December 15th, 2023
Toronto, ON @ History
Photos & Words By: Miles Leblanc
If you asked me which show was going to sell out in 2023 – with all of the wonderful opportunities Toronto and the GTA in general have been graced with – this diverse lineup would not have been on my radar at all, much less being the first sold-out show of the nineteen North American tour dates (selling out within the first seventy-two hours). The tour of Meshuggah, In Flames, and Whitechapel made this happen at one of Toronto’s newest concert venues (History, in the Beaches neighbourhood of East Toronto).
WHITECHAPEL
Hailing from Tennessee, Whitechapel is a deathcore band, with huge roots in the genre often considered leaders at what they do. Having seen Whitechapel before, this performance unfortunately left me wanting more. Short and sweet was on the menu, with just six songs to give us a taste of Whitechapel’s offering. It wasn’t enough to satiate the crowd, however, Toronto did show up early and packed the floor. The band even got a crowd chant from the rabid attendees which was a sign of the night to come. Vocalist Phil Bozeman absolutely took advantage of all the real estate of the large stage of the venue, like an animal getting a large area to play in for the first time. Unfortunately, the sound was muted throughout the performance, which didn’t do the band any favours, but the energy was high, and it was an excellent opener to get the night warmed up. Closing with the song ‘The Saw Is The Law’ was the perfect choice to this short set, which managed to get the crowd warmed up for the rest of the evening.
Setlist
Let Me Burn
Forgiveness Is Weakness
Brimstone
We Are One
A Bloodsoaked Symphony
The Saw Is the Law
IN FLAMES
Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden In Flames have been pioneers of what they do best (melodic death metal), and Toronto got a very good taste of this offering on this night. New bassist, Liam Wilson (Dillinger Escape Plan), was absolutely dialed in from the first note to the last. In Flames got a nice chant from the audience in-between songs (which vocalist Anders Friden jokingly gave the crowd grief over, and told them to chant for Whitechapel instead). Unfortunately, fifty-ish minutes wasn’t enough time for In Flames, even as a support act. That being said, the fifty minutes was certainly a great escape. Minus some minor issues during one of the songs, the band really showed cohesiveness, delivering on the low-end with both the drums and the bass. Anders’ vocals were on point all night, and the banter in-between songs was hilarious (joking about multiple topics), and the tag team of Bjorn and Chris was absolutely bulletproof throughout. Much like my comments about Whitechapel, In Flames could have benefited from an extra song or two (an hour would have been awesome for them in this lineup). Can’t wait to see them again… sooner then later!
Setlist
The Beginning Of All Things That Will End
Foregone Pt. 1
Deliver Us
Darker Times
Everything’s Gone
All For Me
Behind Space
Cloud Connected
State Of Slow Decay
The Mirror’s Truth
I Am Above
Take This Life
MESHUGGAH
With seven years elapsed since Meshuggah last graced Toronto with a performance, the rabid, sold-out crowd was ready to go minutes before the intro and the opening song (the crowd chanting and stomping their feet). ‘Careless Whispers’ was the intro to the band’s performance, which brought a surge of energy out of the crowd, everyone singing, grooving, and even dancing with people around them. Meshuggah offered what I would consider to be a master class at what they do best. No one sounds like them in respect to the grinding, extreme/technical death metal fans have grown to love. For the entirety of the performance, the floor of History was non-stop movement, a literal wall-to-wall pit with bodies flying and people going in circles. There was almost next to no crowd interaction from vocalist Jens Kidman, except very minimal. It literally was a continual onslaught of technically excellent metal for close to a hour. Personally, I am very happy that ‘Bleed’ was brought back into the setlist (even if it was an encore song). ‘Demiurge’ closed out the night, an awesome closer to a bullet-proof setlist!
All in all, a wonderful Friday night of metal, from a very diverse lineup of bands, and Toronto thanked them by selling out the venue and packing it in tightly.
Setlist
Careless Whisper (intro)
Broken Cog
Rational Gaze
Perpetual Black Second
Born In Dissonance
Ligature Marks
The Abysmal Eye
Mind’s Mirrors
In Death – Is Life
In Death – Is Death
Humiliative
Future Breed Machine
Bleed (encore)
Demiurge (encore)
