FROZEN SOUL, 200 STAB WOUNDS, JUDICIARY, TRIBAL GAZE

The Frozen Soul headlining Assimilatour stopped in Toronto, Canada on Friday November 10^th at The Garrison concert venue. The tour featured special guest 200 Stab Wounds with supporting acts Tribal Gaze and Judiciary. Texas is emerging as a real hotbed for death metal talent and this tour proves it with Frozen Soul, Judiciary, and Tribal Gaze originating from the Lone Star State. 200 Stab Wounds were the sole exception from Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve seen Frozen Soul and 200 Stab Wounds live a few times and knew they would crush it but was eager to hear the two supporting acts for the first time. I thought is was slightly unusual to not have a single local band on the billing but that’s not a big deal.  

There was limited Toronto venue availability when this tour was booked (as stated by Inertia Entertainment) so the show ended up at the smallish The Garrison concert venue and sold out. The capacity of The Garrison is approximately 325-350 people and the crowd was tightly packed in by the time 200 Stab Wounds took the stage. There’s no stage security barriers or stage security staff at this venue so attendees are free to jump on stage, high five the bands and stage dive into the crowd (and they did all night).  

TRIBAL GAZE

Tribal Gaze from Longview, Texas are relative newcomers to the death metal scene, formed in 2020 with one full-length studio album to their credit – The Nine Choirs. Their style can best be described as old school death metal reflecting influences from bands like Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Suffocation. I was completely unfamiliar with Tribal Gaze but fully enjoyed their performance. I got the sense this was a new band for most in attendance.  

As the first band of four on this tour, Tribal Gaze were limited to a few songs and my first impression was these guys are HEAVY. They possessed a full array of crushing riffs, ferocious guitar leads and a punishing drum attack. Heavy hooks and breakdowns put the audience in full head banging mode instantly. Singer Mckenna Holland was unusually active on stage for a death metal vocalist literally jumping from one end of the small stage to the other and kicking in the air during the instrumental breaks. His stage antics greatly reminded me of fellow Texan Riley Gale from Power Trip (RIP Riley). Tribal Gaze impressed me and I plan to check them out in greater detail. The night is off to a good start.    

JUDICIARY

Next up was Judiciary who hail from Lubbock, Texas, active since 2014 releasing two full length albums with their latest Flesh & Blood released this year. Judiciary are a crossover band, think one third each of thrash, death metal and old-school hardcore (not modern deathcore). Their sound emphasized death metal chugging guitar riffs, thrash like guitar leads, heavy rhythm grooves, and hardcore tinged vocals delivered with attitude. The crowd appeared more familiar with Judiciary and quickly rushed the stage as the band started to play. Similar to Tribal Gaze, Judiciary played a relatively short set with a few songs.   

I liked how their songs incorporated lots of tempo changes, aggression and groove metal that fueled a tornado like mosh pit. The pit on this night was unusually aggressive based on my 35+ years of metal concert experience. A handful of angry men and women were in attendance spinning in the pit blindly punching and kicking throughout the Tribal Gaze and Judiciary sets. A greater number of pit dwellers were slammed hard to the floor, and I witnessed a few injuries early in the evening. This had nothing to do with the bands but occurred (and very noticeable) during the opening sets when the venue was only partially full. Despite the crazy shenanigans of a few, I enjoyed Judiciary’s set and plan to investigate them further.           

200 STAB WOUNDS

The full capacity sold-out crowd arrived just in time for 200 Stab Wounds and the venue was packed. By the end of the show, I was completely pinned up against the Tribal Gaze merch table and couldn’t move an inch. I must admit, this was the show I was really waiting for and based on my previous experiences, 200 Stab Wounds have a tendency to dominate tours they join and tonight was no exception. The Cleveland based quartet are relatively new to the metal scene, formed in 2020 releasing a single EP and full length album but are quickly building a reputation for their explosive live shows.

200 Stab Wounds started the show pleading with the fans to be kind to their merch table located just to the side of the mosh pit in this tiny venue. All hell broke loose as soon as the band ripped into their set. The vicious circle pit kept expanding forcing people to the sides of the venue. A constant flow of body surfers were above my head and I had to dodge those stage diving off the stage in front of me. It was now fully clear why the band was worried about the unfortunate placement of their merch table.

Few bands can match 200 Stab Wounds‘ intensity and high octane energy levels on stage . The audience is immediately assaulted with punishing riffs, merciless drumming, lethal solo breaks, and Steve Buhl’s guttural vocal delivery. The music is straight forward old school death metal but 200 Stab Wounds excel in the precise execution of their mosh inducing hooks. Some of my favorite songs of the night included: ‘Itty Bitty Pieces’, ‘Masters Of Morbidity’, ‘Skim Milk’ and ‘Fatal Reality’. It’s a good sign when members of the headlining band stand on stage watching the entire 200 Stab Wounds set. I picked up a 200 Stab Wounds t-shirt and had to wait in line for 20 minutes to get it – nice to see the band doing good business.

FROZEN SOUL

Headliners Frozen Soul from Fort Worth, Texas are currently touring in support of their second full length album Glacial Domination released earlier this year. I watched the band in August at Wacken Open Air and definitely preferred them on this night in a smaller club setting. The interaction between Frozen Soul and the fans intensifies in a smaller space.

Vocalist Chad Green continues to impress as a metal frontman who is able to connect audiences on multiple levels. His aggressive side demands fans get more involved by stage diving, forming larger circle pits and even doing push-ups on the floor mid-set. But we also see a more human side of Chad as he openly discusses the loss of his brother Cory and the passing of his good friend Riley Gale (Power Trip) stemming from addiction and mental health issues. At another point in the set, he jokingly tells the audience everything is bigger in Texas as he rubs his belly.

Frozen Soul delivered a punishing set showcasing their pulverizing heavy grooves and ability to slow down / speed up for increased intensity. Chad’s vocal growls were executed perfectly live. I like the newer songs as they introduce a little more melody and hooks into the music. Highlights for me included the opening track ‘Invisible Tormentor’, ‘Death And Glory’, ‘Crypt Of Ice’ and ‘Arsenal Of War’ which is dedicated to Chad’s brother Cory. Frozen Soul are easily one of the best bands in the “new wave of old school death metal” bands. The only negative issue to report was the brief 35-40 minutes set length which is incredibly short for a headlining band. Everyone wanted more music and was shocked with no encore of any kind.

In summary, this was an excellent night of death metal highlighting a new generation of death metal bands. It’s nice to see this tour succeed and sell-out without a “legendary” band on the billing. The future of death metal is clearly in good hands.

Remaining dates on the Assimilatour are as follows:

November
15 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam
16 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
19 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
21 – Roseville, CA @ Goldfields Roseville
22 – Berkley, CA @ Cornerstone
24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
25 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater (Half House)
26 – Las Vegas, NV @ American Legion Post 8
28 – Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s
29 – El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse

December
1 – San Antonio, TX @ Rock Box
2 – Houston, TX @ Secret Group