A Disappointing start

Let me start this off with that I was disappointed because of circumstances beyond our control. I went to History at a reasonable time so I could be there for all four acts, Immolation, Rotting Christ, Deicide and Behemoth.

I walked to the pit at about 6:20 hoping to wait about 10 minutes. The security came over to me and let me know that the first band would be getting on at 7:45 so I had time to do other things.

I could have sworn this was starting at 6:30. I hung around History and eventually made it back to the pit and got ready to start shooting the show.

All of a sudden the band Deicide started the show. Whaat? I thought they were going to be the third band on. So, I took my photos and began to take notes in a very confused manner.

Later on, I soon found out the tour bus for Immolation and Rotting Christ broke down and they could not make it to the show. I was so disappointed because I was really eager to see Rotting Christ.

I was meeting people in the audience with Rotting Christ T-Shirts.

What a freaking bummer! But the show must go on.

Deicide

Deicide went on at exactly 7:45 to a full house at History. They began the deadly feast by screaming, “When Satan Rules his World”.

They continued to crush the room with a battalion of choice weaponry. “Bastard of Christ” added a hint of sprinkled soul separating riffs that completely tore at your flesh.

Once they got to “Once upon the Cross”, you could feel your soul descending into the darkness of ruthless activities.

Deicide was a perfect opening band for this evening. Their convent of misery was out to unleash the demons of the night and have them tear asunder.

Although, we were missing two other bands this evening, Deicide was more than happy to put on a longer set for this Toronto crowd. They were scheduled to play 11 songs this evening but were able to stretch their set to 18 songs. What a freaking bonus for the Deicide fans this night!

A few extra songs meant, we got hear, “Carnage in the Temple of the Damned”, “From unknown heights you shall fall”, and “In Hell I Burn”!

The highlight for me as well as many others was, “Dead by Dawn”. I stood next to the mosh pit and it was like being sucked into the vortex of a tornado. You can see a bit of it on my Instagram page-

They finished the evening with, “Homage to Satan”

Deicide worked their pointed fingernails to the bone to help us forget the disappointing start of the evening. Toronto loved them!

Deicide Live:

Behemoth

True to their name, this band is simply a large monstrosity that is out to devour everything in its path. It has a hunger that simply won’t quit.

They dominated the stage like undead warriors teaching us the dark secrets of survival.

Then the rest of the show, I felt like I entered the hallowed grounds of Cimmerian Church.

Nergal stood at the top of the stage like a demon bat and let the “Shiv of God” come slicing down into our sacrificial soul. I soon found his character to be some kind of high priest in this ritual of the damned.

He looked like he was consumed by eons of devastating work and this was his place of slaughter. We truly were in an Unholy Manor.

They immediately played, “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica” and then “Blow your Trumpets Gabriel”. This was quite the communion feast that bathed you into this occult.

They then summoned, “Bartzabel” to the stage. This is an entity of pure aggression and is known as the Demon of Mars. It represents dark energy, war and passion. If this song didn’t whip you into a fury, you must be dead already.

Personally, I loved his story about the time back in 2004 when they opened for Suffocation at the Opera House down the street. Nergal was terribly sick with strep throat and was coughing up blood during his set. He questioned why we are doing this in a place that doesn’t even know us. Well fast forward 22 years and they are selling out a 2500 capacity space with deeply loyal fans. He was truly thanking us for keeping the music alive all these years and the sacrifices they made for moment like this.

Well soon after that, the show completely blew up when the band announced that the bus that carried Immolation and Rotting Christ just pulled up to History.

They invited the lead singer Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ onto the stage as they all went into a cover of the Bathory song- “The Return of Darkness and Evil”! I have never seen two singers give it everything they had for a song before. This was a pure adrenaline rush for the entire building as everybody erupted during this moment.

The Band soon continued with “A Deathless Sun that melted your soul. It was so strong that it only left the charred remains of your empty shell there to feel no more pain.

“Chant for Eschaton 2000 was the final weapon before the encore. The red lights ushered in a devastating apocalyptic ending that decimated Toronto. And we loved it.

With the encore song-“O Father O Satan O Sun’, it felt like a heartfelt goodbye and we will see you again kind of moment.

Upon leaving the crowd left on a complete high and forgave the bad luck we experienced earlier. I am sure Rotting Christ and Immolation are planning out a return to Toronto to give us what we want!

Behemoth Live: