Next was the local band Troglodyte. They came out on stage wearing masks (like Slipknot) and to a pre-recorded beginning. I feared the worst. However, they played straight up death metal. It was fantastic! They might want to lose the mask shtick, but the music is great. The guitarist actually broke a string on one of their songs which actually cut their set time down a bit. It was a shame, because Troglodyte is the best local band I've ever heard.
The first of the big bands up was Carnifex. I'm not sure why Carnifex is on this tour, as they play straight-up deathcore. Every song sounds the same with chugging breakdowns and...well, every song was basically one long breakdown. Of course, half of the crowd there loved it. Hardcore dancing ensued, a (pathetic) moshpit and lots of group vocals. Completely mediocre, cookie-cutter, by the books deathcore. Nothing special, Carnifex was the only downfall to the night. Of course, after they finished up, most of the crowd left. Good for the actual metal fans, it made for an extremely more intimate show with two of death metal's most important bands!
The world's first death metal band to sing about pagan/viking mythology, Unleashed, was up next. I was extremely close for their set and one thing stood out immediately: the sound was fantastic. Every death metal band I had seen up to that point has music mixes that took a while to get accustomed to but for Unleashed, every instrument came through very clearly and the vocals were all understandable. Unleashed is a party band, there's no way around that. They replayed several sections of songs to have the crowd sing along. And you can't help but go crazy for their amazing technical solos. At the end of their song “Hammer Batallion” they changed the lyrics “Hammer Batallion, Unleashed!” to “Hammer Batallion, Kansas!” it was goofy, it was metal, and it was fun. They gave us an encore as well, which they didn't do on earlier dates. I guess they really liked us!
But, really, how can the son compete when the father is in town? One of the pioneering death metal bands with arguably the best vocalist in the business. The addition of death metal guitarist legen Ralph Santolla only made things that much better. I was right up against the stage, smack dab in the middle. John Tardy, the vocalist, was inches away from me and Ralph Santolla nearly hit me on the head during his solos. The excellent sound was still intact from Unleashed, and it made for one of the most memorable music performances ever for me. The band joked around with each other on stage, letting other members say stuff into the mics, goof around with each other's instruments, and whatnot. They were full of energy throughout the entire night, but the real treat came a few songs in. I had explained to my friend that they had a Celtic Frost cover on their new EP. Obituary played it. They played Dethroned Emperor by Celtic Frost and really made it their own song. It was the highlight of the night for me. Not even classics like Chopped In Half or Find The Arise could top it. Pure bliss. After a blistering encore of the death metal classic “Slowly We Rot”, I shook every member's hand and called it a night. Best death metal performances I've ever seen by far.
Obituary: 10/10
Unleashed: 10/10
Carnifex: 3/10
Troglodyte: 8/10
At The Left Hand Of God: 7.5/10
Obituary (out of order, partial)
Find The Arise
Chopped In Half
Turned Inside Out
Redneck Stomp
Evil Ways
Drop Dead
a new one off their new EP, I think it was "Left to Die"
Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost cover)
Guitar/Drum solos
A song where John Tardy helped out the drummer on the drums in the beginning.
Slowly We Rot
Unleashed
1. Intro
2. To Asgard We Fly
3. Never Ending Hate
4. Your Children Will Burn
5. This Is Our World Now
6. Black Horizon
7. Midvinterblot
8. Death Metal Victory
9. Into Glory Ride
10. Hammer Battalion
We got another after Hammer Battalion, I think it was from the first CD. I wanna sayyyy...Before The Creation Of Time? Not sure, though.
Carnifex (partial/out of order)
Lie to My Face
who gives a shit, they sucked
Trogoldyte (partial/out of order)
Don't Go Into The Woods...(cut short, guitarist broke a string
)some other stuff, don't remember, but they were fantastic
Pictures:
At The Left Hand Of God
#1
#2
#3
#4
Troglodyte
#1
#2
#3
Carnifex
#1
#2
#3
Unleashed
#1
#2
#3
#4
Happy Viking AKA #5
#6
Obituary
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Best tattoos ever AKA #7
#8
#9
#10
No comments:
Post a Comment