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

Another Six Metal Bands From Around The World You Should Be Listening To!

   Everybody knows that Yetis are extremely social creatures, craving mosh pits and substantial metalhead interaction for a healthy existence. Exciting things have been happening in the Heavy Metal Sasquatch camp. I've been sharing my favourite new bands with friends through this blog as well as my twitter for years but I find I've been wanting to increase my efforts and share even more from the metal underground. Ceasing an opportunity to do exactly this, I have started a partnership with online metal zine Blessed Altar; a group a like minded metalheads who share my burning desire to unearth and share all things vile and putrid.

   Blessed Altar Zine has been releasing daily reviews, interviews, feature articles, and underground exclusives for the better part of the last decade. Partnerships like this one have opened my eyes to an even deeper dimension of the underground. I've been able to listen and discover even more bands from different locations and scenes around the world. Luckily for you, I've never been a selfish beast so I've decided to do another edition of "Six metal bands from around the world you should be listening to!". The last post of this nature was over 5 years ago, so it is about time we take another journey across our molten-hearted globe. Check out another six incredible metal bands from around the world and expand your metal horizons!

Agathos- Nihil Est (2018):
Powerful and intricate swarming black metal from Valencia, Spain! https://agathos.bandcamp.com/




Desecravity- Anathema (2019): 
Crushing and incredibly brutal Technical Death Metal from Japan! https://desecravity.bandcamp.com/




Odious- Skin Age (2015): 
Eerie and heavy as hell Egyptian Symphonic Black Metal!
https://odiousband.bandcamp.com/




Horrisonous-  A Culinary Cacophony (2019):
Sludgy and gritty death metal from Sydney, Australia!
https://horrisonous.bandcamp.com/




Animus Mortis- Testimonia (2014): 
Full throttle and no nonsense black metal from Santiago, Chile! https://animusmortisbm.bandcamp.com/




DevilSpeak- See Evil Hear Evil Speak Evil (2018): Unrelenting death metal with a heavy thrash twist from Cape Town, South Africa! https://devilspeakofficial.bandcamp.com/




- If you like what you heard here and want to check out some more wicked underground metal, check out the other posts I've made of this nature below! And there's plenty more were that came from over @ BlessedAltarZine.com!!

8 Death Metal Bands From Around The World You Should Be Listening To!
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2015/01/8-death-metal-bands-from-around-world.html
Six Metal Bands From Around The World You Should Be Listening To!
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2013/09/metal-without-borders-six-metal-bands.html

- Cheers Metalheads! /../;,,;/../

Heavy Metal Yeti's Best Metal Albums of 2018!

*Favourite Album Art*
Mammoth Grinder - Cosmic Crypt

   Earth's molten metal core has circled the sun once again and it's been a hell of a journey!! 2018 was a year full of ups and downs for metalheads as well. Machine Head as we know it called it quits, Batushka are on the rocks, Slayer played some of the last live shows we'll ever see, Blood Music is shutting down, social justice warriors took down Pestilence, Pat O'Brien from Cannibal Corpse got in trouble, Cory Taylor and Rob Flynn got mad at a bunch of people again, and Devildriver released a god damn country album. All the while over, way too may killer bands went on hiatus and we're still waiting for a new Tool album... As always I want to raise a glass and give cheers to the metalheads we lost this year. Rust in Peace Vinnie Paul, Erik Lindmark, Jill Janus, Bret Hoffmann, Mikio Fujioka, Randy Rampage, Carsten Otterbach, Oli Herbert, Stan Lee, and every other metalhead off to the great gig in the sky /,,/

   But all was not lost with the year of the never-ending Nightwish Tour producing some absolutely awesome live tours and some of the best metal releases I've heard in years! Killer new bands like Alien Weaponry and Conjurer released their first full length albums and heavy hitters like Between the Buried and Me and Pig Destroyer found their sound again, with Voice of Trespass being one of he most unique and progtastic metal songs I heard this year. Even better, while all this was happening some of the old guards like Judas Priest, Anvil, Satan, Voivod, Dimmu Borgir, Deicide, Metal Church, Kalmah, Venom, and Cryptospy all put out new material this year.

   It was hard to keep track of all the releases this year, but here are my top 20 albums of 2018! /,,/ For me, album of the year has changed a few times. When I made my list early in December, The Ocean Collective stole my heart with their latest release in geological time; Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic. Phanerozoic is a modern prog metal masterpiece, delivering unbelievable power and atmosphere throughout every song. I kept finding myself coming back to this album, for some reason eerily relating to the Sea Scorpions caught up in the great dying. But as the month went on and I kept listening to my top albums, Rivers of Nihil's Where Owls Know My Name had a bigger impact on me than it originally had earlier in the year. It is for this reason that I have moved them into the pole position as my favourite release of the year. There is something about death metal saxophone that is just too hard to resist I guess!

   While I may have missed a few releases here and there, these are my favourite and most listened to albums from the past year. If you haven't checked any of them out already, take some time to broaden your metal horizons! Cheers to all the metalheads around the world and here's hoping that the next few years take a lesson from 2018 and offer up some more magnificent metal for our headbanging pleasure. Feel free to post your top albums in the comments! /,,/

1. Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://www.metalblade.com/riversofnihil

2. The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic 
Progressive Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://theocean.bandcamp.com

3. Inferi - Revenant
Melodic/Technical Death Metal - The Artisan Era 
https://inferi.bandcamp.com

4. Irreversible Mechanism - Immersion
Progressive Death Metal - Blood Records
https://blood-music.bandcamp.com

5. Between the Buried and Me - Automata I & II 
Progressive Metal - Sumerian Records
http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com

6. GOROD - ÆTHRA
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Overpowered Records
https://youtu.be/GOROD

7. Beyond Creation - Algorythm
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://beyondcreation.bandcamp.com

 8. Obscura - Diluvium
 Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Relapse Records
 https://obscura.bandcamp.com

 9. Alkaloid - Liquid Anatomy
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://alkaloidsom.bandcamp.com

10. Revocation - The Outer Ones
Technical Death/Thrash Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://revocationband.bandcamp.com

11. Psycroptic - As the Kingdom Drowns 
Technical Death Metal - Prosthetic Records
http://psycroptic.com

12. Conjurer - Mire
Sludge / Doom Metal - Holy Roar Records
https://conjureruk.bandcamp.com

13. Alterbeast - Feast
Technical Death Metal - Unique Leader Records
https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/Alterbeast

14. Black Fast - Spectre of Ruin
Progressive Thrash Metal - eOne
https://youtu.be/BlackFast

15. Smoulder - The Sword Woman
Epic Doom Metal - Independent
https://smoulder.bandcamp.com

16. Horrendous - Idol 
Progressive Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://horrendoussom.bandcamp.com

 

17. At The Gates - To Drink From the Night Itself 
Melodic Death Metal - Century Media Records
http://atthegates.se

18. Judas Priest - Firepower 
Heavy Metal - Columbia Records
http://www.judaspriest.com

 

19. Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light
Melodic Death/Thrash Metal - Prosthetic Records
https://skeletonwitch.bandcamp.com

20. Khemmis - Desolation 
Doom Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/Khemmis

Honourable mentions: Sulphur Aeon, Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Mammoth Grinder, Jungle Rot, Gravespell, Voivod, YOB, Kalmah, Gruesome, Immortal, Dee Snider, Necrophobic, Panopticon, Krisiun, Tomb Mold, Harakiri For The Sky, Soulfly, Skeletal Remains, Sleep, and all the other bands that made 2018 a kick ass year for metal!! /,,/

If you liked this list check out my past AOTY lists to see if there is anything you've missed!!
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2018/03/heavy-metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of.html
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2016/12/metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of-2015.html
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/heavy-metal-sasquatchs-top-fourteen.html