Onslaught and Warlord in Lincoln: April 4

Last night I went to my hometown to see U.K. veteran thrashers Onslaught in concert.  Lately I have been going to any metal concerts around, just because they have been so rare lately.  Last year I only made it to one concert.  So, that means seeing bands that maybe aren't groups I would normally jump at.  The best example is the Savage Master show I saw a month ago.  Now, I do enjoy Onslaught quite a bit, but they are not a band I have listened to a ton.  That might change after this show.

The venue this time around was The Bourbon Theatre.  It is kind of a dive that used to be a movie theater.  It's not a venue I go to frequently, I think this might have been my fourth time there, but they do seem to be getting more and more good acts lately.

I missed the first band, a local group called Fahr, due to having dinner with my wife's family before the show.  So, the first band I saw was a group called Haunter out of California.  Haunter's sound is a mix between black metal and punk and reminded me of Devil Master.  They put on a decent show, and their drummer in particular was really damn good.  I might be interested in checking something out by them, but they have yet to release a full-length, just a few EPs and a split.

Warlord was next to the stage and I did a little digging into their history, which is sort of all over the place.  Warlord has broken up and re-formed half a dozen times or so over the years, almost always with a new singer.  The music was hard-driving 80's metal with killer hooks and catchy choruses.  Their show was a bit longer than one would expect for a support act, especially one with a spotty discography and not much of a following.  They were pretty impressive, and I may have to check some of their stuff out.

Onslaught is another band with kind of an odd history.  They started out as a punk band, then altered their sound to a much more black/thrash metal sound.  They remain criminally underrated and overlooked considering how great their early stuff was, particularly The Force and Power from Hell.  Then they went in a progressive direction with Grim Reaper howler Steve Grimmett before breaking up.  Guitarist Nige Rockett and Power vocalist Sy Keeler brought the band back and released some more killer records since 2004.  

The show last night primarily focused on the early records, along with some songs since the reformation of the band, but was all pummeling thrash metal.  It was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.  I am definitely going to dive into this band a bit more.  I have those early records and, as much as I love them, I haven't listened to them too much.  That will have to change.  It was a hell of a show. 

Savage Master in Omaha: Feb. 20, 2026

Last week I returned to the Reverb Lounge in Omaha for Kentucky metallers Savage Master.  I am not super familiar with the band, but I do have one of their albums.  It was more about just getting to a concert again since things were so slow last year.

I was late to the show, so I missed the first two bands.  So, I apologize to Phuzz and Phantom Crypt, but I did not get to see those bands.  Ungoliant was the band on stage when I arrived and I have seen them several times now.  It is interesting how much they have improved since the first time I saw them a few years ago.  Nebraska does not have many great metal bands, but Ungoliant is making some big strides lately.  I need to pick up an album by them.  I have a small collection of albums by Nebraska bands, highlighted by Xenomorph, Cellador and Garoted.  

As I said, I was not real familiar with Savage Master other than the one album I have, which I do enjoy quite a bit.  When the singer of Ungoliant said that Savage Master was going to melt our faces off, I kind of chuckled, but holy hell did they put on a great show.  It was a lot more theatrical than I anticipated, not to say it was something like Ghost, but there were aspects of that.  Singer Stacey Savage did a couple of quick wardrobe changes throughout, usually a cape or a leather jacket, and utilized props on a few occasions.  Once she wielded a ritual dagger against the band members' throats.  Which brings me to the band members, all of whom were hooded and masked.  The massive bassist even wore a cape.  Savage Master ripped through their set, about ten songs, with almost no speaking to the crowd.  They just got up there and proceeded to melt the faces off the entire crowd.  It was one hell of a show.

Krisiun at The Reverb Lounge Sometime in November

I waited a very long time to make this post.  Well, waited is not the right word for it.  I have been pretty busy over the last several months.  As usual.  Anyway, that is the last concert I have attended, so I probably better get something out on it.  

Krisiun is a band I haven't spent a lot of time listening to.  I have a few of their albums, and I definitely enjoy them, but they are not a band I usually rush to pick up when a new album is released.  The support bands were Abysmal Dawn, Pyrexia and Gorgatron.  I am about as familiar with Abysmal Dawn and Pyrexia as I am with Krisiun.  Gorgatron was new to me.

Gorgatron is a death metal band out of North Dakota and one of their guitarists was previously in Omaha black metal band Ungoliant.  The drummer is also in Pyrexia, which explains how Gorgatron got on this bill in the first place.  They were a lot of fun live, their singer was very funny, and they seem like a bunch of guys who just love what they do.  That came across well in their set.  I will be seeking out something from them.

Pyrexia is a band I have been semi into for awhile, primarily due to their influence on the slam death metal subgenre.  Their music has always been more closely tied to the brutal death metal genre than slam, but their use of breakdowns helped foster the development of slam.  Their songs were all short and very brutal.  I picked up their new album from their merch stand.  

Up next was Abysmal Dawn, one of the more interesting pure modern death metal bands that have come about in the last quarter century.  It's kind of strange, but they have not released a new album since 2020.  So, it is kind of unusual that they were on the bill.  Maybe something is coming soon.  I was extremely impressed with their set though.  I will definitely have to dig back into some of their stuff again.

Finally, we came to the Brazilian death metal band Krisiun.  Brazil has an impressive history with metal music, starting with Sepultura and Sarcofago and spreading from there.  Krisiun fits in well with the earlier bands.  Their music is sharp and intense and they were firing on all cylinders this night.  

All told, this was a hell of a show.  Unfortunately, this is the only concert I attended all year.  Hopefully I will get to more this year.

Blood Incantation at The Waiting Room: Dec. 5, 2024

I have been listening to Blood Incantation for several years now.  Yes, I am going to pull one of those " I was listening to this band before they were cool".  I was, so there.  I have their 2016 debut album and even their 2015 EP Interdimensional Extinction.  I don't remember exactly why I got into them, I suspect I just came across those releases some time around 2017 or 2018.  I think I even turned Full Metal Attorney on to them when their second release dropped.  So yes, I have been into the band for a few years now, and now they are enjoying a lot of hype around their latest release.  But I had not seen them live, and I actually have yet to pick up their new release, Absolute Elsewhere.

The setting for this show was The Waiting Room, which is my favorite venue.  The show started late as there were just two acts performing.  I was a little later than I preferred and the show was absolutely packed.  I do not think I have ever been there when it was that full.  It was difficult to move around.  That is how much hype has been surrounding Blood Incantation.  This was also the last show of the tour, so merch was limited.  I did snag a t-shirt though that is a little outside my four dots (it is blue and tie-dyed).  

The opening act was a group called Midwife, a one-woman entity (with occasional support).  The best I can describe her music is shoegaze or indie pop.  The music was very soft with the singer's vocals performed in an almost whisper.  It was dreamlike and ethereal and seemed extremely out of place as the opening act for a death metal band (even if Blood Incantation is not really a typical death metal band).  The music was interesting, it just is not something I would typically listen to, but it was an enjoyable performance.

Blood Incantation took the stage and played their latest album in its entirety, and it was the first time I have heard the whole thing.  Their performance was extremely powerful and the dynamics of the album came through extremely well.  Blood Incantation has made waves by including prog-rock interludes in their music to the point that some have described them as Pink Floyd playing death metal.  It was an incredible live show of what sounds like an incredible album.  I need to track this thing down.  

Overkill at the Bourbon Theatre: November 12, 2024

I haven't forgotten about this blog, but my laptop in inoperable right now, so I don't have a computer at home, which is usually my best opportunity to write up albums.  

Anyway, a few days ago I saw Overkill, the venerable New Jersey thrash act, for the second time.  Now, there was a level of disappointment about this show.  See, Overkill is currently on a massive tour across the U.S. with none other than King Diamond, and supported by Myrkur and Night Demon.  They had just all played in Iowa the day before.  But for some reason, this show was just Overkill and three local bands.  I have no idea why this was not a part of the big tour, I certainly would have preferred it if it were.  At least it was not a super late night though.  I was out of there before 11.

The local bands were Fascinus Rex, Molten and Viscerous, all of them from either Lincoln or Omaha.  Unfortunately I missed Fascinus Rex because I was late getting going.  Molten and Viscerous were both extremely impressive though.  It was my first time seeing either band and I would absolutely be willing to see both acts again.  They are both relatively new bands, but carried themselves like veterans, rampaging through their sets and able to engage the crowd like seasoned road warriors.  I love the fact that Nebraska has been able to produce such high-quality metal bands, even if no one seems to be getting much widespread exposure.  

Overkill took the stage and played most of the tracks I would have expected them to, with a couple of surprises.  Now, the last time I saw them was back in 2012 and there are a couple new faces in the band, with former Fear Factory bassist Christian Olde Wolbers filling in for D.D. Verni and a new drummer in the band.  There was also only one guitarist present when the band usually has two.  Not sure what is happening there.  Despite the lineup flux, this was most definitely Overkill.  They played with the same snotty sneer and in-your-face aggression that the band has been known for for nearly 40 years now.  Even though Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth is retirement age, time has not softened his disposition.  They put on an electrifying show that covered almost every release in their long careers and proved why they have been the most consistent thrash metal band from the very beginning.  Overkill is still one of my favorite bands.

Skeletal Remains and More in Omaha: Oct. 15, 2024

It has been quite awhile since I have been to a concert.  I have missed a couple that I wanted to attend for various reasons (mostly work-related).  I only found out about this one after seeing a poster in a record store I just happened to venture into randomly in the middle of last week.  After resolving a potential trial scheduled for next week, I decided fuck it, I'm going.  The venue was the Reverb Lounge, a place I had never been before, but which appears to share some space with The Waiting Room (maybe?).  

Up first was a Des Moines, IA-based band called Traffic Death.  This was my first experience with this band.  They are definitely raw, but there is some undeniable talent there.  They kind of overdid it with the audio samples prior to songs, which kind of came off sounding clumsy, but there were some damn good riffs and they were pretty decent.

Witch Vomit was next and I have to say, they were probably the highlight of the night for me.  I have enjoyed the three releases I have picked up from them, but they really killed it live.  They were exactly as filthy and disgusting as one would hope from a death metal band.  I grabbed their newest album at the show because they were seriously impressive.  

North Dakota Lovecraftian death metal monsters Phobophilic hit the stage next.  I was not terribly familiar with them previously and they really only have one album out, which came out a couple years ago.  They were decent, but did not make a real strong impression on me.  I felt they were maybe trying too hard to be like Demilich.  I think they are well worth watching what they do in the future though.

Bewitcher was next and they probably stood out the most among the bands with their blackened speed metal attack that sounds lifted out of the early 1980's.  They seem to be enjoying something of a moment (as much as an underground metal band can) as the bar was completely packed during their set.  They absolutely shredded live and really livened things up.  They really got the small crowd moving throughout their set and did not let up on the throttle until they finished.

A lot of people left after Bewitcher, but those that stayed got quite the treat, because Skeletal Remains was fantastic.  Their sound is more rooted in the early days of death metal, back when there was not as much distinction between death metal and very heavy thrash metal.  So speed and precision in the riffs is the name of the game.  They performed a blistering set for about 40 minutes or so.  I was damn glad I stuck around, despite how late it was getting (I had an hour-and-a-half drive home).  All told, I was glad I decided to go.  I don't get to too many concerts anymore and I might have skipped this one had I not gotten that trial resolved.  

T-SHIRT WEARING: Molder

Cavalera in Omaha: Oct. 23, 2023

I never know quite what to call the band made up of Max and Iggor Cavalera in which they have re-recorded classic Sepultura material.  Some sources refer to them as Cavalera Conspiracy, but I was under the belief that was a different entity.  Cavalera?  Cavalera Brothers?  I have no idea.  I just know that their re-recordings have been fantastic and they are even better live.

So, in October of last year (and that is how far behind I am), they hit The Waiting Room in Omaha with the Morbid Devastation tour in which they were performing their renditions of the Morbid Visions and Bestial Devastation releases in their entirety.  They were joined on tour by disgraced surgical practitioners Exhumed and some band called Incite that I had never heard of before.  Since I was blown away by Cavalera's concert the year before, I decided to go.

Well, the less said about Incite the better.  Actually, let's see.  It's like if someone decided Vulgar-era Pantera was too high-brow in their lyrics and too complicated musically and decided to form a band.  That's good enough.

Exhumed was up next and this was at least the second time I have seen them.  Their gore-soaked, grinding brand of chaos was a welcome change from the paint-by-numbers groove from Incite.  They brought their usual sickening visuals to the stage as well.  Exhumed always puts on a damn good show.

That brought Cavalera to the stage.  I was somewhat concerned about what the Morbid Visions and Bestial Devastation re-recordings would sound like.  Part of the charm of those releases was how raw and desperate they sounded.  The band members were much younger and not as proficient on their instruments and were just making primal noise.  Somehow, the band managed to recapture that.  It obviously sounded much more rehearsed and professional, but the spirit of the releases was accomplished.  Which is to say they sound evil as fuck.  Live, they were even better.  The Cavalera brothers have somehow managed to reverse time and perform with the energy of people 30 years younger.  Cavalera continues to impress me live.

Recently, the band re-recorded Schizophrenia.  If they go on tour in support of it, I may have to check them out a third time.  The question is whether they will eventually re-record Chaos A.D. and Roots.  

Fleshgod Apocalypse Tour in Lincoln: Feb. 24, 2023

I am kicking around the idea of coming back.  At least part of the time.  I do not know if I will ever be able to post every day like I was, but I kind of miss this.  Anyway, I should at least catch up on some concerts that I have attended recently.  The less said about the Godsmack show, the better.  Would you believe my wife's sister's favorite band is Godsmack?  I was honestly shocked by that, I was not even aware they were still going because I tend not to listen to modern rock stations.  Then she also wanted to see Disturbed.  What the hell is happening?

Well, let's talk about something good.

Just prior to COVID hitting, I had planned to see Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse at The Royal Grove in Lincoln.  They were supposed to be playing with a four-piece string ensemble.  Then everything got fucked up due to the pandemic, the tour was cancelled and it was a long time before I got to see any concerts.  So last year, they announced they would go back out to make up for the lost tour.  They did not have the string quartet, but were accompanied by tech-death band Obscura along with Wolfheart and Thulcandra.

I got there a bit late, but did not miss any of the main bands.  I came in about partway through some local band who was pretty good, but because it has been so long since I saw them, I do not remember who they were.  Sorry.  Wolfheart was the first band I remember fully seeing.  Their sound is a bit like Wintersun-meets-Insomnium.  It's melodic and chilling, with a real cold sound to it.  Thulcandra was next and I was expecting to really be on board with their blackened thrash sound, but the sound production was not really there and there really was not anything memorable about them.  That was kind of disappointing.

Next up was the German band Obscura.  Now, I have talked at length previously about my feelings about technical death metal.  So much of it is so focused on the technicality of the riffs and time signature changes that it just sounds mechanical and soulless.  Obscura was a band that I enjoyed in the past, but not to a large degree.  That changed with this performance.  They blew me away.  Of particular note was the song "When Stars Collide" which is an extremely powerful track with some melody and clean vocals that send chills down the spine when they kick in.  I bought the record.  I had to.

Finally, Fleshgod Apocalypse took the stage.  For those that have not seen them, they generally in vaguely 19th-Century dress with a lot of theatricality.  It works with the symphonic elements permeating the rather more brutal death metal foundation of their sound.  They played most of the songs I expected, the "hits", if one were to believe that an underground metal band had them.  While the majority of the symphonic elements were not replicated live, they still fit in with the music flawlessly.  I would have liked to have seen the band backed by the string quartet, but they managed to put on a fantastic show regardless.  

Hulder and Skeleton in Lincoln - July 12, 2022

I went back and forth on whether I would be going to this one.  Things have been crazy busy at work and the day of the concert, I was scheduled for a long day.  The other issue was that when I first heard about this concert, I was under the impression that Devil Master would also be on the bill.  Devil Master released the amazing album Satan Spits on Children of Light in 2019, which was a top five album for me that year.  They also released another great one earlier this year.  But upon further examination of the tour, I realized that Devil Master would not be at the show in Lincoln.  So, it was just Skeleton, a band I had not yet heard, and Hulder.  I do enjoy Hulder quite a bit though, so I decided to go after I got done in court a bit earlier than expected.

The venue was the 1867 Bar in Lincoln, which is located downtown.  I had never even heard of that bar before.  It is a fairly small venue, with a small bar area and a larger room for concerts.  The stage, such as it was, was only a slightly elevated floor.  That promised a rather close and cozy show.

Opening the night were a pair of local metal bands that I have seen several times now.  First was Ungoliant.  This is the third time I think that I have seen Ungoliant.  They are always impressive and strike me as down-to-earth guys who just love to play at these shows.  They need to release something though.  Ezra was next.  This was the fourth time seeing Ezra, I think.  Ezra is sort of notable for being led by the brother of a former University of Nebraska football legend.  Ezra has been around for a very long time and mentioned that they were playing mostly songs from the mid 1990's.  Both bands were impressive for local bands. 

Skeleton was on stage next.  The power trio is from Austin, TX and, in something I do not see too often, their singer is their drummer.  As such, rhythm is very important to the band's sound.  Apparently the band started out as a punk band, before going in more of a black/death metal sound.  They were able to really get the crowd moving with their no frills, bludgeoning riffs.  The songs were all on the shorter side and got to the point quickly.  It was a raw and primal sound and damn, was it impressive.

Hulder was the headliner.  Hulder has been making noise in the metal underground for a few years now.  The one-woman black metal band from Portland, by way of Belgium, first caught my attention with a two-song EP in 2019.  Of course, being a solo project, a backing band had to accompany the band leader, who now goes by the name of Hulder.  The sound was primarily amped-up, aggressive black metal, complete with tremolo riffing and shrieking vocals.  Hulder has an extremely powerful voice and it hits hard in concert.

Hulder hit the stage and promptly bulldozed through an incredible set, then left.  There was no talking between songs, or even after the set.  Hulder came, Hulder saw, and Hulder conquered.  I was blown away by the set though and set to picking up the rest of the band's releases.  I was damn glad I decided to go to this one.

The Cavalera Brothers in Lincoln - June 8, 2022

It has been a long time since I have posted here.  There has not really been much to post.  This is the first concert I have been to since December, 2019.  Fucking pandemic.  I keep meaning to get around to doing top albums from the last couple years.  I need to figure out what those would be first.  And that will take some work, because I have been picking up a ton of albums during this time.

Anyway.  So, the concert.  I will get to the headliners in awhile.  The first band taking the stage was playing as I was getting there, so I did not see their whole set.  That band was local metal band Deadechoes.  Deadechoes started out as something of a nu-metal/groove metal band, but they have ditched most of that in exchange for a much more thrash-oriented sound.  They sounded damn impressive honestly, much better than they did on the album I have from the band.  Apparently it was the band's last show with their bassist.  I am not sure what that means for the future of the band.  It is always nice to see a local band at these shows.  Nebraska has some surprisingly good metal bands these days.

Healing Magic was next to the stage.  Their name really does not fit with the band's sound, which is a dark and aggressive form of stoner doom metal, with some rough vocals.  Healing Magic is fronted by Igor Cavalera Jr., oddly not Iggor Cavalera's son, but Max's.  I was fairly impressed by the band, much more than I was the couple times I have heard them on Liquid Metal.  I may even pick up an album one of these days.

Up next was Warbringer.  This is actually the third time I have seen Warbringer live.  The first time was when they were a young band supporting Overkill.  Oddly, I was wearing my Overkill t-shirt on Tuesday.  The second time was when they were supporting Dark Tranquillity about five years ago.  Warbringer always puts on a great show.  They are easily one of the better modern thrash metal bands and each of their albums absolutely rips.  Warbringer played a nice selection encompassing much of their history.  They were electrifying as usual.  

And finally, the Cavalera brothers took the stage.  Max and Iggor Cavalera were founding members of Sepultura, one of my absolute favorite bands.  Sepultura was my primary gateway into the more extreme styles of metal.  The band was making major waves in the mid 1990's after the release of the Roots album, but some internal strife among manager Gloria Cavalera (Max's wife) and the rest of the band split the group in two.  Max left, creating Soulfly, and the band brought in Derrick Green to take over vocals.  Iggor left in 2006 and the brothers reunited with Cavalera Conspiracy.  

I am not really sure what they were calling themselves on Tuesday night, but they were playing much of the albums Beneath the Remains and Arise, two of my personal favorite Sepultura albums.  I had to go, it was as close as I was ever going to get to see the band that was my gateway into extreme metal.  I saw Sepultura before, but neither Cavalera brother was still in the band at the time.  The band sounded great live.  These two albums are known for their ferocity, and that came through in the concert.  It was a great concert and as close as I will ever get to seeing the classic Sepultura, the one I grew up with.

Morbid Angel, Watain and Incantation in Omaha: December 6, 2019

This is likely the last concert of the year for me, and I saved one of the best ones for last.  Morbid Angel is headlining the USA Sickness tour with support from Watain and Incantation for some absolutely family-friendly, Christmas-themed mayhem.  That description may have been a bit facetious.  The venue was The Waiting Room.

INCANTATION

Incantation are pioneers in their own brand of murky, doom-laden, occult death metal.  And that style was on full display here as the band pulled from their impressive 30-year legacy.  They played a fairly short set, but it featured a number of the band's most well-known tracks, including "The Ibex Moon" and "Rites of the Locust".  Incantation proved equally adept at grinding, slow-paced, colossal riffs as faster-paced steamroller riffs.  

WATAIN

The Swedish black metal throwbacks had a rough start to the tour as guitarist Pelle Forsberg was forbidden from entering the U.S.  But Watain has risen above that and stole the show at the concert.  It helps that they were the most theatrical, decorating the stage like a macabre abattoir, draping animal bones all over every single surface, including sticking some animal heads on tridents stationed near the microphone.  They also used torches and incense on stage to add to the atmosphere.  But more than that, they simply laid waste to everything with their massively intense setlist.  Watain was the band I was most interested in seeing at this concert and they delivered in every way.  My wife was not able to stay and watch, due to a sensitivity to the incense.  She missed out.

MORBID ANGEL

Over the last couple of years I have been developing an appreciation for Steve Tucker's work with Morbid Angel.  Previously I had avoided that era, choosing instead to focus on the David Vincent work.  But after checking out Gateways to Annihilation and being blown away, I have been picking up more and more of the Tucker albums.  It helps that the band revitalized their career after reuniting with Vincent and releasing Kingdoms Disdained.  Morbid Angel played mostly songs from the Tucker era, which makes sense, but also meant that classics like "Chapel of Ghouls" and "God of Emptiness" were not played.  They did play "Unholy Blasphemies" and a few other songs from Blessed are the Sick though.  They were impressive, but after the amazing show by Watain, Morbid Angel's more restrained performance was a bit of a letdown.

This was one of the more intense concerts I have been to in some time, and the circle pit extended out to my area of the crowd, which was not real great.  I was splashed with some alcohol and run into by a couple of out of control moshers.  Other than that, it was a HELL of a good time.

Gatecreeper, Exhumed, Necrot and Ungoliant in Omaha: November 21, 2019

A few weeks ago, it looked like I would not be able to attend this concert.  Originally I was scheduled for a shoplifting jury trial on November 22.  While I was not terribly concerned about needing to present much of a defense (there was actually virtually no evidence tying my client to the crime), I still did not much feel like getting home between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. before doing a jury trial.  But luckily the prosecutor eventually realized he had nothing and dismissed the case.  So, I got to spend the evening at the Lookout Lounge watching a bunch of death metal bands.

UNGOLIANT

Ungoliant is a black metal band from Omaha that I have seen once before.  I enjoyed them then and this time, I think they were even better.  The band had a new bassist, who appears to be very young.  The songs were all tight and powerful.  The band has been one of the better local bands I have seen in the last several years.  Unfortunately, they have very few releases (three demos) and none of them are very easy to find.  I have my eyes open.  A new release would be nice though.

NECROT

I have seen Necrot before as well.  They were one of the opening bands when I saw Suffocation and The Black Dahlia Murder.  I thoroughly enjoy everything I have heard from Necrot and the concert was no different.  They are an explosive band live, with a lot of energy and some dark and heavy riffwork.  Necrot's sound is more of an occult death metal band and their album from 2017 was in my top five albums of the year.  I am still waiting on a follow-up.

EXHUMED

I have never really been the biggest Exhumed fan.  Possibly because they do not really stand out from a bunch of other grindy gore-obsessed death metal bands.  A lot of their primary characteristics also describe groups like Aborted, Impaled and others.  I have a couple of their albums, but I always mix them up with Impaled in particular.  But, holy shit I will remember them now.  They were massively impressive live.  Their three vocalists play off each other quite well, with each one having a distinct style.  The band was also the most visually impressive of the night, using two television screens showing trailers of old school horror movie classics and also having a man dressed in bloody scrubs take the stage several times to spray fake blood, and generally pump up the crowd.  They played the most songs of the night and were probably the highlight of the show due to their energy and some terrific songs.  I will be paying more attention now.

GATECREEPER

After Exhumed's flurry of activity, Gatecreeper was a bit of a letdown.  Not to say they were bad, completely the opposite, they just could not keep up the energy level after Exhumed practically destroyed the place.  Gatecreeper's new album is one of the better albums of the year and they played a number of the best songs from the album.  They were impressive in their own way and the songs "Desperation" and "Flamethrower" in particular are ones which are absolutely crushing live.  Gatecreeper has been making some major noise in the metal underground and they absolutely deserve it, but based on the relative stage shows, I just feel like the wrong band played last.  

Slayer in Omaha: November 18, 2019

When it was announced that Slayer would be doing their final tour this year and one of those dates happened to be in Omaha, it was a no-brainer that I had to go.  Slayer was one of the early extreme metal bands that started pulling me away from the mainstream nu-metal in the late 1990's and into true heavy metal.  I picked up Seasons in the Abyss late in high school, based mostly on the title track.  Ever since, I have been a big Slayer fan.  Slayer was accompanied by three other bands.

PHILIP H. ANSELMO AND THE ILLEGALS

Pantera's former lead singer sounds rejuvenated these days.  I was never quite sure about checking out his new band, but sort of enjoyed their tracks on the split I have with Warbeast.  For some reason I never got around to checking out anything else.  I was shocked though when they played at the concert.  All of their songs were Pantera classics, including some of their heavier tracks like "Fucking Hostile", "Mouth for War" and "Becoming".  I guess with neither Dimebag nor Vinnie Paul around any more, someone has to play the Pantera songs.  They were damn impressive.

MINISTRY

Seeing Ministry live is like being run over by a bulldozer.  The band is absolutely crushingly heavy with inhumanly precise riffs and drumming.  Coupled with the frequent usage of samples, they put up a massive wall of sound.  Of course they played a lot of their own classic songs.  "Just One Fix" is still my personal favorite, but they also played "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and "N.W.O.".  They were probably the loudest band of the night, which is not surprising.

PRIMUS

I have never really been a big Primus fan.  There are things I like about them, such as their oddball sense of humor and, of course, Les Claypool's absolutely incredible bass-playing.  But many of their songs are just kind of boring.  The first half of their set was filled with songs that seemed more conducive to a jam band than to a hard rock group.  The second half though featured a number of their better songs.  Songs like "Mr. Krinkle", "My Name is Mud" and "Jerry was a Racecar Driver" are the songs that I have always enjoyed by the band.  My wife showed up late to the concert after getting a flat tire on her way and showed up halfway through Primus's set.  She was surprisingly very impressed by the band.

SLAYER

Slayer's set ran the gamut from their entire discography, pulling songs from almost every single one of their albums.  Not usually one for much talk between songs, they basically bulldozed through their entire set without stopping for more than a few seconds at a time.  Almost all of the classics were played, including "Show No Mercy", "South of Heaven", "War Ensemble" and "Seasons in the Abyss".  They closed things out with the trifecta of "Raining Blood", "Dead Skin Mask" and "Angel of Death".  They sounded terrific.  Tom Araya's voice was up to par, somewhat surprisingly, since he did not sound that well the last time I saw Slayer.  Their set was pretty good, and I did enjoy it more than the last time I saw them.  That time they were touring in support of Repentless, a somewhat subpar Slayer album.  This time, it was all about the band's legacy and that legacy held up well.  Time will tell if this is really the end of Slayer, but if it is, it has been one wild ride.  

Korpiklaani and Eluveitie in Lincoln: October 4

I would not say that I am a huge folk metal fan.  I like some bands, but very few of them produce consistently great material from album to album.  That being said, I was kind of intrigued by the idea of seeing a couple of well-known folk metal bands in concerts.  So when I saw that Korpiklaani and Eluveitie were coming to my hometown, I decided to check them out. 

The venue was The Royal Grove, which apparently started doing concerts again fairly recently.  It was the site of a couple of nu-metal concerts I attended with my friend back in early college (Sevendust and Static-X), but I have not been there since.  It looked quite a bit different than I remembered.  For one thing, you could actually see the entire bar.  Back when I had attended the previous concerts, the bar still allowed smoking and it was so thick you could not see across the bar.  As a non-smoker myself, I hated that aspect, so this was much better.

The first band was a fairly new Canadian band called Gone in April.  The band is sort of a Nightwish knockoff but with more of a melodic death metal foundation.  The band utilized two singers, a male growler (who my wife made sure to mention looked like a creeper at times, sorry) and an operatic female singer.  The female singer also played the violin, which was a very interesting element to their sound.  Apparently she has also played live in Eluveitie, which is likely the connection that got the band on the bill.  What was really interesting though is that the bass player was none other than the legendary Steve DiGiorgio.  The songs were decent, especially the last two of the show.  I will probably check them out, especially since I love checking out the work of DiGiorgio.

There was originally supposed to be a local band called The Carbon Cycle that was going to open the show.  But instead of having a shorter concert, apparently Korpiklaani decided to take up the time slot.  I have never checked anything out by the Finnish folk metal band before, but may decide to change that soon because they put on an electrifying show during their 90 minute set.  Korpiklaani features an accordion and a violin prominently in their music and the two musicians were probably the stars of their set.  They even performed numerous solos, which is not something frequently seen at heavy metal concerts.  Korpiklaani was energetic and exciting to watch.  And of course the drinking songs like "Vodka" and "Beer Beer" were big hits.  My wife seemed to enjoy their show, other than its length, and also said that the singer looked like a cross between Thor and current Vince Neil.  It was probably the most upbeat performance at a metal show that I have seen.

Eluveitie was the headliner and the band I was the most familiar with by far.  Their brand of melodic death metal and Celtic folk influences is extremely well-done, most of the time.  I love their album Slania, though I have never been quite as impressed with any of their subsequent albums.  That being said, their show was incredible.  There were nine people on stage.  The band leader is the male vocalist and also played a mandolin and various wind instruments.  There were three female members playing various folk instruments and providing backing vocals.  One played a violin, another a harp and the last played something called a hurdy gurdy.  The harpist also took on lead vocals on a few songs and her voice was amazing, easily the highlights of Eluveitie's show.  They played a number of songs I expected, but did not play "Blood Stained Ground", which is still my favorite song by the band.  They did close out with "Inis Mona" which is another of my favorites.

It was an entertaining, if slightly long, concert.  My wife was unhappy with the length of it, but other than Korpiklaani's set, everything was right in line with what I would expect.  And honestly I quite enjoyed the lengthier Korpiklaani set because it gave me a chance to hear more of their material, which I have not had the chance to do before.  She was cold as well, which made her more miserable.  It was a different kind of concert than I am used to, but it was a lot of fun.  All three bands put on impressive performances.

Enforcer and Warbringer in Omaha: September 19, 2019

It has been kind of a rough week and I have been exhausted all week.  As such, my wife and I chose not to stay for the entire concert here and we actually missed Warbringer.  That's okay though because I have seen Warbringer twice before (opening for Overkill and then Dark Tranquillity) and we were originally planning to go to see Enforcer anyway.  The show was at the Lookout Lounge in Omaha, where I have previously seen groups like Goatwhore and Bell Witch, among others.

The concerts at the Lookout Lounge often have local bands and this one was no exception.  It is one of my favorite things about concerts at this location.  The bands opening up for Enforcer and Warbringer were Ungoliant, Dopecorpse and Inner War, none of whom I have seen before.  It was actually quite the eclectic group of bands.

Ungoliant was first and they are a black metal band from Omaha.  They were terrific, playing a particularly fast-paced and heavy black metal that is exactly the kind of black metal I love.  This was apparently the bassist's last show, but the band is continuing.  Hopefully a physical release is coming, because I would definitely snatch one up.  Dopecorse was next and they play a heavy stoner/doom with harsh vocals and slow, monolithic riffs.  They were pretty decent, but the songs tended to drag a little bit.  Finally, Inner War was the last band before the headliners.  Their sound is an unholy concoction of hardcore, thrash metal and black metal and they made a lot of noise with some excellent riffs.  They were also able to work the crowd into a frenzy.  All three bands were terrific and are good examples of the improving metal scene in Omaha, Nebraska.

The band that we were there to see was Enforcer, the Swedish retro metal band whose sound is based completely in the early 1980's speed and heavy metal scene.  I have been listening to the band for years now and they have never released a bad album.  Their recent album Zenith is not my favorite, but is by no means a disappointment either.  Enforcer had some sound issues, particularly with the vocals, which is a shame because that is frequently one of the best elements.  However, their intensity was infectious and their speed metal riffing was balls to the wall.  Enforcer played a number of songs that are favorites, including "From Beyond", "Katana" and "Live for the Night".  I was only disappointed that they did not play "High Roller", which was the major song that really got me into Enforcer.

It was a lot of fun seeing Enforcer.  They play a hyperactive, exciting and catchy form of metal that owes a lot to the 1980's metal scene.  It was disappointing to not stay for Warbringer, but it was a late night as it was.  I am sure I will catch them again.

Knotfest: August 8, 2019

Yes, I went to Knotfest, Slipknot's annual (?) traveling roadshow.  That may come as a little bit of a surprise for people who have been reading this blog for a long time, because I generally have not had many positive things to say about Slipknot.  I liked them in the early years, when the self-titled album was released, but felt there were diminishing returns on each of the two follow-ups.  I never picked up anything after the third album because I simply did not like it, other than a few songs.  So why did I go?  Because the other bands were Volbeat, Gojira and most importantly, Behemoth.

Unfortunately, the night was a huge disappointment.  Due to circumstances beyond our control, my wife and I were late in arriving and missed the first band.  That band turned out to be Behemoth, the primary reason I wanted to attend the concert.  We had some issues getting to the venue, the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, due to road work and the fact that we both had to work that day and we live two hours away.  And for some inconceivable reason the concert started at 5:30.  Plus, my wife insisted on listening to Disney music on the way down, so there was that.  I guess I misjudged the popularity of Volbeat, thinking there was no way they would be playing anywhere other than first that night.  So, when I figured out that we had in fact missed Behemoth, I was pissed.  I seriously considered calling it a night.  But, I did not think that was a reasonable response so I tried to make the most of it.

There were some definite things working in favor of enjoying the night.  My wife looked amazing first of all.  Secondly, we got the tickets for free, and were in the luxury suites, thanks to my dad who got the tickets from his company's lottery.  The company he works for built the arena so they have a luxury box.  There were free snacks and drinks provided, and I was able to enjoy the high quality meat from the meat and cheese tray provided (I am on a bit of an unusual diet and mostly just eat meat these days).  So the seats and snacks were great.

The first band we saw perform was the terrific Gojira.  I am not great about checking them out every time they release something new, but the albums I have checked out have been amazing.  I was a bit disappointed they did not play "From the Sky", which is still my favorite song from the band, and one of the heaviest riffs ever.  But their performance was amazing and with any luck, their exposure on this tour should help increase their popularity.

Next was Volbeat, who I have seen previously when they opened for Megadeth and Rob Zombie a few years back.  I like some of their stuff and own one of their albums, but their more recent material has been less than impressive.  Their eclectic mix of metal and rockabilly is a lot of fun when it is working.  I will say they put on a great performance and definitely got the crowd going.  My wife really enjoyed them, even though she kind of hated them the first time we saw them.  Although I don't think anyone on Earth enjoys them as much as the guy in front of us did.

Finally, Slipknot took the stage.  I do not know if it was because I was annoyed about missing Behemoth, but they just sounded bad.  All you could really hear was the percussion, which sort of makes sense since they have three percussionists.  But Corey Taylor's voice sounded off, and the riffs could barely be heard.  And with nine fucking people running around, you would think the show would be more exciting.  I still cannot figure out the official job of the one idiot who spent half the show walking around on a conveyor belt while flailing his arms around.  I could not see his mask close enough to identify which one he was.  They also sounded a little flat, without much energy.  I was annoyed enough that we ended up leaving about three quarters of the way through their show.

Despite the huge disappointment at not seeing Behemoth, the reason I wanted to go to the show, it turned out to be a pretty decent night.  Hopefully I will have another opportunity to see Behemoth again soon.  My wife suggested going next weekend to see Knotfest in Kansas, but I feel like they got enough of my money Thursday night.

Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar: August 7, 2019

This has been a pretty busy week for concerts.  I went to shows on both Wednesday and Thursday.  And that could have been even more if not for my wife's sister's birthday on Saturday, otherwise I could have seen Decrepit Birth as well.

Wednesday's show was the better of the two as it was headlined by Corrosion of Conformity, a band of whom I have been a fan since I was just getting into metal.  It also featured the legendary Crowbar and a couple of opening acts.  The venue was The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues in Omaha.  The fact that it keeps getting the best shows in the area certainly helps.

The opening act was a group called Lo-Pan from Columbus, Ohio.  Their sound made them fit in quite well with the two lead acts as they played a style of stoner metal/rock music.  The fact that the band is named after the villain in Big Trouble in Little China is just a big plus.  They had some catchy songs and a terrific vocalist.  That vocalist was the highlight of their show.  He had some massive lung support and had a very melodic, crooning style.  The drummer was also damn impressive.

The second band was called Quaker City Nighthawks.  They were more of a rock band and looked like throwbacks to Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The vocalist had long hair, a cowboy hat and rose-colored glasses.  They were decent, with a Southern rock style that called to mind a mix of Skynyrd, Johnny Cash and ZZ Top.  Not bad, but not my particular style.

Next up was Crowbar.  Now, my first exposure to Crowbar was Beavis and Butthead.  And for some reason I have never really gotten into them that much.  I enjoy their music quite a bit, but I have not often gone out of my way to pick up new albums.  But after their concert, that may change because holy shit did they put on a great show.  Kirk Windstein (who was involved in Down, still my favorite supergroup) complained that his voice was a little off, but with his vocal style, having throat issues just made it sound that much better.  They played a shockingly energetic set given their general downer style.  Crowbar was probably the highlight of the night.  And hey, I got to shake Windstein's hand after their set.

Next was Corrosion of Conformity.  Pepper Keenan returned to the band recently and the band returned to their Southern metal style from his tenure on their latest album.  The show was likewise primarily covering Keenan's time in the band instead of their earlier crossover/hardcore style.  I still believe that one of the greatest three-song openings to an album is the first three tracks off of Deliverance, and all three were represented in the concert, with "Clean My Wounds" being the encore selection.  In general the band played all of the songs I expected and even included "Vote with a Bullet", a highly underrated song from Blind, the Karl Agell record, though it features Keenan on vocals.  It was one of the more energetic and crowd-engaging concerts I have seen in awhile. 

Honestly, this is going to rate highly as a favorite concert this year.  Both Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity were on top of their games that night, and the songs sounded great.  I never considered skipping this concert even though I knew there was going to be another show I would attend the next day.  I'm damn glad I didn't because I missed C.O.C. a couple times recently.  And seeing them with Crowbar was just that much better because the two bands complement each other quite well.  This was a terrific show. 

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.

Uada, Wormwitch and Cloak in Omaha: April 16, 2019

On Tuesday night, I decided to head to the Slowdown in order to catch an underground black metal concert.  I'm not sure how Omaha managed to get such a lineup, but I'm not complaining.  I just discovered Uada earlier this year, after missing out on a couple of albums.  I saw Wormwitch opening a concert with The Black Dahlia Murder as the headliner.  Cloak was completely new to me.  Well, cheap ticket prices and the opportunity to see the kind of bands that I rarely get to see drew me in.  And I'm damn glad I went.

Cloak was the opener and they were massively impressive.  They play a kind of blackened heavy metal/rock music.  They are extremely catchy with great hooks and rollicking riffs.  They played a few songs, primarily off of their 2017 album, which I picked up at the show.  They were definitely one of the more impressive bands I have discovered live.

Wormwitch was next and they impressed me yet again.  I never got around to picking up an album after seeing them for the first time two years ago.  I was not going to make that mistake again, because their ferocious brand of black metal/punk was utterly devastating. 

And last came Uada.  Even though there was a band called Cloak on the bill, Uada was the only band who actually took the stage wearing cloaks.  They also used the hell out of a fog machine and had bright lights on the stage.  The effect of all of this was that the band looked like shadows playing on the stage.  They were terrific, pulling songs from each of their terrific albums.  I was slightly concerned going in that they would not play "Mirrors", my favorite track from last year's Cult of a Dying Sun, but they played it very close to the end. 

This was one of the best concerts I have been to in quite awhile.  I was initially unsure of attending, but am damn glad I did.  All three groups were terrific, and I picked up albums from each of them from the merch tables as a result.  Amazing concert.

KISS in Sioux Falls, SD: March 6, 2019

Well, first of all, no, KISS is not really a metal band.  They had moments over the years and certainly were lumped into the metal category in the 1970's and 1980's when there was less of an understanding of what constituted metal music.  They influenced their fair share of metal bands, but were also a primary influence on the hair bands of the 1980's.  That being said, they had some songs that were metal or close, such as "Detroit Rock City", "God of Thunder" and more.  But it is the band's stage show more than anything that make them a must-see band.  Two nights ago, I had an opportunity to see them for the first time.  My wife was very excited to see them and so we made the arrangements to go to Sioux Falls, two-and-a-half hours away. 

The opening act was a man named David Garibaldi, who is apparently a "performance painter".  He paints portraits of rock stars very quickly set to music.  He also worked to try to hype up the crowd.  He did three paintings during his 20 minute set: portraits of Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger and some weird thing that was supposed to be inspired by Sioux Falls.  Maybe I do not know enough about the area, but I did not get it.  His art was pretty good and it was fairly entertaining to watch him.  I'm not sure I would go out of my way to watch, but he is definitely talented.

After an extended break, KISS took the stage, playing "Detroit Rock City".  Of course only Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley remain from the original foursome.  Eric Singer wears the makeup popularized by Peter Criss and Tommy Thayer the makeup for Ace Frehley.  One thing that I noticed right away is a bit of a lack of movement on the part of the band.  Being in their 60's, they are not as mobile anymore in the first place, and certainly not in massive platform boots.  Simmons's costume is looking particularly unwieldy these days.

This is supposedly the band's final tour, though it is at least the fifth time that has happened.  Maybe.  So, the band played through a somewhat lengthy set covering most of their greatest hits ("Strutter" was noticeably absent) across most eras of the band.  The major stage moments were also present.  Simmons spit fire during "War Machine" and blood during "God of Thunder", and there were quite a few pyrotechnics.  They played several of my own personal favorite songs, including "Love Gun" and "Black Diamond".  For the most part the band sounded pretty good.  Stanley had some issues with his voice throughout the night, but was passable. 

I am not the biggest KISS fan in the world.  In fact, I would not call myself a fan at all.  Over the years I have only had three of their albums, and one of those, a vinyl of their debut, I cannot even find any more.  I do kind of wish I had that back.  It is likely at my parents' house, but I have no idea where.  But KISS puts up a terrific stage show, despite the fact that their music is not really all that great.  They are a must-see band, and now, my wife and I can say we have seen KISS.  On their final tour no less.  At least until the next one.