Unleashing Chaos: Inside the 2025 Carnival of Death Tour in Toronto

jaybroderick
12 minutes ago
5 min read

By: Jay Broderick

Toronto, Ontario - Toronto’s metal faithful (a number of whom I see at every single show I cover) packed into Lee’s Palace for an Inertia Entertainment presentation of the 2025 'Carnival of Death' Tour. While I lined up awaiting the doors opening, there was still a buzz about the Sacrifice show 10 days prior. With a stacked bill featuring Skeletal Remains, Malevolent Creation, typical tour headliner's Vader, and Canadian date headliner's Kataklysm, this one was also destined to be spoken about for for weeks after. Let the chaos commence!!

Skeletal Remains

California’s death metal juggernauts Skeletal Remains opened the night with a vengeance. Unlike their March appearance during the Warbringer tour (when vocalist Chris Monroy was absent), this time the full lineup crossed the border, and it showed. Terrible for me as a photographer, but moody and chilling for the fans, the stage was bathed in a faint red glow, setting a sinister tone as the band launched into their set with synchronized headbanging.

Their sound? Monolithic! Each track hit hard and heavy as the band simply plowed through their set, occasionally getting the crowd pumping fists and chanting “HEY! HEY! HEY!”. It was a primal call that was answered with swirling mosh pits. As the band closed out their set, Monroy eventually acknowledged the crowd by exclaiming “You guys enjoying that shit? This is going to be our last one” and the band unleashed one final barrage as the crowd roared. This was a bloody heavy start!

Malevolent Creation

Originally from just across the border in Buffalo, NY, Florida’s death metal veterans Malevolent Creation wasted no time. Just 15 minutes after Skeletal Remains, the band was onstage, backs to the crowd, and detonating into their opening song "Eve of the Apocalypse". And nothing could be more fitting. With the previous band, now these bangers, and the 2 bands still to come, it sure felt like the Apocalypse. Though missing key member, guitarist Phil Fasciana who is currently battling a health scare, the band didn’t skip a beat. The pit was packed, and the moshing was immediate!

“Please join us in the 'Coronation of Our Domain'”, vocalist Jesse Jolly belted out ahead of the band's third song which eventually heard a fan audibly scream “FUCK YEAH!”. Jolly then dedicated "Dominated Resurgency" to all the ladies in the crowd. It got me thinking about my teenage and early 20s years, and one thing is for sure... there is definitely a growing diversity in metal crowds today. I simply do not remember as many female fans back in the late 1980s. By track five, the singer roared “Toronto, it’s time to go into the fire… this is 'Infernal Desire!” and the band dove into another punishing sequence.

“Premature Burial”, “Manic Demise” and “Blood Brothers” followed, each more ferocious than the last. Crowd surfers rode the chaos to the stage and dove back into the pit. Then drummer Ron Parmer closed with a brief but blistering solo. This was power!!

Vader

As mentioned off the top, this is a Vader headlined tour. Tonight however, they return to Lee’s Palace (we covered Vader at this same venue in February 2024) in a supporting role, for Canadian metal legends Kataklysm. From the first thunderclap and sounds of pouring rain throughout the venue, and into opening track "Wings", it was clear, Vader sounded better than ever. Certainly better than I recall from their last appearance in Toronto.

“How are you, Toronto?” guitarist/vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek asked, then snarled, “I can’t fucking hear you!” The crowd responded with deafening chants. The band's frontman continues his engagement with the fans, telling them that they will be playing tracks from their 25-year-old album Litany. The music tore through the venue, each one a masterclass in fury.

"Xeper" was the fifth track and it was a standout five was a standout during Vader's shortened set. The crowd chanted "VADER! VADER! VADER!" as the galloping riffs filled the Palace. Red and blue lighting shifts treated the eyes, as the mosh pit heated up and the first crowd surfer made his way to the stage. “Oh, my demons! My sweet cold demons… THIS IS FUCKING MADNESS!” the vocalist screamed. The crowd was completely amped up, and as if to impossibly get them into more of a frenzy, Piotr challenges them with a "COME ON TORONTO!"... and amazingly, they do! The pit was an absolute cyclone!

Piotr Wiwczarek performs live in Toronto. Photo By: Jay Broderick

After a brief exit, Vader returned with “Dark Age” and closed with a dramatic twist... The Imperial March theme menacingly played over the speakers as the band headed front stage and gave a bow.

I'm at a loss for words! Vader absolutely blew my mind! They absolutely killed it... man, what a tough act for Kataklysm to follow.

Kataklysm

And then came the hometown heroes... well, the home "country" heroes. Montreal’s Kataklysm! The Juno Award winners and death metal royalty took the stage to a crowd already whipped into a frenzy. As the band roared into opening track ""If I was God... I'd Burn it All", the crowd somehow ignited the afterburners, and insanity insued!

Early in Kataklysm's set, a fan handed a bag to vocalist Maurizio Iacono. “Oh no! Last time you guys fucked us up real good!” the singer laughed, making reference to a similar incident at a previous Toronto show. The band then launched into the title track of their most recent album release Goliath. Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, especially with the previous 3 bands, it was pure chaos from that moment. This crowd was on fire!

The band’s riffs were earth shaking. Fans climbed onstage and hurled themselves into the crowd. There was turmoil in the pit. “FUCK YEAH! That’s the Toronto I remember!” the vocalist shouted before dropping “The Rabbit Hole,” a brand-new track that hit like a sledgehammer.

AS the band progressed through their set with tracks like "In Shadows & Dust", “As I Slither” and "Push the Venom", the energy simply never dipped. Even after three punishing sets before the headliner, the crowd just never stopped and Kataklysm fed off it, delivering a savage performance.

The 'Carnival of Death' Tour was one of the most powerful concerts I have seen all year. The energy was relentless from start to finish, a true celebration of brutality, and heavy metal camaraderie. Every band brought their A-game, but Kataklysm proved why they’re still the kings of Canadian death metal. I thought Vader was going to be unmatchable, but boy was I wrong! And let's not forget the Toronto faithful. They showed up and left drenched in sweat and adrenaline.

Man… I love this shit!

Concert Photo Gallery