Cannibal Corpse
with Skeletonwitch and 1349
April 28, 2010
Opera House
Cannibal Corpse drew a pilgrimage of diehard metal fans at the Opera House stop of their Evisceration Plague Tour Wednesday night. Skeletonwitch from Athens, Ohio opened the bill to a diverse crowd of cretins sporting everything from original Death t-shirts and knee high shitkickers, to black and white zombie makeup and the odd street punk rat-tail. “Alright, let’s see an old school circle pit” Skeletonwitch front man Chance Garnett summoned during the double bass backed breakdown of “Repulsive Salvation” with a rotating outstretched arm toward the pit, fairly tightly packed for an opener. Rightly, though, because Skeletonwitch’s thrashy half hour performance was like a travelling edition of Headbanger’s Ball. Chance circling around the stage and chugging beers like a possessed ring leader, and N8 Feet Under and Scunty D. funneling out continuous guitar riffs in front of bull skull-and-horns on their amps. Skeletonwitch got all the corpse-grinder lovers partying with “Stand, Fight, and Die” off their newest record Breathing The Fire, which induced propellerish hair swirls from Chance and hundreds of devil horned arms from the pit. The house party atmosphere reigned on with Chance’s pre-song wisecracks of “Smoke weed Toronto” and “We got any beer drinkers out there?” met with yells and whistles from the crowd. Ripping versions of “Crushed Beyond Dust” also off Breathing The Fire and “Beyond The Permafrost” off the 2007 record of the same name got plastic beer cups flying as fans danced to their favourites. The ravenous double guitar harmony of “Within My Blood” off their first album At One With The Shadows ended the energetic set, Chance at centre stage with devil horns extended high overhead. “Drink beer, smoke weed, and for the love of God, eat some fucking pussy” he lastly demanded in his demonic metal hiss, and the beer chugging party was over.
By the end of Skeletonwitch’s set there were double the people roaming around the Opera House in anticipation of black-metal heavyweights 1349. I skittered upstairs to the Opera House balcony to find some breathing room, where I scored an impeccable view of the stage. A floor rattling cheer erupted as the house darkened and reverberating thunder noises echoed around, and someone on the balcony sparked up a skunky joint. Clouds of dry ice fogged up the stage as 1349 laid down their first track which drew more attentiveness than moshing from the crowd below. Vocalist Ravn was in full black-metal garb with spiky forearm bondage gear and mid-thigh warrior boots, bassist Seidemann lurked around in a black wizard cloak, and all four 1349 guys were sporting black and white face makeup. Touring guitarist Sechtdamon outstretched a grappling talon toward the crowd before “When I Was Flesh” off this year’s Demonoir which fractured the continually used inter-song storm sound samples allowing the band to catch their breath. The lightning fast snare buzz-blasts of “I Am Abomination” off 2005’s Hellfire finally got about fifteen to twenty pitmen thrashing hard, and Ravn slowly sauntered around the stage like a cocky, satanic Mick Jagger. “Sculptor Of Flesh” opened up the pit some more, and “Atomic Chapel” got all three frontmen and several crowd members head banging hard for the end of the forty minute set.
The now amply warmed up crowd cheered as a massive banner reading Cannibal Corpse in dripping blood red letters elevated behind the drum kit. Corpsegrinder opened with a four song inferno that saw the sardine-can-like dance floor break out into a chaotic slam pit - arms, legs, and beer cups jetting out from every direction. “You guys are fuckin’ rowdy tonight, let’s keep it goin’,” singer George Fisher said before introducing “The Wretched Spawn” with a growl, triggering an eruption of cheers. A punching rendition of “I Will Kill You” led to the band’s first of many breath-catcher breaks, during which Fisher, dressed simply in a black t-shirt and cargo-pants tucked into mid-shin combat boots, raised and lowered cheers from the crowd with orchestra conductor arms.
“Don’t make me vertically destroy you, ‘cause it’s quite obvious I can kick your head in” Fisher said before the title track of Corpse‘s latest album Evisceration Plague, laying out his violent, vengeful rhetoric for the set. He was largely concerned with keeping up pit energy, introducing other songs with “This is for anyone giving you shit,” “I wanna see a fuckin’ circle pit for this one,” and “This is Cannibal Corpse’s time, so if you see anybody on the outside playing with their pecker, pull them in and start slammin’.” A mid-set execution of “Death Walking Terror” off 2006 album Kill got everyone grooving with its slower-tempo head banging opportunities and thunderous tom drum fills beat out by original Corpse-ster Paul Mazurkiewicz.
Then came the first song ever played by Cannibal Corpse, “Splattered Brains, Scattered Remains,” one of many old school offerings for the first wave Corpse diehards represented by original 90s tour shirts. “Pit Of Zombies” off 2002’s Gore Obsessed brought the show back to current era and got the pit swaying from wall to wall in crashing waves of people. Original Corpse bassist Alex Webster approached the stage monitors afterward to give a frown-mouthed nod and air-props of approval to the adoring fans. Next was a wicked rendition of “Make Them Suffer,” during which Fisher pointed at all corners of the Opera House, considerately pulling all into the song’s sentiment. “This goes out to everyone in the pit. And for those not in it, buy them a beer or a shot later, or I’ll kill you myself,” he then threatened before another old school offering of “A Skull Full Of Maggots” from first Corpse album, 1990’s Eaten Back To Life. Thrashing drums rolled out from the stage while Fisher once again conducted the crowd for the hair raising “Maggots” chants . Fisher growled “Keep supporting death metal” before sending off the insanely long hour and twenty minute set with “Hammer Smashed Face,” which no doubt got the most erupting response from the crowd, notably during the bass fill from Webster somewhat answering the crowd’s previously unanswered calls for a bass solo. The Corpse was tight, and needless to say, my ears were bleeding when I left the Opera House.
April 28, 2010
Opera House
Cannibal Corpse drew a pilgrimage of diehard metal fans at the Opera House stop of their Evisceration Plague Tour Wednesday night. Skeletonwitch from Athens, Ohio opened the bill to a diverse crowd of cretins sporting everything from original Death t-shirts and knee high shitkickers, to black and white zombie makeup and the odd street punk rat-tail. “Alright, let’s see an old school circle pit” Skeletonwitch front man Chance Garnett summoned during the double bass backed breakdown of “Repulsive Salvation” with a rotating outstretched arm toward the pit, fairly tightly packed for an opener. Rightly, though, because Skeletonwitch’s thrashy half hour performance was like a travelling edition of Headbanger’s Ball. Chance circling around the stage and chugging beers like a possessed ring leader, and N8 Feet Under and Scunty D. funneling out continuous guitar riffs in front of bull skull-and-horns on their amps. Skeletonwitch got all the corpse-grinder lovers partying with “Stand, Fight, and Die” off their newest record Breathing The Fire, which induced propellerish hair swirls from Chance and hundreds of devil horned arms from the pit. The house party atmosphere reigned on with Chance’s pre-song wisecracks of “Smoke weed Toronto” and “We got any beer drinkers out there?” met with yells and whistles from the crowd. Ripping versions of “Crushed Beyond Dust” also off Breathing The Fire and “Beyond The Permafrost” off the 2007 record of the same name got plastic beer cups flying as fans danced to their favourites. The ravenous double guitar harmony of “Within My Blood” off their first album At One With The Shadows ended the energetic set, Chance at centre stage with devil horns extended high overhead. “Drink beer, smoke weed, and for the love of God, eat some fucking pussy” he lastly demanded in his demonic metal hiss, and the beer chugging party was over.
By the end of Skeletonwitch’s set there were double the people roaming around the Opera House in anticipation of black-metal heavyweights 1349. I skittered upstairs to the Opera House balcony to find some breathing room, where I scored an impeccable view of the stage. A floor rattling cheer erupted as the house darkened and reverberating thunder noises echoed around, and someone on the balcony sparked up a skunky joint. Clouds of dry ice fogged up the stage as 1349 laid down their first track which drew more attentiveness than moshing from the crowd below. Vocalist Ravn was in full black-metal garb with spiky forearm bondage gear and mid-thigh warrior boots, bassist Seidemann lurked around in a black wizard cloak, and all four 1349 guys were sporting black and white face makeup. Touring guitarist Sechtdamon outstretched a grappling talon toward the crowd before “When I Was Flesh” off this year’s Demonoir which fractured the continually used inter-song storm sound samples allowing the band to catch their breath. The lightning fast snare buzz-blasts of “I Am Abomination” off 2005’s Hellfire finally got about fifteen to twenty pitmen thrashing hard, and Ravn slowly sauntered around the stage like a cocky, satanic Mick Jagger. “Sculptor Of Flesh” opened up the pit some more, and “Atomic Chapel” got all three frontmen and several crowd members head banging hard for the end of the forty minute set.
The now amply warmed up crowd cheered as a massive banner reading Cannibal Corpse in dripping blood red letters elevated behind the drum kit. Corpsegrinder opened with a four song inferno that saw the sardine-can-like dance floor break out into a chaotic slam pit - arms, legs, and beer cups jetting out from every direction. “You guys are fuckin’ rowdy tonight, let’s keep it goin’,” singer George Fisher said before introducing “The Wretched Spawn” with a growl, triggering an eruption of cheers. A punching rendition of “I Will Kill You” led to the band’s first of many breath-catcher breaks, during which Fisher, dressed simply in a black t-shirt and cargo-pants tucked into mid-shin combat boots, raised and lowered cheers from the crowd with orchestra conductor arms.
“Don’t make me vertically destroy you, ‘cause it’s quite obvious I can kick your head in” Fisher said before the title track of Corpse‘s latest album Evisceration Plague, laying out his violent, vengeful rhetoric for the set. He was largely concerned with keeping up pit energy, introducing other songs with “This is for anyone giving you shit,” “I wanna see a fuckin’ circle pit for this one,” and “This is Cannibal Corpse’s time, so if you see anybody on the outside playing with their pecker, pull them in and start slammin’.” A mid-set execution of “Death Walking Terror” off 2006 album Kill got everyone grooving with its slower-tempo head banging opportunities and thunderous tom drum fills beat out by original Corpse-ster Paul Mazurkiewicz.
Then came the first song ever played by Cannibal Corpse, “Splattered Brains, Scattered Remains,” one of many old school offerings for the first wave Corpse diehards represented by original 90s tour shirts. “Pit Of Zombies” off 2002’s Gore Obsessed brought the show back to current era and got the pit swaying from wall to wall in crashing waves of people. Original Corpse bassist Alex Webster approached the stage monitors afterward to give a frown-mouthed nod and air-props of approval to the adoring fans. Next was a wicked rendition of “Make Them Suffer,” during which Fisher pointed at all corners of the Opera House, considerately pulling all into the song’s sentiment. “This goes out to everyone in the pit. And for those not in it, buy them a beer or a shot later, or I’ll kill you myself,” he then threatened before another old school offering of “A Skull Full Of Maggots” from first Corpse album, 1990’s Eaten Back To Life. Thrashing drums rolled out from the stage while Fisher once again conducted the crowd for the hair raising “Maggots” chants . Fisher growled “Keep supporting death metal” before sending off the insanely long hour and twenty minute set with “Hammer Smashed Face,” which no doubt got the most erupting response from the crowd, notably during the bass fill from Webster somewhat answering the crowd’s previously unanswered calls for a bass solo. The Corpse was tight, and needless to say, my ears were bleeding when I left the Opera House.
Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine
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