Napalm Death -- Toronto, Ontario -- May 15th, 2009

[adamclark52]

Napalm Death
Support: Kataklysm, Toxic Holocaust, Coliseum, Trap Them
Date: Friday May 15th, 2009
Venue: the Opera House in Toronto, Ontario
Source: setlist.fm (they all seem pretty correct to me)

This was the first time I ever got to see Napalm Death. I was stoked. I got their really early because I was interested in hearing Trap Them. They were really good but I have no idea what they played. I felt really bad for them too because halfway through the set the singer said that there were more people in the crowd to see them at this show than the rest of the tour combined. Unless this was the first or second show of the tour? There were, like, forty people there.

Some guy stepped on my foot so I was in a lot of pain during Colisium’s set. They seemed out of place to me for this tour. Their singer really loved what he was doing though, and kept saying how all he wants to do is play music and who cares if people say it will go nowhere. I can respect that. They were okay, and there was a decent crowd of close to a hundred people; most of which really enjoyed them.

Toxic Holocaust are a band that I really don’t like on record but every time I see them live I’m really impressed. I think I saw them a year earlier opening for At The Gates and they had gotten a lot tighter since that show. They were really good and my foot felt better.

Toxic Holocaust
1. Endless Armageddon 

2. Gravelord 

3. 666 

4. Feedback, Blood & Distortion 

5. Reaper's Grave 

6. Death Brings Death 

7. The Lord of the Wasteland 

8. Nuke the Cross

The Opera House wasn’t packed for Kataklysm but I’d say it was close to ¾. So about three hundred people, maybe three hundred and fifty. And the crowd was at their most ravenous for them. But the sound guy was fucking up bad and the volume was WAY too low. Like so low that when a guy jumped on the rail by the soundboard and yelled at him to “turn it fucking up” you could hear his voice throughout the whole venue. Not good for a metal show. They were still really good. It was my second time seeing them; I think I saw them open for Dimmu Borgir a few years earlier.

Kataklysm
1. Crippled & Broken 

2. In Shadows & Dust 

3. Prevail 

4. The Resurrected 

5. Let Them Burn 

6. As I Slither 

7. Taking the World by Storm 

8. Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)

I was pretty pissed that after Kataklysm the place really emptied. There were probably a hundred and fifty to two hundred people for Napalm Death. I couldn’t believe it; it’s Napalm “Fucking” Death. Time Waits For No Slave wasn’t their best album but with Napalm Death it’s not just what they’re doing but what they’ve done. They walked on with zero fan-fare and it was just us “old guys” who stuck around. But fuck all those losers that left, Napalm still slayed. Work to Rule wasn’t the best song to open with but it was off the hook from there on in. I only had six or seven of their albums at that point (Scum, a couple of the 1990’s albums and their latest four at the time) so some of the material was lost to me. But after hearing It’s a M.A.N.S. World! I went right out and bought From Enslavement To Obliteration. The highlight was the five song barrage of songs off Scum (as it is at every ND show I’ve seen). I thought they were awesome but I lost some respect for Toronto’s metal crowd for leaving. I like Kataklysm but come on. The next time they played here they ended up at a much smaller club. But they played the Opera House again during that tour with Municipal Waste last year.

Napalm Death
1. Work to Rule
2. Strong-Arm 

3. Unchallenged Hate 

4. Suffer the Children 

5. Silence Is Deafening 

6. Life and Limb 

7. Diktat 

8. When All Is Said and Done 

9. It's a M.A.N.S. World! 

10. From Enslavement to Obliteration 

11. On the Brink of Extinction 

12. Scum 

13. Life? 

14. The Kill 

15. Deceiver 

16. You Suffer 

17. Mass Appeal Madness 

18. Nazi Punks Fuck Off
19. Time Waits for No Slave 

20. Siege of Power

[Ommie]

I guess that kind of sucks about the crowd, but you got to see the legendary Napalm Death, so I'd say that's a win in my book. Still waiting on my first chance to see them.

Did you see them the other times they stopped by? How were they compared to this, if you did?

[adamclark52]

Originally Posted by Ommie

I guess that kind of sucks about the crowd, but you got to see the legendary Napalm Death, so I'd say that's a win in my book. Still waiting on my first chance to see them.

Did you see them the other times they stopped by? How were they compared to this, if you did?

I liked them better the next time I saw them. Smaller venue and smaller crowd who were all in to it. As far as the set, Napalm Death have close to two hundred and fifty songs to choose from that I know of, so whatever they play is fine. I was a little upset that they didn't play the Kill the next time I saw them.

[bigguytoo9]

Trap Them are AMAZING!! I would have loved to see ND with them. Municipal in November though playing with Napalm was good enough.

[Alduin]

kataklysm are garbage

[hellawaits77ny]

Cool review, man. I saw them a couple nights later in Montreal, was another great show. However, on a more positive note, a lot of young kids were in the audience for Napalm. Was great to see.

[W0unds]

Nice review, I was largely oblivious to Napalm Death at this time but caught them in Peterborough in 2011 and again this year with Municipal Waste.

The turnout was solid for their date with MW this year, hopefully that is a trend which continues for such a legendary band.

[adamclark52]

Originally Posted by W0unds

Nice review, I was largely oblivious to Napalm Death at this time but caught them in Peterborough in 2011 and again this year with Municipal Waste.

The turnout was solid for their date with MW this year, hopefully that is a trend which continues for such a legendary band.

People seem to be "on" Napalm Death this time around. We'll see what the next album's touring cycle brings. And that they were touring with MW and Exhumed probably didn't hurt.

I was this close to going to the Peterborough show. I was going to go to all the Toronto area dates but I'm a foreman and I work nights so I couldn't do it. I ended up seeing them in Toronto on the Friday and Ottawa the Sunday (the Monday was Thanksgiving so I could make it).