GORGUTS IN TORONTO

GOrguts, Origin, Nero di marte and fragile existence

Show review author: Kirsti Heitz
Photography and editing: Navneet Johal
Published: March 02, 2014

The Annex Wreckroom
Toronto, Ontario
December 17, 2014
Presented by Inertia Entertainment

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Gorguts

Luc Lemay - Guitars / Vocals
Kevin Hufnagel - Guitars
Colin Marston - Bass
John Longstreth – Drums

Label: Season of the Mist

www.gorguts.com

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Origin

Jason Keyser - Vocals
Paul Ryan - Guitars/Vocals
Mike Flores - Bass/Vocals
John Longstreth – drums

Label: Nuclear Blast

www.facebook.com/origin

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Nero di Marte

Francesco D'Adamo - Guitar
Sean Worrell - Guitar, Vocals
Andrea Burgio - Bass
Marco Bolognini – Drums

Label: Prosthetic Records

www.nerodimarte.com

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Fragile Existence

Dan Glover - Vocals, Guitars
Eric Machacek - Guitars
Morten Siersbaek - Drums
Matt Hems - Bass

Label: Independent

fragileexistence.bandcamp.com

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Local Torontonians, Fragile Existence, opened up the night at the Annex Wreckroom with a lot of energy and good humour. Vocalist/Guitarist Dan Glover had a suave, cocky attitude as he entertained himself and the few fans present in-between songs. Fragile Existence played a fast paces set that got concert goers pumped up for the bands to come. With lyrics ranging from politics to aliens, they definitely put on a show that got more than a few interested nods of appreciation.

Straight from Italy, Nero di Marte graced the stage next. These poor Italian boys had to face Canadian winter in all its glory during their quick North American tour. However, despite the cold, Nero di Marte still performed to impress. Their music ranged from progressive to doomy to death and everything in-between. Vocals transitioned between excellently performed clean vocals to superb growls, as vocalist Sean Worrell embodied everything you want in a singer. Though it was a treat for the ears, their set kind of put a damper on the fire that Fragile Existence had ignited in fans and were a hit or miss depending on the fan.

Origin quite literally stormed the stage next. It was at this point that I really paid attention to the big change the Annex Wreckroom had done to the venue. Moving the stage front and centre, but making it so it was at the floor level was an interesting idea but quickly began to frustrate fans. When Origin blasted into those first riffs and vocalist Jason Keyser started to demand that fans move forward, it became very hard to see the band unless you wanted to get pummelled by moshers. Sucks for those who don’t like to mosh!

Though it took a bit to get the crowd riled up (it was a Tuesday after all), Keyser not only managed to get a decent pit going but some crowd surfing too! It’s pretty hilarious watching Keyser explain the etiquette of crowdsurfing to a front row of about a dozen. But he prevailed and crowd surfers flourished even though they were carried around by one or two people. Keyser himself was carried around for a good half a song. By the time Origin played the fan fav “Wrath of Vishnu”, shit just got crazy. Their set was a little too short for my liking. C’est la vie. 

The Canadian gods of Technical Death Metal, Gorguts, took the stage despite vocalist Luc Lemay’s sore throat. What a trooper, Lemay sucked it up and gave a great, if somewhat subdued performance. The energy of the night seemed to be going up and down, and after the frenzy that Origin caused amongst the crowd, Gorguts’ more technical tunes took the energy level down a notch. Nevertheless, they put on an amazing set that just seemed a little bit too short for a headline set. We got some Gorguts anthems from the good old days like “Obscura” and “Orphans of Sickness” as well as some tunes off their new album Colored Sands (2013) like “Le Toit Du Monde.”It was interesting how you can really tell their new songs apart from their old ones, as the level of progressiveness and experimental sound increases while the old tunes are good old technical death. All in all, it was a great night!