Is there any better of a way to start your week then with a Death Metal Show on a Monday night? Suffocation on their “Forces of Hostility North American Tour 2022”! With special guests paid a visit to the Velvet Lounge in Toronto on June 20.
Starting up the night we had a special treat from a band from the heart of Mexico City, Introtyl. It is led by Sariux Rivera on Bass Guitar, Rose Contreras (Guitar), Kary Ramos (Vocals) and Annie Ramírez behind the Drums. These gals are touring for nine dates on Canadian soil (a few with Suffocation). This is their third visit to Canada. The band showcased songs from their latest release in 2022 Adfectus, as well as “Creation of Insanity” with songs like “A Raped Brain,” “Dissection of the Soul,” “Redemption” and some other hard-core songs that kept the early attendees banging their heads the entire time.
If you have not checked them out yet, you should listen to their music. Introtyl will not disappoint you! After their Canadian tour, they will continue touring Mexico and Brazil.
Next on the bill was Contrarian, a band from Rochester, NY. It was the first time seeing them live for me and they nailed their performance! Let me say that their sound was great. Jakob Sin’s Vocals were amazing combined with a great stage presence that gave the attendees an early kickstart of death metal. With songs like “In a Blink of an Eye” and “My Curse.”
Let us not forget about the drum solo by Alex Cohen who managed to mix in some jazz sounds and punk. In addition, Jim Tasikas (founder of Contratia) and Brian Mason on guitars both brought killer riffs, as well as the deep and heavy Bass sounds from Jack Eaton. This band had lots to offer hoping to see them again back in Canada.
The night progressed with more Metal. Soreption, a technical death metal band from Sweden (and another first for me) took the stage next. Singer, Fredrik Söderberg, had such a strong stage presence, his eyes really meant business. He had the look and energy of a Viking ready for battle. Rikard Persson on bass, made everything look effortless and Tony Westermark on Drums was superb when using his splash cymbals and double bass drums. Playing songs from their latest album in 2022, Jord. An amazing performance!
The Florida Metal act, Atheist, were the second to last band to take the stage.
Even though the stage was small at The Velvet Lounge, it was not a limitation for them to use every centimeter of it! Yoav Ruiz-Feingold (Bass) was all over the stage engaging the fans and spinning all over with a unique energy. The founder of the band Kelly Shaefer’ vocals had the audience captivated all night! Steve Flinn (Drums), Chris Martin,
and Daniel Martinez on guitars, kept the audience moving and moshing like no tomorrow! The band played favorites, such as “Incarnation,” “On the Slay,” Enthralled,” “Unholy War” and many more. Their performance was fantastic, and as I mentioned earlier, full of energy.
It was finally time for the main event of the evening, Suffocation! The band from New York was formed by Terrence Hobbs (Guitars), Derek Boyer (Bass), Canadian Eric Morotti (Drums), Charlie Errigo (Rhythm Guitars) and Ricky Myers (Vocals). Suffocation brought to their Toronto fans what they were looking for that night, by playing their classics like “Catatonia,” “Torn Into Enthrallment,” “Pierced From Within” and many more! They finished the night with their most popular songs “Bind Torture Kill” and “Infecting the Crypts.” If you ever visit Toronto and attend a Death Metal concert at the iconic Velvet Lounge, be aware of the very small space. Attendees might be moshing and body surfing but no matter what you will have the time of your life considering the space limitations. So, you are warned!
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