Sunday, September 15th - Lee's Palace, Toronto
Seeing Deicide on a Sunday evening gave me a bit of a chuckle. What a perfect way to cap off the Lord’s Day. The Florida death metal icons returned to Toronto to promote their 13th album, Banished By Sin, and they brought along a surprisingly eclectic set of openers.
Deicide
Atlanta’s black/gothic metallers Cloak were up first with a short set primarily drawn from their latest album, Black Flame Eternal. Their atmospheric riffs weren’t without a few thrashy moments, and that made them a good lead-in band for the death metal to follow. These sudden flashes of ferocity gives the band a more unique signature than some of their gothic contemporaries. With a sound and stage presence that would equally appeal to fans of bands like Judas Priest or Celtic Frost, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them on more varied tours like this in the future.
Cloak
Up next were Nashville melodic death outfit Inferi. They are currently working on a new album, and they mixed a few new songs into their set, including recent singles “Tainted Pact,” and “Eyes of Boundless Black.” As the most modern sounding band on the bill, and without a new album in three years, you would think they would have the hardest time whipping up the crowd. But thanks mostly due to an excellent performance by vocalist Stevie Boiser, they managed to elicit the first mosh pits of the evening. Boiser’s unique stage poses and positive energy infected the crowd, who initially seemed skeptical about the band. This is perhaps because their more melodic moments have aspects in common with metalcore, which can be kryptonite to an extreme death metal crowd, but Inferi won them over rather quickly.
Krisiun
It's difficult to write about Brazil’s Krisiun. I’ve seen them many times since the early 2000’s, and I mean this in the best possible way, not much has changed. But this is a good thing. I don’t like using “metal speak” too much in my reviews or interviews. Written down I think it looks kind of silly. Words like “brutal” and “crushing.” But what else can you do when it comes to a band like Krisiun? A band who for nearly 35 years has faithfully stuck to their story. You absolutely know what you’re going to get when you see a Krisiun show or listen to their albums. This is the meat and potatoes of extreme metal. Three massive, bearded brothers playing the most brutal death metal possible, with the most crushing riffs possible. I’m no scene guard, but I can easily say that Krisiun is metal that is not for posers. I hadn’t seen them in a few years, and they delivered nothing short of a perfect death metal set spanning their entire career, and the crowd was certainly appreciative. Krisiun has become the quintessential Brazilian death metal band.
Deicide
Deicide is arguably another band that hasn’t changed too much over the years. The main debate by fans has mostly been about the band before and after the departure of guitarists the Hoffman brothers in 2004. Although the quality of the band’s early albums can’t be denied, it also can’t be denied that the band has been far more consistent and increasingly heavier in their last two decades without them. Although it’s been a tall order to equal the sonic barrage of sound that was their last unquestioned classic, 2006’s The Stench of Redemption, each subsequent album has still had a sense of vitality and intensity that had been missing by the end of the Hoffman’s tenure in the band. Banished By Sin is an above-average outing, with songs like “Bury The Cross… With Your Christ,” and “Woke From God” fitting easily into the setlist next to songs from their early albums. Deicide 2024 is the ubiquitous vocalist/bassist Glen Benton and drummer Steve Asheim, along with guitarists Kevin Quirion and Taylor Nordberg. When it came to older songs, Nordberg was a particular standout, blazing through the subtler moments on tracks like “Sacrificial Suicide” with a focussed intensity that elicited mid-song bursts of applause from the crowd. Despite the first half of the set being slightly marred by sound mixing issues (Asheim’s drum volume both on and offstage remained an issue until Benton mildly dressed down his sound person), Deicide delivered a tight, upbeat performance, including powerful and on-point delivery from Benton. I spoke to a few people who said it was their first time seeing Deicide. This is definitely a great death metal tour for an introduction to the band, or for old school fans looking to hear some classics.
Deicide
The Banished By Sin North American Tour continues through October 11th. The album is available now on Reigning Phoenix Music. All three videos from the album could easily get you in trouble in the wrong place, but you can watch them here.
Thank you to Adrenaline PR
