“Death Metal Will Prevail” – Cannibal Corpse, Whitechapel, Revocation and Shadow of Intent, Perform and Shine at the Sold-Out Observatory

March 12th, 2022

     From mentoring up and coming bands to becoming experienced musical veterans, enjoy commercial success, performing their classic track in Ace Ventura:  Pet Detective, to performing a birthday bash for Cher’s son, Cannibal Corpse have done as much as you could possibly imagine in the Death Metal world, and beyond.  Spanning several different eras, as well as 15 studio albums to date, Cannibal Corpse’s resonating impact on the scene and our lives.  Not to be outdone by the vast amount of quality Metal releases we’ve gotten the past few years, Cannibal Corpse put out Violence Unimagined last April, an album I believe is their best in over a decade.  With this event at The Observatory sold out months ago, Orange County would be more than ready to be witness a night of stellar Death Metal.  This infectious, energetic, insane crowd, were ready for the night to begin. 

            And first up, all the way from the East Coast, Shadow of Intent’s booming presence was well received.  At first, some of the riffs felt ho-hum, your more typical Deathcore sound.  But as “Intensified Genocide” showed, there was more to Shadow of Intent than I initially expected.  Described as Symphonic/Melodic Deathcore, the keyboard track had a ghastly vibe to it, and it created a darkened atmosphere for the slower, heavy passages of Chris Wiseman.  The breakdowns weren’t redundant, and there were some catchy tremolo start-and-stop riffs going along with the drums.  Not only did Ben Duerr get the crowd fired up throughout their set, his range in shifting from filthy gurgles, to rapid-fire vocals that kept the mood of the songs interesting, conceptual with the music, and percussive in their diction and nature.  4 of their 6 songs off Shadow of Content’s album released this past January, Elegy, were the brightest portions of their set, and this packed and joyful crowd enjoyed their set just the same.  Connecticut, you have a good one on your hands.     

1.  Barren and Breathless Macrocosm

2.  Intensified Genocide

3.  The Catacombs

4.  The Coming Fire

5.  Where Millions Have Come to Die

6.  Blood in the Sands of Time

            Arguably one of the strongest reasons I’m at this special event, Revocation’s compelling, twisted Death Metal nature, with scoops of sophisticated chaos.  It was a fantastic event seeing the band play their last record in whole, The Outer Ones, back in 2019, personally I feel their most well-balanced and top-notch record to date.  Half of their set consisted from that same album, with the title track’s ending sequence of the guitar rhythms continuing to sink in those desolate sands, with the notes becoming lower after each sequence.  Touring guitarist Noah Young, also the bassist of Skeletal Remains, did an outstanding job nailing the immense amount of riffs and their complexity, performing some of the ending melodies of the title track above.  The highlight of this set for me, and one of the brightest points for the whole evening, the technical, chaotically beautiful, musical storyteller that is David Davidson.  Seeing Davidson’s guitar solo change dramatically in mood, character and ability, present especially in “Of Unworldly Origin”, demonstrates the constant growth and strength of their Death Metal excellence.  Ash Pearson’s cymbal crashes, swift movements, and rhythmic double-bass, were heard crystal clear during the opening song in “Madness Opus.”  Revocation’s majestic 6-song set went by in a flash, and the band is certainly due for hopefully, a headlining tour soon.     

1.  Madness Opus

2.  Of Unworldly Origin

3.  The Outer Ones

4.  That Which Consumes All Things

5.  Only the Spineless Survive

                            6.  Communion                         

     As I’ve seen at other tours they were on, Whitechapel’s command of an audience remains consistent, entertaining to watch, and impressive to date.  Seeing them with GWAR years ago, in the same venue, showed just the same.  While I’m personally not a fan or enjoy their music much, their latest material, Kin, didn’t have as much heavy Core in their sound.  I found the Djent-like riffs compliment Whitechapel’s use of 3 guitars, evident in “A Bloodsoaked Symphony.”  The breakdowns sounded coherent, not noisy, and instead offered a heavy, crunchy tone, something I hadn’t personally heard much of the band previously.  Honestly, if this is how the band sounds going forward, I’d feel much stronger about their shows and material.  Phil Bozeman’s overall vocal command, dictating the energy of the band, as well as powerful growls, have been one of my few aspects I’ve enjoyed from Whitechapel, the times that I’ve seen them previously.  Much like The Black Dahlia Murder, it’s a fun watch to see the crowd react to Whitechapel.  Their slam breakdowns and hammering notes rile up that mosh pit, and it was just what the fans ordered before Cannibal Corpse.  Not my particular cup of tea, but as usual, the crowd ate up Whitechapel’s set.         

1.  Brimstone

2.  Forgiveness Is Weakness

3.  Black Bear

4.  A Bloodsoaked Symphony

5.  The Ones That Made Us

6.  Our Endless War

7.  Lost Boy

8.  Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation

  9.  This Is Exile

10.  Let Me Burn

11.  The Saw Is the Law

     Checking last second their equipment on-stage, the sold-out Observatory erupted in sheer delight seeing Cannibal Corpse.  The band wasted no time, starting off their set with a brutally bolt of an intro track, “The Time to Kill is Now”, a pleasant surprise and rarity from their 2006 album, Kill.  Not only that, 13 of the 15 studio albums were represented tonight, changing up the set more than they usually do.  It kept their dynamics tight, unique, and overall varied.  Alex Webster’s crisp bass playing deserves the credit he receives, but as a main songwriter for this band, that acknowledgement is fairly underrated.  Seeing Webster play “Fucked with a Knife”, as well as knowing he wrote the song musically, continues to visualize for myself, and countless others, the importance of Cannibal Corpse’s musical talent, and their consistent songwriting spanning decades.

       Perhaps because he doesn’t hyperblast, or play at say the speed of Archspire, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz gets a strange wrap from some of the Metal community, as either “boring” or “uninspired.”  I couldn’t disagree more with that opinion, as the counterpoint in the middle-end of “The Wretched Spawn” was set up, his scat beat and power hits were faster than I remembered.  Sound fundamentals, booming presence on the kit tonight.  George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher challenged the crowd to match his relentless windmilling, to no avail or takers.  His banter, jokes, and overall mood on-stage, continues to put smiles on all our faces.  Ever consistent with his growling and vocal speed, Corpsegrinder’s able to easily perform every era of Cannibal Corpse, noted in “Gutted” and “Devoured by Vermin.”  Considering he was the original singer of Monstrosity, it’s no wonder to see his technique and manic screams still sound fresh, and current.

       Given all the talent, ability, knowledge, and mind spread throughout the bands, it’s taken to a different level and plain, when Erik Rutan is performing.  What I believe to be a huge resurgence in their recent studio work, in Violence Unimagined, the divine guitar abilities and astonishing musicianship from Rutan, bringing out further demanded excellence from the other members.  With Rutan producing 5 of their last 6 albums, it can only assist in the teamwork that was on full display.  Performing most of the leads, Rutan’s Classical, melodic-tone in his solos, translated marvelously.  At the same time, there was no loss in power, while his right-hand rhythm aggressively picked all the notes with effortless ability, yet his stage presence was monstrous as ever.  It’s an absolute honour to watch him play guitar; from Hate Eternal, clips of past Morbid Angel gigs, his band in Alas, and now adding Cannibal Corpse to that esteemed list.

     “Hammer Smashed Face”, decimated this prolific tornado of fans, closing Cannibal Corpse’s 18-song magnificent set.  Either the pandemic, the new album, not playing for years, or a combination of all, the band was sharper live than I can remember previous.  They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but these 30+ years of playing Death Metal, has only helped Cannibal Corpse, continue to strive higher in the legacy books.                                                        

1.  The Time to Kill is Now

2.  Scourge of Iron

3.  Inhumane Harvest

4.  Code of the Slashers

5.  Fucked with a Knife

6.  The Wretched Spawn

7.  Gutted

8.  Kill or Become

9.  I Cum Blood

10.  Evisceration Plague

11.  Death Walking Terror

12.  Necrogenic Resurrection

13.  Condemnation Contagion

14.  Unleashing the Bloodthirsty

15.  Devoured by Vermin

16.  A Skull Full of Maggots

17.  Stripped, Raped and Strangled

18.  Hammer Smashed Face