September 17th, 2023
Toronto, ON @ The Axis Club
Photos By: Miles Leblanc
Words By: Alia Synesthesia
I arrived at The Axis Club right in time for the doors, surprised to see the longest line of excited concert attendees I’ve personally experienced at the venue of that size. This night, like many other nights of this tour, was sold out. Miles, my photographer partner in crime, and his partner were already inside; Beast In Black is one of her favorite bands. I can definitely relate along with numerous women in the audience to that. Having seen Beast In Black in Dublin in February 2023, I can attest that their shows have a diverse audience appeal. It definitely feels good seeing other lady metalheads having a good time and getting excited for the show.
Branded by reviewers as a blend between classic metal and electronica, Beast In Black hail from Finland, where metal is loved dearly, and the genre fusion is enthusiastically celebrated. In North America, their tour was supported by Dance With The Dead, an extremely unique and original group. Both bands are known for intense and energetic performances and don’t shy away from engaging with the crowd.
The Axis Club, typically an amazing room for an event like this, had unfortunately turned into a sauna this evening; the venue’s ventilation system had shut down. Both bands were incredible to tough out such high energy sets. Beast in Black stopped their performance twice to assist fans in distress.
DANCE WITH THE DEAD
Previously, Dance With The Dead performed as a duo (Tony Kim & Justin Pointer). This was my first time witnessing the band with the addition of drummer John Terry and Justin Pointer switching between synths and guitar. It was refreshing to see Tony Kim shine in the role of the lead guitarist. His stage presence and crowd interaction warmed up the audience. The fans roared with excitement. New member John Terry is a heavy-hitter. His drumming performance was intense. Near the end of their set, Tony gestured to open the mosh pit, and the excited fans eagerly obliged, electrified by the high energy octane riffs and blazing solos.
BEAST IN BLACK
For Beast In Black‘s set, the audience was quite literally hot: energized by the Dance With The Dead performance, and dripping wet due to the malfunctioning AC. Their set design featured torsos of android ladies and blue and purple lights, with the stage having been transformed into a mysterious sci-fi lab setting. From the first notes of ‘Blade Runner’ off their recent (2021) album Dark Connection, the audience roared with excitement.
Beast In Black met the crowd with an unparalleled high energy performance. Each member has their own unique polarizing energy that shines through in every song. Atte Palokangas is a versatile, enthusiastic drummer with a well-practiced stick throwing game. Kasperi Heikkinen (guitar) and Máté Molnár (bass) are both incredibly animated players who bounce off each other. They don’t shy away from showcasing classic rockstar maneuvers. Anton Kabanen, guitarist and the main songwriter, switches between solo spotlights and seamlessly synchronizes with Kasperi and Máté. Vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos has an unreal range as well as quick stage wit. Watching him interact with the crowd always gave me flashbacks to Rob Halford performances from the 80s.
I discovered Beast In Black opening for Nightwish in 2022, and was amazed at how the bands’ stage performance complemented the music, helping to fully engage and transport the listener into the show. In the age of endless distractions and watching concerts through the cell phones, Beast In Black is the type of band that pulls you back into the live experience. Even though the synchronized guitar playing tricks aren’t new, seeing Anton, Kasperi, and Máté strum their guitars in sync was mesmerizing.
Numerous times throughout the set, Yannis offered the crowd to sing along. It was impressive to see how many people in the audience knew the lyrics – an absolute complement to both Anton’s songwriting and Yannis’s memorable vocal performance.
Right before the start of ‘Crazy, Mad, Insane’ I was tapped on my shoulder. An excited woman preemptively apologized if she bumps into me during the song. We both then laughed and hi-fived each other. During the bridge, the audience was graced with an unlikely and exciting appearance – a mysterious, masked purple-haired Valkyrie with a keytar (later identified as Sam, the band’s tour manager). In the true spirit of Beast In Black, Kasperi, Sam, and Anton played the last chorus of the song in sync. For me, this was one of the show’s many special moments.
During ‘Oceandeep’ (from 2019’s Hell with Love), Yannis encouraged the audience to pull up their cellphones and turn on flashlights. The crowd was transformed into the sea of wondering lights, swaying left to right. ‘Oceandeep’ is an atypical song on the Beast In Black setlist – it reminds me of early Tarja-era Nightwish, and Yannis’s breath control and vocal delivery is incredible. Another highlight was Anton’s soulful guitar solo.
For the encore, Beast In Black played another banger – ‘Cry Out For A Hero’. Something that always stands out to me about this song being played live is how dynamic and energizing the drum performance is. After working for a drumming media company for the past two years and trying to learn drums myself – it’s magical to see how drummers like Atte can make playing look both effortless and engaging. In many live performances, drums are a commonly overlooked instrument: drummers may seem isolated in their own world behind the kit. But in Beast In Black, drums shine front and center on par with other instruments.
“We bring you metal and a little bit of disco” – spoke Yannis from the stage right before the band played ‘One Night In Tokyo’ – one of the band’s most popular tracks. Fusing nostalgia for the early 90s electronic sound together with ringing metal riffs, ‘One Night In Tokyo’ is a crowd’s favorite judging by the excited response of the audience.
Like every great metal show, Beast In Black at the Axis Club left me both completely spent and wanting to hear more at the same time. Despite the show being atypically eventful, the professionalism of the band shone through even in the most unusual circumstances. Beast In Black delivered a performance beyond what I could have expected.
