(Toronto, ON) Numerous fans were walking back to their cars, carrying multiple tour tee shirts, as I approached the Great Canadian Casino Resort for the Lorna Shore, The Black Dahlia Murder & Shadow of Intent show, part of the “I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me” tour package, which was stopping in our area. Unable to get over the border, PeelingFlesh were absent this evening, making it only a three-band show. One fan I talked to said he bought one of every Lorna Shore tour shirt—easily a $400 transaction. Such is the draw of devoted metal enthusiasts, many of them waiting around at the venue for hours before the doors opened at 5:30 pm.

Shadow of Intent took the stage at around 7 pm—calling out their praises for Toronto before launching into a half-hour set of intense material. Before this evening, I knew nothing of the band. They performed well, engaged the audience, and elicited some crowd surfing. Patrons were buying (and wearing) their merchandise in the crowd. Vocalist Ben Durr pointed at some fans as her snarled his way through their material, connecting with audience members during their short time on stage.

The Black Dahlia Murder took the stage at around 8 pm, and it wasn’t until original rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach strode atop the platform riser at the front of the stage and started to sing that I remembered Trevor Strnad (the original vocalist) had died a few years back. I can only imagine what that grief and change were like for the band. Based on how Eschbach commanded the stage and worked the room this evening, it felt like fans were keen to mosh about to 45 minutes of unabashed Black Dahlia Murder material. Only “Cursed Creator” from last year’s Servitude album was played this evening—the remaining nine tracks were from the back-catalog.

Lorna Shore took the stage behind a massive white curtain adorned with the band logo. As the introductory notes to “Oblivion” rang throughout the venue, the curtain dropped and the large video monitors behind the band, along with the stage lighting, bathed the audience in light while silhouetting the five members of Lorna Shore in dark shadows. It was an effective entrance for the band, and things only escalated from that point onwards.

The visuals projected behind the band this evening leaned heavily into flaming planets, morphing at times into the shape of a flaming iris scanning the audience like some effect from a Lord of the Rings movie. I loved that the graphics were themed around space and planets, given that the material being played was like what hearing planets colliding might sound like. Add in Will Ramos’ absolutely insane vocal styling, and there were moments where it sounded like frightened pigs bleating scored to music. Austin Archey’s blast-beat drumming was utterly ferocious. People were up above the crowd, surfing to the front of the stage for the entirety of the set. There was one patron atop a friend’s shoulders for the majority of the show, swaying about and motioning their arms about like a mosh-pit traffic conductor. I saw somebody dressed like a banana fly over the security rail a few times while I was photographing the first three songs. The smell of body odor and hair product was so thick at the front of the stage that you could almost cut it with a knife.

“Cursed to Die” was impressive live. Standing at the back of the crowd and watching the mayhem unfold from a different angle, it was entertaining to see the crowd’s participation and the adoration for Lorna Shore filling the room. The polished concrete flooring reflected ominously at the back of the venue, where the crowd wasn’t as densely packed. I could see a lot of liquid on the ground, and when patrons slipped and fell, people close by were quick to help them up.

My favourite part of the evening wasn’t even while the band was playing; Five minutes before Lorna Shore took the stage, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was playing over the PA, and people in the venue were singing along to the song at the top of their lungs. It was wonderful. I love metal shows; Hands down, the best music fans in the world are metal fans, and it was a pleasure to be amongst them for this incredible display of (what the kids are calling) deathcore on a cold Monday in October.

Lorna Shore Setlist Toronto:
Oblivion
Unbreakable
Of the Angels
Sun//Eater
Cursed to Die
Into the Earth
Glenwood
Prison of Flesh
To the Hellfire
Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames
Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear
Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire