Metal Mayhem at The Phoenix!! Dark Tranquillity and Soen bring The Scandinavian Heavy Arts Tour to Toronto!
- Justin Michael Carriere
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
By: Justin Michael Carriere
Toronto, Canada - I have a confession: I am a death metal neophyte. For whatever reason, the genre just had not been on my radar for the longest time. Enter The Scandinavian Heavy Arts Tour (how bad ass is that title?!) … Dark Tranquillity, early originators of melodic death metal, and fellow Swedes Soen ushered me into a new dimension on April 23rd at The Phoenix Concert Theatre here in Toronto and it was mind altering!!
Breaking new ground, Dark Tranquillity exploded onto the scene out of Sweden in 1993 with their debut album Skydancer. Since then, the band has been busy! Boasting an impressive 13 studio albums, they continue to bring their electrifying sound to a rabid fanbase around the globe. While the lineup has undergone some changes over the years, with Mikael Stanne (lead vocals) and Martin Brändström (keyboards, programming) being the only remaining members from the original group, the spirit of the work is deeper and darker than ever!!
Keeping the Swedish tradition of heavy aggression alive, progressive metal band Soen officially formed in 2010 and are now 7 albums deep, including 2026’s Reliance. Anchored by drummer Martín López and lead vocalist Joel Ekelöf, the band is rounded out with Lars Åhlund (keyboards, guitars, backing vocals), Cody Lee Ford (guitars, backing vocals) and Stefan Stendberg (bass), and together they create a heavy, complex and intricate sound.
PERSEFONE
But before either of these Swedish titans could devastate The Phoenix, it was left to Andorran heavyweights Persefone to tenderize us just a little bit… And they understood the assignment! An in-your-face wall of sound hit us flush like a straight right and kept us against the ropes for a tight opening set.
Normally a sextet out of Andorra (I had to look it up too), logistical issues had them down to a quartet for their North American Tour. But that didn’t deter them in the least, and with the help of a little tracking, they ripped relentlessly through material from their 6-studio album catalogue with strength and ferocity. With vocalist Daniel R. Flys' primal screams, dual guitarists Carlos Lozano Quintanilla and Filipe Baldaia heavy attack, and Sergi Verdeguer’s double kick delight, the band had the Phoenix crowd whipped into a frenzy in no time.
From the opening track, “One Word”, through the epic nine-and-a-half-minute opus “Stillness is Timeless”, all the way to the closing song “The Great Reality”, the band put on an incredibly tight and powerful show to set the mood for the night to come. Punctuated by what I’ve decided to call a Metal Encircling (JMC ™), Baldaia got down off the stage, climbed over the pit rail (guitar in tow), entered the appreciative crowd and raced around with them in a circle! It was like a funnel cloud building for the tornado that was to be the rest of their set. And I for one was thrilled to be sucked up and spit out again courtesy of the men from Andorra.
Persefone Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
SOEN
Once Verdeguer’s drum set was cleared, and the stage crew finished the changeover (complete with “the Box”, which I’ll get to!), it was time for co-headliners Soen to take over. From the opening track, “Mercenary”, the Swedish showmanship was on display! Moving deftly around each other like a choreographed dance, the four members of the band would hold space for a moment, then find another area of the stage from which to ply their trade. And I must say from a photographer standpoint, this was quite refreshing as for once we didn’t have to trip over each other in the pit to get dynamic images!
Ekelöf’s vocals soared on tracks like “Memorial”, “Indifferent” and “Fraccions” (the rest too, but those stood out!) Combined with his outfit changes, which were top notch, from the suave all black with sunglasses to a military uniform and back again, his presence was undeniable. Almost as if he was gliding around the stage, he would float easily from front to back and take up residence on “the Box”, a black wooden pedestal with Soen emblazoned on the front. Serving as both a platform to stand on fully, or a convenient place for a Captain’s stance, he used it to perfection throughout the night. And it came in particularly useful during one of the many highlights of the evening when for the song “Lotus”, he had the crowd at the Phoenix break out the flashlights on their phones and light up the whole hall!
Both Ford and Åhlund were absolutely effortless in their guitar work. The ability to swing all that glorious hair around (like they just finished shooting a shampoo commercial) while simultaneously shredding the shit out of complex music is unendingly enviable. At different points throughout, Ford would also break out a Strat for tracks like “Discordia” and “Lascivious” and even soloing on “the Box” with one. While not normally used in such heavy circumstances, the tone it added to the overall sound was incredible. It got to the point where I was so mesmerized I had the bizarre thought that if Tool and Stevie Ray Vaughn had a love child, it would be Soen. Don’t judge me.
Not to be outshined, Stendberg and López filled things out with heavy bass lines and double kicks galore!! Stendberg moved seamlessly around the stage with both Ford and Åhlund, and López had all of our chests pounding with the reverberations from his fast and thundering drum work.
As they worked their way through their set, the energy only seemed to increase. Culminating in “Violence” (the title of a track, not actual violence), Ekelöf unleashed a primordial scream to finish the song, and the band took their exit. But not for long! The voracious Phoenix crowd almost immediately started chanting “one more song!”, and gentlemen that they are, Soen graciously obliged! Åhlund first took centre stage on “the Box” for some soloing of his own, before the rest of the band joined and started into their final song of the evening, “Unbreakable”. But before kicking it into high gear, and ending their time with an electrifying effort, Ekelöf took a moment to address us; “When we got to Canada, we fell in love with you guys”. Well, given the “Soen, Soen, Soen” chants that rang out after the band left the stage, I can confidently say that Canada, or at least the Canadians in the crowd, love you right back.
Soen Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
DARK TRANQUILLITY
After “the Box” was cleared, because in the spirit of metal (or cost savings on an international tour) it was a shared drum kit, and the requisite beer cans had been placed, the anticipation continued to build. As I looked around, all of a sudden, the hall seemed to be a sea of Dark Tranquillity t-shirts! And not just brand-new ones from the merch booth, but tried and true honest to goodness 20-year metal tees!
With the haze pumping out at full blast, the Pabst ready to go, and the house music fading out, it was time… Led by Mr. Stanne, the band made their way on to the stage and blasted straight into “Punish My Heaven”. Establishing a two-guitar attack right out of the gate, with Johan Reinholdz on lead and Peter Lyse Karmark on rhythm, the first track was a blistering opening that had the two guys at the front rail behind me singing along word for word! Accompanied by Joakim Strandberg Nilsson on the drums (more double kicks!) and Christian Jansson on Bass, the opening songs instantly had the Phoenix crowd fired up.
With a big smile on his face, Stanne told us that if we were “in the mood, we’re gonna keep playing songs!” Suffice to say, we were in the mood! The band briefly left the stage to allow Brändström’s work on the keys to lead into the intricate and (briefly) delicate intro to “Lethe”, one of my favourite tunes of the night about a river in the underworld (awesome).
Working through songs “The New Build” and “My Negation” Stanne demonstrates an absolute mastery of the craft. He moves around the stage with glee, but the moment the vocals are needed, a switch flips and a powerfully raw scream bursts through the speakers. With such ferocity coming from the mic, and with more great guitar (and hair) work from Reinholdz and Karmark on “My Negation”, it was only natural that’s when the first mosh session broke out!
Nobody does it better than die hard metal heads. The intensity continued to build and when Stanne intro’d “Lost to Apathy”, all he needed to say was “Lost to” and the Phoenix crowd screamed out “Apathy!!” A heavy, speed driven track, it gave us the first body surfer of the night! Again, metal-heads, I salute you! He was not a small gentleman, but the crowd eagerly passed him forward before security caught him and sent him right back in.
When the band hit “Not Nothing” and “Atoma” back-to-back, it showcased another facet of Stanne’s capability; he’s got a great singing voice! A fully controlled baritone lends an additional layer to these tracks, so much so that our body surfer was back! Same dude sailing through the fully capable and outstretched hands of his fellow metals. Cranking it up even more on the next track, “Unforgivable”, Stanne told us “This is a fast one” … and he wasn’t kidding! The speed with which Reinholdz was able to move on those strings was mind boggling.
After the relentless charge through both “Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)” and “Phantom Days”, Stanne prefaced the last song by saying “let’s make it count” before the band broke into “Misery’s Crown”. A fantastic closer to the set, and while I was mostly focused on watching them finish with a bang, I couldn’t help but notice a couple not too far from me; both clad in DT merch and singing along word for word. And what’s more, they hit the exact grunts and arm movements! To me, there’s nothing more indicative of a hardcore fan than when you know every little idiosyncrasy of the music and revel in the performance of it!
After the song came to an end, the band took the time for fist bumps and handed out guitar picks and set lists before leaving the stage. Stanne was the last one to go, and as he was drifting towards the back, Pabst in hand, the crowd started chanting “One more song!” The look of disappointment in his eyes that he and guys couldn’t keep playing for the Phoenix crowd was the truest sign that they loved every second of the show and would have done it all night given the chance.
Set List
Punish My Heaven
The Emptiness From Which I Fed
Lethe
The New Build
My Negation
Lost to Apathy
The Last Imagination
Nothing to No One
Not Nothing
Atoma
Unforgivable
Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
Phantom Days
Misery's Crown
For me this was a show I won’t soon forget, and you better believe I’ll be keeping my eyes, ears and devil horns at the ready for my next death metal maelstrom!!
5 double kick drums out of 5
Dark Tranquillity Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Dark Tranquillity Online
Show Date: April 23, 2026
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