Enthroned -- Kansas City, MO -- August 24th, 2010

I can cross another band off my "To See Before I Die" list. Destroyer 666 was absolutely mind-blowing, and every band tonight brought their A-game. Truly a satanic spectacle.

The sole opening band was Witchreign, which is made up of 4/5 members of one of my favorite KC-area bands, Vanlade. But instead of epic speed/power metal, Witchreign is dirty blackened thrash. They seemed a bit sloppy, but they still threw in some pretty good solo's that went over well. At the end, they brought up one of the guitarists from Enthroned and did a killer cover of Venom's "In League With Satan." Remember, if there is a black metal show, a Venom cover is mandatory. 8/10

I am a huge sucker for brutal/slam death metal, but when I first checked out Pathology when I heard they'd be on this show as a replacement for Shining, I was less than impressed. But it turns out that they are actually pretty good at what they do. It's too bad that the first video on YouTube that comes up for the band is one of their worst, because the rest of their set was fantastic. The singer looked insane while the band was going, and I was impressed with every one of their members. Great stuff if you're into the genre. Don't let the Victory Records label be off-putting. 8.5/10

Finally. I can't believe I finally got to see Destroyer 666. One of the first metal bands I'd ever heard, and I finally got to hear all these songs I've been listening to for years. Although they didn't play one of my favorite songs (Satanic Speed Metal), the entire set was chock full of memorable songs that I had to scream along with and bang my head. "Sons of Perdition", "Raped", and "Black City - Black Fire" were some of the best times I've had at a concert, but the greatest moment had to be screaming along with KK during "The Eternal Glory Of War." They came a long way to KC, and we made sure they knew we appreciated it. During "Australian and Antichrist", some guy who I've never seen at shows before was filming D666 using a flip-phone (amazing quality, am I right?) right up front and center. KK slapped the phone out of his hand and pushed the guy back. After the song, he said something like, "Metal is about here and now. I'm playing for all you dedicated people who came out to this show tonight, not for the fifty million on YouTube in the future!" It was pretty metal. I really hope I get to see them headline in the future. 10/10

After heading back to the bar and talking to Jeff from Troglodyte for a good while, I caught most of Enthroned's set. They made a mistake picking Destroyer 666 as an opening band, because after that spectacle, it's an achievement just to take the stage with any sort of gusto. They played their brand of punishing black metal and had a few great songs with some awesome solo's, but ultimately were just pretty good. They eventually won the crowd over and their almost 20 years of experience really showed; they sounded great. The vocalist was also really animated and fun to watch. They capped a brilliant night of (almost all) black metal. 8/10

Destroyer 666 set:

Rise of the Predator
A Breed Apart
The Last Revelation
Sons of Perdition
I Am Not Deceived
Blood for Blood
Raped
Genesis to Genocide
Satan's Hammer
Black City - Black Fire
Australian and Antichrist
I Am The War God
Eternal Glory of War

Enthroned set included:

Pray

Pathology set included:

Braining
Age Of Onset
Among Giants
Afterlife
Legacy Of The Ancients