It was absolute wrath over Toronto on a stunning night of Melodic Death Metal magic, courtesy of five of the must-see names of the current scene worldwide.
OPENING ACTS: Thrown Into Exile, Crypta and Septicflesh
We definitely cannot complain about the stunning weather that’s been over Toronto for weeks already, with no rain nor any major cold events at all. Quite the contrary, we’ve been experiencing a lot of sunshine, warm temperatures sometimes above +20oC, and no strong winds. That perfect combo made this Sunday night even more enjoyable when THROWN INTO EXILE, CRYPTA, SEPTICFLESH, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and ARCH ENEMY destroyed us all with their undisputed Wrath Across North America 2026 Tour at The Danforth Music Hall, another first-class event brought to the city by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. My buddy Blair Burch and I once again had a lot of fun covering the entire night, and in my case it was even more memorable since I’m a huge fan of both Crypta and Arch Enemy (to be fair, I’m a fan of all bands from such an incredible lineup), with all bands kicking our asses mercilessly and putting a huge smile on the faces of everyone who could not only enjoy a night of killer heavy music, but also do that without having to carry their heavy fall or winter coats.
After doors opened at 5pm, everyone who was already at the venue had basically one hour to chat with their friends, have a few beers, and grab some merch (and all bands had some top-of-the-line items, by the way) before Los Angeles, California’s own Metalcore act THROWN INTO EXILE kicked off the night with another electrifying performance, coincidentally again opening for Arch Enemy. And just like Arch Enemy, the band has a new vocalist, Joshua Santos (as well as new drummer, Hank Lin), not to mention their bassist couldn’t join them on this tour and was replaced by two of the tech guys from the other bands if I’m not mistaken. The band has been releasing a few interesting single in the past year (all available on Spotify), and two of those are part of their setlist, Nihilist and Behind the Veil, both igniting some serious mosh pits in Toronto, and if that’s an indication of what to expect from their next album, it’s going to be a banger.
Setlist
Send Me Below
Nihilist
Behind The Veil
Remorse
You’ve Fallen so Far
Band members
Joshua Santos – vocals
Mario Rubio – guitars
Austin Monzon – guitars
Javier Quinto – bass
Hank Lin – drums
The next band to hit the stage at The Danforth Music Hall were the unrelenting girls from Brazilian Death Metal brigade CRYPTA, and as expected they simply dpulverized us all and melted our faces with another demonic (yet short) performance in Toronto. Fernanda Lira, Tainá Bergamaschi, Victoria Villarreal and Luana Dametto showed no mercy for our putrid souls with a lecture in Death Metal, playing songs from their two albums Echoes of the Soul and Shades of Sorrow, plus their insanely dark, Black Metal-infused single A Portrait of Decay, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify, leaving us all completely disoriented and eager for more of their music in a not-so-distant future. Fernanda’s vocals were beyond devilish from start to finish, proving why she’s one of the best growlers of the new generation, and the next time Crypta pay a visit to Toronto I’m sure it will be a sold out show. And of course, the mosh pits will be brutal.
Setlist
The Other Side of Anger
Lord of Ruins
The Outsider
A Portrait of Decay
From the Ashes
Band members
Fernanda Lira – vocals, bass
Tainá Bergamaschi – guitars
Victoria Villarreal – guitars
Luana Dametto – drums
The lineup for this Wrath Across North America 2026 Tour is so fantastic to the point one of the special guests is already a headliner. I’m talking about the mighty Greek Atmospheric/Symphonic Death Metal institution SEPTICFLESH, one of those bands that you must see live (and listen to their discography anywhere like Spotify) if you consider yourself a true metalhead. Songs like Martyr, Anubis and Dark Art are always a treat, played to perfection by Spiros Antoniou, Psychon and Kerim “Krimh” Lechner. As you might have noticed, I left Christos Antoniou out of the list because, as explained by Spiros, he injured his ribs a couple of days before the tour started, but the band decided to still do the tour as a trio. Their sound was still massive, bold and hypnotizing, and the fans inside the pit were having a great time enjoying the band’s crushing heavy music. We all wish a speedy recovery for Christos Antoniou, and of course, as soon as he’s ready to rock again, we demand another Septicflesh concert in Toronto.
Setlist
Communion
The Vampire From Nazareth
Martyr
Coming Storm
Anubis
Dark Art
Band members
Spiros Antoniou – harsh vocals, bass
Psychon – guitars
Kerim “Krimh” Lechner – drums
It was around 8:20pm when the first co-headliner of the night, Detroit, Michigan’s own Melodic Death Metal beast THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, brought another round of absolute violence, groove and hatred to the city of Toronto. Their setlist was once again a well-balanced mix of old school songs with newer material from their 2024 album Servitude, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify, and Brian Eschbach, Ryan Knight, Wes Hauch, Max Lavelle and Alan Cassidy made sure the intensity and fury of each song was multiplied by a thousand live. Those guys were on fire from the very beginning, absolutely happy to see their Torontonian fans kicking ass inside the mosh pit the entire show, and that connection between band and crowd was one of those things I love to witness at metal shows.
Not only the mosh pits were wild, but there was endless crowd surfing happening too, and some of those crowd surfers were the Toronto banana guys, a staple in the local music scene. And do you know who loves bananas? The band’s own Statutory Ape, who got into the stage jumping like a maniac during such an incendiary song, and was so excited he even went down to the mosh pit and then back to the stage crowd surfing. It was excellent, and proof that only metal concerts can provide you with pure, organic and no shenanigans fun. If you don’t like The Black Dahlia Murder, I’m sorry, but you’re bananas. Pun intended. And before I forget, happy birthday to their bassist Max Lavelle! It must have been really cool celebrating his birthday on tour in a city like Toronto, who sang a nice and loud Happy Birthday to the guy, and I’m sure he’ll want to come back to the city with his band sooner than his next birthday for another demolishing concert.
Setlist
Necropolis
Contagion
Mammoth’s Hand
Moonlight Equilibrium
Panic Hysteric
Nightbringers
Everything Went Black
Cursed Creator
A Vulgar Picture
Miscarriage
Statutory Ape
Christ Deformed
Utopia Black
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse
Band members
Brian Eschbach – vocals
Ryan Knight – guitars
Wes Hauch – guitars
Max Lavelle – bass
Alan Cassidy – drums
Finally, after waiting years and years to see American-born-but-raised-in-Australia vocalist Lauren Hart live (as I’m already a fan of her vocals since her work with Once Human), I had the pleasure of witnessing such a beautiful lady simply pulverizing our souls with a breathtaking performance as the new voice of Swedish Melodic Death Metal institution ARCH ENEMY. After Sunday night I must say Lauren is not just a good fit for the band after the departure of Alissa White-Gluz, but a more-than-perfect choice for the job, injecting a humongous amount of adrenaline to the band’s already venomous music. She was unstoppable onstage, always smiling, always headbanging, always raising her horns, and the crowd was simply loving all that energy and passion, with the intense circle pit and crowd surfing turning up the heat considerably inside the venue. It was one of the wildest Arch Enemy concerts of the past few years in the city hands down.
So far, there’s only one song recorded with Lauren on vocals, the excellent To the Last Breath (available on both Bandcamp and Spotify), but that doesn’t mean she didn’t nail it while singing all other songs form their setlist. Quite the contrary, her screams were insane, supported by the classy riffs and solos blasted by the iconic Michael Amott, as well as Joey Concepcion, Sharlee D’Angelo, and the beast Daniel Erlandsson. Also, although Lauren mentioned Ravenous was the song that inspired her to scream while introducing herself to Toronto, she was simply phenomenal in Taking Back My Soul, in Dead Bury Their Dead, and in special in Bury Me an Angel, where she did an almost perfect impersonation of Johan Liiva singing. Don’t get fooled, my friends. Lauren might be all smiles, but when she’s screaming she’s absolute evil (in the best way possible, of course). After the all-time classic Nemesis, followed by Fields of Desolation (and a bunch of black and red balloons), the band said their farewells to the crowd, and I bet we’ll see them back sooner than you can scream “ravenous.” Hopefully already with a new album with Lauren on vocals, because with her fronting the band now, Arch Enemy sound deadlier than ever.
Setlist
Ace of Spades (Motörhead song)
Khaos Overture
The World Is Yours
Ravenous
War Eternal
Blood Dynasty
My Apocalypse
To the Last Breath
Taking Back My Soul
The Eagle Flies Alone
Bury Me an Angel
Dead Bury Their Dead
No Gods, No Masters
Nemesis
Fields of Desolation (Outro)
Enter the Machine
Band members
Lauren Hart – vocals
Michael Amott – lead guitars, backing vocals
Joey Concepcion – lead guitars, backing vocals
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Daniel Erlandsson – drums
