April 8th, 2023
Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
Photos By: Kim Baarda
Words By: Jason Deaville
BLACK ANVIL
What better way to start a night of extreme metal in Toronto than with some dirty, raunchy, New York City-styled black metal! Hitting the stage with corpsepaint, the guys pummeled the audience with a set of songs torn from the pages of the blackened thrash bible. After experiencing this set, I can see why the hype around Black Anvil is as strong as ever!
INSOMNIUM
The melodic death metal stylings of Finland’s Insomnium could not have been a better fit for this particular night of extreme metal in Toronto. The beautiful, morose intro of the song ‘1696’ reverberated like faraway thunder… exploding into a double-bass assault as the storm of Finnish death metal rained on fans like a torrent of blood.
The guys delivered an incredibly evocative performance that was comprised mostly of songs from their latest album, Anno 1696. That said, they did bust out a collection of songs from previous masterpieces such as Heart Like A Grave, Shadows Of The Dying Sun, and Above The Weeping World.
The organizers of the tour couldn’t have picked a better band to co-headline this tour. A masterful performance from one of the best melodic death metal bands to ever have existed.
ENSLAVED
Fittingly, a chill permeated the crisp Toronto night just as the gods of Nordic progressive black metal took to the stage. As the lights dimmed, the disturbing sounds of the Clockwork Orange theme music filled the venue, creating an eerie-yet-appropriate vibe as we waited excitedly. Then, with a rumble from the halls of Valhalla, the opening riff of ‘Jettegryta’ hit like the weight of an iron-cast sword to the head.
Immediately, it was telling that the band was short one member. It was later learned that founding guitarist, Ivar Bjornson, was unable to make the tour to do a personal issue back home in Norway. As the night progressed, Ivar’s absence was only discernible from a visual perspective. Sonically, you would never know Ivar was missing. The songs sounded as full and functional as they do on record. Of course, Ivar’s presence would have been very much welcomed, but the guys did their best to give fans the authentic Enslaved experience. Newest drummer, Iver Sandøy, did an incredible job filling out the lineup with an energized and magnetic performance behind the kit, as well as delivering a passionate vocal performance, particularly on the song ‘Homebound’.
Enslaved are one band that needs to be experienced live to truly appreciate their incredible sonic soundscape. Having seen Enslaved previously, it goes without saying that tonight’s venue, The Opera House, was an absolutely perfect home for the band. The sound and lighting were both top-notch, projecting the journey of the Enslaved sound throughout the venue’s century-old interior. In fact, this was the very first venue that I photographed at, and remains one of my favorites to this day.
