November 25th, 2017 was a day I had been looking forward to for quite some time. I was even more ecstatic that I was getting to photograph the show. I may not be the biggest fan, but I’ve been a Cannibal Corpse fan since 1990 when I bought their debut album, ‘Eaten Back To Life’. Cannibal Corpse then left a lasting impression on me when they appeared in the movie ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ – easily my favorite scene in that film. I have never seen Cannibal Corpse live in concert before, but I view them as royalty of the death metal genre. And their concert at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, Michigan showed why they are the kings of death metal.
With a line stretched out around the block full of dudes and ladies not wearing their coats on a cold evening, I knew this would be an intense show. The venue filled up quickly and the crowd was ready to get rowdy as burst of guttural yells from crowd members roared out, leading to other people to roar out. You could feel a tribal bond going on amongst the crowd.
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The lights dimmed and Gatecreeper took the stage. This group out of Arizona brought the heat to Michigan and had the place warmed up in no time as they pummeled the auditory senses of the crowd with heavy beats and riffing guitars. A hole in the middle of the floor near the front of the stage opened as moshing erupting. The metalheads were getting their feeding of that intense, crunchy, in-your-face music. The night was off to a great start.
Keeping the action moving along was Power Trip, this five-member group out of Texas, rocks. A heavy dose of thrash, the speed metal was aplenty from these guys. The energy from lead singer Riley Gale was infectious with his boundless exuberance as he jumped many times into the air and got down onto the barricade to get in front of the crowd and rock out on the mic. The band played with tight precision with riffing guitars and rumbling drum and bass beats. Power Trip had the moshers stomping along.
One more intermission to give the crowd a breather before the headliners took the stage. Once the lights went down, the excitement level went up and cheers sounded as members of Cannibal Corpse stepped out on stage. I was in awe at finally seeing these guys with my own eyes. I could feel the smile on my face. Lead singer George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher turned towards the audience, and quickly the annihilation took place as he and the rest of the band kicked off their set with new material from their latest album ‘Red Before Black’ – “Code of the Slashers” and then increasing the intensity on the next song, “Only One Will Die”.
Seeing the crowd mosh was a sight unto itself. Cannibal Corpse is an intense band, Fisher has great command of the guttural vocals as shred masters, Rob Barrett, Pat O’Brien and Alex Webster on guitars and bass and master of pummelage on drums Paul Mazurkiewicz led the charge that could start and end battles.
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With several new songs having been played, Fisher asked the crowd if they wanted to hear some old school stuff. A smattering of roars sounded out, and Fisher quickly got everyone’s attention saying to get off their phone or stop playing with their little pecker and pay attention. Fisher stated “you’ve gotta be pissed off at something in your life, give me a yell”, to which a cathartic roar from the crowd erupted. It’s amazing how such a simple thing like yelling out at the top of your lungs can be healing. Many Cannibal Corpse hits were played, “I Cum Blood”, “Make Them Suffer” and “Evisceration Plague” were just a few. The crème de le crème though was when they finished the night with ”Hammer Smashed Face”. I love Webster’s bass line early into the song and if you ever get a chance, check out Webster’s playing of the bass guitar, his fingers dance so frenetically, a sight to behold.
After nearly 30 years in existence, the hair-twirling isn’t as prevalent by the guitarists, but Cannibal Corpse reigns supreme and Fisher can headbang like a mad man. Mere mortals would suffer brain trauma if they tried head banging like Fisher. The music these guys put out is brutal but expertly executed. It’s not often I see a mosh pit go on from start to finish. However, from the first song the first band played to the last song the last band played, it was a testament to how well the bands connected with the fans. This was an intense and great night of rock and roll. Make sure you see this tour or any of these bands for some therapy by death metal. Rock On!
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