 | Written and photographed by Alex Stojanovic Photo edit by Rob Botten (C)2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com ICED EARTH w/ SANCTUARY & KILL RITUAL @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON, Canada March 26, 2018 Presented by Live Nation |
For some time now, Iced Earth have done a majority of their touring outside of North America, mainly in Europe, but they have never forgotten about their fans on home soil. With the release of their amazing new album, Incorruptible last summer, they began the cycle with a few festival dates in Europe around the album's release, but have begun the world cycle this year with a tour of Europe, and then came North America's turn in February and March. The Incorruptible World Tour made a stop in Toronto at the Phoenix Concert Theatre at the end of a really extensive trek of the continent on March 26th. This tour also featured special guests Sanctuary and Kill Ritual, making for a must-see triple bill.
However, there were some conflicting emotions surrounding this tour. While it was really exciting that the three bands were touring together, it was conflicting because of the recent unexpected passing of Warrel Dane. His passing came only two weeks after the tour's announcement. As a result, people were questioning whether Sanctuary would drop from the tour entirely, or go forth with the tour with a guest singer. After a lot of thought, the band enlisted Joseph Michael of Witherfall, thanks to the recommendation from Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, to perform guest vocals on the tour, and the tour would act as a farewell tribute to Warrel. I'm really glad that all the fans have 100% embraced this move. Let's get into the night's festivities.
However, there were some conflicting emotions surrounding this tour. While it was really exciting that the three bands were touring together, it was conflicting because of the recent unexpected passing of Warrel Dane. His passing came only two weeks after the tour's announcement. As a result, people were questioning whether Sanctuary would drop from the tour entirely, or go forth with the tour with a guest singer. After a lot of thought, the band enlisted Joseph Michael of Witherfall, thanks to the recommendation from Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, to perform guest vocals on the tour, and the tour would act as a farewell tribute to Warrel. I'm really glad that all the fans have 100% embraced this move. Let's get into the night's festivities.
| (C)2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Alex Stojanovic | Due to the interview with Jon Schaffer, I was unable to catch Kill Ritual's set. They were in the final minute of the last song as I was walking into the room, so Sanctuary was the first band I got to witness in full. After hearing Joseph Michael sing the songs, I can definitely say that he did both Warrel and the songs justice. He sung with great passion and conviction, and that's what really matters. Much of their set consisted of the classics from Refuge Denied and Into The Mirror Black. The band began their set with "Die For My Sins" and "Seasons Of Destruction". During his speech, Lenny Rutledge quoted Warrel with his famous question that he would always ask the crowd before launching into "Battle Angels", which is "Are you ready to go into fucking battle?!" We were also treated to a handful of songs from The Year The Sun Died, which were "Arise & Purify", "Frozen" and "The Year The Sun Died". The band then returned to the classics zone for the remainder of the set. The other classics we were treated to were "Soldiers Of Steel", "The Mirror Black", "Future Tense" and they closed the set with "Taste Revenge", which saw Joseph singing in the crowd. |
What does this mean for the future of Sanctuary? Will they continue on, or call it quits? I respect either decision, but we will leave it to Lenny and company to call the shots. If they decide to not continue, I totally understand and I 100% respect it, but as a fan, I hope they continue. During the post-show interview I did with Lenny and Joseph, they revealed that they were in talks about possibly continuing on due to the incredible reception the band received from the fans at each show on the tour, and I think they should because Joseph's performance proved that he was a more-than-worthy candidate to fill the huge shoes Warrel left behind. I think it's safe to say that Warrel was looking down on Joseph and the band with a big smile on his face. The only slight criticism I had about their set was that in between certain songs, Joseph talked rather quietly, to the point where you couldn't really hear what he was saying, so I do wish he spoke up just a bit. Regardless, what an outstanding performance from Sanctuary!
| It was now time for the main event: Iced Earth. Fans riled with excitement as the band walked out on stage and began the set with "Great Heathen Army". The set was a roller coaster of old and new material, spanning several different eras, and it certainly ended up pleasing everyone. We were treated to a respectable amount of new material from Incorruptible like "Black Flag", "Raven Wing", "Seven Headed Whore", "Clear The Way (December 13, 1862)", and "Brothers", but also a great amount of classics and fan favourites like "Dystopia", "Burning Times", "Vengeance Is Mine", "I Died For You" and "Dracula". Even though "Ghost Dance (Awaken The Ancestors)" played on the P.A. at the end as the band was exiting the stage, I wish the song was included in the set because it's one of my favourite new tracks, and it begs to be played live. Hopefully they do include it in the future. One element that really surprised me in a good way was that Jake Dreyer's lead tone sounded exactly like it did on the Incorruptible album, especially when they played the new tracks. That's just what my ears heard, but I could be wrong. There was even a couple of moments where Stu Block climbed on top of Brent Smedley's drum rack. | (C)2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Alex Stojanovic |
A rather nice surprise in the set was when the band launched into a triple attack of songs from Night Of The Stormrider, which were "Stormrider", "Angels Holocaust" and "Travel In Stygian". That was as old school as it got in the set. I was so excited when they played those tracks because it was unexpected, especially "Angels Holocaust" and "Travel In Stygian", and many of the riffs on that record are adrenaline-inducing. It's such an underrated album and one of my favourite Iced Earth records too. From what I learned, "Stormrider" hasn't been performed in North America in a decade. Even though I'm a drummer, when I see Jon play the fast galloping riffs, especially on songs from the early records, it has my wrists in pain just thinking about the dexterity needed to execute those riffs, because the picking patterns are really complex.
As we arrived at the encore, we got treated to "Clear The Way", and the band closed out the night with "Watching Over Me". The song was dedicated to Warrel Dane and to all the friends and loved ones of people in the crowd that have passed away. Stu encouraged the crowd to sing as loud as they could, and they did exactly that. The crowd poured their hearts and souls out singing along. I got really heavy goosebumps during this part of the set. What an ending to such a monumental night of metal where we got to see three incredible bands, but also pay tribute to a great singer and person.
As we arrived at the encore, we got treated to "Clear The Way", and the band closed out the night with "Watching Over Me". The song was dedicated to Warrel Dane and to all the friends and loved ones of people in the crowd that have passed away. Stu encouraged the crowd to sing as loud as they could, and they did exactly that. The crowd poured their hearts and souls out singing along. I got really heavy goosebumps during this part of the set. What an ending to such a monumental night of metal where we got to see three incredible bands, but also pay tribute to a great singer and person.
| ICED EARTH Stu Block - Vocals Jon Schaffer - Guitars & backing vocals Luke Appleton - Bass & backing vocals Jake Dreyer - Lead guitars Brent Smedley - Drums Label: Century Media Records Website: www.icedearth.com | SANCTUARY Joseph Michael - Vocals Lenny Rutledge - Guitars Joey Concepcion - Guitars Dave Budbill - Drums George Hernandez - Bass Label: Century Media Records Website: www.enterthesanctuary.com | KILL RITUAL David Reed Watson - Vocals Steve Rice - Lead guitars Byron Nemeth - Guitars Bobby HQ Storm - Bass Koryun Bobikyan - Drums Label: Dissonance Productions Website: www.killritual.com |
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