Several months had been leading up to this moment, many hours being glued to live YouTube clips tried to prepare me for the onslaught that was about to occur. Rarely on a tour are every single band playing a can’t miss act, but the ones at this show in particular was that rare occasion. Co-headliners of tech-death beasts Origin and inferno fueled death metal heroes Hate Eternal brought out old school death metallers Vital Remains and new generation tech-death masters Abysmal Dawn to leave a wake of destruction in their path. And all that build off was paid off on this eventful night.
First up was California’s own Abysmal Dawn, playing to a slowly growing crowd that was eagerly anticipating the night’s events. Playing songs off their breakthrough album 2008’s Programmed to Consume as well as their latest effort Leveling the Plane of Existence, each song seemed heavier than the last. One of the first things that I noticed was how incredibly heavy the drums sounded. I don’t know if it was just the sound guy was a drummer and wanted that to be prevalent, but their sound was so encompassing that half the crowd was entranced and the other half was swirling in a pit of destruction. It was the perfect start to the evening.
Next was Vital Remains, a band that has been around since 1988 and plays death metal like they are still stuck in that decade. Coming out onstage to dark lights and ominous music, everyone knew they were about to witness something completely amazing. The band had an incredible stage presence and knew exactly how to work the crowd into a ravenous frenzy. They played such blasphemous hits as “Hammer Down The Nails,” “Unleashed Hell,” and of course “Dechristianize”, their set was tight with the band simply playing song after song after song. The crowd was so worked up that people were crowd surfing, stage diving, and circle pitting non-stop. It was one of the most energetic sets that I had seen in a long time…but it was only the beginning!
First up for the two rotating headliners was the mighty Hate Eternal! Even though they are only a three piece their sound, stage presence, and energy was so strong that they seemed like six members on stage. Erik Rutan is a beast on stage, his vocals and guitar playing are unmatched which from the beginning set a precedent of brutality that grew more intense as the set went on. They played tracks off I, Monarch, Fury and Flames, and their newest effort Phoenix Amongst the Ashes, which is an absolute brute of an album. So ravenous was their playing that the crowd continued to surf and stage dive throughout the whole set. The band was obviously worked up as well as seen when a member of the crowd threw a bottle on stage Rutan threw his guitar down, stormed over to the guy and threw him down. The crowd erupted when Rutan screamed louder than ever before showing who the boss was. After that the crowd blew up even more and the band upped the ante playing wise as well. This was definitely one of the most powerful sets I have ever witnessed.
Having the unenviable task of following up that brutal set was Origin, the other headliner of the night. The crowd was visibly worn out from Hate Eternal’s set, with just a few people moshing during the first couple songs. The band was not going to let that happen, they were not going to let the crowd stand still. After a couple songs, the energy of the crowd began picking up and that fueled the band as well. Playing what seemed like the entire Antithesis album as well as songs off their newest record Entity and Echoes of Decimation, their set was incredible tight. Fret board gymnastics were being displayed in such a way that it was difficult to mosh around because of the frenetic playing. However the band’s new lead singer was moving from side to side throughout the whole set keeping the energy up both on and off stage. This was shown by the encore when he invited the entire crowd onstage to form a pit with the band themselves! However it got too brutal and cut the sound off and forced the end of the set. It was definitely not easy to headline over all those acts but each band seemed to up the energy from the previous band culminating in one incredible night. This one definitely will go down as one of the most entertaining shows I have ever been to!
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