June 2nd, 2023
Toronto, ON @ The Velvet Underground
Photos By: Kim Baarda
Words By: Jason Deaville
MENDACITY
Innisfil, Ontario brutal death metallers, Mendacity, started this warm, rainy Toronto night off with a set of solidly played, technically proficient slam. Crushing through songs from their previous two EPs (2013’s Immolation and 2019’s Coercion) the three-piece definitely got the early-arrivers pumped for what was to come of the night.
ORGANECTOMY
Christchurch New Zealand’s Organectomy should have been higher on this billing. They truly gave the most entertaining and energetic performance of the evening. Frontman Alex Paul was a monster, spitting unholy, crushing bars left, right, and center. Their set consisted mostly of tracks from 2022’s Nail Below Nail, a fantastic album that melds slamming brutal death metal with more traditional, old-school death metal. If you have a chance to catch these guys, do not miss out.
VOMIT FORTH
Up next was Connecticut extremists Vomit Forth, who gave perhaps the most traditional death metal-sounding performance of the night. Yes, this four-piece can crush craniums with pitriffs straight out of the book of slam, but there was a definite nod to early 90s death metal. Their set was a nice collection of songs from last year’s Seething Malevolence album, as well as tracks dating back to their post-pandemic EPs.
DEVOURMENT
Brutal death metal doesn’t get more extreme or perverse than Dallas, Texas legends Devourment. These guys basically wrote the rule book way back in the late 90s, and look where we are now. Slam would not be what it is today if not for the pioneering efforts of these hard-working, forward-thinking fellas. Tonight, Toronto was in for something special.
The first and most obvious observation was the absence of vocalist Ruben Rosas. In his place was Abominable Putridity frontman, Angel Ocha. I don’t think anyone in the crowd minded this change, as Ocha is a guttural monster, and definitely did the night’s collection of Devourment tracks justice.
A stunningly brutal set that left the sold-out house salivating for more.
INGESTED
Brutal deathcore merchants Ingested stormed the stage like the crazed English lunatics they are, and they didn’t let up until the very last note was played. There was hardly time to breathe as the guys breezed through tracks from their most recent album, 2022’s Ashes Lie Still.
Vocalist Sean Hynes has certainly perfected the charismatic frontman role, posturing and posing and brutalizing for the line of cameras all pointed in his direction.
At this point, Ingested could tour with anyone and still fit the bill. I would love to see them get on something a bit out of their comfort zone to showcase their brand of extremity to fans of metal who might not have ever listened to brutal slamming death metal. They could definitely be the gateway band for many.
