May 13th, 2023
Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s
By: Kimberly Baarda
SENTIMENT DISSOLVE
London, Ontario’s Sentiment Dissolve started the night off in brutal fashion by bringing a bit of old-school Montreal death metal to those who showed up early. It was immediately telling that these guys drop pit-riffs like bands double, even triple, their age! A solid set that got the venue energized for the devastation that was still to come.
CARRION VAEL
Up next was Richmond, Indiana’s Carrion Vael who bring a mind-boggling amount of super-talented noodle to their very own brand of headcrushing brootal! It’s no wonder these guys were snapped up by Unique Leader, as their talent is two-fold, as they crush both on album and on stage. If you haven’t checked them out yet on the live front, you can catch them on their current Canadian tour with Æpoch. Tonight’s performance was extra special, as Sentiment Dissolve vocalist, Nathan Ferreira, filled in on vocals, delivering an absolutely stellar rendition.
Æpoch
Local death metal heroes, Æpoch, hit the stage to a ravenous crowd of friends and fans. The support for these guys in this neck of the woods is truly something to behold. The band did not disappoint tonight. They ran through a collection of songs from both EPs, as well as their critically-acclaimed debut full-length, Awakening Inception. Having seen these guys this past winter in Toronto, its clear that the guys are absolutely consistent with their brutality. A perfect performance that would be hard to top!
RAIDER
Waterloo’s Raider are riding a wave of popularity after having just completed a US tour. Hitting the stage with the prerequisite Bay Area garb – you know, white high tops, black jeans, metal shirt – the guys gave us their very best homage to the classic thrash that birthed the sub-genre. Their set tore into violent numbers from the latest album, Trial By Chaos. If these guys can keep riding this thrash revival, I see no reason why they won’t reach the top. An incredible, highly-energized set of pure intensity.
Get your copy of TRIAL BY CHAOS here.
