By Jacob Vandergeer Reviews - Live October 25, 2019

Despised Icon & more in Toronto, October 2019

Ingested, Kublai Khan, Suffocation, Despised Icon @ The Opera House, Toronto, October 13^th, 2019

While most people were celebrating Thanksgiving with their families last night, others chose to spend it at The Opera House in Toronto with Despised Icon, and they brought some heavy hitters with them, to say the least.

The show was opened by Shadow of Intent followed by British slam veterans Ingested who got the pit warmed up.

Ingested
Ingested

Hardcore punk Texans Kublai Khan played next and stepped up the energy in the old theatre. Matt Honeycutt has some of the most vicious and confrontational vocal styles and it forces you to pay attention. He has a very commanding presence on stage, and it brings new power to their songs that you don’t get to experience when you’re listening to their records in your car or at home.

Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan

Death metal legends Suffocation were on next and did what they do best. Ricky Myers’ signature growls never sounded so demonic. They also brought out Ingested frontman Jason Evans for a pig squealing duet and brought the place down. It was one of the highlights of the show.

Suffocation
Suffocation
Suffocation
Suffocation

Last but certainly not least was the French legends themselves, Despised Icon. I was starting to wonder if the crowd was going to have enough energy by the time they took the stage since the lineup was so stacked but they definitely still had some fight in them because as soon as Despised took the stage the mosh pit nearly tripled in size and it was almost impossible to avoid the bodies flying at you. Consisting of seven members, they certainly know how to fill a stage and there’s so much going on but it’s the back and forth growls and screams between vocalists Alex Erian and Steve Marois that make them so compelling to watch. They’re constantly moving around the stage and doing it with a sort of authority that can only come after doing it for years. Near the end of their set drummer, Alex Pelletier got his chance to shine when the band played “MVP.” It’s one of the most impressive displays of drumming you’ll ever see and was surreal to see live. Shortly after that, they ended their set and the dust settled in the pit.