Show Review: Dying Fetus, Dead Walk the Earth, Nightfire & Thrown Into Oncoming Traffic, April 15th in Wilmington, DE

As promised, ladies and djentlemen (see what I did there). There's a lot to cover here, so I'll just get right to it.

Friday night was a pretty crazy night for me, and it all started with some pretty horrific traffic at the beginning of our pilgrimage. Luckily, we left for the show early, so we still got to the good old Mojo 13 with plenty of time to spare, and spent the majority of the remaining daylight toking and chatting about all things metal. Then after a brief delay, we heard Thrown Into Oncoming Traffic setting up and sound checking, so we headed in and secured our spots on the floor. Just like last time, these guys played a very strong set, but they drew the short stick of being the opening band that played to less than twenty people, excluding the people from the bar. The few people that were there watching them (myself and my friends included) thoroughly enjoyed their set, and one or two weak attempts at starting a two-person pit were made, but in the end most of us just stood there and admired the band's impressive musicianship and energy. I really hope Thrown Into Oncoming Traffic sticks to it and ends up getting better spots on big shows like this, they've definitely got the right stuff going on.

Up next was the mediocre-at-best Maryland deathcore outfit Debbie Does Dallas, and while they definitely weren't the worst 'core band I've seen in my days, my friends and I still only watched the later portion of their set. On the other hand, after those guys wrapped up, Nightfire started setting up, and then it was a completely different story. If you guys aren't familiar with them, they're an unsigned tech death band from Newark, Delaware, and they're one of the tightest bands in that area by far. They sound very similar to And Time Begins-era Decrepit Birth, and they always put on a very impressive live show. As soon as they started their set, the crowd immediately woke up and strong pits were started every few minutes. The band mirrored the crowd's energy nicely with plenty of head banging, windmilling and horn throwing, making the whole experience feel like it was in a big city venue rather than a tiny bar in the suburbs of Delaware. By the end of their set, everyone was finally in really high spirits, most likely due to the fact that, by a stroke of luck and the good graces of the venue owner, the band got to play a slightly extended set. Be sure to leave them some love on their Facebook if you're looking for some quality underground tech death. Vocalist James Dorton and drummer Jesse Beahler are also in Her Virgin Womb, another damn good local act, so that's cool too.

Up next was the band that I'm pretty sure everyone was there to see besides Fetus: the always entertaining Dead Walk the Earth. I'll be honest, most of their set was a blur to me, but that's because I was particularly ripped for it, and I spent the whole thirty minutes headbanging nonstop. Probably not the smartest move, I know, but surprisingly it didn't seem to do as much damage to me as going that hard for that long usually does (giggity), and everyone else appeared to be having as much fun as I was, so in the end it was all good. I really wish I could remember any of their song titles, because Dead Walk the Earth has some really badass material up their sleeves; not just fast or brutal, but both, and well-written at the same time. But all you need to know is that if you're looking for a really good local show, Dead Walk the Earth is a must-see at least once. Just make sure you bring protective pads.

After DWTE exhausted us all, we were all in desperate need of a smoke/fresh air break, so I must admit we also missed all of Pale Existence and Withered's sets. It's not that we didn't like either of the bands, but we needed to conserve our energy for Dying Fetus, and all three of us probably would have collapsed from heat stroke if we had stayed inside the whole time, so we took our time regaining our strength. However, after an hour or so and two bowls, we headed back inside with renewed vigor and eagerly waited for the last band.

When Dying Fetus finally took the stage, at first it didn't seem like there were as many people there as I had imagined, but as soon as they started playing I quickly realized that that was just because nobody was moving yet. A massive pit was formed immediately, and it was kept up for pretty much the remainder of the night. The energy level did end up dying down a bit towards the end, but that was just because everyone was just so worn out by then. The band sounded absolutely massive, even with the limited space and equipment, and they tore through the best songs from all throughout their discography, including "One Shot One Kill", "Your Treachery Will Die With You", "Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses)" and a medley of "Pissing In the Mainstream" and "Kill Your Mother Rape Your Dog". They played for at least an hour and a half, before finally calling it a night well after midnight. By the end of the night, everyone was deaf and had sore throats, I ended up with a grapefruit-sized bruise on my right elbow (courtesy of Dead Walk the Earth's wall of death), and two friends of mine even ended up getting bones broken. DWTE's own Dr. Satan broke his arm in two places moshing for Dying Fetus, and later on I found out the same thing happened to another friend of mine, except she broke her foot. My hat's off to you, Andrew and Carole, in retrospect I got off light. Real light.

So once again, Mojo 13 came through and delivered the kind of shows that haven't been seen since the days of the underground. That place was absolutely leveled by the time we headed for home, and everyone had a great time. Hopefully there will be many more shows like this to come.

-BK

Shit Hardcore Kids Wish They Could Play: Episode 8

Before we get this started, I just want to publicly thank Mosh Rebellion for publicly thanking me for running the site while he was off getting shit on by life, I'm confident that he will come out victorious and stronger and more invigorated than ever. And also, dedicated MR follower skatex2xdestroy put it perfectly, fuck you Person B. If we catch you be prepared for a world of hurt. Now, on to the metal.

It's a well known fact that lightning makes everything badass, even Dying Fetus

Chances are most of you guys probably already know this next band, as well as the subsequent video, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. I'm talking of course about the death metal bulldozer from Annapolis, Maryland known as Dying Fetus. These dudes have been crushing skulls for almost twenty years now, and in that time they've continuously matured, both musically and lyrically. When they started out they were your typical blood, guts and dead babies band, but since then they've moved on to more intelligent, thought provoking subjects, like corruption, politics and deception. Basically they have a grindcore mentality when it comes to lyrics, while constantly honing and perfecting their signature crushing grooves and unrelentingly savage riffs. So, in the spirit of backstabbing and betrayal, this next song, from their fantastic 2009 album Descend Into Depravity, is dedicated to Person B, because "Your Treachery Will Die With You".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Jjy3Zy7kk

Descend Into Depravity and the rest of Dying Fetus' discography is available through Relapse Records, and if you don't already have it, then get your head out of your ass and go get it. Like right now, stop reading this article and go, dammit! For the rest of you, leave your thoughts/comments or any suggestions for bands you want to see featured here in the comments, and stay tuned for more brutality than you can shake a stick at.

Peace out cub scout
-The Muthafuckin' Baby Killer

Show Review: Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Vital Remains and Devourment- November 20th in Philadelphia, PA

Last Saturday, the most brutal tour of the year made its way to good old Philly. I had seen all the bands on the bill at least once in the past, but never together at one show, so I knew tonight was going to be something special, and believe me friends, it was. Despite getting hopelessly lost on the way to the train station (thanks to the jerkoff who stole my GPS over the summer), I still made it to the Trocadero in plenty of time, and you could literally feel the anticipation as soon as the doors opened.

After a brief sound check, Devourment took the stage to thunderous applause and started things off beautifully. They sounded beefy and clear, and their set was comprised of songs from all three of their full lengths, including "Serial Cocksucker", "Fucked To Death", "Choking On Bile", "Fed To the Pigs", and closing with the classic "Baby Killer". What caught my attention the most during their set was their stage presence. While everyone knows that Devourment's music is awesome and they play their songs very well live, they're not known to be too energetic onstage, but this was not the case here. Mike Majewski and the gang were all moving around headbanging, rocking out, smiling and having a grand old time feeding off of the energy from the crowd. Their bassist Chris Andrews even went so far as to dive into the crowd after the last song, adding to the high spirits.

Despite the incessant chanting of "One more song," Devourment then cleared off to make room for Rhode Island God-haters Vital Remains. At the last Summer Slaughter tour these guys had a painfully short set, so I was really excited to see what they could do with more time. Ironically enough they only played four songs this time, but since VR are pretty much the Dream Theater of death metal with their eight-minute songs, this didn't seem to bother anyone too much. The lead guitar was a little low in the mix so it was hard to hear the solos, but they still rumbled through "Icons of Evil", "Devoured Elysium", "Hammer Down the Nails" and "Dechristianize" like it was nobody's business. In all honesty, this was probably the weakest band of the night and they still killed it, which should give you an idea of how good the show was. I've heard a lot of people complain that Vital Remains isn't the same without Glenn Benton on vocals, but if last night is any indication, they're kicking ass and taking names just fine without him. Let me tell you something: if you want to see the true power of metal, go to a Vital Remains show and watch as hundreds of people go completely silent, bow their heads and hold their horns up high while the venue goes dark and "O Fortuna" blares over the PA, all while the band is onstage looking up at the sky with genuine hate in their eyes. It's scary.

Next on the roster was Dying Fetus, and this is where things really started to get interesting. Both of the previous bands were very well received, but as soon as these guys started playing it was a madhouse. Their setlist was pretty long since they were the main support, and they used this opportunity to play a surprisingly large number of very old songs, going all the way back to their first couple EP's; songs like "Vomiting the Decaying Embryo" and "Eviscerated Offspring" to name a few. However, they still played plenty of their newer, more well-known songs like "Killing On Adrenaline", "One Shot One Kill", "Your Treachery Will Die With You" and "Homicidal Retribution", and they closed as always with their 70-second claim to fame "Kill Your Mother Rape Your Dog". I've seen Dying Fetus twice before this, and I'm still amazed at how much chaos the crowd manages to bring in just over one minute. As with Devourment, these guys were also much more energetic than usual, which only contributed to the frenzy.

So after Dying Fetus walked off to extremely enthusiastic applause, after what seemed like hours the lights dimmed one more time, and when Cannibal Corpse walked onstage the applause sounded more like an arena than the tiny Trocadero. They wasted no time and dove right into a set that spanned their entire twenty-plus year career. For all the old school fans, there were classics like "A Skull Full of Maggots", "Gutted", "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead" and "Devoured By Vermin", and for the younger, more recent inductees, there plenty of newer songs like "Evisceration Plague", "Priests of Sodom", "Shatter Their Bones", "The Time To Kill Is Now", "Make Them Suffer", "The Wretched Spawn" and more. They played for a solid hour and a half, and although it was exhausting, neither the band nor the crowd slowed down one bit. We all anxiously waited to hear what song they would play next, and Corpsegrinder's between-song bantering kept everyone laughing and ready to start the pit up again at a moment's notice. And speaking of pits, when they finally closed with the classic duo of "Hammer Smashed Face" and "Stripped Raped and Strangled", the pit literally enveloped the entire floor of the venue; the sight of close to (if not more than) a thousand people moshing their hearts out at once is something that simply cannot be put into words. See for yourself.


When all was said and done, we all left knowing that great memories had been made. Making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, seeing and meeting the bands that inspire you, smoking a fat one and/or pounding back a few gulps of the hard stuff with good people, and just forgetting all your troubles for a few hours; it's all in a day's work for metal. This is the kind of show where the whole world shrinks to nothing but you, the crowd and the band, and there's nothing but the euphoria of the moment and the anticipation of the rest of the show. This is what we live for, and this is what those trendy, attention-whoring idiots will never be able to take away from us, no matter how hard they try.

Defend the fucking faith brothers and sisters, I love you all.
-The Baby Killer