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!

Lamb Of God -- Kansas City, MO -- April 29th, 2009

True metal police, just go ahead and ignore this review. Also, I didn't bother taking down sets because I seriously doubt they've changed over the other dates, so I'll be using those sets.

After standing in rain for almost an hour, I got into the venue which quickly filled to capacity. And we were in for a treat!

God Forbid was the first band to play and got a huge reaction. To be honest, there were some parts of their songs that were pretty good; had some good guitar solos too. But it relied way too much on the metalcore sound. The crowd ate it up, however. Pretty entertaining and loud.

Star Wars Intro
Antihero
War of Attrition
Empire of the Gun
End of the World
Force-Fed

The band I came to see, Municipal Waste, was up next. They were plagued with a weak sound, maybe in part because they were the only band on the bill tonight with only one guitarist? And the crowd was extremely unresponsive until about 3 songs in when Tony started joking around with the crowd. By the end of the set we got a pretty good circle pit going. Municipal Waste is thrash as hell, naysayers be damned. They were great, but they should get on a tour that would attract people that actually want to see them. I really, really look forward to them again. Great fun.

1.Sadistic Magician
2.The Thrashin Of The Christ
3.Headbanger Face Rip
4.(New Song)?
5.Mind Eraser
6.Terror Shark
7.Beer Pressure
8.Unleash The Bastards
9.Bangover

When I saw Children of Bodom back in September, they really surprised me by how much energy they had. That, and their goofy songs, made for one helluva show. However, Alexi Laiho was very stagnant and barely even moved away from the mic. Apparently four days ago, he fell off his bunk and broke his shoulder. He's been playing the shows since with a broken shoulder! :light: That gives Alexi a pass for maybe flubbing some of the solos (which were still excellent by the way), but the sound mix for Bodom was horrid from where i was standing. Everything was muddled into eachother. By the time it seemed to fix itself, it was the lats song for them. An off night for Bodom. Good, but could've been a lot better. Gotta give props to Alexi, though.

1.Silent Night, Bodom Night
2.Hate Me!
3.Hellhounds On My Trail
4.Living Dead Beat
5.Angels Don't Kill
6.Bodom Beach Terror
7.In Your Face
8.Blooddrunk
9.Downfall

Now, this is where the true metal police would beat me. One of the best bands tonight was As I Lay Dying. Yes, you heard that right. They are metalcore, but they also add in elements of thrash and death and the vocalist isn't half-bad. They play kind of that old-school metalcore that actually uses breakdowns well (weird, right?) and they were by far the most energetic band of the night. Really good, and I'd like to see them again.

Separation
Through Struggle
Nothing Left
Forever
An Ocean Between Us
Empty Hearts
Within Destruction
Meaning In Tragedy
The Sound Of Truth
94 Hours
Confined

Lamb Of God got the hugest reaction of the night. The crowd loved them, and as much as I hate to say it, they are more than likely my generation's biggest metal band. In a few years, I wouldn't doubt they'll be headlining arena tours. Some of their songs had great hooks that really stuck with you (Set To Fail, Laid To Rest) but some of them just felt really same-y. The aggression with which the songs were fired, though, made up for it. Very impressive.

(The Passing)
In Your Words
Set to Fail
Walk with Me in Hell
Hourglass
Now You've Got Something to Die For
Ruin
Dead Seeds
Blacken the Cursed Sun
-Mark Morton solo-
Grace
Broken Hands
Laid to Rest
Contractor

-encore-

Reclamation
Redneck
Black Label


Overall, I'm really glad I went. All good bands.

Ratings (oh jeeze)

God Forbid - 7/10
Municipal Waste - 9/10
Children Of Bodom - 7.5/10
As I Lay Dying - 8.5/10
Lamb Of God - 8/10

Upcoming Concerts: Lamb Of God

A pretty decent tour is coming through Kansas City.

Lamb Of God
As I Lay Dying
Children Of Bodom
God Forbid
Municipal Waste

Lamb Of God was here for Ozzfest 2007, Bodom was here back in October (and was phenomenal) and God Forbid was supposed to be here with Iced Earth, but dropped. Aside from AILD, this tour should be pretty good.

MUNICIPAL WASTE!