April 14th, 2024
Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Photos & Words By: Miles Leblanc
A darker flavor of metal was offered this past Sunday in Toronto. For a near-packed house, the Phoenix Concert Theatre was our church, and I get to talk about my experience of the night. I’ve seen all of these bands before, and this line-up just makes sense from my point of view; there is absolutely no slouching in this stacked billing of bands. Other shows may have been in town tonight, but nothing like this.
WILDERUN
Kicking things off with a bit of a cathartic opening, the slow and grinding guitar-picking to bring the growing crowd’s attention forward, slowly adding drums and bass. ‘Distraction II’ was a near-perfect way to jumpstart this night. Galloping riffs were followed by choir vocals piping in over the speakers. It was only the first 90 seconds, but instant goosebumps from my standpoint, and then a quick dramatic pause for effect, “What the fuck is up, Toronto?!” and then Evan the vocalist started singing. Holy shit, I’m not sure if Evan has been doing vocal lessons, but this is the best I’ve seen him sing to date, with an absolutely huge voice and vocals.
Throughout the set, the musicianship trade-off from Evan and Wayne on dueling guitars was great to see, especially so early in this tour. Daniel on bass could absolutely be heard throughout this performance. I’m not sure the effect that was used and/or the plug-in situation, but his setup really made him heard alongside everyone else – a familiar twang in your chest like a heartbeat. Last but not least, Jonathan on drums is the perfect rounding member for this four-piece band.
For a band that is categorized as “symphonic progressive/folk metal,” they really do not sound like anyone else in the genre – a wonderful blend of musicians coming together to make this wonderful music. By the time their set was over, the venue was more than half full, and the band got a righteous amount of cheers for this four-song set from the two most recent albums that was far from short but too sweet. Midway through the set, the banter that came from Evan had the venue laughing, “We have the most readable name, but we are the least known band.” Finally, I would like to point out, Wayne was not shy in pointing out diehards in the front row who were losing their minds to the music being offered during this set.
Setlist
Distraction II, Identifier, The Tyranny Of Imagination, Far From Where Dreams Unfurl
OMNIUM GATHERUM
Absolutely, positively, one of my favorite bands of all time that I discovered at a concert by complete accident when seeing another band. I’ve been absolutely hooked since that initial show in 2014, and I have not missed an OG Toronto show since they started coming to Toronto.
Omnium Gatherum has to been seen live to experience it fully, but, as a writer, I just want to say they are the most “fun” melodic death metal band I’ve ever seen play. The camaraderie from all six band members, half longstanding and half fresh blood, has such a tightness that I believe that if I didn’t bring it up, you would never know. Almost like an assault force, all band members are wearing the same outfit, and every single band member headbangs at the same time, with lots of laughs and lots of smiles throughout.
Founding member Markus, complete with a zebra print guitar, performed every song to perfection; no notes were missed, and almost thirty years into this band, I’m sure he could do these songs in his sleep. Aapo on the keyboard really enhances the melodic end of this band live; the harmonies that were continuously coming through the sound system from him alone really stood out. Jukka, the most energetic frontman I’ve ever seen live is an absolute pleasure to see bouncing all over the stage and not missing a beat, plus lots of OG horns to go around in-between singing. Mikko on a thunderous bass, absolutely pounding not only the strings but the body of the custom bass as well. I love the texture and the wear and tear really pops as a bass that stands out. Atte on drums was laser-focused throughout the performance, making use of every piece of the kit on stage to bring justice to all of the songs. Last but certainly not least, and the newest blood to this band, Nick on guitars opposite Markus. To be the other guitarist, I imagine, would be daunting for some, or most, but having someone guide them through songs like this, such as Markus, Nick, is in good hands.
The setlist was damn near perfect; I went out of my way not to see the setlist online in an effort to be surprised live, which worked until midway through the songs, as I cheated and took a peak and was not disappointed. The standout song was ‘“’White Palace,’ an absolute ten-plus minute masterpiece of a song. A perfect example of everything Omnium Gatherum can bring to the table musically. By the looks of the data online, a very rare song played absolutely made me feel alive and fortunate to catch them tonight. From the start to the end of the performance, watching the crowd, it took less than a minute for the packed floor to catch the endless riffs, to move, to headbang, and to mosh. ‘White Palace’ would have been a perfect closer, but playing ‘New Dynamic’ as the closer brought the energy back up to a fevered pitch with everyone headbanging on and off the stage, and the crowd burst into applause at the end.
Setlist
Slasher, Paragon, Reckoning, Sacred, Soul Journeys, Gods Go First, Planet Scale, Frontiers, White Palace, New Dynamic
INSOMNIUM
If Omnium Gatherum is on the party side of metal, Insomnium is dark in comparison. “Special Forces Insomnium,” featuring double duty for both guitarists Markus and Nick. About midway through the performance, I commented to my friend, It’s good Omnium Gatherum was first, because Insomnium, even though classified by genre as melodic death metal, is way slower in tempo.
Niilo on bass and vocals was very intense and commanding. Being one of the three remaining founding members of this band, Niilo absolutely dominated the stage and the vocals, almost piercing the audience into a frozen state throughout the performance. The other Markus, on drums (and also one of the remaining founding members), often times when I looked at Markus performing, he was doing so with closed eyes… such finesse to his drumming to be able to even do that. Markus and Nick did a wardrobe change to match the rest of this band, clad in black, to bring this 70+ minute session to the masses of the venue. At almost thirty years with this band and its discography, it’s impossible to play songs for someone from three decades ago, but the band played the most songs from the new album and also did some crowd favorites, much to the enjoyment of the Toronto crowd.
Surprisingly, with this set being much slower, it did see some crowd surfing action, much to my surprise. There was minimal banter from the band in between songs, and Insomnium cruised through the set, disappeared for a quick break, and then performed an encore of easily the most popular songs. Lots of headbanging, lots of devil horns, and the only performance of the night to have crowd surfing!
Setlist
1696, Ephemeral, White Christ, Change Of Heart, Lilian, And Bells They Toll, The Rapids, The Gale, Mortal Share, Song Of The Dusk, The Primeval Dark, While We Sleep, Heart Like a Grave
FINAL THOUGHTS
With this stacked show being chalked full of talent, headbanging, and riffs, Omnium Gatherum, selfishly, were the standouts for this show for me. ‘White Palace’ was amazing to hear and watch live, even more after doing the research to find out how rare this song is from a live performance standpoint. The opinion that Omnium Gatherum stole the show was mutual with friends I checked in with throughout the performance. This is not to say the other bands weren’t good; they are absolutely good. Omnium Gatherum plays music I find myself craving in my ears more often than not. We who have experienced music are lucky to be alive, just as any of these bands are, and to experience it in person is an absolute treat.
Hats off to both Markus and Nick for doing double duty. I can’t imagine how hard and taxing it is to do back-to-back performances of differing sets with just the amount of time it takes to do a changeover between sets. Kudos!
It may have been ‘Inertia Entertainment Weekend’ at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, but with a hat-trick of shows by this promotion team and the Phoenix Concert Theatre in tandem, this show satisfied my music tastes out of this weekend’s offerings. I am hopeful all of these bands will return sooner rather than later!