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Concert Review – While She Sleeps & Bury Tomorrow (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 04/03/2025)

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After a Wednesday of snow, ice, rain, and cold, the city of Toronto was treated to a Thursday of sunshine, warm weather, and an overdose of first-class Metalcore.

OPENING ACT: Vended

After a Wednesday of snow, ice, rain, and freakin’ cold temperatures, the city of Toronto was treated to a Thursday of sunshine, warm weather, a nice breeze, and an overdose of first-class Metalcore, courtesy of VENDED, BURY TOMORROW and WHILE SHE SLEEPS during their North America 2025 Tour. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there at the always fun The Danforth Music Hall to enjoy those relatively young but already renowned bands of the Metalcore scene worldwide (but not before savoring a nice and sweet cinnamon roll at Cinnaholic, of course, as quality fuel for the rest of the night), and despite the beyond horrid traffic that’s now a constant in Toronto (except for Monday nights), most fans were able to arrive in time to grab some merch, have a few drinks and get ready for the action that was about to begin on and off stage.

It was 7pm when Des Moines, Iowa’s own Alternative/Nu Metal band VENDED took the stage of The Danforth Music Hall for an incendiary performance, perfectly warming up everyone for the main attractions of the night. If you know nothing about those guys, the band features two musicians who are sons of members of Slipknot, singer Griffin Taylor is the son of Corey Taylor, and drummer Simon Crahan is the son of Shawn “Clown” Crahan, but that doesn’t mean they’re a copy of Slipknot; quite the contrary, they have their own sound and style, and the crowd loved every single second of their show, already igniting a sick circle pit. Their debut self-titled album was out in 2024, it’s available on Spotify and other streaming platforms, and you should definitely give those guys a listen because they’re excellent in what they do.

Setlist
Intro
Nihilism
Ded to Me
Am I the Only One
The Far Side
Pitiful
Asylum

Band members
Griffin Taylor – lead vocals
Cole Espeland – lead guitar
Connor Grodzicki – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jeremiah Pugh – bass, backing vocals
Simon Crahan – drums

BURY TOMORROW

Hailing from Southampton, Hampshire, England, BURY TOMORROW needed only a few seconds to electrify the crowd with their frantic performance, with the floor section exploding into an awesome circle pit for the delight of the fans and the band. Their dual vocal attack formed of Daniel Winter-Bates on harsh vocals and Tom Prendergast on clean vocals works extremely well live, with the heavy kitchen blasted by Davyd Winter-Bates on bass and Adam Jackson on drums adding an overdose of groove to their core sound. All of their songs sounded vibrant live, and if you know nothing about them go check their latest release The Seventh Sun, from 2023, on Spotify, and get ready for their upcoming album Will You Haunt Me, with That Same Patience, as I’m sure you’ll have a great time listening to those UK rockers. Needless to say, whenever they schedule a live concert in your town, you know where you’ll be that night, right?

Setlist
Abandon Us
Earthbound
Death (Ever Colder)
Let Go
Villain Arc
What If I Burn
Boltcutter
Black Flame
Cannibal
Majesty
Life (Paradise Denied)
Choke

Band members
Daniel Winter-Bates – harsh vocals
Kristan Dawson – lead guitar, backing vocals
Ed Hartwell – rhythm guitar
Tom Prendergast – keyboards, clean vocals
Davyd Winter-Bates – bass
Adam Jackson – drums, percussion

WHILE SHE SLEEPS

It was already past 9pm when Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England-based outfit WHILE SHE SLEEPS attacked the crowd with their share of Metalcore made in the UK, just like Bury Tomorrow had just done, and once again the fans at the venue went wild, jumping up and down, screaming the lyrics together with frontman Lawrence “Loz” Taylor, raising their fists and horns in the air, and of course slamming into the pit with a huge smile on their faces. There were moments of friendship and love, when Loz asked fans to hug their families and friends, a Slipknot-like moment with everyone going down and waiting for his sign to start jumping, cellphones with their flashlights on in the air, and an overdose of crowd surfing. I’m not kidding, there was this small girl with a ponytail and a red hoodie that might have broken the worldwide record of crowd surfing in one night, as she kept flying around every 10 seconds nonstop. All of their songs also sounde great live, including the new ones from their 2024 album Self Hell (available on Spotify), and I guess based on the warm reaction from the entire venue that it won’t take long for Toronto to enjoy another night together with While She Sleeps.

Setlist
Rainbows
Leave Me Alone
Anti-Social
You Are All You Need
The Guilty Party
You Are We
Self hell
Systematic
Four Walls
Hurricane
Enlightenment(?)
Silence Speaks
To The Flowers
Sleeps Society

Band members
Lawrence “Loz” Taylor – lead vocals
Sean Long – lead guitar, backing vocals
Mat Welsh – rhythm guitar, piano, vocals
Aaran McKenzie – bass, backing vocals
Adam “Sav” Savage – drums, percussion

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Concert Review – Jinjer (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 09/23/2024)

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

OPENING ACTS: Born of Osiris and Hanabie

Monday nights are always a weird choice for concerts anywhere in the world, but the fans in Toronto didn’t care at all and headed to The Danforth Music Hall, which was by the way designated as a property of historic interest under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1985, to witness the eclectic combo of BORN OF OSIRIS, HANABIE and JINJER during their North America 2024 Tour. If you have never been to The Danforth, let me tell you that it’s big enough for some wild mosh pit action, something that really benefits concerts by bands like the ones on the bill, in special Jinjer who are all about inspiring their fans to start moshing while they kick ass on stage.

The opening slot was reserved to American Progressive Metalcore band BORN OF OSIRIS, formed in 2003 in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and those guys definitely know how to warm up a crowd with their endless energy and electricity. The band formed of Cameron Losch, Ronnie Canizaro, Lee McKinney and Nick Rossi sounded tight and in total sync with the audience at The Danforth, and their short but sweet setlist was exactly what their fans needed to rev up their engines for the rest of the night. Right after those talented American guys, it was time to switch gears to the wicked music by HANABIE, a Japanese Nu Metalcore entity formed in 2015 in Tokyo, consisting of vocalist Yukina, guitarist Matsuri, bassist Hettsu and drummer Chika. It’s said that they combine heavy music with contrasting Harajuku aesthetics in a style self-described as “Harajuku-core”, but if all that doesn’t make any sense to you simply search for their music online, as those girls know how to rock. I think it was their second time in Toronto, and I bet we’ll see them around again as the reaction form the crowd was absolutely wild during their entire concert.

JINJER

The main attraction of the night needs no introduction. If you’re a normal person, you know Ukrainian Metalcore institution JINJER, you know the importance of their breathtaking frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk to the world of heavy music, and you know how crazy the circle pits can get when the band hits the stage. Songs like Sit Stay Roll Over, Call Me a Symbol and Dead Hands Feel No Pain always sound and feel great on stage, and all fans of the band definitely enjoyed every second of their performance at The Danforth. Let’s say Jinjer are becoming too big for small to medium sized venues, and at the speed they’re growing we’ll most probably see those Ukrainian ambassadors headlining their future concerts in the city at bigger venues like the Budweiser Stage. They have two amazing new singles out now, which means a new album is about to be released anytime soon, so I guess we’ll see Jinjer kicking ass live in Toronto again sooner than we can imagine.

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Concert Review – Hatebreed (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 09/05/2023)

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The city of Toronto let the hate flow through its veins and destroyed everything together with the American juggernauts of Hardcore on a beyond hot and fun night.

OPENING ACTS: Jesus Piece, Vein.FM and Terror

What’s the best thing to do when you’re in the middle of a heat wave, with temperatures over +40oC and a scorching sun to burn you alive? Attending a metal concert, of course! And the city of Toronto had the pleasure of hosting the bands JESUS PIECE, VEIN.FM, TERROR and HATEBREED at The Danforth Music Hall this Tuesday during the Rise of Brutality 20th Anniversary Tour 2023, where Hatebreed are celebrating 20 years of their classic album The Rise of Brutality. I honestly thought that the venue was going to feel like a sauna, because that was the case when Kreator and Sepultura played there a few months ago, but apparently the organizers knew that the heat was way too strong outdoors and decided to crank up the AC to the lowest temperature possible, making it quite comfortable inside for all of the concert goers. You probably saved some lives by doing that! Good job!

As traffic wasn’t too crazy yesterday, all fans had a lot of time to enjoy a few beers and buy some merch between the doors opening at 6pm and the first band of the night, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Hardcore/Metalcore/Sludge Metal act JESUS PIECE, kicking off their concert at 7pm. Spearheaded by the unstoppable frontman  Aaron Heard, the band put on a very entertaining concert from start to finish, blending songs from their new album …So Unknown with their older material, already inspiring the crowd to create a massive circle pit where most kids looked like they were squirrels who had a few cans of Red Bull, moving around like rabid creatures. I just couldn’t catch the names of the songs, mainly because whenever Aaron was talking to the crowd his mic sounded a little muffled, but if you’re curious to know more about such explosive band you can find all of their wicked creations on Spotify.

Band members
Aaron Heard – vocals
David Updike – guitars
John DiStefano – guitars
Anthony Marinaro – bass, backing vocals
Luis Aponte – drums

That mosh pit madness, with everyone following the lesson taught by the mighty Exodus in the classic “Toxic Waltz”, that being “so don’t be a dunce and dance like a runt, just throw your elbows with good friendly violent fun”, continued during the concert by Boston, Massachusetts-based Hardcore Punk/Metalcore outfit VEIN.FM. Having released the album This World Is Going To Ruin You last year, the band formed of Anthony DiDio on vocals, Jeremy Martin on the guitars, Jon Lhaubouet on bass and Matt Wood on drums showed no mercy for our souls, crushing their instruments nonstop and, therefore, inviting the crowd to keep moving wildly as if each person in the pit was fighting some sort of “invisible man”. It was a fun and vibrant show that definitely warmed up all Hatebreed fans at the venue, and if you want to enjoy the music by such talented band at home, in your car, at work, at school, at the gym or anywhere else, you can find those guys on BandCamp and on Spotify. Once again it was impossible to catch the names of the songs played, but that’s just a minor detail as their live performance was awesome.

Band members
Anthony DiDio – vocals
Jeremy Martin – guitar, backing vocals
Jon Lhaubouet – bass, backing vocals
Matt Wood – drums

Quickly after Vein.FM finished their show, it was time for Los Angeles, California’s own Hardcore legends TERROR to burn down The Danforth Music Hall with another insane performance, turning the floor section into a massive circle pit where the kids were once again moving like crazy creatures. Frontman Scott Vogel was the main responsible person for that mosh pit madness, as he kept asking the crowd to keep moving around, to keep doing some sick crowd surfing and so on, and let’s say his requests were promptly answered by everyone inside the pit. Playing songs from their latest album, their 2022 beast Pain into Power, including the amazing title-track, plus some of their old school material, those Californians showed Toronto everything they got, and the temperature inside the venue went up considerably due to all the action going on while Terror continued to distill their flammable Hardcore on stage. I’ve already place in another concert review the links to where you can stream their music, but as they’re really cool guys here we go again with the links to their BandCamp and Spotify, and if they ever visit your hometown, don’t think twice and go join the band to unleash some first-class Hardcore terror, alright?

Band members
Scott Vogel – vocals
Martin Stewart – guitar
Jordan Posner – guitar
Chris Linkovich – bass
Nick Jett – drums

HATEBREED

The break between Terror and Bridgeport, Connecticut-based Hardcore Punk/Metalcore titans HATEBREED was a little longer than the previous ones for obvious reasons, allowing everyone at the venue to go buy some merch (in case they hadn’t done so already), grab a few beers, smoke a cigarette and have a quality chat with their friends, and all those things energized the crowd to the point that the iconic Jamey Jasta kept repeating how much he loves Toronto, being visibly impressed with the rowdy reaction during each song from their amazing setlist. Playing songs form their entire discography, including the classics Last Breath (dedicated to the memory of the deceased The Black Dahlia Murder frontman Trevor Strnad), Driven by Suffering, Tear It Down, Straight to Your Face, Doomsayer, and Confide in No One, the band put on an electrifying show that pleased all fans of their unique fusion of Hardcore with Thrash Metal, Punk Rock and other heavy styles.

My only complaint (and of Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography, as well as all other photographers at the venue) was the dim lighting used for all four bands, which is becoming something quite common in most shows not only in Toronto, but everywhere. It’s getting tough to see the bands on stage with clarity, but of course, it’s nothing that would stop the fans from enjoying the shows. Well, it is what it is, and when you have a band like Hatebreed on stage let’s admit we must be really aware of our surroundings due to all the mosh pit action going on, leaving us with not a lot of time to actually pay attention to the stage, right? Jokes aside, it was a true pleasure seeing Wayne Lozinak and Frank Novinec kicking some ass with their guitars while Chris Beattie and Matt Byrne made the venue shake with their insanely heavy kitchen, keeping everyone more than entertained until the very end, with lots of fists and horns in the air, lots of screaming, and the endless insanity inside the circle pit led by the demented vocals by Jamey. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for Hatebreed to return to Canadian lands to destroy everything once again, and I bet everyone who attended their concert last night will be there again to celebrate their undisputed Hardcore music.

Setlist
Tear It Down
Straight to Your Face
Destroy Everything
A Lesson Lived Is a Lesson Learned
Empty Promises
To the Threshold
Live for This
Voice of Contention
Looking Down the Barrel of Today
Beholder of Justice
This Is Now
Perseverance
Driven by Suffering
Confide in No One
Last Breath (Dedicated to Trevor Strnad)
Doomsayer
Smash Your Enemies
Another Day Another Vendetta
I Will Be Heard

Band members
Jamey Jasta – vocals
Wayne Lozinak – lead guitar, backing vocals
Frank Novinec – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Chris Beattie – bass
Matt Byrne – drums

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Concert Review – Kreator & Sepultura (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 06/08/2023)

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The world is in flames and the people divided, but Kreator, Sepultura and their fans were united last night in Toronto to prove once again everything gets better with some first-class heavy music.

OPENING ACTS: Spiritworld and Death Angel

Insane traffic, heavy smoke from the wildfires in Northern Ontario and Quebec, and temperatures dropping below seasonal. If you think those “nice” factors would stop the metalheads in Toronto from setting The Danforth Music Hall on fire last night together with SPIRITWORLD, DEATH ANGEL, SEPULTURA and KREATOR as part of their Klash of the Titans North America 2023, another awesome event brought to the city by Embrace Presents, you’re absolutely wrong. It seems that Torontonian metallers fear nothing when it comes to enduring several external threats to attend metal concerts in the city, and when they’re inside the venue, oh boy, it’s fuckin’ madness! It was a sold out night of mosh pits, walls of death, bodies emerging from the pit, horns and fists in the air, a lot of screaming and jumping, and above all that, seeing our metalhead friends once again to celebrate music and life. What else can we ask for, right? And on a side note, it looks like a few concert goers got injured inside the pit during one of the bands, with one guy bleeding real bad (I think he landed on his head); however, the venue security was on it fast and even had their own trained medical staff. That’s a huge display of professionalism, so kudos to security for being so fast and effective.

Due to traffic (and hunger, as I spent hours driving before being able to eat anything, which had to happen outside The Danforth Music Hall because they don’t sell any food inside the venue), this guy here had to unfortunately miss the opening band, Las Vegas, Nevada-based Death/Thrash Metal/Hardcore act SPIRITWORLD, but at least my friend Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography was here to capture some amazing shots of the band and tell me a little about their performance, saying it was very energetic and fun to watch. The doors opened at 5pm, and the band played from 6:30pm to around 7pm, just to give you an idea of how bad traffic was. Anyway, if you know nothing about the band, go check their BandCamp and Spotify, in special their 2022 album Deathwestern, which is quite entertaining in my opinion.

Setlist
Comancheria
Lujuria Satanica
The Bringer of Light
Committee of Buzzards
Unholy Passages
U L C E R
Relic of Damnation
Pagan Rhythms

Band members
Stu Folsom – vocals
Justin Fornof – vocals, sampling
Randy Moore – lead guitars
Matt Schrum – rhythm guitars
Nick Brundy – bass
Preston Harper – drums

It was precisely 7:20pm when San Francisco, California’s own Thrash Metal institution DEATH ANGEL hit the stage with a flawless performance, igniting some intense mosh pits for the delight of all fans present at the venue. Still promoting their 2019 album Humanicide, the band spearheaded by the unstoppable frontman Mark Osegueda, who by the way had a superb vocal performance last night reaching some really high notes in great fashion, put on a solid and vibrant show, albeit a bit short in duration. The songs The Dream Calls for Blood, The Moth and Thrown to the Wolves sounded absolutely fantastic last night, with the razor-edged guitars by Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar piercing our souls mercilessly. Closer to the end of the show, Mark took a moment to tell Toronto how much he loves the city, saying he remembers playing at El Mocambo (a very, very small underground venue) twice on the same day during their first ever visit to Toronto back in 1987, and saying that they might have been prohibited to play their album The Ultra-Violence (in special the song Voracious Souls) back then in their homeland, but that Canada received them with open arms. Well, we’ll always receive Death Angel with open arms (and open circle pits) in Toronto.

Setlist
Lord of Hate
Voracious Souls
The Dream Calls for Blood
The Moth
Humanicide
The Ultra-Violence / Thrown to the Wolves

Band members
Mark Osegueda – vocals
Rob Cavestany – guitar
Ted Aguilar – guitar
Damien Sisson – bass
Will Carroll – drums

KREATOR

It was still bright ay 8:30pm outside the venue (well, not that bright due to the smoke, but it wasn’t dark yet) when Teutonic Thrash Metal titans KREATOR took the city of Toronto by storm with a beyond pulverizing performance, and when I say pulverizing I’m not kidding, it was insane from the very first second until the last notes of Pleasure to Kill. Also, despite the fact they released what’s in my opinion the best album of 2022, the superb Hate Über Alles, they’re only playing the title-track during this current tour, but that’s just a minor detail compared to the endless energy, rage and violence happening on and off stage. The iconic Mille Petrozza led the Torontonian hordes of chaos brilliantly throughout their entire set, resulting in some of the sickest circle pits of all shows in the city this year.

Mille interacted a lot with the crowd, always asking for more circle pits, crowd surfing and walls of death, but he didn’t actually need to ask for that as everyone inside the pit went nuts as soon as the first notes of Hate Über Alles hit. Some of the songs sounded so brutal, such as Enemy of God, Flag of Hate and Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite), that the whole pit looked like one of those insane Royal Rumble moments where it’s everyone against everyone, and the band simply loved to witness that while delivering a lecture in German thrash on stage. The giant inflatable devil on stage (from the artwork from their latest album) was a very nice touch to their performance, in special when Satan is Real was played, whereas Mille declaiming the chorus to the rebellious single 666 – World Divided before starting the song itself was another beautiful moment for the entire crowd. Of course, as expected, the most demented circle pit and wall of death of the night happened during their all-time classic Pleasure to Kill, leaving everyone at the venue eager for more Kreator in the city anytime they wish to return. As a matter of fact, I would be extremely happy if they somehow played in Toronto once a week or even more than that if they wanted to.

Setlist
Sergio Corbucci Is Dead
Hate Über Alles
Awakening of the Gods (Intro)
Enemy of God
People of the Lie
Betrayer
Satan Is Real
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
666 – World Divided
Flag of Hate
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Pleasure to Kill
Apocalypticon

Band members
Miland “Mille” Petrozza – vocals, guitar
Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitar
Frédéric Leclercq – bass
Jürgen “Ventor” Reil – drums

SEPULTURA

I honestly thought Kreator were going to be the headliners during the entire tour, but it looks like they adopted the “alternating headline mode” that so many bands are using these days, just like Gojira and Mastodon are doing now in North America. Having said that, Toronto had the pleasure of having as the closing act of the night the unparalleled Brazilian Groove/Thrash Metal beast SEPULTURA, who brought a lot of heaviness and groove to our avid ears during their solid performance. Derrick Green, Paulo Jr. and Eloy Casagrande were precise as usual, but it was Andreas Kisser who stole the show with another distinct performance on the guitars. I just think the band would benefit a lot from having a second guitarist to provide Andreas with some background support during his solos, filling out the empty spaces left, but that’s just an idea and nothing that would make their show less fun.

Still promoting their 2020 album Quadra, the band played a mix of new songs with old school Sepultura, as roared by Derrick right at the beginning of their concert, and while new songs like Isolation and Kairos worked amazingly live, others like Guardians of Earth and Agony of Defeat cooled down the atmosphere a bit, despite being sensational and very detailed compositions. Needless to say, it was when they played their classics including Territory, Refuse/Resist, Arise and Ratamahatta that the crowd jumped up and down nonstop, slammed into the pit, and raised their horns screaming, with one of the most rebellious metal songs ever, the unique Roots Bloody Roots, being the icing on the cake of their show. Andreas also took a moment to say how much the guys from Sepultura love Toronto, and I guess it won’t take long for them to return. After all was said and done, the traffic to get out of the city was brutal even after midnight, but who cares? After witnessing Kreator and Sepultura destroying everything and everyone last night in Toronto, nothing could erase the smile on the faces of the Torontonian metalheads.

Setlist
Polícia (Titãs song)
Isolation
Territory
Means to an End
Kairos
Propaganda
Guardians of Earth
Ali
Agony of Defeat
Refuse/Resist
Arise
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots

Band members
Derrick Green – lead vocals
Andreas Kisser – guitars, backing vocals
Paulo Jr. – bass
Eloy Casagrande – drums

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Concert Review – Cannibal Corpse (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 11/06/2022)

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And there we had another fantastic night of sheer brutality and blasphemy in Toronto spearheaded by the Corpse. 

OPENING ACTS: Black Anvil, Immolation and Dark Funeral

What a fantastic night of sheer brutality and blasphemy at The Danforth Music Hall yesterday in Toronto! If you’re a diehard fan of Death and Black Metal you must attend one of the concerts of the North American Tour 2022 this fall with the bands BLACK ANVIL, IMMOLATION, DARK FUNERAL and the unstoppable, unparalleled CANNIBAL FUCKIN’ CORPSE, with the sold out night yesterday in Toronto proving how strong extreme music still is even with all the bad music that’s dumped onto us everyday by the “specialized” media. The weather was perfect and the line to get into the venue started to form really early, maybe even before 4pm, showing it was going to be indeed an unforgettable night to all 1,500 fans who were lucky enough to get a ticket.

The first band to hit the stage was New York-based Black/Thrash Metal outfit BLACK ANVIL, but I had to miss the first few minutes of their setlist due to the massive line to buy merch. Unfortunately, the never-ending merch lines seem to be the new norm as that has happened in every single concert I’ve been to after the end of the pandemic, which makes me wonder if the fans are willing to spend a lot of extra money with shirts and other merch fearing that a new pandemic might hit anytime, or that the organizers have no clue what they’re doing and can’t put together a decent way to serve all fans that want to buy some merch. Anyway, back to the music, as soon as I was able to get into the main hall I could enjoy Black Anvil’s straightforward, no shenanigans performance, with their drummer stealing the spotlight with a solid performance. They’ve just released a new album this Friday, entitled Regenesis, which was basically everything they played last night, so if you know nothing about them and are attending one of their concerts opening for Cannibal Corpse you must listen to their new opus. Well, you should listen to it even if you’re not attending any concert, as those guys are great.

Setlist
The Gates of Brass
In Two
The Bet
29
8-Bit Terror
Grant Us His Love
Castrum Doloris

Band members
P.D. – vocals, bass
Sos – guitars
Travis Bacon – guitars
R.G. – drums

After a very short break (and the main reason for that is because all four bands had to finish their concerts by 11pm at the latest due to the neighborhood where the venue is located), it was then time for American Death Metal masters IMMOLATION to crush our souls with their extremely aggressive and technical creations, blending songs from their newest album Acts of God, such as the title-track An Act of God, Shed the Light and the closing song Apostle, with old school stuff including one song from their 1991 debut album Dawn of Possession, the fulminating Burial Ground, which ignited one of the most ravenous mosh pits of their infernal performance. Vocalist and bassist Ross Dolan was on fire throughout their entire set, while his bandmates made sure the electricity kept flowing between the band and the crowd. I’m sure it won’t take long for Immolation to return to Toronto,  and whenever that happens I’m sure I’ll be there to slam into the pit once again to the sound of their visceral music.

Setlist
Abandoned
An Act of God
The Age of No Light
Swarm of Terror
Noose of Thorns
The Distorting Light
Overtures of the Wicked
Burial Ground
Shed the Light
Of Martyrs and Men
When Halos Burn
Apostle

Band members
Ross Dolan – vocals, bass
Robert Vigna – guitars
Alex Bouks – guitars
Steve Shalaty – drums

Of course I was at The Danforth Music Hall last night mainly to see the headliners Cannibal Corpse, but I was also very excited to witness the scorching Black Metal by Sweden’s own DARK FUNERAL for the very first time live, and let me tell you it was indeed a unique experience as the band spearheaded by the talented frontman Heljarmadr delivered endless obscurity and blasphemy to their avid fans. Promoting their awesome new opus We Are The Apocalypse, Dark Funeral fired a great fusion of their early days and more contemporary creations, with songs the likes of Leviathan, The Secrets of the Black Arts and Let the Devil In receiving a huge roar back from the crowd showing all their admiration for the band. It was also funny seeing Heljarmadr asking every single fan at the venue to scream “HAIL SATAN!” together with him, and I can’t imagine what the girls at the bar and the guys from security felt during such inspirational moments. The top moments of their performance for me were the neck-breaking, evil tune My Funeral, and the closing song Where Shadows Forever Reign, turning Toronto into the worldwide Black Metal capital for one night and, therefore, guaranteeing Dark Funeral will return to the city to darken the skies once again with their undisputed Black Metal in the near future.

Setlist
Unchain My Soul
Hail Murder
Leviathan
My Funeral
The Secrets of the Black Arts
Open the Gates
When I’m Gone
Nail Them to the Cross
Let the Devil In
Where Shadows Forever Reign

Band members
Heljarmadr – vocals
Lord Ahriman – guitars
Chaq Mol – guitars
Adra Melek – bass
Jalomaah – drums

CANNIBAL CORPSE

And finally there they were, three years after their hammering performance at The Opera House back in 2019 (which was by the way my last concert before the world went to shit with the pandemic), Buffalo, New York’s one and only Death Metal institution CANNIBAL CORPSE took the city of Toronto by storm once again with their rage, speed, heaviness, precision and groove, driving the entire floor section mental and, consequently, igniting a massive circle pit that lasted for their entire performance. Frontman George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher (armed with his monstrous neck and his beyond cool T-shirt “Respect the Neck”), guitarists Rob Barrett and Erik Rutan, the bass phenom Alex Webster, and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz were in absolute sync from start to finish, turning up the eat at the venue to the point you would sweat even if you were not moving at all.

What I love about Cannibal Corpse is that their setlists are always a journey through all of their phases, mixing classics the likes of Unleashing the Bloodthirsty and Stripped, Raped and Strangled with newer stuff such as Kill or Become and Inhumane Harvest, this one form their most recent album Violence Unimagined. Corpsegrinder had the crowd in his bloody hands instantly, delivering not only a savage vocal performance but also interacting in a very fun way with all fans, either by throwing bottles of water to them or by challenging everyone to try to beat him in a headbanging duel during I Cum Blood (and of course, we all failed miserably as Corpsegrinder himself predicted). Another fun moment with Corpsegrinder was before Fucked With a Knife, when he dedicated it to all women and instead of hearing guys cheering that, he actually listened to A LOT of women screaming at the venue. He commented on that by saying there are usually only 20 women in their concerts, which is already a lot in his opinion, and when he asked the ladies to scream again they were even louder. Well, after such nice moment, the circle pit kept moving ferociously to Fucked With a Knife, as expected.

Every single time I write anything about Cannnibal Corpse I need to say how much I admire Mr. Alex Webster and his wicked bass lines, and yesterday in Toronto he proved once again why he’s the best bass player of the entire Death Metal universe. That man is a beast on bass, and the best part is that you can actually listen to each and every note coming from his bass clearly. And while Mr. Webster was demolishing our ears with his bass during masterpieces the likes of Devoured by Vermin, A Skull Full of Maggots and Hammer Smashed Face, the rowdy crowd in Toronto kept having a very good time inside the circle pit in the name of first-class metal music. It’s so nice to be a fan of a band like Cannibal Corpse, as not only all of their albums are amazing, but their live performances are a thing of beauty. There should be a law for the band to play here at least once a month, but as that’s not possible I’m happy if they kept releasing ass-kicking albums and keep coming back to Toronto every couple of years. LONG LIVE THE CORPSE!

Setlist
Scourge of Iron
The Time to Kill Is Now
Inhumane Harvest
Code of the Slashers
Fucked With a Knife
The Wretched Spawn
Gutted
Kill or Become
I Cum Blood
Evisceration Plague
Death Walking Terror
Condemnation Contagion
Necrogenic Resurrection
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Devoured by Vermin
A Skull Full of Maggots
Stripped, Raped and Strangled
Hammer Smashed Face

Band members
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – vocals
Rob Barrett – lead and rhythm guitar
Erik Rutan – lead guitar
Alex Webster – bass guitar
Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums

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Concert Review – Behemoth (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 11/06/2018)

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Toronto definitely loves Behemoth at their darkest.

OPENING ACTS: Wolves In The Throne Room and At The Gates

If there’s one thing we cannot complain at all in Toronto is the fact that the winter never really hits us hard before the end of December, which means whenever there’s a concert like this Tuesday’s fantastic triumvirate of extreme music with Wolves In The Throne Room, At The Gates and the masters of blasphemy Behemoth at The Danforth Music Hall during their “Ecclesia Diabolica America 2018 e.v.” tour, you can rest assured it will never be too cold nor snowing, allowing any fan to attend the show and have a great time. Well, I guess even if it was -20oC and snowing like hell the concert would have been absolutely SOLD OUT like it actually happened, with about 1,500 metalheads at the venue, and the reason for that is quite simple. All three bands kicked some serious ass with their austere, obscure and hammering music, especially Behemoth, who put up another memorable performance in the city.

I have to admit I didn’t know much about American Atmospheric Black Metal act WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, formed in 2003 in the city of Olympia, Washington, in the United States, before their show opening for At The Gates and Behemoth this Tuesday, and I’m truly happy with them being chosen to do so. Still promoting their 2017 album Thrice Woven (available from their own BandCamp page), the  band comprised of Nathan Weaver on vocals and guitar, Kody Keyworth on the guitar and backing vocals, Peregrine Somerville also on the guitar, the stunning Brittany McConnell on keyboards and Aaron Weaver on drums (and no, they don’t have a bassist) delivered a solid, entertaining and mesmerizing show, playing only three songs but for around 30 minutes, just the way we love it in Atmospheric Black Metal. If you’re still going to see Behemoth during this North American tour, make sure you get to the venue on time for Wolves In The Throne Room, because watching them on stage is indeed a unique experience.

Setlist
Angrboda
The Old Ones Are With Us
Born From the Serpent’s Eye

Band members
Nathan Weaver – vocals, guitar
Kody Keyworth – guitar, backing vocals
Peregrine Somerville – guitar
Brittany McConnell – keyboards
Aaron Weaver – drums

After a quick break it was time for Gothenburg’s own Melodic Death Metal institution AT THE GATES to prove us all why they’re still one of the most relevant bands from the 90’s unparalleled Swedish scene, slaying everything and everyone throughout their entire concert. All fans at the venue enjoyed a lot the flammable performance by frontman Tomas Lindberg and his henchmen, including the songs from their brand new album To Drink from the Night Itself, such as the title-track and A Stare Bound in Stone. Not only their full concert was a feast of first-class old school and modern-day Melodic Death Metal, but it was nice to watch Mr. Adrian Erlandsson smashing his drums once again after so many years, as the last time I saw him playing live was when he was still drumming for Cradle Of Filth. A great drummer, an amazing and charismatic lead singer, and a very entertaining setlist. What else can you ask for in Melodic Death Metal made in the beautiful Sweden, right?

Setlist
Der Widerstand
To Drink From the Night Itself
Slaughter of the Soul
At War With Reality
A Stare Bound in Stone
Cold
El Altar del Dios Desconocido
Death and the Labyrinth
Heroes and Tombs
Suicide Nation
The Book of Sand (The Abomination)
Blinded by Fear
The Night Eternal

Band members
Tomas Lindberg – vocals
Martin Larsson – guitars
Jonas Stålhammar – guitars
Jonas Björler – bass
Adrian Erlandsson – drums 

BEHEMOTH

Right after At The Gates ended their show, the speakers started playing the devilish children’s choir from the awesome intro Solve, from BEHEMOTH’s blasphemous and totally amazing new opus I Loved You At Your Darkest, putting us all in a trance and warming up our senses for the storm of Blackened Death Metal we were all eager to witness once again in Toronto. And when our favorite Polish horde started their fulminating performance with Wolves ov Siberia, spearheaded as usual by the iconic Nergal, it was hell on earth at The Danforth Music Hall for the total delectation of the 1,500 fans who took the venue by storm.

Blending new songs from their latest albums I Loved You At Your Darkest, which by the way worked extremely well live like the hypnotizing chant Bartzabel and the beyond blasphemous Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica, and The Satanist, with the ominous hymns Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer (my favorite of the setlist) and Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel being a true invocation of evil, with old school material like the pulverizing Ov Fire and the Void, Slaves Shall Serve and Chant for Eschaton 2000, Nergal and his horde comprised of the extremely sharp and talented Seth on the guitar and backing vocals, the bulldozer Orion on bass and backing vocals, and the stone crusher Inferno on drums were on absolute fire from start to finish, worshiping Satan while delivering the best and most intricate fusion of classic and contemporary Death and Black Metal you can think of, with their masks, costumes and props being the icing on the cake. My only “complaint” is that they didn’t end the show with the fantastic O Father O Satan O Sun!, including those menacing horns and masks, but the closing combo Lucifer, We Are the Next 1000 Years  and the outro Coagvla were awesome anyway.

Not only Nergal was extremely happy and excited with the warm reception he received here in Toronto (not to mention the endless, incendiary circle pits beautifully crafted by their, let’s say, “most physical” fans), but seeing such packed venue made him pretty much promise us all that Behemoth will strike us Torontonians once again with their infernal music in a not-so-distant future, and we obviously can’t wait for another bestial performance by one of the most important extreme bands of the current metal scene. Lastly, on a side note, it looks like Behemoth love Toronto even more than we can imagine, as the Polish quartet from hell also played a 7-song setlist at a house party of one of Nergal’s friends the night before as you can see HERE, with the same intensity and energy of their usual concerts at much bigger places. I don’t mind not being invited for those parties as long as Behemoth keep coming back to the city with their insanely heavy and hellish concerts, but if by any chance anyone has a spare “ticket” for that type of event, why not? Just kidding, as I’m not that social, only a metalhead who loves when a band like Behemoth keeps spreading their black wings and unleashing hell upon the earth, showing their love for the city of Toronto as much as we love them back at their darkest.

Setlist
Solve
Wolves ov Siberia
Daimonos
Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Bartzabel
Ov Fire and the Void
God = Dog
Conquer All
Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica
Decade of Therion
Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
Slaves Shall Serve
Chant for Eschaton 2000
Lucifer
We Are the Next 1000 Years
Coagvla

Band members
Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion

Concert Review – Trivium & Arch Enemy (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 11/07/2017)

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Over 1,500 metalheads headed over to Toronto’s Greektown for a flammable night of modern and vibrant contemporary metal music, courtesy of the iconic Arch Enemy and the unstoppable Trivium.

OPENING ACTS: Fit For An Autopsy and While She Sleeps

Although it’s getting colder and colder as the month of November begins to switch from the colors of fall to the monochromatic look of winter, I guess no one can complain about the clear and not-so-chilly weather yesterday in Toronto, turning the night into the perfect occasion to head to The Danforth Music Hall, located at the easternmost side of what’s known as “Greektown”, to watch the fulminant performances by two of the most important bands in contemporary metal music, Swedish Melodic Death Metal masters Arch Enemy and American Heavy Metal troopers Trivium, both promoting their brand new kick-ass albums. Not only that, weeks before the concert all tickets were already sold out, which means we were going to experience around 1,500 metalmaniacs screaming, jumping up and down and slamming into the pit together with the bands. It can’t get any better than this, my friends.

The two bands chosen to warm up the crowd in a night of modern and aggressive heavy music were American Deathcore act Fit For An Autopsy and British Metalcore group While She Sleeps, with FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY being the first to hit the stage at 6:30pm. Formed in 2008 in Jersey City, in the state of New Jersey, United States, the band is supporting Arch Enemy and Trivium during their fall tour by promoting their latest album, titled The Great Collapse, released earlier this year. If Deathcore is your cup of tea, go check The Great Collapse in full on YouTube as their setlist was 2/3 formed of songs from that album, and also watch their official video for Black Mammoth, the closing song of their performance.

Setlist
Hydra
Heads Will Hang
Absolute Hope Absolute Hell
Still We Destroy
Iron Moon
Black Mammoth

Band members
Joe Badolato – vocals
Will Putney – guitar
Patrick Sheridan – guitar
Tim Howley – guitar
Peter Spinazola – bass
Josean Orta – drums

After that good start it was time for WHILE SHE SLEEPS to blast their Metalcore precisely at 7:15pm to all metalheads that were already at the venue (and the ones arriving a little late). Formed in 2006, this Sheffield-based squad is currently promoting their new album You Are We, with their setlist also being almost 100% based on it. New songs like the opening tune You Are We, Silence Speaks, and the closing one Hurricane kept the audience warm enough for the main attractions of the night, with lead singer Lawrence Taylor and bassist Aaran Mckenzie being absolutely on fire from start to finish.

Setlist
You Are We
Civil Isolation
Brainwashed
Feel
Silence Speaks
Hurricane

Band members
Lawrence Taylor – vocals
Sean Long – guitar
Mat Welsh – guitar, vocals
Aaran Mckenzie – bass
Adam Savage -drums

ARCH ENEMY

Finally, after over three long years (the last time the band was in town was in 2014 together with Kreator), Toronto had the pleasure of witnessing another bestial performance by ARCH ENEMY, precisely at 8:05pm (the punctuality of the concerts in Toronto always amazes me), and let me tell you that this time the whole band was even sharper and heavier than last time. Well, let’s say that is most probably due to the fact that in their new album, the excellent Will to Power, Arch Enemy put the pedal to the metal, sounding less melodic and more ruthless, and when their new songs were transferred to the stage the result couldn’t be different than some insane mosh pits, lots of growling and fists and horns in the air.

Frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz (with her always exotic and apocalyptic attire) seemed extremely happy and excited (as expected) to be with Arch Enemy once again in her homeland Canada, saying that it might be difficult for the band to cross the ocean to play in North America, but when they’re able to finally come to Canada and the US, it’s definitely worth it. She said that although she’s originally from Montreal, Quebec, she nurtures a deep passion and respect for Toronto, and the fans responded to that statement with a lot of enthusiasm, banging their heads nonstop to each and every song played by Arch Enemy. As mentioned, the new songs worked extremely well, in special the high-octane Slayer-ish tornado titled The Race, which by the way Alissa said is her favorite of the new album (and mine too), and the classy and groovy Blood in the Water.

Sharlee D’Angelo and Daniel Erlandsson were as precise and competent as usual with their bass and drums, respectively, but I must say it’s impressive how crystal clear, blazing and tuneful the guitars by Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis sounded during their entire performance. Those guys are true BEASTS with their cutting riffs and solos, sounding so perfect to the point you couldn’t tell if they were playing live or if it was the studio version of the songs. Whoever adjusts their instruments prior to the shows is a technical genius, no doubt about that, and if you get to see Arch Enemy live anywhere during this tour simply close your eyes and let each note played by Mr. Amott during the classic instrumental piece Snow Bound penetrate deep into your soul. The only “complaint” I have about their concert was the presence of not-so-exciting songs in their setlist, like Stolen Life, You Will Know My Name and Avalanche, which worked well, I have to admit that, but imagine if they played some of their more obscure and scathing classic tunes, like what happened with Ravenous, Dead Bury Their Dead and especially Nemesis? Well, we’ll have to wait for their next Canadian tour to see what they’ll do to their setlist (and I can’t wait for that).

Setlist
Set Flame to the Night (Intro)
The World Is Yours
Ravenous
Stolen Life
War Eternal
My Apocalypse
Blood in the Water
You Will Know My Name
The Race
The Eagle Flies Alone
As the Pages Burn
Dead Bury Their Dead
We Will Rise
Avalanche
Snow Bound
Nemesis
Enter the Machine (Outro)

Band members
Alissa White-Gluz – vocals
Michael Amott – lead guitars, backing vocals
Jeff Loomis – lead guitars, backing vocals
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Daniel Erlandsson – drums

TRIVIUM

After a short break, where the house DJ played some all-time classics on the speakers such as Iron Maiden’s “The Prisoner” and Motörhead’s “Born to Raise Hell” to keep the momentum created by Arch Enemy going, Orlando-based metallers TRIVIUM took the stage by storm at 9:45pm sharp already with the opening track of their superb new opus, The Sin and the Sentence, the title-track The Sin and the Sentence, which made the crowd explode in awe and ignited some serious mosh pits all over the venue. Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu and Paolo Gregoletto were as electrified and in sync as usual, with Matt leading the fans with his “meme-generator” faces and gestures, but it was newcomer Alex Bent who stole the spotlight. Holy shit, that guy is a relentless killing machine on drums, elevating the band’s already heavy sonority to a whole new level. Needless to say, he played all songs to perfection, in special one of the best of the new album and a serious candidate to become a Trivium classic, the Black Metal-inspired tune Betrayer.

Surprisingly (at least for me), one of the songs with the strongest reaction from fans was Until the World Goes Cold, which is a pretty nice ballad but, let’s be realistic, it’s far from being as awesome as classics like Down From the Sky and Kirisute Gomen. Two of the other songs from The Sin and the Sentence, the radio-friendly The Heart From Your Hate and Thrown Into the Fire, also sounded and felt truly heavy and thrilling, proving once again that Trivium are one of the most effective bands in heavy music when composing both heavier and slower, more melodic songs. Just like what happened with Arch Enemy, I missed a few songs in their setlist, especially some of the more complex tunes from Shogun, but Matt & Co. know what they were doing when they put this setlist together, trying to encompass all of the band’s phases in a little less than one hour and a half.

Last but not least, when the intro Capsizing the Sea started playing we all knew the show was coming to an end, but not before Matt thanked Toronto for another fantastic night of metal, promising to always return to the city with another blast of Trivium music, and asking everyone present at the venue to get down or kneel before one of their biggest classics, if not the biggest of all, In Waves. If you enjoy Slipknot you’ve already seen Corey Taylor and his bandmates do the same during their concerts, and with In Waves that Slipknot-ish formula worked extremely well like a precise time bomb, with all fans jumping up and down like maniacs while bursting their lungs screaming the two words from the song’s name. I guess there wasn’t a single fan that wasn’t eager for more Trivium when the show was over, as both Arch Enemy and Trivium had shorter-than-usual time slots to play for co-headlining the tour, but again, we must learn to be patient and wait for Trivium to get back in town in a not-so-distant future, right? At least Matt promised to be back soon, and we must trust the man.

Setlist
The Sin and the Sentence
Down From the Sky
Betrayer
Until the World Goes Cold
Like Light to the Flies
Rain
Dusk Dismantled
Strife
The Heart From Your Hate
Kirisute Gomen
Thrown Into the Fire

Encore:
Capsizing the Sea (Intro)
In Waves

Band members
Matt Heafy – lead vocals, guitar
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Bent – drums, percussion