KATATONIA, GOST, SOM

November 15th, 2023

Toronto, ON @ The Axis Club

Photos By: Kim Baarda

Words By: Jason Deaville

SOM

Post-metal shoegaze trio SOM hit the stage first on this unseasonably-pleasant Toronto evening. Featuring founding members of seminal Boston space rockers Constants — and former and touring members of Adai, Junius, Rosetta, and Caspian — SOM‘s brand of melancholic, trance-inducing post-metal certainly set the mood for what was to come from tonight’s headliners, Katatonia. The guy’s tackled a handful of tracks from their two full-length albums (The Fall and The Shape Of Everything), and ended the night with the fantastic ‘Youth // Decay’ from their 2021 EP, Awake.

GOST

Not to be mistaken with the Swedish masked-ones, Texan one-man band Gost exist somewhere in the dark recesses between black metal and electronic / synthwave. Some might see Gost as an odd choice for this tour, sandwiched between two contemporary-sounding rock bands, but mainman, James Lollar, and his touring bassist, delivered an aggressive and sinister set that had the near-capacity crowd entranced and shaking their hips and fists.

Gost started their kinetic set off with the insanely intense ‘Garruth’ (taken from 2018’s Possessor), and immediately followed this up with ‘Maleficarum’ (off of 2016’s Non Paradisi). The album that saw the most action this evening was Gost‘s 2015 debut full-length Behemoth, of which they played ‘Master’, ‘Behemoth’, and ‘Bathory Bitch’. As one of the most aggressive synthwave albums in existence, these songs managed to get the pit moving, whether that be dancing or some light, semi-synchronized moshing.

The guys then jumped into three more current tracks, which included ‘The Call Of The Faithful’ (off of 2019’s Valediction), ‘Blessed Be’ and ‘Coven’ (from 2021’s Rites Of Love And Reverence), and the brand new, still-unreleased track ‘Prophecy’, which is from their forthcoming album of the same name, which drops on March 8th via Metal Blade Records.

An awesome set of industrialized synthwave that was a welcome break from the bookends of melancholy that was SOM and Katatonia.

KATATONIA

Swedish progressive rock / metal legends Katatonia don’t make it to this side of the pond very often. When they do, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is an event like no other. On this night, frontman Jonas Renske and crew (tonight the band were down a member, performing as a four-piece) lead the eager, enthusiastic crowd through an hour and a half of songs culled from seven of their thirteen full-length albums.

Katatonia started the night off with the track ‘No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall’ from their latest album Sky Void Of Stars (released earlier this year). In fact, this album got the most love of the night, with the tracks ‘Colossal Shade’, ‘Opaline’, ‘Birds’, and ‘Atrium’ also making appearances. It was clear that the album is a popular one among Katatonia fans, as the crowd roared their appreciation after each song.

All warmed up with nowhere to go, the band then launched into ‘Lethean’ (off of 2012’s Dead End Kings). They would go on to also perform ‘Dead Letters’, ‘Buildings’, ‘The Racing Heart’ from the very same album. It was at this point that Jonas greeted the crowd, expressing his thanks for everyone coming out on a Wednesday night. I can only imagine that if this were a Friday or Saturday evening, The Axis Club would have been brimming with fans. This isn’t to say it wasn’t a good turnout. In fact, any busier might have been a bit too much.

‘Flicker’ was the next track to be showcased. This is a gem of a song from what I believe is a highly under-rated album within the Katatonia catalog (2020’s City Burials). The song’s trippy, abstract atmosphere is one that you can easily lose yourself in, which was evidenced by the swaying, pendulous heads of those in attendance.

Night Is The New Day was the next album to get some attention, the band delivering a near-perfect rendition of the song ‘Forsaker’. They later explored the album again with the song ‘Nephilim’. Both tracks are some of the band’s most melancholic work, which worked perfectly with the moody, atmospheric stage lighting tonight (swirling hues of greens and reds). In fact, the band was entirely back-lit this evening, which cast each and every member in eerie shadows, making it nearly impossible to discern their individual faces. With the mood set, the guys then unleashed fan-favorite ‘July’ to a thunderous roar from the now-satiated throngs of Katatonia lovers.

More than halfway through their set, I was beginning to notice a trend with their songs of choice, which consisted of mostly contemporary Katatonia tracks. In fact, the band didn’t play anything pre-2003, which, for this scribe, was a bit disappointing. Sticking to this formula, the guys then jumped into ‘Decima’ from 2016’s The Fall Of Hearts. They would also visit the track ‘Old Heart Falls’ from the very same album later in their set.

With the night seemingly at a close, the guys walked off the stage much to the disappointment of fans. It didn’t take long for a chant of ‘one more song!’ to fill the venue. After about two minutes of this, Katatonia walked back out onto the stage to deliver three encores in ‘Behind The Blood’, ‘My Twin’, and ‘Evidence’.

Apart from a few sound snafus, which included Jonas’ vocals being a bit buried in the mix, Katatonia delivered a fantastic set of songs. I do wish they had explored some of their earlier material, such as Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Tonight’s Decision – which were given no love tonight. The guys definitely shied away from much of their heavier material (post-death metal stuff, that is) in favor of lighter/easier fare. That being said, what they did tackle was tackled with precision and utmost care of their craft.

Remaining dates on the Sky Void Of Stars tour are as follows:

November
25 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw
26 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theater
28 Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
29 Fresno, CA – Strummer’s
30 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex

December
1 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
2 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
4 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
5 Austin, TX – Come And Take it Live
6 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
8 Atlanta, GA – Hell @ The Masquerade
9 Orlando, FL – Level 13

INFECTED RAIN

November 16th, 2023

Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry

Words & Pictures By: Marsworth

Infected Rain (Moldavian metal band) hit the stage in Lakewood, Ohio at The Foundry for the sold out Wednesday 13 show. Lena Scissorhands (singer), Metal Pit regular, knew her crowd like the back of her hand as she screamed commands into the mic and watched concert goers obey her every word. Chatter before the band went on had included words of praise for the singers incredible frontman-ship and ability to switch between powerful screaming and angelic singing.

Laughs were shared between songs as Scissorhands professes worry of the backs of the ones who didn’t obey her command to crouch to the floor. She gives a passive aggressive thumbs up (pictured) in hopes their backs remain okay. The crowd loved the stage presence of not only Scissorhands, but the entire band who interacted with one another as the songs played on. It was definitely a night to remember and I’m only but grateful to have been a part of such a powerful evening.

SETLIST

Fighter
The Realm Of Chaos
The Earth Mantra
Dying Light
Never To Return
Black Gold
Sweet, Sweet Lies

SUFFOCATION, INCANTATION, SKELETAL REMAINS, STABBING

November 13th, 2023

Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace

Photos By: Kim Baarda

Words By: Jason Deaville

STABBING

With a band name that leaves no question to their intentions – being stabbed in the fucking face with pure, unadulterated brutality – Houston Texas’ Stabbing were the perfect choice as the opening band for this tour. Having got their start just a couple of years ago, Stabbing have made some serious waves in the world of brutal death metal as-of-late. With only one full-length album and an EP under their belts, the band busted out some of their heaviest tonight in Toronto.

Starting their set off with a handful of tracks pulled from 2022’s Extirpated Mortal Process, which included the songs ‘Inhaling The Dead’, ‘Final Flesh Feast’, ‘Visions Of Eternal Suffering’, ‘It Ends With Flames’ and ‘Pulsing Wound’, the band succeeded in getting the early-arrivers hyped and moving (evidence of this could be seen in the pit, with a few, but faithful, fans getting the night started right).

Stabbing then jumped into ‘Gutted By The Beast’ and ‘Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught’, both from 2021’s Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught. They ended their short, but violent, set with ‘Vortex Of The Severed Dead’ and ‘Pulled Apart’ from this year’s demo release.

Stabbing are definitely a force to be reckoned with. I expect great things from this young band in the coming years. Keep an ear out!

SKELETAL REMAINS

If you love your death metal old-school, Californian brutalizers, Skeletal Remains, are your go to band when it comes to contemporary death metal bands keeping things true to the origin of the sub-genre. No one does it better than these guys, and they proved that point ten-fold tonight in Toronto.

Without knowing anything about the band, one would be hard-pressed to guess that these guys got their start just over ten years ago. In fact, you can stack Skeletal Remains up against any legendary death metal band and they’d fit right in, which is why the band were the logical choice for this tour.

The guys started the night with a brand new track ‘Void Of Despair’ (from their coming album of the same name, which drops on March 8th via Century Media Records). Later in their set, they also dropped another new one, ‘To Conquer The Devout’. If these two songs are any indication, the forthcoming album could be a 2024 year-end contender.

The guys then took things back a bit, with the lead-off track ‘Beyond Cremation’ off of their 2015 album, Condemned To Misery. This is another face-melter of a song that sent the pit into a vortex of swirling bodies. With not a second of respite, the band unleashed two fan-favorites in ‘Illusive Divinity’ and ‘Tombs Of Chaos’, the pair taken from 2020’s incredible The Entombment Of Chaos. The guys ended their highly-energized set with ‘Internal Detestation’ and ‘Torture Labyrinth’ from 2018’s Devouring Mortality.

Skeletal Remains definitely threw the venue and it’s inhabitants back into the early 90s with their brand of anachronistic, ode-to-the-old-school death metal. An absolute treat and a band that should not be missed if they make it to your neck-of-the-woods.

INCANTATION

You can’t speak of ‘legendary’ and ‘death metal’ without the mention of the mighty Incantation. These guys basically invented a sub-genre of death metal all their own, one that lives on to this day with countless bands paying homage to Incantation‘s ‘cavernous’ aesthetic. So, it goes without saying that the band was the logical choice as co-headliner alongside Suffocation, bringing the old-school to a new generation of rabid connoisseurs of death metal.

Tonight in Toronto, the maestro himself, frontman John McEntee, marshalled his crew of like-minded brutalizers through a set-list of both classic and contemporary Incantation material. The band blasted onto the stage with the track ‘Concordant’ from their brand new album Unholy Deification. This wasn’t the only love shown for the new album, as the guys would later tackle the tracks ‘Homunculus’, ‘Chalice’, and ‘Invocation’, which is some of their best work in years.

At this point, Incantation had the near-capacity crowd eating from their palms. The guys harnessed this energy and jumped into the popular ‘Rites Of The Locust’ (from 2017’s Profane Nexus) and ‘Carrion Prophecy’ (off of 2014’s Dirges Of Elysium). Adding fuel to the inferno of a pit that had formed, Incan launched into ‘Fury’s Manifesto’ and ‘Ritual Impurity’ from 2020’s Sect Of Vile Divinities. From here on out, all hell was unleashed in the pit.

The guys then proceeded to rewind thirty years with their classic track ‘Blasphemous Cremation’ off of 1992’s Onward To Golgotha. With such a vast library of quintessential Incantation songs, I’m not sure how the band decides on what to include in a set-list. Either way, this was the perfect track at the perfect time, and the ravenous ragers made sure to show it. Jumping forward to the turn of the century, Incan pulled out two contemporary classics with ‘Ascend Into The Eternal’ (from 2012’s Vanquish In Vengeance) and ‘Oath Of Armageddon’ (off of 2004’s Decimate Christendom).

Now at just halfway through their set, the interaction between band and fan had soared to a fevered pitch. Between songs, the crowd vocalized their pleasure with a deafening roar, which frontman John McEntee acknowledged and obliged with the last three songs of their set, which included ‘Ibex Moon’ (from ’94’s Mortal Throne Of Nazarene) and the duo of ‘Impending Diabolical Conquest’ and ‘Shadows Of The Ancient Empire’ (off 1998’s Diabolical Conquest).

Is it just me, or does Incantation keep getting better with age? I don’t think the band have ever sounded as tight as they do today. An incredible set from one of the most consistent and beloved death metal bands out there.

SUFFOCATION

If I hadn’t been on the bus myself hanging with the guys prior to their set, I woulda thought NYC brutal death metal legends Suffocation rode into Toronto on a convoy of bulldozers, as tonight the Suffo ones absolutely levelled each and every Canadian (and one Swede, who flew all the way to Toronto for one night just to catch Incantation) in attendance. In fact, I’m not certain the venue, Lee’s Palace, survived… I wouldn’t be surprised if Torontonians woke up the next morning to a heap of smoldering rubble.

Strolling out onto the stage to a deafening roar from every voice box in the crammed venue, the guys launched into a classic with ‘Catatonia’ from 1991’s Human Waste EP. Immediately, the crowd erupted into a frenzy, which included body after body climbing onto the stage to dive head-first into the ocean of unsuspecting heads. And we are off to the races!

Touring in support of their brand new album, Hymns From The Apocrypha, the guys dropped several tracks from this badass and brutal album, which included ‘Seraphim Enslavement’, ‘Dim Veil Of Obscurity’, ‘Perpetual Deception’, and ‘Hymns From The Apocrypha’. It was clear that fans were well familiar with the noob-ness on display, as I could see lots of mouths roaring along with now full-time vocalist, Ricky Myers.

The next three songs were welcome throwbacks with ‘Breeding The Spawn’ (from the ’93 album of the same name), ‘Pierced From Within’ (from the ’95 album of the same name), and ‘Funeral Inception’ (from the ’98 EP Despise The Sun). The latter of the three really landed hard, whipping the now sweat-soaked pit into absolute moshing madness.

Suffocation ended their set with the tracks ‘Blind, Torture, Kill’ (from their 2006 self-titled album), and ‘Liege Of Inveracity’ and ‘Infecting The Crypts’ from their classic debut full-length, Effigy Of The Forgotten. For those in the know, the latter two tracks are filled to the brim with massive gravity-defying breakdowns that, in the live setting, are probably the heaviest riffs ever heard by human ears.

Suffocation once again prove why they are living legends. There is no band heavier.

Remaining dates on the Ancient Unholy Uprising Tour 2023 are as follows:

November
22 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom
24 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
25 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
26 – Los Angeles, CA – 1720
27 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
28 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
29 – Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street Collective
30 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater

December
1 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
2 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
3 – New Orleans, LA – Southport Music Hall
4 – Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819

ALBUM REVIEW – AGGRESSION

Aggression – Frozen Aggressors

Reviewed By: Billy Klare

Review Score: 8.5

Canadian thrashers Aggression release their sixth studio album Frozen Aggressors on December 1, 2023 through Massacre Records. Aggression emerged on the Montreal, Quebec metal scene in the mid-80’s building a strong reputation for their blistering style of thrash and legendary live performances, all of which I got to experience first-hand growing up in Montreal during the 80’s. The band appeared on two key compilation albums – Speed Metal Hell II (1986), and Thrash Metal Attack (1987) that helped launch them beyond their Quebec borders. Unfortunately, Aggression disbanded by 1989 as thrash metal was just reaching peak popularity due to various personal issues, but thankfully reformed in 2014 with a new line-up.

Denis “Sasquatch” Barthe is the only original Aggression member these days handling vocal and guitar duties. The current line-up has been consistent the last few years with Dave Watson also playing guitar, Kyle Hagen handling bass duties and Ryan Idris beating up the drums. The band describes their current musical style as follows: “This is a perfect crossover blend, delivered from our black hearts, influenced by ancient recordings of the past that changed our lives. Fast, furious, and straight through your face!”. All pretty accurate in my opinion. I would describe Frozen Aggressors as old school thrash metal that successfully incorporates punk and hardcore crossover influences.

The album opens with the near four-minute instrumental ‘C.H.U.D. Invasion’ featuring dive-bombing riffing, manic aggressive overtones, and strong technical musicianship. As far as opening instrumentals go, this has strong replay value. ‘Circus Of Deception’ is an old school thrash attack that could have easily appeared on early Aggression releases. It has a slight punk slant, showcases impressive bass work that’s featured up front in the mix, and includes some cool drum fills and intense riffing. Barthe’s no nonsense vocal approach is perfect for this “working class” thrash material. ‘Song 666’ is a punk crossover track that still incorporates lethal crunching thrash chops. The chorus is incredibly catchy and reminiscent of a band like the Ramones.

‘Crib Of Thorns’ is a pure thrash metal gem with shredding guitars & bass and allows drummer Ryan Idris to shine with his excellent drum work. At times, the vocals on this song remind me of Randy Rampage from the first Annihilator record. Heavy Venom influences are evident on ‘Holidays In Sodom’ which features some heavy guitar driven hooks that are so catchy and memorable. ‘Satanic Cult Gangbang’ is reminiscent of the punky thrash stylings of Sodom with some comical lyrical content.

‘Queen Of The Damned’ is a favorite track of mine and 100% old school thrash. The entire band is firing on all cylinders at a raging pace. The vocals are more unique here with Denis entering death metal territory with a goblin like vocal approach at times. The albums longest track ‘Hyperspectral Winter Incursions’ at eight plus minutes closes the album in an epic progressive manner beginning with an acoustic intro and featuring vocal narration throughout. This is Barthe’s most dynamic vocal performance and includes strong melodic supporting vocals. Excellent songwriting incorporating strong technical and melodic instrumental inputs. BEST track on the album.

The album production is perfectly straight forward matching Aggression’s musical direction. Original band member Barthe recently noted in an interview that they recorded this album in a garage like setting keeping it simple and straight forward. All instruments are well placed in the mix and the sound is crystal clear. I love that I can clearly hear the bass riffs. The cool album artwork is a family affair with key artistic contributions from Barthe’s daughter and ex-girlfriend.

All I can say is WOW, Frozen Aggressor is an outstanding album that will surely make my top 2023 albums list. The songwriting is rooted in old school thrash, but still varied enough to encourage multiple replays. Aggression perfectly balances aggressive thrash, heaviness, technicality and catchy hooks. The big four of Canadian thrash is commonly cited as Sacrifice, Razor, Voivod and Annihilator (and / or arguably Exciter) but Aggression deserves to be part of this talented influential group.

As a metal fan who grew up in Montreal, Quebec in the mid-80’s listening to all the local bands and attending shows, it’s fantastic to see many of my favorite older local bands still relevant today. Aggression unleashed this awesome slab of metal, DBC and Obliveon are actively working on new albums, and Martyr recently reunited hitting the stage for some one-off shows. Maybe I’m biased but the Quebec metal scene back in the day (and still today) can stand its ground with the best in the world.

Frozen Aggressors drops on December 1st via Massacre Records.

UNEARTH, REVOCATION, ENTHEOS, HIGH COMMAND

October 19th, 2023

Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground

Photos By: Keith Ibbitson

Words By: Jason Deaville

HIGH COMMAND

In the world of contemporary crossover thrash bands, there are only a couple of bands that can match the intensity and brilliance of Power Trip‘s 2017 masterpiece, Nightmare Logic. One of those bands just happened to be the opener of tonight’s festivities, Massachusetts’ High Command. Sharing the same label as Power Trip, Southern Lord Recordings, High Command ripped through a setlist comprised of songs from their two full-length albums, Beyond The Wall Of Desolation and Eclipse Of The Dual Moon.

They opened their set with the face-ripping shredder ‘Inexorable Darkness’, and then followed that up with two more death/thrash monsters, ‘Immortal Savagery’ and ‘Impaled Upon The Gates’. The band then tore through two new ones from last year’s album Eclipse Of The Dual Moon, ‘Siege Warfare’ and ‘Fortified By Bloodshed’. They ended their night with the barbaric ‘Beyond The Wall Of Desolation’ from the 2019 album of the same name.

High Command certainly commanded the attention of the early-arrivers. I’m almost certain the late, great Riley Gale would be smiling down upon the band’s set tonight in Toronto.

ENTHEOS

Entheos, the American progressive metal super-group formed in 2015 by ex-members of Animosity, Animals As Leaders, and The Faceless were the next band to hit the tiny stage of the Velvet Underground. Hot on the heels of their third full-length album, Time Will Take Us All, released back in March of this year, the band’s entire set consisted of songs from said album, apart from one. This is a good thing, as Time Will Take Us All is a phenomenal album that truly showcases the incredible musical pedigree of this band, and they did not disappoint on this night! And what about the lungs on the petite frontwoman, Chaney Crabb? This woman’s gutturals can move mountains!

REVOCATION

Technical death metal masters Revocation stacked half their set tonight with songs from last year’s album, Netherheaven. With eight full-lengths (and one EP) under their belts, I was rather surprised the setlist didn’t cover a wider spectrum of material. This isn’t to say that Netherheaven isn’t a great album with some truly mind-blowing songs, I just would have preferred if they had mixed it up a little more, as there is a massive pool of fantastic songs.

Tonight, they kicked their set off with a new one in the mid-paced crusher ‘Godforsaken’. As quickly as this was done, the guys jumped into ‘Of Unworldly Origin’ and ‘The Outer Ones’ from the 2018 album, Outer Ones. Both songs served to get the audience truly pumped, as a ferocious pit formed and did not let up through both songs. With barely time to breathe, the guys ripped into ‘Madness Opus’, the heaviest track from 2014’s Deathless. The second half of their set saw the band rip through three more songs from Netherheaven (‘The Intervening Abyss Of Untold Aeons’, ‘Diabolical Majesty’, ‘Lessons In Occult Theft’, respectively), and two older tracks in ‘Crumbling Imperium’ and ‘Dismantle The Dictator’.

Revocation proved tonight why they are one of the best technical death metal bands in existence. Without even trying, they harnessed both the majesty of their musicianship and the complete and utter attention of those witnessing their majesty.

UNEARTH

The grandaddies of metalcore, Unearth, took to the stage in the headlining spot. With a quarter century behind them, tonight, the guys were firing on cylinders of a band half their age. Eight full-lengths in (and one EP) I can only imagine it must have been quite the undertaking when putting together a setlist for this tour. There are just too many killer songs in their vast catalogue of recorded material.

The band started their night off with the short but scrappy ‘Dawn Of The Militant’ from their latest release, The Wretched; The Ruinous, released this past May. This was followed-up by the track ‘Incinerate’ from the 2018 album, Extinction(s). Unearth then unearthed two oldies in the songs ‘Endless’ and ‘This Lying World’ from their legendary 2004 album, The Oncoming Storm. They then jumped back to the present with the title track of their latest album, The Wretched; The Ruinous.

By this point, things were getting incredibly… sweaty. Unearth had not let up one iota, and the ravenous crowd was paying for it. The air was thick with human pheromones of the metal kind. The guys then went old-school on us again with the track ‘Giles’ from their critically-acclaimed 2006 album, Unearth III: In The Eyes Of Fire. Finally, a little bit of a breather came in the form of the instrumental song ‘Aniara’, which was immediately followed by ‘Into The Abyss’ (both songs from Unearth‘s latest album).

The band wrapped up their charged set with the tracks ‘The Great Dividers’, ‘My Will Be Done’, and ‘Black Hearts Will Now Reign’. If Unearth’s performance is to be believed, these guys have no plans to slow down anytime soon. You can stack Unearth up against any band of their ilk, and they’ll still come out on top!