Decapitated and Incantation with special guests Darkest Hour and Exmortus at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. Toronto, Canada 02/13/25

Decapitated / Incantation anded at the Phoenix Concert Theater in Toronto with special guests Darkest Hour and Exmortus!

What a night to remember for the Torontonians after we suffered a huge snowstorm the night before but that did not stop us Metal Heads to enjoy an evening of pure Death Metal at the Phoenix Concert Theater this past Thursday we had the performance of Decapitate, Incantation, darkest hour and Exmortus “Nijility Across North America Tour 2025”

The first band to start the evening was Exmortus from Los Angeles, California. They started a very solid performance showing off their Death Metal, Neoclassical/Tech Metal. The band base their lyrics and music on heroic fantasy/sword & sorcery type of scenarios like being in “Conan the Barbarian” or “Gladiator” movie but with fast tracking riffs and drums. Although they where the opening band and with really low attendance Exmortus did a quite good job on the stage.

Setlist

Oathbreaker
For the Horde
Storm of Strings
Warrior of the Night
Let Us Roam
Metal Is King

Next, was Darkest Hour to appear on the stage and by now the atmosphere was already set high by Exmortus’s performance and the audience was ready to continue headbanging. The band was from Washington, D.C back in 1995 and has been making great music ever since. They showed off all their modern metal/core and punk sounds through a solid setlist. Led by John Henry in vocals, their set with songs like “Tranquil”, “The Sadist Nation”, “Amor Fati”, and some other fast paced songs that kept the audience headbanging during their set. “Doomsayer” was one of the highlights of their set.

Setlist

Societal Bile
The Sadist Nation
Stand and Receive Your Judgment
The Flesh & The Flowers of Death
Rapture in Exile
Doomsayer (The Beginning of the End)
Tranquil
Amor Fati
Convalescence
With a Thousand Words to Say but One
Goddess of War, Give Me Something to Die For

After a brief break it was time for the headliners Incantation and Decapitated. But first the stage had to be ready by roadies. They installed their backdrops and instruments and one last soundcheck and after that New Yorkers were ready. That’s when the living legend John McEntee and his band unleashed a powerful set full of pure Death Metal! Incantation setlist (and tour) is based from their iconic album Mortal Throne of Nazarene (1994) which they played on its entirely and let me tell you it was a growl and riff galore at its best and the crowd responded as such from Incantation’s amazing set.

That iconic deep voice by John McEntee super menacing just like those killer riffs that he displayed in company of Luke Shively on the Lead guitars as well as those super fast double bass drums by super skilled Charlie Koryn behind the drum kit was super entertaining to watch just like the entire band! In my opinion “The Ibex Moon”, “Iconoclasm of Catholicism” and “Abolishment of Immaculate Serenity” are my favorite tracks of the album and to be able to see those tracks live was a real treat for many of us.

Setlist

Mortal Throne of Nazarene album in its entirely

Demonic Incarnate
Emaciated Holy Figure
Iconoclasm of Catholicism
Essence Ablaze
Nocturnal Dominium
The Ibex Moon
Blissful Bloodshower
Abolishment of Immaculate Serenity

After Incantation’s set it was the turn of the second headliner Decapitated, and it did not take very long for them to take care of business right away and started their set with full force. Decapitated played their iconic 2002 album “Nihility” in its entirety plus some other banger songs from previous releases. Eemeli Bodde’s voice was very beep and as impactful as John’s McEntee. While bass player and Drummer did their part delivering in conjunction those songs pretty fast and killer sounds during their set. One more thing I noticed was the way the band had well coordinated the powerful Green strobe lights along each song and Wacław Kiełtyka lead guitar showed off his skillful riffs and stage presence too.

I was quite impressed by the performance of all the bands during the night and they all even took their time to thank the crowd for making a huge effort of being present given the circumstances of the snowstorm the night before. There are still some more dates so go out and support this amazing tour.