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Concert Review – Warbringer & Allegaeon (The Garrison, Toronto, ON, 03/31/2025)

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The unstoppable Allegaeon and Warbringer joined forces to take the city of Toronto by storm in another breathtaking night of the best of the underground.

OPENING ACTS: Summoning the Lich and Skeletal Remains

Only two days after the humongous metal attack by Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse and Carcass, it was time to pay a visit to The Garrison on a Monday night for a wild feast of the best of the underground with the bands SUMMONING THE LICH, SKELETAL REMAINS, ALLEGAEON and WARBRINGER during their The Vortex Of Violence Tour 2025, another awesome event brought to Toronto by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Any concert on a Monday night doesn’t have the same appeal as a weekend concert at a casino, of course, but that doesn’t mean that the four bands on the bill didn’t kick some serious ass, proving why they’re the future of extreme music worldwide. And as weird as this might sound, getting to Toronto on a Monday night is actually easier than on any other day of the week, maybe because it’s not a chosen day for entertainment or because a lot of people take the day off or simply work from home, making traffic a lot more manageable than usual. I was very excited to see all bands live for the first time, in special Allegaeon, one of the best bands of the current scene, and I wasn’t disappointed at all with their performances; quite the contrary, I’m more than happy I decided to spend a cold Monday night in Toronto enjoying their undisputed heavy music. Furthermore, Keith couldn’t make it to the show, unfortunately, but our friend Afrida Nawar was more than happy to help us with the photos this time (soon to be added to this review, I promise!).

The doors at the venue opened at 6:30pm, and just 30 minutes after that the first attraction of the night, St. Louis, Missouri-based Melodic Death Metal/Deathcore act SUMMONING THE LICH, kicked off the festivities with a beyond energetic and vibrant performance according to some friends already at the venue (as I had to miss them due to a private appointment). Having recently released the album Under the Reviled Throne, available on BandCamp and on Spotify, the band set the stage at The Garrison on fire, and if some brutality in the form of music is your cup of tea, you must listen to this band and go see them live. Well, next time they come to Toronto, I’ll try my best to be there in time to witness their visceral performance.

Setlist
My Horrors Unending
Descend
Demon of the Snow
The Nightmare Begins
Return to the Soil
Reviled Crystal Wielders
The Forest Feast

Band members
David Bruno – vocals
Muck – guitars
Ryan Felps – guitars
John Flynn – bass
TJ Chilton – drums

I made it to the venue with plenty of time to see the performance by California’s own Death Metal horde SKELETAL REMAINS; however, their vocalist Chris Monroy didn’t. Apparently he wasn’t allowed to cross the US-Canada border for a reason beyond my knowledge, and what we got from the other three band members was a feast of instrumental Death Metal that despite sounding a bit weird without the vocal parts, was also totally devastating. Playing songs from their latest opus Fragments of the Ageless, available on Spotify or any other streaming platform, plus of course some of their older material, the trio put on their hearts and souls into their concert, doing everything they could to entertain us even without their vocalist, and in the end they got a huge positive reaction from fans who recognized all their effort and passion for heavy music. The show must go on, and Skeletal Remains did exactly that.

Setlist
Void of Despair
Beyond Cremation
Relentless Appetite
To Conquer the Devout
Devouring Mortality
…Evocation (The Rebirth)
Unmerciful

Band members
Chris Monroy – vocals, guitars*
Mike De La O – guitars
Brian Rush – bass
Pierce Williams – drums

*Chris couldn’t make it to the show in Toronto as he had his entry in Canada denied.

ALLEGAEON

It was getting close to 9pm when the band I wanted to see the most hit the stage for a flawless performance, proving why they’re the best band in the world to mix Melodic and Technical Death Metal in a beyond exciting manner. I’m talking about Fort Collins, Colorado-based outfit ALLEGAEON, who were simply demolishing with their blend of dexterity, violence and heaviness, spearheaded by their returning charismatic frontman Ezra Haynes. Their concert was phenomenal, and I think they deserved to have played at a bigger venue like Lee’s Palace or even The Opera House, but of course they made sure their performance was memorable even with the limited space onstage. Blending old school material with two songs of their brand new album album The Ossuary Lens (available on BandCamp and on Spotify), those being The Swarm (the best song of the night in my humble opinion) and Driftwood, the band sounded tight, ruthless and electrifying from start to finish, and again I hope they get a bigger venue next time they headline a concert in Toronto, because their music demands more space, as well as a bigger audience to go wild inside the circle pit while they shred like there’s no tomorrow.

Setlist
All Hail Science
The God Particle
To Carry My Grief Through Torpor and Silence
The Swarm
Terrathaw and the Quake
Driftwood
Dyson Sphere
Of Beasts and Worms
Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination
Parthenogenesis
1.618
Behold (God I Am)

Band members
Ezra Haynes – vocals
Greg Burgess – guitars
Michael Stancel – guitars, backing vocals
Brandon Michael – bass, backing vocals
Jeff Saltzman – drums

WARBRINGER

And last but definitely not least, it was already past 10pm when Ventura, California-based Thrash Metal brigade WARBRINGER brought total war to the stage with one of the most electrifying, visceral and fun performances of the year in the city. All of their songs sounded amazing, in special the new metal hymn The Sword And The Cross, from their brand new album Wrath and Ruin (already available on BandCamp and on Spotify), with their lunatic frontman John Kevill even yielding a sword onstage (although he was missing the cross, right?), and of course the hard hitting Total War, which closed their show on a high note. The circle pits were insane, the crowd surfing was pure madness, and the band was having an amazing time to the point even John himself went crowd surfing and played a little “jungle gym” with the venue’s lighting equipment attached to the roof, leaving all concert goers absolutely happy and ready for more Warbringer in a not-so-distant future. Again, hopefully at a bigger venue, because just as Allegaeon, Warbringer are undoubtedly one of the best bands of the current metal scene worldwide.

Setlist
Severed Reality
A Better World
The Black Hand Reaches Out
Woe to the Vanquished
Crushed Beneath the Tracks
Firepower Kills
The Sword And The Cross
Through a Glass, Darkly
Hunter-Seeker
Remain Violent

Encore:
Total War

Band members
John Kevill – vocals
Adam Carroll – guitars
Chase Becker – guitars
Chase Bryant – bass
Carlos Cruz – drums

Album Review – Karmian / Surgere et Cadere (2018)

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Enjoy this flammable concept album of Swedish Death Metal made in Italy, taking us on a journey through forgotten times on which thousands of men died for freedom.

Born in 2005 in the Italian city of Modena under the name When the Storm Broke, a destructive Melodic Death Metal force currently known as Karmian is among us to spread violence and fury with a good amount of melody, playing what we fans of heavy music usually call Swedish Death Metal (or in the case of Karmian, we can call it “Swedish Death Metal from Italy”), culminating now in 2018 with the release of their first full-length opus, titled Surgere et Cadere (Latin for “rise and fall”), a concept album on the history of the Boii, a proud Celtic tribe who invaded northern Italy in 390 BC, conquering the city of Bologna. All the story told in the lyrics, even if they are dramatized, are based on true accounts of Romans historian, taking us on a journey through forgotten times on which thousands of men died for freedom.

Comprised of Andrea Bertolazzi on vocals, Andrea Baraldi on lead guitar (and who also played bass on the album), Mauro Leone on the guitar, Claudio Nasi on bass (although he didn’t record the album) and Nicholas Badiali on drums, Karmian are one of those bands who go straight to the point with their austere and visceral music, without adding any artificial elements nor other shenanigans to their sonority. Featuring a flammable artwork by Italian artist Lorenzo Paltrinieri, Surgere et Cadere narrates the rise and fall of the Boii in the best Melodic Death Metal style you can think of, translating all of the happenings to that given time in history into crushing metal music and, therefore, enhancing all aspects (especially the violent ones) of such distinct tribe.

In the amazing opening track titled They Burn the quartet wastes no time and begin blasting metallic and strident lines that penetrate deep inside our ears, before Andrea Bertolazzi begins growling like an enraged beast, making it impossible not to scream the chorus together with the band, followed by Conquering The Plain, a crushing tune led by the unstoppable Nicholas behind his drum kit that sounds a lot more Death Metal than Melodic Death Metal, with its lyrics perfectly telling the proposed story (“Bononia was the start / There’s a plain ahead to loot / Etruscans are divided / The league is weak / Belonos blesses our raid / In this land of the sun / The cities fear the tribe / They fall one by one”). And Shadow of the Eagles is a true headbanging chant by Karmian where the band’s guitar duo slashes their strings ferociously, inviting us to break our necks and slam into the circle pit like true metal maniacs.

The Gaul is another demolishing creation with highlights to the lancinating shredding and guitar solos by Andrea Baraldi and Mauro, sounding very technical and gripping while Andrea Bertolazzi goes on with his growling attack, and the band continues to hammer our heads with another Melodic Death Metal onrush named The Alliance, showcasing austere, harsh vocals, smashing drums and cutting riffs, keeping the album at a high level of violence. Then flirting with Black Metal thanks to the demonic riffs by both guitarists and the blast beats by Nicholas we have Total War, another visceral tune proving how amazing their lyrics are (“Placentia attacked for carthago / Padania freed again / Rebellion / Taranis on our hearts / Beside the blessed river / We have no fear of death / Rome bleeds, rome suffers / Entangled in total war”).

Be ready to snap your neck headbanging once again to their berserk music in the mid-tempo, hellish tune named Druids in the Forest, where all band members are on absolute fire, led by the visceral guitars by Andrea Baraldi and Mauro, once again presenting a demented but very precise Nicholas on drums, whereas their second to last explosion of Melodic Death Metal infused with old school Death and Black Metal comes in the form of Sacred Selva, a solid and violent tune where Andrea Bertolazzi fires some deep, enraged gnarls in sync with the song’s razor-edged riffs. Lastly, the gentle piano by guest Enrico Dolcetto kicks off the somber and introspective Mutina Capta Est (or “Modena is captured” from Latin), a dark power-ballad very distinct from the rest of the album, closing Surgere et Cadere as if it was the aftermath narrated in an anguished way by Andrea Bertolazzi.

In order to join Karmian in their quest for metal and learn more about the Boii as narrated in Surgere et Cadere, simply follow the band on Facebook, subscribe to their YouTube channel, listen to more of their music on Spotify, and grab your copy of the album from their own BandCamp page, from iTunes, from Amazon or from CD Baby. Now, after all is said and done, it’s just a matter of waiting for the next chapter in the career of such promising band, making us all eager to see if they’ll keep drawing inspiration from the rich and vibrant historical facts of their homeland, therefore adding an extra touch of epicness to their already potent Melodic Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: They Burn, Shadow of the Eagles and Total War.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Independent

Track listing 
1. They Burn 3:24
2. Conquering The Plain 4:05
3. Shadow of the Eagles 3:53
4. The Gaul 4:09
5. The Alliance 4:30
6. Total War 4:31
7. Druids in the Forest 5:13
8. Sacred Selva 5:29
9. Mutina Capta Est 6:04

Band members
Andrea Bertolazzi – vocals
Andrea Baraldi – lead guitar, bass
Mauro Leone – guitar
Nicholas Badiali – drums

Guest musicians
Marco Bocchi – bass
Enrico Dolcetto – piano