 | Journalist: Kirsti Heitz Photographer: Navneet Johal @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON Canada March 6, 2016 |
Local gothies and gothettes dressed in their finest leathers and fishnets for a spectacular night of gothic, symphonic and extreme metal at the Phoenix Theatre in downtown Toronto. Not only was everyone dressed to impress, but the excitement in the air was palpable as fans entered the staging area and got their first glimpse of the Cradle of Filth banner. However, first up we had a too short set by Aussie metallers Ne Obliviscaris. Having heard good things, I kept my expectations high and Ne Obliviscaris did not fail me. Starting off with a dramatic synchronized headbanging session to their opening tune, I was interested to see skinny lion maned Tim Charles pair up with even skinnier, sleek haired Xen (can you tell I was envying their trim waists and lovely hair?) to perform a perfect combo of clean vocals and growls respectively. With guitarists Benjamin Baret and Matt Klavins bestowing upon us some tasty progressive riffs and the versatile drumming of Dan Presland, the entire Phoenix Theatre was entranced with the groovable beats. Needless to say, I particularly enjoyed the interesting bass arrangements that added melody and a solid rhythm. To top off the spectacular performance by these Aussie boys, Tim Charles broke out his violin mid-way through the set and added his own symphonic touch to the tunes as he wailed away on the strings. Though at times it reminded me a lot of Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris is definitely one of those bands you immediately add to your playlist.
Giant B stage props were placed on either side of the stage to prepare the Phoenix Centre for the arrival of Butcher Babies. To be honest Butcher Babies had never appealed to my musical taste and though I wouldn’t call myself a “hater,” I didn’t particularly like or agree with a lot of I’d heard from them. However, from having pretty low expectations from these femme fatales, I actually liked their set the more it progressed. These ladies kick in their performance with high energy that is maintained throughout the set. Intense headbanging, jumping and running around the stage with their bright hair bouncing around them is only the beginning. Vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey give it their all as they growl and scream throughout their tune, never missing a beat. I could do without the higher pitched screams that became ear-splitting thanks to a shitty sounds system. This same sound system cut in and out throughout their set, obviously causing a lot of frustration but Butcher Babies played it off with a “fuck it” attitude. I also didn’t understand the whole low squatting on a riser when they are in miniskirts, but hey, at least they were wearing shirts this time. Though the emphasis of the show was obviously on the vocalists, Henry Flury, Jason Klein, and Chrissy Warner did a stellar performance even though at times it seemed they were pushed into the background.
Giant B stage props were placed on either side of the stage to prepare the Phoenix Centre for the arrival of Butcher Babies. To be honest Butcher Babies had never appealed to my musical taste and though I wouldn’t call myself a “hater,” I didn’t particularly like or agree with a lot of I’d heard from them. However, from having pretty low expectations from these femme fatales, I actually liked their set the more it progressed. These ladies kick in their performance with high energy that is maintained throughout the set. Intense headbanging, jumping and running around the stage with their bright hair bouncing around them is only the beginning. Vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey give it their all as they growl and scream throughout their tune, never missing a beat. I could do without the higher pitched screams that became ear-splitting thanks to a shitty sounds system. This same sound system cut in and out throughout their set, obviously causing a lot of frustration but Butcher Babies played it off with a “fuck it” attitude. I also didn’t understand the whole low squatting on a riser when they are in miniskirts, but hey, at least they were wearing shirts this time. Though the emphasis of the show was obviously on the vocalists, Henry Flury, Jason Klein, and Chrissy Warner did a stellar performance even though at times it seemed they were pushed into the background.
| Toronto goths touched up their black lipstick and tightened their spiked collars as they prepared for the main event. Appearing on stage one by one to take a bow, Cradle of Filth emerged in full costume to a roar from the audience. Immediately they kicked into their first song and vocalist Dani Filth’s iconic screeches filled the venue. Cradle of Filth gives a dramatic performance from Dani’s dark performance to keyboardist Lindsey Schoolcraft’s melancholic swaying. Guitarist Richard Shaw portrayed a sort of demented puppet as he looked on the crowd with crazy eyes and would cock his head to the side at an awkward angle while guitar tapping with one hand and slamming his fist into his head in timing with a symbol crash. Cradle performed fan favourites that brought on squeals of delights and roars of approval from the crowd. “Gilded Cunt”, “Lord Abortion” (my personal favourite Cradle tune) and “Malice Through The Looking Glass” were all played early on. Canadian musician Lindsey Schoolcraft took over the famous | |
female part of classic Cradle tunes, crying out over the stilled audience “Hear. Me. Now. All crimes should be treasured if they bring thee pleasure somehow!” ushering in the intro to “Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids.” Fans went absolutely wild when “Her Ghost in the Fog” and “Nymphetamine” were played, bringing back memories of the good old COF days. Dani Filth is ever the entertainer as he chastised the crowd into silence and gave a shout out to Toronto on its birthday, which apparently was that day even though nobody knew about it. After a full set, Cradle of Filth exited the stage for an awkwardly long pause before they came out to perform their encore with Dani dressed in a medusa-esque headdress.
| CRADLE OF FILTH Dani Filth: Vocals Martin Skaroupka: Drums Daniel Firth: Bass Richard Shaw: Guitar Soul Ashok: Guitar Soul Lindsay Schoolcraft: Keys/Female vocals /www.cradleoffilth.com Label: Nuclear Blast Records | BUTCHER BABIES Heidi Shepherd: Vocals Carla Harvey: Vocals Henry Flury: Guitar Jason Klein: BASS Chrissy Warner: DRUMS bandsintown.com/butcherbabies Label: Century Media | NE OBLIVISCARIS Xen: Lead Vocals Tim Charles: Violin/Clean Vocals Matt Klavins: Guitar Cygnus: Bass Benjamin Baret: Lead Guitar Dan Presland: Drums www.facebook.com/NeObliviscarisBand |
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