Death to All Kicks Off Their Tour in San Diego

Heather Vandemark
4 days ago
3 min read

Death to All kicked off their Symbolic Healing tour in San Diego on November 4th. This tour is celebrating not one, but two album anniversaries, Spiritual Healing (35 years) and Symbolic (30 years), and includes special guests Gorguts & Phobophilic

Phobophilic kicked off the night. They are a death metal band from Fargo, North Dakota that came together in 2016. I was curious about the definition of their name which means an organism or plant that thrives in or seeks bright light. Interesting name for a death metal band but when I looked up some of their lyrics, I got intrigued! They are known for their sound that blends old-school death metal with modern elements.

Up next was Gorguts, a band formed in Quebec, Canada in 1989. They have been in and out of hiatus over the years. Luc Lemay (guitarist/lead vocals) is the only remaining original member. Their last album release was Pleiades’ Dust in 2016, maybe new music is on the horizon.

Death To All is the touring tribute to the late Chuck Schuldiner and his band Death. They are returning to North American stages this November for a month-long celebration of two of the legendary albums: Spiritual Healing (1990) and Symbolic (1995). “The time has come to commemorate a couple of milestones in the DEATH catalog,” says Gene Hoglan, whose iconic drum performances graced classic DEATH albums, Individual Thought Patterns (1993) and Symbolic. “30 years of Symbolic and 35 years of Spiritual Healing! Two vastly different yet very important eras of DEATH. Both albums are going to be a blast to represent.”

Hoglan is joined in the Death To All line-up by fellow Death veterans Steve DiGiorgio (bassist on 1991’s Human as well as Individual Thought Patterns) and Bobby Koelble (guitarist on Symbolic), as well as Max Phelps (Exist, ex-Cynic) on guitar and vocals. Death To All celebrated Scream Bloody Gore (1987) and The Sound of Perseverance (1998) across North America in 2024.

Gene Hoglan is a busy man! We just saw him here with Dark Angel last month and last year with Dethklok. Steve DiGiorgio just got home from a European tour with Testament and back on stage with Death To All. I’ve seen Steve play with Testament many, many times, but on this night I saw Steve in a different light. He was the story teller and I was so intrigued watching him play, he does some pretty amazing stuff! Along with the dual album celebration, the set list included classics from DEATH’s catalog. They are touring all November and ending in SoCal so grab your tickets!