It was a cold and dreary Monday night in Omaha, Nebraska. The winter wind was moving in steadily and the air had the sharp bite of cold things to come. I got to the show a little early to scope things out and was pleasantly surprised at the group of anxious metalheads already waiting there. Between The Black Dahlia Murder and Suffocation, this lineup was already super heavy and had a strong draw, especially for a Monday in Omaha, when even the best shows have been known to bomb. Right before the show started, I was informed that Decrepit Birth had dropped off the bill due to their guitarist, Matt’s pre-existing medical condition worsening. The disappointment was almost palpable, but everyone was hoping for the best for Matt and the rest of the band. I look forward to the day I get to see them live.

Wormwood kicked off the night on a great note. Despite being deathly sick, the band brought everything they had to their performance. The crowd had really started to fill in and a small mosh pit began to form. Since Decrepit Birth was no longer playing, they had some extra time to squeeze in a few extra songs. The sound at The Slowdown is always top notch and the band sounded fantastic.

Necrot was another new one for me and again, all expectations were surpassed. The crowd ate the music up and an even bigger pit erupted. As the energy in the room began to build, the band began to really heat up. By the end of the set, most of the crowd was moving, which is not a common sight around here. I was thoroughly impressed with both Necrot and Wormwood. Both bands earned a host of new fans that day.

Death metal legends, Suffocation, was up next. I heard stories all night before the set about how good the band was live, but I was wholly unprepared. From the moment they started, the brutality was absolutely crushing. The entire lower area opened up into a vicious pit, where I caught a shoulder in the eye socket, earning my first black eye ever from a metal show. It wasn’t anything impressive, but a nice, small black ring had appeared by the end of the night. They played a great mix of tracks from “…Of The Dark Light” and a wide variety off their older material. Easily one of the heaviest sets I’ve personally ever seen, earning Suffocation a place on my list of favorite live bands.

Also on that list of favorites, is The Black Dahlia Murder. I’d been lucky enough to catch them on their 10 year anniversary tour of ‘Unhallowed’ and was blown away so my expectations were pretty high here. Thankfully, I was not let down. It has been a long time since I’ve seen Omaha mosh like they did this night. The energy was through the roof and the band was riding the high. Every track was studio perfect and sounded incredible. They played a great mix of material, including some ‘Unhallowed’ material, which made me a very happy fan.

All in all, this tour fucking rules. Every single band crushed their set and absolutely blew me away. Obviously it was a bummer not seeing Decrepit Birth, but given the circumstances, everyone completely understood. As I understand it, The Zenith Passage will be taking over for Decrepit to finish out the tour, so if you get a chance to catch this tour, definitely take it.