Dethklok/Baby Metal
Echo Beach, September 18, 2023
Toronto, Canada
By Kenneth Gallant
For anyone who attended last night’s colossal meeting between two of metal’s most unique ‘gimmick’ bands, then you were in for a treat. Baby Metal and Dethklok joined forces to deliver cacophony soaked theatrics and plenty of spunky jams and blast beats.
The rambunctious crowd comprised of young screaming girls and hipster bearded metal heads descended upon Echo beach like flies to honey. My first thought was how eclectic this group was, but clearly these two bands have a devoted and rabid fan-base.
Everyone waited around and had to put up with the warm-up act for thirty minutes. What we got was solo instrumentalist Jason Richardson (also a member of All Shall Remain) striking out on his own. He did an admirable job warming up the crowd and I must say his brand of metalcore leaned heavily into the more progressive side of things to full effect.
Once Jason left the stage, Baby Metal opened the show to a chorus of screams and chants from the young audience. Many were young girls who went into a frenzy when ‘Babymetal Death’ opened their hour long set. It was the perfect song to get everyone jumping around and propelled the crowd into greater heights of glee when ‘Gimme Chocolate’ started up. People were singing along and bopping their heads to the infectious beat. BM followed this song with another popular number ‘Pa Pa Ya’ to a roaring applause from the crowd.
The middle portion of the set gave us songs like ‘Distortion’ and the heavily rap-industrial tinged ‘BMC’. They followed that up with a new track called Mirror Mirror that was polished and tight sounding live. We got ‘Monochrome’ next and then the group burst into ‘Metal’ driving everyone into a sea of bobbing heads and waving hands. That was quite the sight!
Baby Metal revved up ‘Megitsune’ and delivered their finest song ‘Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! to a very satisfied fan-base. I have to say these three girls are incredible performers and never miss a beat dancing around and singing on stage. The hour set was energetic; setting up the vibe for the main act of the night to follow.
At this juncture we get a change-out with Baby Metal’s young fan-base departing away from the stage, allowing the hipster beardos to descend upon the scene. Clearly an older fanbase waited patiently for Dethklok and once the Deatheme started up on the video screen, everyone knew the night was going to be insane. We got treated to the bludgeoning sounds of ‘Briefcase Full of Guts’ and the boys followed this up with ‘Birthday Dethday’ giving away to Nathan Explosion’s finest moment. We got ‘Awaken’ and ‘Bloodlines’ next, before the first interlude gave way to Facebones gracing the video screen to talk about concert etiquette. This was pretty funny when Facebones ranted about body odour and then went all in on the best ways to drink beer and smoke pot during a concert.
The middle set commenced with ‘The Gears’, ‘Hatredcopter’ and then breaking into the vicious ‘Deathsuport’. I always liked the black wit of ‘Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle’ to cap off the middle set with a bang. Again, Facebones graced the screen to provide some tips on concert etiquette and warned of the dangers of pot smoking.
When the last half of the set started back up they began with a new song ‘Aortic ‘Desecration’ which got everyone headbanging. I was happy when ‘I Ejaculate Fire’ blitzed my ears and then we were treated to the harmonious ‘The Duel’ right after. Another new track ‘Murmaider’ debuted and this one continued the assault on my ears. I thought ‘Thunderhorse’ and ‘Fansong’ were perfectly placed in the set, but ‘SOS’ really won the crowd over. This was another new song to debut this night and it found a new way to bludgeon the audience. The set ended with ‘Go Into the Water’.
The band broke from character as Brendan Small thanked the crowd, before introducing the rest of the members. He gave a shout out to Bryan Beller on guitar and then made a big introduction to Gene Hoglan on drums. This man needs no introduction really because he’s a legendary drummer performing in bands like Dark Angel and Testament. The group stood on stage and continued to wave to the crowd before exiting; thus ending the show.
Overall this was a good concert showcasing two bands that rely mostly on a gimmick. Both stuck to an hour onstage and I must say it came across well to their fans. I left the venue feeling satisfied, as did everyone else attending.