 | Written and photographed by Rob Botten (C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com YOB, VOIVOD and AMENRA @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON, Canada March 30, 2019 Presented by Inertia Entertainment On Saturday, March 30th, Yob and Voivod co-headlined a very diverse show with Amenra serving as special guests at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. The venue had one of the more diverse crowds I have seen in a while. There was a clear mixture of people attending just for the show itself, for Amenra and Yob, and many just for Voivod. This night may have been the first time I’ve seen a crowd fill up for the middle set, only to drop significantly lower in numbers before the headlining act’s set was even ready. Crowd aside, the mixture of diverse sounds between the three acts made for a night that never got boring, especially with all the faces and jokes Voivod put on throughout their entire set. |
| Amenra started off the night with their slow eerie intro to their first song. For nearly a minute, not a note was played, aside from their drummer Bjorn Lebon and vocalist Colin van Eeckhout hitting metal pipes together in sync. The crowed seemed to love it, and much to my surprise, no one in the crowed made a sound during any of Amenra’s more quiet moments. As for the rest of their set, it was a non-stop hard driving sound from song to song that had everyone head banging. They also used their classic black and white projected video in the background. With Amenra done and the stage being prepared for the next set, the crowd at the Phoenix Concert Theatre seemed to almost double in numbers or more. Many of who were all too anxious to see Voivod. When the Canadian icons, that were recently awarded the 2019 Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year Juno Award, came on stage, the crowed erupted in excitement. With their goofy antics and faces, many concert-goers couldn’t get enough. All around me were some hardcore fans loving every second of their set, and kept cheering “ENCORE” when they were finished. Although, I enjoyed seeing Voivod, I felt they were a bit of a miss, considering the sound of the other two bands. Much to my surprise a fairly large number of people left when Voivod were done. Although the crowd was still a decent size, it was more sparse than before. VOIVOD Photo credit: Rob Botten / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com | AMENRA Photo credit: Rob Botten / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com With a slight delay, Yob hit the stage at around 11:30, and all concert-goers just ate up the energy and music. From the first note that was played, right to the end everyone was rocking out to the music and cheering for more. They even had Amenra’s bassist Levy Seynaeve come on stage for some background guttural vocals. The last time I saw Yob in Toronto, they were at the Mod Club, and I will say that show was a little better – but not by much. That night, the crowd was just so into their set, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before without a mosh-pit. This night was lacking some stage smoke and a light show, a small addition that makes a HUGE difference. However, frontman Mike Scheidt seems to be healthier than ever after his health scare. Last time Yob was in Toronto, he seemed to be a little winded, however this time he was full of non-stop energy. All the songs they played seemed to be crowd favorites with how well they were received. I have to say Amenra and Yob absolutely killed it on stage. I’m a huge fan of both bands, and seeing them for a second time on the same night was all too awesome. Voivod were very good musically and with their showmanship, but I do feel they belonged with bands that are more their sound. Overall, it was another awesome show put on by Inertia Entertainment. I really cannot stress enough how lucky metalheads in Toronto are to have such a fantastic concert promoter. |
| AMENRA Colin H. van Eeckhout – Vocals Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove – Guitars Bjorn J. Lebon – Drums Levy Seynaeve – Bass | YOB Photo credit: Rob Botten / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com |
RSS Feed
