Aborted, Cryptopsy, & Hideous Divinity @ Lee's Palace, Toronto (April19, 2019)

     Last night the Hell Over North America tour crashed its way through Toronto with one of the last shows of the trip. And while Benighted was unfortunately not on the Canadian bill, there was no absence of raw power throughout the night with Hideous Divinity picking up the slack and local beauties Burdizzo kicking things off. Also making this night a bit of a special one for me, my lovely wife decided to come to the death metal show with me as well! While she's no stranger to metal, she's certainly not a full blown metalhead and her various hot takes throughout the night cracked me up. There were a few comments on what shampoo Matt McGachy uses, with her final summary of night summed up to "Next to Aborted, Cryptopsy are down right listenable". (lmfao...)

     We got to Lee's as Hideous Divinity were about mid set. The place was already packed and bustling with the blastbeat party well underway. After a few beers, the moment I was waiting for approached. Flo and the boys took the stage, and Cryptopsy absolutely annihilated the Palace with their insane drum work and slaughtering bass lines felt in every bone and organ. They opened with Detritus and quickly moved into SLIT YOUR GUTS as the pit exploded. I hardly had time to say hey to a buddy as I raced to the pit. Cryptopsy played a killer mix of songs including many off None So Vile including Graves of the Fathers, Phobophile, Orgiastic Disembowelment, and the aforementioned Slit Your Guts. I could not have asked for a better set, with their windmilling headbanging heads fully delivering on every level.

     After a few more beers with buds and some much needed breathing time, Aborted took the stage and reignited the fire set by their predecessors. Opening with TerrorVision and Deep Red off the new album, I quickly found myself sucked back into the pit, answering Sven's call for a wall of death. Aborted played a brutal and amazing set, featuring some wicked tracks like Necrotic Manifesto, Termination Redux, The Origin of Disease. Hectabomb, among many others. One amazing highlight from the set was when Matt from Cryptopsy joined Sven on stage for a wicked duo version of A Whore D'Oeuvre Macabre (Video Clip Below).  Aborted ended off the night with a satisfying Encore of Retrogore, successfully pulling the last ounce of energy out of the crowd as the sea of bodies clashed for one last time. Overall, I had a fantastic night at the blastbeat party. Cheers to Cryptopsy and Aborted for absolutely crushing sets, and as always a special shout out to all the crazy fuckers I clashed with in the pit. Check out a few photos and a video below! /,,/

Aborted

Cryptopsy

Hideous Divinity
 
-Heavy Metal Yeti /../;,,;/../

Children of Bodom, Swallow the Sun, & Wolfheart @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto (March 16, 2019).

     2019 is shaping up to be a great year of live shows for the Yeti. With a few smaller shows already under my belt, the first larger bill rolled through town with Wolfheart, Summoner's Circle, and Swallow the Sun supporting the gods of melodic death metal Children of Bodom! It has been almost a decade since I've seen Bodom live, the last time with buds at the tail end of high school. But hot on the heels of the release of their latest album Hexed, I could not pass up this opportunity. Wolfheart and Swallow the Sun were another huge pull for me, wanting to knockboth bands off my must see live list. /,,/

     I arrived just in time to catch the last song of Summoner's Circle's set, with the crowd already massing for the oncoming storm. After a few beers, I was more than ready for Wolfheart to take the the stage and I was off to the pit. While it took a few songs to get the everybody fully going, the energy exerted by the band was too much to resist and after a few minutes the bodies were flying. One of my favourite moments of the set (and the night) was a special "metal faced head nod of approval" from Lauri Silvonen on bass after going ballistic in the pit and throwing him the horns during Breakwater. After the chaos of Wolfheart, metalheads enjoyed a bit of a change of pace with Swallow the Sun set to take the stage. I just recently became a fan of this band, checking out their latest album and bunch of their back catalogue after that. I really enjoyed Swallow the Sun's set with their mix of slow doomy chugs and cutting guitars working well with their mysterious hooded stage presence. "New Moon" leading into "Stone Wings" was a highlight of this set for me, with the ominous guitar tones slicing deep and delivered perfectly by the band. 

     Swallow the Sun are a bit difficult to mosh to, but it was probably for the best as Children of Bodom's imminent presence had completely packed the Phoenix as the Hatecrew deathrolled in. Bodom opened up with "Are you Dead Yet?", which set the crowd off on a furious stupor that lasted the duration of the set. I'm kicking myself for waiting this long to see Bodom again; the energy that Alexi and the gang give off during their set is top notch and you can see how much they enjoy enticing the crowd with their melodic madness. I was pleasantly surprised with the diverse set list. With their latest album just a month old, they still played a wicked mix of old classics like "Sixpounder", "Angel's Don't Kill", and "Bodom Beach Terror" amongst my favourite new songs like "This Road", and "I Worship Chaos". But the best was saved for last with the band closing with a killer encore of two of my favourite songs from the early days playing "Hate Me!" leading into "Downfall". Check out some photos and videos from the night below! As always cheers to the bands and all the crazy metalheads I clashed with in the pit! Metal Yeti

That was good fun, I haven’t been to a Bodom show in years! /,,/ #Metal 🤘💀🔥 pic.twitter.com/zuhq7Ny0A5

— Heavy Metal Yeti (@HeavyMetalYetii) March 17, 2019

Children of Bodom

Swallow the Sun

Wolfheart

Skeletonwitch, Sabaton, & Amon Amarth @ The Sound Academy, Toronto (Oct10/ 2014)

    Last night the Metal Yeti had the opportunity to witness the guardians of Asgard, Amon Amarth destroy Toronto with guests Skeletonwitch and Sabaton. I had been waiting a long time to see Skeletonwitch and was completely consumed by berserker rage for their entire set, which I am happy to say featured many classics from the Beyond the Permafrost album. Sabaton and their phantom keyboard player took the stage next and did an honourable job getting the crowd amped for the headlining viking gods. By the time Amon Amarth started the show off with Deceiver of the Gods, the Sound Academy was completely packed. The next 90 minutes were jam packed with viking chants and songs of war, leaving the Yeti and every single person in the audience thoroughly satisfied! I have been to a lot of gigs in my day, but this one will definitely be remembered for a long time. A special shout out to Skeletonwitch for their killer set, as well as all the kids I clashed with in the pit /,,/

Skeletonwitch

Sabaton

Amon Amarth

- Heavy Metal Sasquatch out /,,/

Niagara Metal Fest 2014

    Last past weekend was the 2014 Niagara Metal Fest at the Taps Brewery in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This year certainty showcased the finest in underground metal around the Niagara region, with unbelievably heavy as hell sets being played by every band involved. Unfortunately I was only able to attend day 1 of the festival, but I had the time of my life! My favourite moments of the day was the insane pits to Ataxia, Unscathed, Wretchedpain, & Killitorous, with a special mention to Wretchedpain for the WALL OF DEATH! A very special thanks to all the sponsors and organizers @ Pain TV. Make sure to check them out at www.paintv.ca/! Here are some pictures I took as well as some ones taken by friends, as well a few from the boys of Chronic Aggression! Cheers to all you crazy fuckers I clashed with in the pits as well as to all the bands who played! /,,/ /,,/



Killitorous

 Fatality

 

 Unsacred Seed

Unscathed

Dead 3 Days

Ataxia 

 Desolation

Paladin


 Wretchedpain

Laid to Rest


Random Metalheads! 

- Another huge thanks to all of the bands as well as Pain TV and Chronic Aggression for a few of their pictures!  Cheers to everyone who went and I`ll see ya next year for Niagara Metal Fest 2014!