Toronto, Canada – In 1984, a metal band emerged from Altamonte Springs, Florida that would forever change the landscape for a genre of music that was already on the extreme end of the spectrum. The band was simply called Death (perhaps there could be no better a fitting name), and it was founded by a guitarist and vocalist named Chuck Schuldiner. Before long, Death became one of the most influential bands and were one of the founders of the Death Metal sub-genre. So much so that Schuldiner is considered the Godfather of Death Metal.
Sadly, Schuldiner’s life was cut short after a brain cancer diagnoses, from which he succumbed to the disease on December 13, 2001. Schuldiner was only 34 years old. Playing under the pseudonym Death To All, ex-Death members Steve DiGiorgio (bass), Gene Hoglan (drummer), and Bobby Koelble (guitar) have continued to pay tribute to the one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Death To All is currently closing out their 2023 North American tour. With the support of San Diego classic thrash band Nukem, and another death metal band Suffocation, they headed north of the border for a date in Montreal, Canada on March 26. The following night, they hit Toronto’s Opera House, and Digital Beat Magazine was on hand to cover the event.
Nukem/Suffocation
Starting off the evening was San Diego’s Nukem. These guys (and gal) have an old school thrash metal sound. Lead singer and guitarist Steve Brogden’s voice is awesome and perfectly fitted for the style of music. For me, thrash metal is where it’s at, and I found myself smiling through the whole set. The music was fast and furious, and the crowd was involved quickly as the mosh pit started right at the first notes.
New York’s own death metal outfit Suffocation was second on the bill at Toronto’s classic metal venue. The music was heavy as hell and vocalist Ricky Myers’ deep guttural anthems were first-rate! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again that the bass guitarist is typically the coolest dude in the band. With his bass down on his right knee, Suffocation bassist Derek Boyer has an amazing style. Often, the bassist’s B.C. Rich Warlock was literally standing upright as the musician got down low and fingered the 5-string instrument in insane fashion. A super cool look! There was a ton of hair flying around on stage, and in the crowd during the band’s set, as bodies continued to fly over the security barricade. How was Death To All going to match the energy?
Death To All
At 9:15pm (this was later than the typical 9:00 start for a show’s headliner in this city), the lights went down, and we get uneasy sounds over the speakers. They are sounds that one might think Hell sounds like. The red glow that is cast upon the stage adds to the hellish atmosphere. The crowd starts chanting “CHUCK, CHUCK, CHUCK, CHUCK!!!” The band emerges, bassist Steve DiGiorgio in sandaled feet, with a sleeveless tee adorned with a red cock. They start into “Overactive Imagination” and the crowd is immediately cast into the experience of Death.
After “The Philosopher” and “Bite the Pain”, the crowd starts their chants of praise for the late Chuck Schuldiner, and the band goes right into the 4th track “Zero Tolerance”. At this point, the crowd is getting heated, and the bodies start to fly over the barricade, into the photo pit.
At the conclusion of “Zero…”, bassist Steve DiGiorgio takes a moment to start the band’s first interaction with the crowd. He’s happy for the fans that have come out to celebrate this music on a Monday evening. He further thanks them for keeping live music alive and let’s them know that the evening is a nostalgic throwback. It’s the fans that keep the music relevant, and we’re here to memorialize and immortalize the late Chuck Schuldiner. With that, the chants of “CHUCK! CHUCK! CHUCK!” are fired up again. Immediately DIGiorgio knows this crowd is going to be special. He blasts out “You guys fucking rock! We’re playing something rom every Death record tonight”, and the band goes into the title track from the 3rd album Spiritual Healing.
The band sounds great. They’re tight! They’re on their game! And so is the crowd. DiGiorgio makes constant eye contact with the fans in the front rows. There is complete engagement here as he makes himself one with the audience. The bodies continue to pile over the wall and the fans are hugging each other as they leave the pit area for another surf. Death To All is kicking ass, 6 songs in, and they’re only getting warmed up.
Typically, it’s the lead singer that bear the responsibility of chatting with the crowd, but it’s quickly noted that the banter with the crowd is coming from bassist Steve DiGiorgio (he is also the current bassist for thrash giants Testament). I don’t ever recall seeing anything similar. But regardless of his quieter demeanour, vocalist Max Phelps’ throaty growls, and fiery guitar skills are spot on to Schuldiner’s, and it almost makes us feel as though Chuck is here in the flesh. Another anomaly was DiGiorgio’s praise for the Security, as he thanks them for keeping everybody safe during these shows. I find it quite honorable to take the time to thank these men for their thankless jobs.
At the end of the band’s 7th track of the evening, Digiorgio gives us a bass solo that leads into the intro to the band’s 1991 song “Lack of Comprehension”. The song is from the band’s album Human, which ended up being the release that was a ground breaker for Death. And many say it was the real start of the Death Metal sub-genre. It’s actually the album that first got me listening, and the bass intro from DiGiorgio is bloody amazing! The musician makes it seem effortless, and it makes me really raise my eyebrows at the master of the fretless bass guitar.
With Death to All now on Canadian soil, the band breaks into the classic Rush track “YYZ” (which is the airport code for Toronto, in case anybody was unaware) as their 15th song of the set. It’s no small feat for any band to cover the Canadian music giants, but Death to All smashes it and of course the crowd is loving it. At the conclusion, DiGiorgio let’s us know that “that homage was to a hometown band that had a huge influence on all of us”.
As the band closes in on the set’s conclusion, the crowd has gone completely insane. Continued body surfing, pushing forward for a closer look, and beer getting sprayed all over the place, the band continues their torrid pace, banging in unison on stage. At this time, I notice the bass guitarist’s bare feet. At some point, he clearly kicked off his sandals, but I have no idea when he shed the constricting foot wear, at least not until I got home to vet through my photos. Only then did I notice that this happened during the band’s second song of the evening.
Encore
The red glow is cast upon the stage again, as the band departs. I notice that there is not a ton of chanting from the crowd. I quickly wonder if they are simply exhausted from having their asses kicked for the past 100 minutes. Then the heavy drumming of legend Gene Hoglan hits us in the face. He pounds away in a solo that leads into “Flattening of Emotions”, and the crowd gets their second wind. Bodies start flying again and DiGiorgio salutes a body surfer as he makes his landing. I notice the time and it’s oddly 11:00pm, but the band is still going. The city of Toronto has noise by-laws, and events as this are typically supposed to end by 11:00. Death to All clearly doesn’t give a shit as they still have another 30 minutes of ass kicking to hand out.
At the end of it, DiGiorgio let’s the crowd know that they will remember this night forever. Now, I’m sure this gets stated at many many shows. It’s a way for bands to show their love to their fans. But I somehow think that there was more to it on this night in Toronto. The two parties (band and fans) played off each other for over two hours, and I was personally exhausted just watching and listening. For me, it was my first live experience with Death to All (or Death for that matter), and it’s also going to go down as one that I will remember forever. I hope it won’t be the last!
Setlist
Infernal Death
Overactive Imagination
The Philosopher
Bite the Pain
Zero Tolerance
Spiritual Healing
Evil Dead
Trapped in a Corner
Lack of Comprehension
Leprosy
Jealousy
Suicide Machine
Living Monstrosity
Secret Face
YYZ (Rush cover)
Symbolic
Voice of the Soul
Encore:
Flattening of Emotions
Zombie Ritual
Spirit Crusher
Crystal Mountain
Pull the Plug
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show date: March 27, 2023
