CHAOS & CARNAGE TOUR 2025

The 2025 edition of the Chaos & Carnage tour is currently underway with the eight band bill hitting up 19 dates across North America, including a Wednesday Toronto stop at Rebel. This bill felt like a mini festival, with doors at an impressively early 4:30 pm, much to the dismay of those stuck at the very un-metal thing known as “day jobs.”

CORPSE PILE/VOMIT FORTH/UNDEATH

The evening began promptly at 5:00 with Corpse Pile starting things off right, or at least so I was told, as I unfortunately didn’t make it in time for their set. I did make my grand entrance right as Vomit Forth hit the stage, and though their stage time was short, they made every minute count, ripping through a solid ten tracks and getting the moshers warmed up. Undeath kept the metal party rolling and the pit moving with another quick, but powerful half-hour set as concert goers started filling up the venue.

NE OBLIVISCARIS

At this point in the night we start getting into the heavy hitters on the lineup, starting with Ne Obliviscaris (aka NeO), a super cool six-piece progressive band from Australia. An incredibly tight band with all musicians nailing their individual roles and making their complex tunes seem absolutely effortless to execute live. I especially enjoyed the performance by frontman Tim Charles, with his blend of clean vocals, violin, and some of the most elegant headbanging I’ve ever seen with his amazing long hair. A short set from these lads if you break it down by tracks, their setlist was a total of four songs. However, no one felt short-changed considering each was about 10-15 mins long! Shout out to my friend Melo, the guy behind the soundboard for Neo, as this may be one of the best-sounding sets I’ve ever heard at this venue.


Setlist
‘Equus’, ‘Suspyre’, ‘Painters Of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux (Movement 3: Curator)’, ‘And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope’

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

Next up, some Italian symphonic death metal, Fleshgod Apocalypse. I’ve been a casual fan of this band for a while but this was my first time checking them out live and damn, they did not disappoint! The energy from this group was top notch, and what they gave the crowd was eager to return, with the pit opening right up. Between the lavish outfits, excellent face paint, and elaborate set design including a (fake) grand piano, Fleshgod was a feast for the eyes and the ears. They made great use of their somewhat short set, rocking nine tracks that covered their entire discography and concluding with one of the most fun cover songs I may have ever experienced live, the 1999 hit ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’ by Eiffel 65. Can’t wait to catch them again at Wacken this summer! 


Setlist
‘Ode To Art (de’ Sepolcri)’, ‘I Can Never Die’, ‘Minotaur (The Wrath Of Poseidon)’, ‘The Fool’, ‘Pendulum’, ‘Bloodclock’, ‘Sugar’, ‘The Violation’, ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’

CRADLE OF FILTH

As a photographer, I love shooting bands with wicked corpsepaint, so I was especially excited for Cradle Of Filth and what a fantastic band to shoot! The amount of passion behind every member could be felt, and the interactions I had with guitarists Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda and Donny Burbage were a delight. Dani Filth was bouncing around the stage like a maniac, at one point even riding his microphone stand, the whole time his voice piercing those high screams. He definitely made half the crowd feel old when he went a bit nostalgic about the band’s impressive 31-year career. By the amount of COF shirts I saw, I do wonder if they would have been better suited to headline the night, but what do I know? The crowd during this set was intense, with a huge, constant mosh pit taking over the centre floor. And then just like that, their quick eight-song set came to what felt like an abrupt end. Definitely could have used a few more songs! 


Setlist
‘To Live Deliciously’, ‘Nemesis’, ‘She Is A Fire’, ‘The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh’, ‘Malignant Perfection’, ‘Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids’, ‘Death Magick For Adepts’, Her Ghost In The Fog’

DYING FETUS

Last but not least, Dying Fetus. At this point the crowd did thin out a bit with people mumbling about ‘beating the traffic’. To be fair, they did play TWICE in Toronto last year, so I think some were surprised that they were the headliner. Others were ecstatic, I did see scattered throughout the crowd a fair amount of underagers, including a little kid on the balcony absolutely losing his shit. A lot of metal shows are 19+ in Toronto, so it was fun to see the younger generation being exposed to the brutal death metal that is Dying Fetus. For a three-piece, these guys are powerful; it felt like being hit by a wall of sound. Their set was excellent and polished as always, with a tastefully chosen career-spanning setlist. I don’t think these guys are capable of having an off night!


Setlist
‘Praise The Lord (Opium Of The Masses)’, ‘Unbridled Fury’, ‘In The Trenches’, ‘Wrong One To Fuck With’, ‘Compulsion For Cruelty’, ‘One Shot, One Kill’, ‘Your Treachery Will Die With You’, ‘Grotesque Impalement’, ‘Subjected To A Beating’