Anaheim,CA — Tuesday nights are not typically when you expect the best show of the season, but The Observatory in Anaheim had other plans. I chose this night specifically because it was the finale of the Praise The Beast North American Tour 2026. There is something about a last night that brings a different kind of energy. The bands know it, the crowd knows it, and you feel it; you just have to be there.

The lineup alone was worth showing up for: Austrian blackened death metal legends Belphegor headlining, with Incantation, Poland’s Hate, and openers Narcotic Wasteland rounding out the bill. Four bands. No filler. I overheard fans talking about having been at 1720 in Los Angeles the night before. People were chasing this tour across dates, and honestly… I get it.

Who Is Narcotic Wasteland?

Narcotic Wasteland is the project that guitarist and vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade built after spending fourteen years in acclaimed technical death metal band Nile. He went back to his roots, linking up with old friends from Fayetteville, North Carolina and drawing inspiration from bands like Gorguts, Immolation, Incantation, and Suffocation.

“There was something really powerful about those bands, especially Gorguts. They had these twin guitar compositions that felt different than the kind of death metal other bands were doing. So, Narcotic Wasteland is partially my way of rediscovering what I first loved about death metal.”

They dropped their self-titled debut in 2014. After Toler-Wade left Nile in October 2016, the band became his full priority. They signed to Megaforce Records and released Delirium Tremens in 2017, a massive step forward produced with Grammy winning producer Neil Kernon. The album confronts addiction, pharmaceutical corruption, and the societal damage Toler-Wade witnessed growing up in a military town where those issues ran deep. It is blunt, personal, and hits completely different from the typical death metal lyric sheet. Publications like Decibel Magazine, Metal Sucks, Metal Injection, and Dead Rhetoric all took notice.

This tour was the band’s third major run in under a year. They came off a U.S. run in September 2025 and a 30-plus date headlining European tour in November and December 2025. By the time they hit the Praise The Beast dates, these guys were sharp and road-ready.

The current live lineup is a trio: Toler-Wade on guitar and vocals, Kenji Tsunami on bass, and Joe Howard on drums.

The Set

Narcotic Wasteland opened the night and they did not ease anyone in. First riff and people were already paying attention. Toler-Wade’s vocals hit with a ferocity that recordings do not fully capture. The set pulled from across their catalog with range in the material that kept things unpredictable. Punishing blast beat sections up against slower, heavier passages that land just as hard in a completely different way.

The pit got going fast. That is the thing about a metal show that is hard to explain to people who have not experienced one. It is a physical release of energy and adrenaline that you genuinely cannot find anywhere else. The crowd at The Observatory was there to let go and they did. Metal fans and non-metal fans alike, this is a must attend.

Worth calling out specifically: bassist Kenji Tsunami. Sick name, great hair, and the kind of long headbanging moments that make for great shots. I grabbed some closeups photos throughout the set. As a trio, there is nowhere to hide on stage, and Kenji held his end up the whole night.

Final Word

The Praise The Beast tour is wrapped, but Narcotic Wasteland is not slowing down. Toler-Wade has also teased an upcoming album titled Digital Cordyceps, so there is more coming. Keep them on your radar. Next time they come through your city, show up.