 | Written by Alex Stojanovic Photography by Marta Chilina (C) 2023 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com KLASH OF THE TITANS TOUR 2023 Sepultura / Kreator w/ Death Angel / Spiritworld @ Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ON, Canada June 8, 2023 Presented by Embrace |
Double-billing has become one of the most prominently used methods in concert touring nowadays, particularly in rock and metal. Given that touring has become so competitive, and bands are fighting for that concert dollar, more and more bands are joining forces for co-headline runs. Like everything in life, it's a method that has its pros and cons, but on the business side, it's a method that tends to work really well, especially when you have two top-quality bands. One of the recent double-bills that has proven to be another great success is the Klash Of The Titans Tour featuring co-headliners Kreator and Sepultura and special guests Death Angel and Spiritworld. The monster package had its first run in Latin America in the spring with Kreator and Testament, and the current package is running across North America. Toronto was one of the lucky Canadian cities chosen to witness this awesome package, which hit the Danforth Music Hall on June 8th. It was no surprise that the show was also sold out.
| Kicking off the night were Spiritworld, one of metal's fresh blood bands. They entered the stage donning glittering Charro jackets and some members also wearing cowboy hats, making them look like a group of Western movie villains. Frontman Stu Folsom kind of resembled actor John Turturro in the role of Carmine Falcone in the 2022 Batman movie. They honestly felt a little out of place on an all-thrash bill due to their more southern metal sound combined with hardcore. I honestly think they would've been more at home on a tour with Black Label Society or Texas Hippie Coalition. The best way to describe them would be the lovechild of Black Label Society and Hatebreed. They seemed more focused on the playing, as they hardly interacted with the crowd between songs. The only time they interacted with the crowd was during songs when they would try and encourage the crowd to either move or make some noise, which I thought was a little odd. However, the crowd was receptive to the band with a respectful reaction. Now it was time for the thrash to start, because up next were Death Angel. This marked my 9th time seeing them, and they are currently tied with Testament as the band I've seen the most times. It was a nice surprise to hear them open with "Lord Of Hate" (because that was the song that got me into Death Angel), followed by "Voracious Souls". They pulverized the crowd with a nice selection of songs from throughout their history like "The Moth", "The Dream Calls For Blood" and "Humanicide" before closing their set with the medley of "The Ultra-Violence" and "Thrown To The Wolves". Mark Osegueda never ceases to amaze with his impeccable ability to hold shrieking high notes for prolonged periods of time. The last time I saw them back in October on the Bay Strikes Back Tour, he was sounding a little hoarse, particularly when he spoke, but this time, he sounded more clear and full when both speaking and singing. Seeing Death Angel at the Danforth Hall brought back the great memory of seeing them at the same venue in 2012 on the Anthrax/Testament tour, which to this day is still one of the best shows I've ever attended in my life. On an unrelated note, which band will become the tie-breaker for me at this point? Death Angel or Testament? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. | SPIRITWORLD Photo credit: Marta Chilina / (C) 2023 MetalMasterKingdom.com DEATH ANGEL Photo credit: Marta Chilina / (C) 2023 MetalMasterKingdom.com |
| KREATOR Photo credit: Marta Chilina / (C) 2023 MetalMasterKingdom.com | Taking the stage next were Kreator, making their first return to Toronto in 5 years since their tour with Sabaton. It was my 6th time seeing them, but my first time seeing them with Fred Leclercq on bass. Thrash insanity ensued as they opened their set with "Hate Uber Alles", followed by a jump into the time machine to the old days with "People Of The Lie". As always during this point in the set, Mille Petrozza instructed the crowd to open the first wall of death of the night as they played the intro of "Awakening Of The Gods", and the crowd did not disappoint. Over the last bunch of years, a majority of Kreator's set is composed of songs from 2001-onwards, like "Violent Revolution", "Enemy Of God", "Hordes Of Chaos" and "Satan Is Real", which have all become setlist staples. However, they never forget about the old-schoolers in the crowd, as they pleased them with tracks like "Betrayer", "Flag Of Hate" and "Pleasure To Kill". Mille even took a moment to acknowledge the trouble we all had to deal with for two years, better known as the pandemic, which led them to playing "666-World Divided". Their stage show was more theatrical this time around, with two Kreator Demon dummies on both sides, as well as a giant inflatable demon positioned to where it looks like he's holding Ventor's drum riser. |
| Last but not least, closing off the night were the undisputed kings of Brazilian thrash: Sepultura, who entered the stage and kicked off their set with "Isolation". Since returning to the road in 2022, they've been making up for lost time by doing a ton of touring on Quadra, which was released right on the eve of the Covid nonsense, which means they weren't able to tour on it right after its initial release. As a result, nearly half the 12-song set featured songs from that album, such as "Means To An End", "Guardians Of Earth", "Ali" and "Agony Of Defeat". Of course, it wouldn't be a Sepultura show without the classics, and we were treated to some of the standard ones like "Territory", "Propaganda", "Refuse/Resist", "Arise", "Ratamahatta" and the classic closer "Roots Bloody Roots". Both Derrick Green and Andreas Kisser took turns addressing the crowd between songs, and Eloy Casagrande downsized his drum kit from the double-bass to single-bass, but he still managed to be the monster that he's been known to be. The crowd's energy was next level, to the point that Green made the call of naming Toronto the best show of the entire tour (up to that point). What a way to spend a Thursday evening! | SEPULTURA Photo credit: Marta Chilina / (C) 2023 MetalMasterKingdom.com |
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