The Chasm in Omaha: July 9, 2019

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to see The Chasm in concert, along with a few other bands.  The show was at The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues.  The show included a couple of Nebraska local bands and a couple of other groups.  I will get to all of them.

ORPHEUS

The first group out of the gate was the Nebraska native group Orpheus.  This was not my first time seeing them as they were one of the groups that was opening for Goatwhore awhile back, so I knew what to expect.  I liked them quite a bit, they were loud, fast and aggressive, and it appears they have been improving with time.  Nothing really stood out, but they did a great job setting the tone for the evening.

EZRA

Ezra is still kicking after all these years.  The band has been around since the early 1990's and have undergone a number of sound changes over the years.  The Ezra that appeared last night seemed different than the Ezra I have seen on previous occasions.  The music was more raw and primal, and heavier.  Also, I don't recall but it seems like the last couple times I saw Ezra there were only three members.  They may have added a guitarist.  They sounded terrific last night, probably their best performance of the times I have seen them.

INFERNAL CONJURATION

Now we get into the primary bands, not to infer anything bad about the Nebraska groups.  I had not previously heard of either Infernal Conjuration or the next band and I have seen both of the Nebraska groups before.  Infernal Conjuration is a death metal band from Mexico and they blew me away.  They were fantastic.  Obviously influenced by The Chasm, Infernal Conjuration uses progressive structures and riffs upon riffs upon riffs.  They were extremely impressive.  I picked up a record, so look out for a review on that at some point.

CRUCIAMENTUM

Despite the name, Cruciamentum is the only of the three touring bands that is not from Mexico.  Cruciamentum is a UK death metal band.  They were the most straight-forward death metal band of the night, but they were crushingly loud and extremely intense.  They played a long set, but had great riffs and were also very impressive.  I ordered an album when I got home that night, since the band did not have anything in my preferred format.

THE CHASM

Finally, we get to the headliners.  I have always been more of a fan of Daniel Corchado's previous band Cenotaph a little more, but I do definitely enjoy The Chasm as well.  I thought I knew what to expect from The Chasm, but they absolutely blew me away.  They were amazing.  They played some of their more straightforward stuff without a lot of the real progressive structures.  Daniel Corchado sounded great and the riffs were crushing.  They played one or two instrumentals and The Chasm is a band that can really do instrumental music well.  I met Corchado briefly after the show and thanked him for the terrific concert.  He seems like a genuinely nice guy and was just happy that people turned out for the show.

Exodus in Omaha: September 11, 2017

A few weeks back I talked about Bucket List Bands, bands I would love to see live some day.  That particular conversation was about Iron Maiden, which was definitely a band that qualified.  I went about formulating a list, and one of these days I will share it.  But one of the bands that made it onto the list was Exodus.  Now, I am not a massive fan of Exodus's entire catalog, but I have previously said that I believe that Bonded by Blood is one of, if not the, greatest thrash metal albums of all time.  On Monday night, Exodus came to Omaha, and my wife and I made the trip to see them.

The show was at the Slowdown, a fairly new venue, at least it appears that way.  It was a very nice venue and I hope to see more shows there.  Opening up for Exodus were a couple of local bands, one of which I have previously seen and the other of which I have heard before.

We were a little bit late, but did not miss much.  Orpheus was already on the stage when I walked in, while my wife decided to go for some ice cream.  I saw Orpheus as one of the opening bands at the Goatwhore concert a few months back.  I was pretty impressed with their brand of death/thrash metal at the time.  I was even more impressed this time.  Their music was fast and brutally intense and they were the biggest surprise of the night.

Narcotic Self is a Nebraska band that is reasonably well-known.  I would argue that they have the feel of a band that is right on the cusp of making a big name for themselves.  On their most recent album, they managed to secure the guest vocals of Soilwork's Bjorn "Speed" Strid.  And their brutal thrash metal sound is damn impressive as well.  They also have a very strong stage presence and really got the crowd into their set.  This band could be going places.

Exodus was next to the stage and they played a blistering set that covered much of their history.  Bonded by Blood was well-represented, as it should have been.  The band also played select songs from their most recent album (which I love) and the Atrocity Exhibit albums (which are not as impressive).  The band sounded like a band half their age.  There was a ton of energy and enthusiasm and some damn impressive riffwork.  Steve "Zetro" Souza sounded great as he screeched out his vocals and he kept the crowd involved, though some people got a little too into it.  One person had to be escorted out after getting into a fight in the pit.  "The Toxic Waltz" was a particular crowd favorite and really had the pit moving.  Overall, Exodus was terrific.  They were well worth the wait, though I am not sure my wife agreed.