Cannibal Corpse -- Lawrence, KS -- May 2nd, 2010

What a perfect day for a concert. It was just starting to get cloudy and sprinkle before the doors opened to let in the crowd, so inside it wasn't very hot at all. Made for a great show with some amazing performances by all the bands.

First up was Lecherous Nocturne from South Carolina. They had great energy, but the sound was hit or miss for them for most of the set. Despite that, they were a technical death metal band in the vein of Portal, who I thought they sounded like at times. The vocalist did a good job at interacting with the crowd and had the ingenious idea to give away a copy of their new album to the person who kept the mosh pit going the longest during one of their songs. I bet they sound awesome on album, but I'd like to see them again and hear them better live.

It was my fifth time seeing Skeletonwitch live and although I wish they would've played for longer and added a few more songs, they absolutely killed me. Cannibal Corpse made a dire mistake taking them on this tour, because I was absolutely drained by the end of their performance. The sound was pretty great, and their playing was spot on. I always wreck my neck to Skeletonwitch and last night was no exception. Sacrifice to the Slaughtergod, Crushed Beyond Dust and, of course, Within My Blood were the perfect trifecta of headbanging of the night. Amazing.

A really awesome thing about this show was that it was exactly on time. None of the bands forced the crowd to wait longer than they had to, which was good because I figured 1349 would do that because Norwegian black metal bands tend to have a complex like that. Nope. They came out and despite a few sound problems during the first half of their set, they destroyed. Only one guitarist on this tour, but it really didn't matter. They just cranked up the bass and when it sounded good, it sounded REALLY good. I couldn't hear Frost's drums too much during the set which is a shame; I know what kind of talent he has. The rest of the band did a great job at invoking some sort of unholy spirit to guide us through a blistering set of pure black metal including one absolutely crushing rendition of Sculptor Of Flesh. The new stuff sounded great as well. They probably won't be back around these parts for a while, so I'm really glad I got to witness this spectacle.

Also my 5th time seeing Cannibal Corpse and all I can say is WOW. They really hit their back catalogue for this one. They started off the set with Scalding Hail from their newest album (and I think that's the first time I've heard that live) but most of the songs that followed were probably older than most of the crowd there in attendance. I Will Kill You, The Cryptic Stench, Scattered Remains, Splattered Brains and Devoured By Vermin were some of the best times I've ever had at a concert and Death Walking Terror, Disfigured, A Skull Full Of Maggots and, of course, Hammer Smashed Face still are absolutely crazy awesome. Lots of great Corpsegrinder moments, lots of crowd surfing, lots of pits, and lots of headbanging. What more can you ask for? Cannibal Corpse is on top of their game and on top of the current death metal world and with sets like these, they're going to stay there for a long time.

Lecherous Nocturne:

partial/out of order:

The Divine Wind
Just War Theory
Edict Of Worms
Death Hurts Only The Living
The Preponderance of Fire

Skeletonwitch:

Submit To The Suffering
Upon Wings Of Black
The Despoiler Of Human Life
Repulsive Salvation
Sacrifice To The Slaughtergod
Stand, Fight, Die
Crushed Beyond Dust
Beyond The Permafrost
Blinding Black Rage
Within My Blood

1349:

Riders Of The Apocalypse
I Am Abomination
When I Was Flesh
Maggot Fetus...Teeth Like Horns
Chasing Dragons
Sculptor Of Flesh
Atomic Chapel

Cannibal Corpse:

Scalding Hail
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Murder Worship
Sentenced To Burn
Savage Butchery
The Cryptic Stench
Pounded Into Dust
The Wretched Spawn
Gutted
Evisceration Plague
Disfigured
Scattered Remains, Splattered Brains
Make Them Suffer
Priests of Sodom
Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead
Devoured by Vermin
A Skull Full of Maggots (feat. vocalist of Lecherous Nocturne)
Hammer Smashed Face
Stripped Raped and Strangled

Those are all 100% except for Lecherous Nocturne.

Lecherous Nocturne: 8/10
Skeletonwitch: 9.5/10
1349: 8.5/10
Cannibal Corpse: 9.5/10

THE GREATEST TOUR OF ALL TIME

Oh man. This May is going to be insane in Lawrence.

Just announced: May 2nd at the Granada

CANNIBAL CORPSE
1349
SKELETONWITCH
LECHEROUS NOCTURNE

A tour where I'm absolutely excited for every single band.

Cannibal Corpse -- Kansas City, MO -- November 22nd, 2009

A great night! The place was pretty well packed, and people went really crazy for most of the bands. Great crowd, great bands, great experience.

Except for the warm-up band. They're local (I think?) and called Seasons After. They're pretty much the generic hard rock/"metal" bands you hear on the radio. Mudvayne, Stone Sour, etc. It was the generic formula you get from those songs and the singer was horrendous. People were yelling for them to get off the stage by the end of the first song. 2/10

Erik Rutan is the MAN. Third time seeing Hate Eternal and they were fantastic as always. Only a three-piece this time, no second guitarist. But it really didn't matter. Erik was definitely the best guitar player there tonight. Crowd was pretty meh for them. Unbelievable. Oh well, I think Hate Eternal and Mr. Rutan speak for themselves. 9/10

Bringer Of Storms
Behold Judas
I, Monarch
Catacombs (YES, DON'T EVER STOP PLAYING IT, ERIK!)
Fury Within
To Know Our Enemies/The Obscure Terror (I don't remember which!)
The King Of All Kings

I think I am older than every member of Born of Osiris. Seriously, I doubt any of them are above 21. It was funny. I knew I wasn't going to like them, but they were a lot less bad than I thought they'd be. If they got rid of all the deathcore garbage and breakdowns, their twin guitar work could actually produce something listenable! Other than that, it was pretty much 50% breakdowns. Sometimes they'd add keyboards on top, but it really didn't do much. They have potential, but they need to get away from deathcore. Still, probably the best (or least worst) deathcore band I've seen. Miles ahead of Winds of Plague and Whitechapel. 5/10

Unearth. It was my third time seeing them, so I knew what to expect. And to make matters worse, I was smack dab right in front of their douchey guitarist. I knew I was going to get beer spit on me, have him thrust his crotch in my face and whatnot. But you know what I did? I decided to headbang and play along with Unearth for the sake of maybe he wouldn't do stuff to me. And you know what?

It was great.

I know, but they were SO much better than the two times I saw them before. In fact, the guitarist was one of the best parts! He faked out giving me a pick a couple times before he finally gave me one. I got another one and gave it to this kid behind me who was going nuts. Unearth was actually...*gulp*...good. I had a great time. I dunno if I'd pay money to see them headline just yet, but they might be getting there. 7.5/10

Unearth opens for good bands. I saw them open for Slayer, then Testament, and now the mighty Cannibal Corpse. Third time this year for me seeing them, and they are one of the funnest live metal bands ever. "Death Walking Terror" remains the heaviest song ever live and "Hammer Smashed Face" is just fantastic to hear. I headbanged so hard that I had to stop, lest I wanted to vomit on the security guards.

I wasn't on the same side as Alex Webster, but after a few songs, people started chanting his name. He laughed. In fact, Paul Mazurkiewicz got a chant too! And I finally did it: I yelled out "FUCK THE ALLIANCE!" and Corpsegrinder laughed and said "Of course!" No Skull Full of Maggots, but it was still fantastic. 9.5/10

Evisceration Plague
The Time To Kill Is Now
Death Walking Terror
I Cum Blood
Fucked With A Knife
Pit Of Zombies
The Wretched Spawn
Make Them Suffer
Vomit The Soul
Priests Of Sodom
Unleashing The Bloodthirsty
Hammer Smashed Face
Stripped Raped and Strangled

I actually inteded to see most of Hatebreed, at least until they played the Slayer cover, but I was dead. Headbanged harder than ever, except for the last time I saw Skeletonwitch. Great show. Lots of good surprises, and all the bands really delivered.

TONS of new shows!

Let's get right into it, then!

Dethklok + Mastodon w/ High On Fire, Converge
Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
October 12, 2009

Bane
Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS
October 14, 2009

Moonspell w/ Samael, Book of Black Earth, Secrets of the Moon
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
October 24, 2009

Hatebreed Feat. Cannibal Corpse w/ Unearth, Born of Osiris, Hate Eternal
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
November 22, 2009

Baroness
Riot Room - Kansas City, MO
November 28, 2009

Trivium w/ Chimaira, Whitechapel, Dirge Within
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
December 3, 2009

Megadeth w/ Suicide Silence, Warbringer, Arcanium
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
December 5, 2009

Marduk w/ Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Horde of Hel
Riot Room - Kansas City, MO
December 11, 2009

Nilw w/ Immolation, Krisiun, Abigail Williams, Dreaming Dead
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
January 24, 2010

Rockstar Mayhem Festival -- Kansas City, KS -- July 21st, 2009

Running very low on sleep, so I'll try and be as thorough as I can. I'm worn out.

There was a really, really long line when I got to Sandstone Amphitheater, but it actually moved very, very fast. I got in and browsed the kiosks until the first band started.

Whitechapel started the day off, but they were bad. No, they were pretty terrible. Actually, they were one of the worst metal bands I've seen live. Every Whitechapel song has 148 breakdowns in it. And they have THREE GUITARISTS. What? Are they the Iron Maiden of wigger-slam? A few songs had some good moments, but ultimately, they were terrible. 3/10

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. Possession
5. Vicer Exciser
6. Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation
7. ?
8. This Is Exile

After them was the Jaeger band, and for us it was Continent of Ash. I went and bought the Cannibal Corpse comic book and got in line to meet them, so I could just hear the band, but they sounded terrible as well. If I see them again, I'll review them for real.

Luckily, the Hot Topic booth was right in front of its' stage, so I got to see Behemoth. Unlike the night before where their sound was messing up, they absolutely slayed today. They know how to work a crowd and all their songs sounded spot-on perfect. Same set as the night before, however. 9/10

1. Slaves Shall Serve
2. At The Left Hand Ov God
3. Conquer All
4. Demigod
5. Ov Fire And The Void
6. Chant For Eschaton 2000

After meeting all the guys from Cannibal Corpse and getting their autographs, I saw God Forbid again. They changed up their set some from the night before. And they sounded better this time. The crowd seemed pretty into them. Still not great, but better than the night before. 6/10

1. Star Wars Intro/?
2. ?
3. Walk Alone
4. Broken Promise
5. To The Fallen Hero
6. The End Of The World

I hate myself for it, but I actually enjoy The Black Dahlia Murder live. They were better the night before in front of a smaller crowd because of all the stage divers, but their energy was still there. Everything up to the new song was good, but everything after it was really, really good. They do start to sound the same after a while, but they had a perfect set length so that it was awesome. 8/10

1. Tim And Eric Intro/?
2. Everything Went Black
3. Necropolis
4. A Vulgar Picture
5. Miasma
6. What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
7. Funeral Thirst

I have a lot of friends who are big fans of All That Remains, so I was eager to hear them for myself. While I really dig the song Six (because of Guitar Hero!) the rest of their stuff is just okay. The clean vocals sound like Linkin Park, to me, but the vocalist does really nice harsh vocals as well. They probably had the biggest crowd reaction of the 2nd stage all day. 7/10

1. ?
2. Chiron
3. Forever In Your Hands
4. Six
5. ?
6. Two Weeks

Job for a Cowboy was the 2nd to last band on the Hot Topic stage. I had higher than average hopes for them because I thought they'd change from a crappy deathcore band to a pseudo-respectable death metal band. Was I right? Eh, no. Not really. Their bass player isn't too much of a tool anymore and some of their songs sound better, but that's about it. The new stuff sounds very bad live, and they're still just a deathcore band. 4/10

1. Knee Deep
2. ?
3. Unfurling A Darkened Gospel
4. Constitutional Masturbation
5. Entombment of a Machine
6. Embedded

Never listened to Trivium before today. I heard that their newest album was good, that they're a metalcore band, and that they're a Metallica knock-off band. I just heard the metalcore side, today. It wasn't terrible: there were no breakdowns and some actually pretty good solos. But nothing special. They said they'd be back with a really good tour in the fall, so we'll have to see. 7/10

1. ?
2. ? (something from the first album)
3. Down From The Sky
4. Throes of Perdition (part of this was real good)
5. Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr

Cannibal Corpse. Still just as awesome as they were the night before. All newer stuff except for the excellent closer of Hammer Smashed Face and Stripped, Raped & Strangled. Awesome. 9/10

1. Evisceration Plague
2. The Time To Kill Is Now
3. I Cum Blood
4. Sentenced To Burn
5. Make Them Suffer
6. Priests Of Sodom
7. Hammer Smashed Face
8. Stripped, Raped, & Strangled

Now time for the mainstage. Well, that is after some nachos and a hot dog. I got to the lawn when Bullet For My Valentine were 2 songs into their set. They seemed alright, a lot better live than on album. The vocalist's accent is amusing to me, too. But overall, alright band. 7/10

1. ?
2. ?
3. Tears Don't Fall
4. Waking The Demon (I think)
5. Take It Out On Me
6. Scream, Aim, Fire

I don't really want to get into it here; I might write an "essay" or so later, but I can say this: Killswitch Engage is the worst band I have ever seen live, metal or not. The whole band is full of douchebags, what they play is killing "heavy music" and I feel sad to know that some people actually like them and will grow up thinking they are metal. They are worse than Annotations of an Autopsy, Panther and Cobra Starship. One point for one good solo during their horrendous Holy Diver cover. It's true: metalcore is the glam metal of the 2000's. It's all about trendy shit to get money. 1/10

1. My Last Serenade
2. ?
3. Rose of Sharyn
4. ?
5. ?
6. My Curse
7.?
8. Holy Diver

Is there something wrong with metal band's sound equipment these days or what? Behemoth the night before was bad, but what happened to the first half of Slayer's set was embarassing. Sometimes the guitars would be really loud, and then fade almost completely out. Sometimes the drums would be silent. Sometimes all the sound would cut out except for Tom's mic. It was extremely unprofessional and a lot of people were pissed off. It ruined many songs which should have been awesome (Chemical Warfare, Born Of Fire, etc.) Luckily, they fixed it halfway through, during Ghosts Of War, and Slayer kicked ass for the rest of the set. Nothing was their fault, they were awesome. 8.5/10

1. Darkness Of Christ/Disciple
2. War Ensemble
3. Jihad
4. Psychopathy Red
5. Born Of Fire
6. Mandatory Suicide
7. Chemical Warfare
8. Ghosts Of War
9. Dead Skin Mask
10. Hell Awaits
11. Angel Of Death
12. South Of Heaven
13. Raining Blood

I really hope Slayer comes back here and has a more competent person working the soundboard than whatever joker was tonight. All in all, though, the day was awesome. I can't wait to see who's on Mayhem Fest 3.

Thus concludes day 2 of 5 of my metal journey. Tomorrow is a day of rest, then it's off to Skeletonwitch! Stay tuned!

Cannibal Corpse -- Omaha, NE -- July 20th, 2009

I got lost on the way here. Not terribly lost, but Mapquest really needs to update their directions. I got to my hotel after sitting in traffic, in the rain, between 2 Semi's. Meh. The drive to Omaha actually isn't all that bad. It's a lot better than the drive out to Manhattan, KS. And the hotel I stayed at is literally 1 minute via car from the venue. Awesome.

I literally stepped in the door right as the Star Wars intro played. I got to my spot at the awesome Slowdown venue (for the Kansas fans: It's like the Granada, but 2x the size) and God Forbid took the stage. I think their set was very similar to the last time I saw them on the No Fear tour, but tihs time I thought they sounded better. Their sound was crisp and clean and there weren't really too many breakdowns. I wouldn't pay to see them headline, but I wouldn't mind having them open shows from now on. 6/10

Setlist:

0. Star Wars Intro
1. ???
2. War Of Attrition
3. Empire Of The Gun
4. Antihero
5. Broken Promise
6. The End Of The World

The place was most packed for Behemoth. Yep, they went on before Black Dahlia. Inferno checked the drums forever, and you could tell they were having problems. And it showed. The sound for Behemoth had a really annoying reverb through every song except Demigod and Nergal sometimes just called for his guitar to be cut completely until they fixed it. It even interfered with Chant for Eschaton (BLASPHEMY!!!). Piss-poor job on the venue's side, but Behemoth were still awesome. They put on a great show and the crowd chanted for more. 8/10

1. Slaves Shall Serve
2. At The Left Hand Ov God
3. Conquer All
4. Demigod (awesome)
5. Ov Fire And The Void
6. Chant For Eschaton 2000

A lot of people left the floor before The Black Dahlia Murder came on, but a lot of people also went to the floor. It's my third time seeing TBDM and I still think they're very enjoyable. This time, more than the others. Trevor, their vocalist, is still a goof and you can tell they absolutely love what they do. Lots and lots of crowd surfing and stage diving. 8.5/10

1. ?
2. I Worship Only What You Bleed
3. Everything Went Black
4. Necropolis (new)
5. Elder Misanthropy (really, really good)
6. A Vulgar Picture
7. Miasma
8. What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
9. Deathmask Divine
10. Funeral Thirst (I think)

Really, though. There's a reason why Cannibal Corpse is still around today, why they fill out shows wherever they go, and why they still rule. Because they do what they do and they do it good. Everyone who saw them tonight were in for a treat: Cannibal Corpse played 20 songs. 20 SONGS. Does Rush even play 20 songs anymore?! I heard stuff that I never thought I'd hear live, and I'm convinced that Hammer Smashed Face really is the greatest death metal song ever. At least live. I can't wait until they do a real headlining tour for Evisceration Plague. 9.5/10

1. Evisceration Plague
2. The Time To Kill Is Now
3. Disfigured
4. Death Walking Terror (Heaviest live song ever)
5. I Cum Blood
6. Fucked With A Knife
7. Sentenced To Burn
8. Evidence In The Furnace
9. The Wretched Spawn
10. Perverse Suffering
11. Scalding Hail
12. Make Them Suffer
13. Pit Of Zombies
14. Shatter Their Bones
15. Vomit The Soul
16. Priests Of Sodom
17. Unleashing The Bloodthirsty
18. A Skull Full of Maggots
19. Hammer Smashed Face
20. Stripped, Raped, and Strangled

Thus concludes show 1 of my 4 show metal journey. Gonna wake up in 7 hours, drive 3 hours back to KS and do it all again at Rockstar Mayhem tomorrow.

Not going to Mayhem Fest? (part 2)

Then book it up to Omaha, NE the day before! 07/20

At The Slowdown will be

Cannibal Corpse
Behemoth
The Black Dahlia Murder
God Forbid

Or, if you're extra brutal, go to this AND Mayhem Fest!

Rockstar Mayhem 2009 FULL DETAILS

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113229

Main Stage:

SLAYER
MARILYN MANSON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

Hot Topic Stage:

WHITECHAPEL
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
JOB FOR A COWBOY
BEHEMOTH
CANNIBAL CORPSE

Jägermeister Stage:

GOD FORBID
ALL THAT REMAINS
TRIVIUM

Those last two stages are obviously backwards.

July 21st - Kansas City, MO (probably at Sandstone)

SSSSSSLLLLLLLAAAAAYYYYYYYEEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!

Rockstar Mayhem 2009 Rumor?

I've heard rumors that for next years Rockstar Mayhem, the main stage will be co-headlined by Marilyn Manson/Slayer. And also Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth will each headline a side stage.

If this is true, count me in for an excellent concert experience.

I'll just have to leave before Marilyn Manson.