FACE YOURSELF

Before the band even began to play, many of us were fortunate enough to see some banter between the guitarist and the bassist. For those in the barricade, which is a first for me at this venue, the chirping between the members was really hilarious to witness, and not to mention the bassist, just jumping in spot, full of energy and ready to go! The vocalist was the last to arrive, and holy shit, from zero to one hundred. With this show, only the second one on this extensive tour, Face Yourself came in full force. Bringing a neck-breaking 30-minute Toronto debut performance to the crowd, everyone fired on all cylinders at all moments, but the vocalists’ range of different singing, screaming, growling, and fry left my jaw on the floor. For a band that just released music in 2023, and with new music on the way, this band will be headlining stages soon.

Ohrion Reacts, a local (for those of us in Toronto) and internationally known Artist, was on stage to assist for a song at the beginning of the set. The crowd may not have all arrived at the venue for this band, but it would be impossible to find someone who thought anything negative about this act.

SETLIST
‘Primal’, ‘Death Reflection’, ‘Shadow Self’, ‘Guillotine’, ‘Fractures’, ‘Grosse Bagarre’, ‘Ov Agony’, ‘Predatory’, ‘Consideration’

CARCOSA

The only ones from Canada on this deathcore tour, the west coast band Carcosa stormed the stage red hot. Johnny Ciardullo, the vocalist, made no friends on this night, except for me, because he dedicated ‘Born To Lose’ to Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which garnered a lot of boos, not that the band could hear that, afterwards dedicating the next song to anyone with daddy issues, which a majority of the room surely has. The four-piece blistered through the short set… even through the boos. Toronto warmed up the floors of the Mod Club with the music from our fellow countrymen, who, up to this point, were the only band with the band backdrop on the screen for the performance. One of the last times Johnny addressed the crowd, he told them to grab the brand-new, yet-to-be-released album, The Axe Forgets, The Tree Remembers, at merch, a whole two weeks early, which in my concert-going experience rarely happens. Another strong performance by Carcosa that absolutely pleased the throngs of people slowly filling up the floor by the end of the performance.

SETLIST
‘Born To Lose’, ‘Vanta Black’, ‘Our Scars’, ‘A Plague’, ‘Nihilus’, ‘Vermin’

TEN56.

One of the few bands on this bill to blend deathcore with another genre, this set this band apart on this night, as the crowd absolutely lost their mind at ten56. from the moment the vocalist spat his drink into the crowd. For another short set on this night’s billing, this band, coming here to tour all the way from France, brought a breath of fresh air for some or a break for others. It’s hard to tell if the crowd or the band moved more during this performance. I’m going to vote for the crowd because this was the set where the crowd surfing began, and the justification for the barrier for the night. Jumping was mandatory once the band started to bounce all over the stage, and that translated (without communication) to the crowd on the floor. One of the more tongue-in-cheek moments from the vocalist was “Whether you’re a top or a bottom, lose your shit.” Although the band was touring on the newly released album IO, the setlist was a mix of songs from both albums they have released. The receptive and very packed crowd moved quickly throughout the set; the receptive Toronto crowd was loose and limbered up at this point in the night.

SETLIST
‘Intro’, ‘Good Morning’, ‘Saiko’, ‘Diazepam’, ‘Doormat’, ‘Snapped Neck’, ‘Yenta’, ‘I Know Where You Sleep’, ‘Earwig’, ‘Boy’

MENTAL CRUELTY

Another band from Europe to share with us their version and flavour of deathcore, this time blended with symphonic notes. The band had some diehards in the crowd who made them feel at home, including a visitor from Germany. This is the second time I’ve reviewed the band and its performance, and previously, I had hoped for a longer set, possibly in the area of co-headline or headline. I got what I wanted in a longer set, but not at the end of the night. Mental Cruelty is leaps and bounds better after two years of touring and logging the miles on the road with the recent full-length album from 2023, Zwielicht, and recently playing a new single, ‘Helheim’, from possibly a new album in the future. The latest member of the band and the vocalist, Lukas Nicolai, continues to impress with absolute ease in different styles of screams throughout the set, with some banter expressing love to the crowd.

The absolute highlight was the ending of the set with the combination of the song ‘Zwielicht’ from the album of the same name, playing over the speakers with everyone having their cell phone flashlight on and choice members of the audience with lighters in the air, only after two minutes being sent forcefully into ‘Symphony Of A Dying Star’ to close out the night. The crowd’s decision was unanimous towards the end; everyone was thoroughly enjoying the performance.

SETLIST
‘The Venerable One’, ‘King Ov Fire’, ‘Helheim’, ‘Forgotten Kings’, ‘Obsessis A Daemonio’, ‘Ultima Hypocrita’, ‘Nordlys’, ‘Zwielicht’, ‘Symphony Of A Dying Star’

SIGNS OF THE SWARM

Have you ever been to a show where people are wearing sunglasses? I have for another band I’ve reviewed this year, but I missed the memo on needing them for this band. As the stage was being set up and finished, the band brought their own lighting rig. The video backdrop was set for the band logo pulsating as if it was poised to attack the crowd throughout the set. Unfortunately, none of the ceiling video monitors were cooperating before the band took the stage. This band just released a new album, To Rid Myself Of Truth. A majority of the songs were culled from this album, which was great for the set and its members; everyone was dialled in and sounded great. The blinding light from the stage didn’t deter the crowd from moshing, crowd surfing, and making the most of the rare barrier that appeared at this venue.

As if the lights weren’t enough of a warning, the band had something turned up, where all of the music just felt like an audible warning of doom incoming that’s going to rattle your head. This band and all of its members have zero issue commanding the audience, especially the vocalist, who just asked for more from the crowd all throughout the over sixty-minute set. One thing was clear after the swarm stormed through: this band is one of the leaders of their genre, and they will be taking over stages all over North America.

SETLIST
‘Borrowed Time’, ‘Pray For Death’, ‘To Rid Myself Of Truth’, ‘HELLMUSTFEARME’, ‘Natural Selection’, ‘Scars Upon Scars’, ‘Chariot’, ‘IWONTLETYOUDIE’, ‘Between Fire & Stone’, ‘Revelations Ov A Silent King’, ‘Creator’, ‘Pernicious’, ‘Amongst The Low & Empty’

October 3rd, 2025 @ The Mod Club (Toronto, Ontario)
Images & Words By: Miles George