 | Written by Alex Stojanovic Photography by Taita Vlakoff (C) 2024 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com THE BATTLE OF '24 EXODUS / HAVOK / CANDY / DEAD HEAT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON, Canada November 19, 2024 Presented by F7 Entertainment Can you believe that the end of 2024 is upon us?! We've seen a bunch of great tours come through this season as we always do, but the fall concert season is still in full swing with some more to go. One of the most anticipated tours that's capping off this year is Exodus' first headlining tour in several years across North America dubbed The Battle Of '24, with dates in both the U.S and Canada. The last time Exodus did a full headline tour of their own across the continent was in 2010 when Rob Dukes was fronting. The co-headline tours they did with Testament and Obituary don't count. |
This marked my fourth time seeing Exodus, but first time seeing them headline, so needless to say, I was damn excited to finally see that. The tour was in support of their newly released live album British Disaster, recorded in 1989 in London, and the tour featured support from Havok, Candy and Dead Heat. The monster tour steamrolled through Toronto on November 19 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre. Now, I have not been to the Phoenix since the Sabaton/Kreator tour in March 2018, which is insane, and was sadly marked for closure in January 2025 to make way for more condos (no need). As a result, I honestly thought this would've been the last show I would ever get to see at the Phoenix. However, an agreement was reached for it to stay open until 2026, but now I'm hearing that the owners are fighting to have it stay permamently, which we definitely hope so, but I digress.
Getting into the festivities, Dead Heat kicked things off with a rather energetic dose of thrash that contained a crossover vibe. They definitely sound like a band you could see fitting on a bill with bands like Municipal Waste, Suicidal Tendencies, Iron Reagan or D.R.I. They got the pit going, but given that the venue was still filling up when they hit the stage, crowd participation was a bit on the minimal side, which is usually expected with the first band, and the sound quality, which wasn't all the band's fault, played a role in their set not being as enticing as expected. Candy took the stage next, bringing more of a hardcore/deathcore vibe. With a name like Candy on a thrash-infused bill, I didn't know what to expect. While definitely a nice break from the thrash-packed mayhem, they confused me a couple of times. While it turns out that they were playing to tracks, I thought at first that the sound guy forgot to turn off the intermission music from the changeover, and also causing me to think that the band were facing some technical difficulties on stage that bought into their time, but I then came to realize that it was all part of the set. In all honesty, their music didn't really do much to entice me, nor much of the crowd. Their music lacked dynamics and was just heavy all the way through, even if the only dynamic was fast and slow.
Getting into the festivities, Dead Heat kicked things off with a rather energetic dose of thrash that contained a crossover vibe. They definitely sound like a band you could see fitting on a bill with bands like Municipal Waste, Suicidal Tendencies, Iron Reagan or D.R.I. They got the pit going, but given that the venue was still filling up when they hit the stage, crowd participation was a bit on the minimal side, which is usually expected with the first band, and the sound quality, which wasn't all the band's fault, played a role in their set not being as enticing as expected. Candy took the stage next, bringing more of a hardcore/deathcore vibe. With a name like Candy on a thrash-infused bill, I didn't know what to expect. While definitely a nice break from the thrash-packed mayhem, they confused me a couple of times. While it turns out that they were playing to tracks, I thought at first that the sound guy forgot to turn off the intermission music from the changeover, and also causing me to think that the band were facing some technical difficulties on stage that bought into their time, but I then came to realize that it was all part of the set. In all honesty, their music didn't really do much to entice me, nor much of the crowd. Their music lacked dynamics and was just heavy all the way through, even if the only dynamic was fast and slow.
| HAVOK Photo credit: Taita Vlakoff / (C) 2024 MetalMasterKingdom.com | Up next to unleash mayhem were Havok. It has been a long full decade since I last got the opportunity to see the Denver thrashers, and they were still just as lethal and powerful as they were then. With David Sanchez and Pete Webber still remaining in the band, as everyone knows, they've gone through quite the revolving door of bass players over the years, and just this year, longtime guitarist Reece Scruggs departed the band due to his commitments with Machine Head and other projects, so playing with them now is Brett Rechtfertig. Anyways, their 9-song consisted of newer songs from their latest album V, like "Fear Campaign" and "Phantom Force", as well as the title track of their newly released EP New Eyes, and also a bunch of old favourites like "Point Of No Return", "Hang 'Em High", "Prepare For Attack", "From The Cradle To The Grave" and "Covering Fire". While Nick Schendzielos was unable to be present for a few shows on the tour, filling in on bass was one of the band's crew members Kaden Hunsaker, who serves as their tour manager, merch guy, guitar/drum tech and driver. Wow, talk about having your hands full! I certainly hope that they pay him well! |
| Now it was time for the OGs of thrash metal to kick our ass with a lesson in violence! Exodus took the stage with the fire of a fresh new band, launching into an onslaught of mainly old-school tunes while still touching on select songs from Persona Non Grata and Blood In, Blood Out. Gary Holt, Tom Hunting and Steve "Zetro" Souza in particular are still in prime form. These guys are now 60 years old and they still fire off the same energy that a band of 20-year olds would do. The same can be said for both Lee Altus and Jack Gibson. Kicking off their set with a two-fisted punch to the teeth with "The Last Act Of Defiance", they bulldozed their way through a fine selection of tunes throughout their history, including new-ish songs like "The Beatings Will Continue", "Prescribing Horror", "Blood In, Blood Out" and a nice surprise from Blood In, with "Body Harvest". Zetro even admitted that the songs he's most excited to perform are from the Paul Baloff and Rob Dukes eras, while also giving a big shoutout to Rob Dukes himself and giving him massive kudos for all the great records he recorded with the band before launching into a Dukes era tune with "Deathamphetamine". | EXODUS Photo credit: Taita Vlakoff / (C) 2024 MetalMasterKingdom.com |
Some of the other nice surprises they pulled out for this tour include "And Then There Were None", "Fabulous Disaster", "Metal Command", and they even started revisiting Pleasures Of The Flesh recently with "Brain Dead". At the same time, it wouldn't be an Exodus show without the setlist staples like "Blacklist", "War Is My Shepherd", "Toxic Waltz" and the classic closer "Strike Of The Beast". I must say that I was rather surprised that they omitted "Bonded By Blood", because that's their signature song. However, in talking with Zetro after the show, he mentioned that they did it because they played it so much and they omitted it in favour of some other songs. Now that's a move that I applaud, because most bands can't get away without playing their hits/signature songs, but if Iron Maiden can get away with not playing "Run To The Hills" for a tour, Exodus can get away with not playing "Bonded By Blood". If I could make one small suggestion to the band, that would be to switch up the ending of the set, because they've been closing with "Toxic Waltz" and "Strike Of The Beast" in that order for well over a decade now, and it's gotten pretty predictable. Keep those songs in, but put them somewhere else in the set for a change. With all that being said, The Battle Of '24 featured as a great culmination to what has been another fantastic year of shows, and we look forward to what '25 has in store!
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