Immolation, Vader, Abigail Williams, Lecherous Nocturne, Pathology Live Review

October 4th, 2010 Toronto,ON - The Mod Club

PATHOLOGY www.myspace.com/pathologydm
The band was scheduled to play but didn’t show up due to border problems according to Ross (vocalist of Immolation).

LECHEROUS NOCTURNE www.myspace.com/lecherousnocturne
This was my first time seeing these guys perform and put a hell of a show for an opener and tried to get a pit going as soon as they finished a song or two. Few evident fans of the band tried desperately to get a pit going, but considering they were an opener, they did not have enough people to do so. Even though the pit didn’t develop until the end of the set, there were plenty of people head banging from the start. The blast beats from the drums, screeching guitars and alarmingly loud vocals makes it certain that they don’t kid around and are true to their sound and image. Very wicked start of the night and good introduction to the excellent mix of death and black metal bands playing afterwards. Look up their profile page on myspace, a band worth checking out.

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS www.myspace.com/abigailwilliams
This was another first time seeing a band and before they started I was sceptical as to how well black metal would sound coming out of the states, but nonetheless I was surprised and shocked at how their sound pulled me in all the way to the front. The guitar riffs were longer than average and mesmerizing unlike almost any other which nearly put me in a trance, until the drums got me moving, but unfortunately wasn’t enough to get a pit going for most of their set. Their sound is new and didn’t intrigue that many people, but it’s one of those bands that grow on you, where you have to give it a good listen and not be so prejudice like some people I’ve noticed. Either way, I recommend at least checking them out on their myspace, I’m sure you’ll find something to like about the band.

VADER www.myspace.com/vader
For those of you who do not know Vader, I suggest going to their main website or at least myspace page and give them a good listen for they will make you wish you’d be one of the lucky fans that saw them on this tour or even before! Seeing Vader for the third time made me think they’d put on the same old kickass show, but they certainly pushed the limits and tore the place apart once they started, main reason is from playing most of their older and classic songs such as Reborn In Flames, Sothis, and Cold Demons. Although old songs were played by an almost completely new line-up in the band, the stage presence was lively and got anybody nearby to start thrashing ‘til the near death of their neck muscles or any other muscle for that matter as I have experienced myself. On top of that, once the sound left the stage the whole venue went crazy for every single song with the pit covering nearly the whole floor including the front row of head bangers and flying bodies every now and then from stage divers.

IMMOLATION www.myspace.com/immolation
Right off the bat, the second Immolation started to play I could see the energy on-stage from all four band members being transmitted into the crowd causing an eruption of death metal madness throughout the floor. The very energetic vocalist, Ross Dolan and guitarist Robert Vigna (the two original band members) caught my attention for the first song before I decided to rock out like everyone around me. Vigna’s extremely fast guitar playing and gestures with Ross’ deep guttural vocals and short but forceful movements into the mic before blowing everyone away from the projection of his voice helped brought all the energy from the music to the whole building, which in the end made for a deadly exciting ending of the night. The end of it all lasted a bit longer once Immolation came back on after the crowd cheered them on for an encore. Once they finished playing their final song, Ross and Rob came around to shake everybody’s hand that was within reach which was a nice touch to finish the night. A definite recommendation for any death metal fan, check them out as soon as possible.

Overall, the show was so much fun, wouldn’t want to miss a show containing any of these bands especially Immolation and Vader for I am truly a big fan of death metal and these acts are legendary. The show had a good mix of old and new bands, starting with the new, ending with the old which was a good balance of death and black metal. Pits were there most of the night and many opportunities to get close to the band because of no barriers. Stage presence was excellent, sound was heavy and blasting like I was in a basement of a house in hell. Truly a night to remember and bands that will not be forgotten, check out the bands next time they’re around for you will not be disappointed.