THE SETUP…

Bleed From Within, no argument, is one of Scotland’s hottest exports of metal music right now and triumphantly returned to Toronto as a headliner, finally, for the Zenith Tour. The city was fortunate to be one of the first stops on this just over a month-long tour. Bringing with them Sylosis, also returning to the city for the first time in almost thirteen years, and two bands on an upward trajectory in Great American Ghost and Life Cycles, an extreme offering was on tap for the legendary Opera House on this absolutely sold-out Saturday night.

LIFE CYCLES

There is something magical when someone yells at the top of their lungs before any of the music even begins, “LET’S FUCKING GO!” just before the band hits the stage, possibly bringing this level of aggression and volume due to a Saturday night, but I digress. Life Cycles from Texas was the only band on the bill I was not aware of, but I was almost instantly impressed, bringing elements of crossover, hardcore, and thrash metal. The band brought out a mélange of subgenres that will most definitely separate them from everyone else, not only in that music styling but also from the state of Texas. Something absolutely worth mentioning: with the loud music, the chunky riffs, and the endless thrash-filled riffs, the drummer’s bass drum was shooting out air at such force that I and other people in the media pit were getting smacked with air blasts, a definite first for me. With the incoming crowd from the delayed doors opening, the vocalist’s banter was consistent, asking for movement, pits, and energy, which the opera house crowd happily delivered on all fronts.

SETLIST
‘Hell Beneath’, ‘Fatal Path’, ‘Portal To The Unknown’, ‘Death From Above’, ‘Haunting Spirit’, ‘The End Still Awaits’, ‘Serpent’S Kiss’

GREAT AMERICAN GHOST

Having seen Great American Ghost before, I was really struggling to remember what the last performance was like due to the timing from the last Toronto visit. Hailing from Boston, the band brought out explosive energy as soon as the recorded “end of the world” intro was done with. Ethan started the set off with a very loud and passionately driven cry/banshee scream through the venue’s speakers. This was a glimpse of what was to come, as throughout the performance Ethan took full advantage of not only the stage but also traveling across every single inch of it. Ethan went so far as jumping to the barrier to sing with the fans, reaching out to a fan at the barrier to put their phone away, to which the shocked fan looked up and gave the horns, and ultimately joining the sold-out floor of the venue in the mosh pit for one of the songs. By far one of the most intense thirty-minute sets I’ve seen in quite a long time, as the band is labeled in the metalcore genre, they brought a much heavier version with absolutely no stopping or letting up on the gas pedal.

SETLIST
‘Hymn Of Decay’, ‘Lost In The Outline’, ‘Altar Of Snakes’, ‘Kerosene’, ‘Kingmaker’, ‘Writhe’, ‘Forsaken’

SYLOSIS

“We are an audience participation band!” words synonymous with a lot of metal bands, but no one has ever said this with me being a witness to date. After a thirteen-year absence from Toronto, Sylosis returned to grace us once again, which was brought up mid-performance by vocalist Josh about the bus accident that happened just after leaving Toronto for the next stop of that tour in 2013 and how it was so good to be back. “I see a bunch of ugly pink hoodies in the crowd” was a funnier moment from the stage banter, as Sylosis brought pink hoodies as a merch item, and there were at least a dozen in the crowd over the course of the night. Because of the thirteen-year absencel, this forty-five-minute performance was blessed with music from the last three albums, which featured the brand-new album the most in the setlist, The New Flesh (2026), followed by A Sign Of Things To Come (2023) and Cycle Of Suffering (2020).

SETLIST
‘Beneath The Surface’, ‘Erased’, ‘Poison For The Lost’, ‘Lacerations’, ‘All Glory, No Valour’, ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘I Serve’, ‘Deadwood’, ‘The New Flesh’

BLEED FROM WITHIN

Not many bands truly make the trek from one side of the world to another, as it is impossible for every single band to “make it”; some don’t even get the chance to release an album, let alone be a band for twenty-two years. Having been a fan of Bleed From Within from Glasgow, Scotland since late 2022, I never thought I would see them grace our shores; logistically it just seemed improbable. Much to my surprise and delight, they have made an annual trip from 2023 onwards, and this headline show was highly anticipated for numerous reasons. At peak capacity, the venue chanted the band’s name before the pre-recorded intro took over in volume. The band slowly made their way onto stage one by one, full beaming smiles for the packed crowd. They opened with ‘Violent Nature’ from their latest album Zenith (2025), which would go on to dominate the set and stage design throughout the night.

Scott, the lead vocalist, complete in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, made quick work of the stage, jumping between risers and engaging the crowd during clean vocal sections. A wall of death broke out during ‘Zenith’, followed by further chaos during ‘Sovereign’. The intensity never let up as ‘I Am Damnation’ and ‘Stand Down’ pushed the crowd even further, with call-and-response vocals shaking the venue. A slower moment arrived with ‘A Hope In Hell’, illuminated by phone lights across the crowd, before the energy surged again into ‘Pathfinder’ and a drum solo spotlighting Ali Richardson, who was pulling double duty on the tour. Josh Middleton also joined for guest vocals on ‘Hands Of Sin’.

The final stretch included ‘Edge Of Infinity’, ‘The End Of All We Know’, and the closing moment ‘In Place Of Your Halo (Live Bagpipes)’, which delivered a goosebump-inducing finale. The crowd remained chanting long after the music stopped, cementing Bleed From Within as one of Scotland’s strongest modern metal exports and delivering a flawless headlining performance.

SETLIST
‘Violent Nature’, ‘Zenith’, ‘Sovereign’, ‘I Am Damnation’, ‘Stand Down’, ‘A Hope In Hell’, ‘Alive’, ‘Levitate’, ‘Pathfinder’, ‘Drum Solo’, ‘Dying Sun’, ‘God Complex’, ‘Hands Of Sin (With Josh Middleton)’, ‘Edge Of Infinity’, ‘The End Of All We Know’, ‘In Place Of Your Halo (Live Bagpipes)’