art Is Murder (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 04/12/2024)

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If you love mosh pits from the bottom of your blackened heart, then Friday night in Toronto was the place to be, courtesy of four insane bands in a feast of pure, brutal Deathcore.

OPENING ACTS: Snuffed on Sight, Signs of the Swarm and Angelmaker

I have no idea what’s happening with the traffic to get to Toronto. I mean, it has always been bad, but this weekend it seems that things got even worse, which delayed my arrival at The Phoenix Concert Theatre to see SNUFFED ON SIGHT, SIGNS OF THE SWARM, ANGELMAKER and THY ART IS MURDER kill everything and everyone during the Toronto stop of their Godlike North America Tour 2024, another fantastic event brought to the city by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment, and “day 1” of my more-than-awesome “metal weekend” with three days of shows in a row. Besides the heavy traffic to get in and out of the city, there was also a lot of wind and rain, but nothing that could stop a horde of avid Deathcore and Death Metal fans to invade the venue and generate some of the wildest mosh pits I’ve ever seen live. Holy shit, the kids were mental inside the pit, with the action flowing nonstop until the very last second.

Due to traffic, I couldn’t make it in time to see San Francisco, California-based Brutal Death Metal/Hardcore act SNUFFED ON SIGHT, but fortunately my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi was there to take some wild pictures of the band, and to confirm what I suspected after listening to their 2023 album Smoke, that they’re extremely heavy and really fun to see live. If you want to experience their fury, you can stream their sick creations on BandCamp, Spotify, or any other streaming service, as well as get to know more about the band by clicking HERE, and as soon as you realize how brutally amazing this band is, you’ll be smarter than me and plan your trip ahead of time to be able to see them kicking some serious ass on stage.

Setlist
Intro
Blunt Cough
Time 2 Dip
Dummy
(smoke break)
Smoke
All Talk
Slippin

Band members
Seven Kane – vocals
Walid Gad – guitars
Spencer Metala – bass
Kendric DiStefano – drums

Although I had to miss Snuffed on Sight, I was lucky enough to witness live one of the heaviest, most insane concerts ever, courtesy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s own Deathcore beast SIGNS OF THE SWARM. Led by the amazing frontman David Simonich, the band delivered sheer violence, groove and fire during their short but extremely destructive set, playing songs form their most recent album Amongst the Low & Empty such as the title-track Amongst the Low & Empty, Tower of Torsos and Pray for Death. The circle pits, walls of death and crowd surfing were freakin’ insane during their whole concert, showing how electrifying their music is (and you can check it out yourself on Spotify or by clicking HERE). I can’t wait to see those guys again live, but I’ll be sure I have some sort of body armor to endure their sick mosh pits, no doubt about that.

Setlist
Amongst the Low & Empty
Tower of Torsos
Pray for Death
Borrowed Time
Between Fire & Stone
Dreamkiller
Malady

Band members
David Simonich – vocals
Carl Schulz – guitars
Michael Cassese – bass
Bobby Crow – drums

Next on the bill was North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Deathcore infantry ANGELMAKER, and yet again The Phoenix Concert Theatre became a hurricane of mosh pits thanks to their incendiary performance on stage. It’s interesting that they were able to fit all seven members of the band on stage, because not only they have three guitarists, but they also have two demented vocalists, Casey Tyson-Pearce and Mike Greenwood, and oh boy, their double vocal attack is beyond infernal. Playing songs the likes of Godless, Hollow Heart and Leech, it was a wild ride together with those Canadians, keeping the action in the mosh pit moving as fast as a shark hunting for food. Go check their crazy creations on BandCamp and on Spotify, and don’t miss the chance to see those seven wicked musicians live whenever they hit your city, as it’s absolutely worth it.

Setlist
Radiance in the Light of a Dying Sun
The Bridge Between
Suffer Forever
Day/Day
Godless
Gutless
Shia LaBeouf
Vengeance
A Dark Omen
Hollow Heart
Leech

Band members
Casey Tyson-Pearce – vocals
Mike Greenwood – vocals
Colton Bennett – guitars
Matt Perrin – guitars
Johnny Ciardullo – guitars
Cole Rideout – bass
Steven Sanchez – drums

THY ART IS MURDER

After three insane openers, it was then time for the main attraction of the night, Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia’s own Deathcore institution THY ART IS MURDER, to crush the souls of all concert goers with their visceral, harsh and furious performance. Promoting their 2023 album Godlike, the band now fronted by the talented Tyler Miller, of Australian Technical Deathcore band Aversions Crown (as the iconic Chris “CJ” McMahon has recently quit music for good, starting a career in real estate) kicked some ass during their solid performance (just as good as the last time I saw them opening for Cannibal Corpse back in 2019), with songs like Slaves Beyond Death, Death Squad Anthem, Make America Hate Again, Godlike, and of course Puppet Master, driving all fans crazy inside the wild mosh pits that kept moving frantically in the middle of the floor section. Leaving concerts earlier than the end seems to be the new norm in Toronto, maybe due to public transportation hours, maybe due to the increase in violence at night, but I would say more than 90% of the crowd stayed at the venue until the very last second, and hopefully it won’t take long for the band to return to the city for another demented concert like Friday night.

Setlist
We Like to Party (Vengaboys song)
Destroyer of Dreams
Slaves Beyond Death
Death Squad Anthem
Make America Hate Again
Blood Throne
Join Me in Armageddon
Holy War
The Purest Strain of Hate
Godlike
Keres
Everything Unwanted
Reign of Darkness
Puppet Master

Band members
Tyler Miller – vocals
Andy Marsh – lead guitar
Sean Delander – rhythm guitar
Kevin Butler – bass
Jesse Beahler – drums

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Album Review – Uncured / Epidemic (2019)

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Witness the evolution of the music crafted by the Cox Brothers with their pulverizing new album of Progressive Death and Groove Metal.

Founded in New York City by brothers Rex Cox and Zak Cox, who share the band’s vocal and guitar duties, American Progressive Death/Groove Metal unity Uncured has been making a name for themselves since their inception in 2016 when they released their debut EP Spontaneous Generation, followed by their first full-length opus Medusa, released in 2017, which attracted international attention for its combination of technical musicianship, brutal riffs and melodic interludes. After witnessing Uncured opening for renowned acts like Soulfly and the almighty Cradle of Filth last year while promoting their 2017 album Medusa, I’m happy to say those guys stepped up their game considerably with their brand new album, the powerful Epidemic, proving that although they might still be young faces in the scene, they already play and sound like veterans.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by their father Mitch Cox at Conclave Studios, in New York, Epidemic has everything a fan of modern and technical extreme music can ask for, with its crystal clear production enhancing the impact of each song thoroughly played by the aforementioned Zak and Rex on vocals, guitars and bass (as their current bassist Spencer Metela only joined the band after the recording of the album) and Liam Manley on drums.​ The only thing I don’t understand is why they left the excellent 2018 single Terminal out of the album, but that’s just me. And besides, who said Epidemic needed that song to be brutal? I’m pretty sure the boys know what they’re doing, and based on the feedback provided by their fans so far they’re undoubtedly on the right path to stardom with Epidemic.

The opening track Desecration is fast, furious and heavy from the very first second, with the Cox Brothers showcasing all their refined skills with their sick riffs and solos while Liam smashes his drums beautifully in a powerful display of modern Progressive Death Metal, sounding at the same time very technical and visceral. If that was not crazy enough for you, in Choke they take their progressiveness to the next level, and let me say both Zak and Rex are growling and screaming a lot better than in their previous releases, adding tons of rage and insanity to the song’s lyrics (“Tear your throat out / Reject everything from within / This is imperative, all will go black / The problem lies in the silence / There will be nothing that remains, only desolation / As our civilization reverts to dust / This will surely desecrate honor”), whereas in Conquistador the band drinks from the same fountain as modern-day bands like Trivium, delivering flammable riffs and intricate beats and also exploring new grounds by adding acoustic passages and distinct nuances from other metal and even non-metal genres to their music.

Eradicate is another feast of incendiary riffs and solos by Uncured highly recommended for slamming into the pit during their live performances, blending Melodic Death Metal with Groove Metal and an endless amount of progressiveness; followed by Death Valley, where after a serene intro the band comes crushing once again with their groovy and heavy-as-hell sounds, sounding perfect for cracking your neck headbanging and remaining as complex and vibrant as it can be until the very end. And in Resist The Infection all instruments sound absolutely pulverizing and metallic, with Zak and Rex screaming and roaring together like maniacs while Liam keeps the rhythm flowing smoothly with his beats. Put differently, although it might be the shortest of all songs, it still brings tons of stamina, feeling and rage to our avid ears.

The last batch of songs from Epidemic will crush you mercilessly, starting with Sacrifice, a classic Groove Metal tune infused with Death Metal nuances where its guitars and bass penetrate deep inside our minds, making our heads tremble. Furthermore, it feels like a hybrid of the music by Meshuggah, Tool, Dream Theater and other iconic bands, showing once again how talented those guys are. Albeit not as exciting as its predecessors, Stone Fortress is still a very good song, overflowing progressiveness, heaviness and groove, not to mention the usual crisp and piercing guitar lines by the band’s frontmen, while in Blinded By Demise the level of aggressiveness goes through the roof in another metal feast full of breaks and variations where all three band members display their refined skills in great fashion. And last but not least, after a somber, almost tribal intro Uncured attack us all one last time with more of their Progressive Death Metal in Nothing But Disease, with the music alternating between dark passages and extreme rage like the soundtrack to a psychological horror movie, ending in a creepy and captivating way.

There’s no excuse to not listen to Epidemic, as the album is available in full on YouTube, on Spotify and on the band’s official website, and after taking a good listen at it you can purchase your copy from their own BandCamp page or from their webstore in CD or vinyl format, as well as from iTunes or from Amazon. In summary, the Cox Brothers, together with Liam and Spencer, are definitely going places based on the high quality of the music found in Epidemic, presenting a huge step forward in terms of creativity, feeling and overall production after the also good Medusa. Having said that, don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and to subscribe to their YouTube channel, as we might be in front of the next big name from the modern extreme music scene with a long (and prosperous) way to go yet in their promising career.

Best moments of the album: Desecration, Eradicate and Resist The Infection.

Worst moments of the album: Stone Fortress.

Released in 2019 Seek & Strike

Track listing
1. Desecration 4:12
2. Choke 4:19
3. Conquistador 4:45
4. Eradicate 5:07
5. Death Valley 4:47
6. Resist The Infection 2:51
7. Sacrifice 4:04
8. Stone Fortress 4:07
9. Blinded By Demise 4:45
10. Nothing But Disease 4:26

Band members
Zak Cox – vocals, guitars, bass
Rex Cox – vocals, guitars, bass
Liam Manley – drums

Guest musician
Spencer Metala – bass (live)

https://youtu.be/JqVOPdTl00Q