The masters of brutality Cannibal Corpse have once again brought their gallery of horrors to London town with one of their best tour packages yet.
Joining them are the thrashers from Richmond Municipal Waste, New York’s Immolation & Antwerp’s death thrashers Schizophrenia.
Even with an early door time on a Sunday Schizophrenia are able to tear a hole in the roundhouse. Bringing their death metal influences thrash to the stage they turn the energy up & already have the crowd in the palm of their hands. Merging the chaotic heaviness with the speed of early Slayer & Kreator these guys have it all, fast & full of power.
They might be a newer group but their stage presence feels tight & like a classic band who firmly has their chops down. Guitarist Marty VK & Romeo Promos duelling guitar leads are powerful & they have a great chemistry together which adds another great element to their live show.
Tracks like “Cranial Disintigration” & “Divine Immolation” give the crowd something heavy but fast to sink their teeth into! A great warm up for tonight’s mammoth lineup.
Next up Yonkers based death metal OGs Immolation. For a number of years I’ve wanted to see Immolation live but unfortunately I’ve missed them but tonight was finally my chance! And boy did they deliver with one of my favourite sets of the year.
Opening with “An Act Of God” with its mellow but preluding intro before the band take stage to unleash all kinds of hell. Finally seeing Robert Vigna superb performance live was a sight to behold. Anyone who knows Vigna’s stage presence knows he’s one of the most expressive guitarists you will see live, the way he throws his guitaur around in such angler precision is phenomenal.
“Kingdom of Conspiracy” and its pure brutality feels like getting hit with a machine gun blast to the chest. Drummer Steve Shalaty’s double kick live is truly like a machine, in combination with Ross Dolan’s super low signature gutturals really make this staple track such a highlight of their set.
“Noose of Thorns” from the last bands album “Acts of God” was one i hoped would be in their set & thankfully it was. And no way didn’t it disappoint. Its calm building intro really lulls you in before it unleashes in this chaotic void of aggression & dissonance.
Closing out with the classic “Into Everlasting Fire” from their debut album “Dawn of Possession” was a truly great way to close out their set & im so thankful to see such a legendary band kill it on such a huge stage & still bring their own style of death metal to such a big audience.
Now turning up the party time to 11 Virginia’s Municipal Waste are here to fuck shit up.
Opening up the circle pit straight away with “The Executioner” these guys are like a well oiled machine. Vocalist Tony Foresta is on top form, full of fun & energy. “Grave Dive” is always great to see live with its classic thrashing harcore feel.
As the band smash into “Wave of Death” their track made for crowd surfing Foresta even brings out a garbage can & throws into the crowd just for good measure ha!
Closing out their set with their staple “Born to Party” the last circle pit is like a hurricane, drenched in beer & sweat tonight’s set from these thrash titans was truly epic.
Now for the final act the mighty Cannibal Corpse!
Sadly halfway through the tour Erik Rutan has to leave the tour due to a natural disaster at his home in florida but the group still steamroll ahead.
Blasting open the set with “Blood Blind” gets the crowd into a frenzy off the bat. Following up with the one, two punch of the juggernaut that is “Scourge Of Iron” not a single head isn’t banging in the room. Rob Barrett might be holding down the fort on guitar but his superior tone is enough to still keep that signature sound that Cannibal Corpse have made their own.
Hitting us with the title track of their newest album “Chaos Horrific”, George “the neck” Fisher’s voice on the chorus sections are powerful & has anyone singing along. For such a brutal it’s great they are able to write tracks that are catchy & play so well live.
Paul Mazurkiewicz is in full force tonight, the creator of the signature bomb blast even with a career as prestigious as Cannibal Corpse the power & furiosity is still their 1000%. Aswell with his perfect bass chops Alex Webster’s feets are firmly planted but his technical ability will always blow me away. If you ask any modern death metal bass player they will tell you what a huge influence he is & tonight he’s put on one hell of a display.
As their set comes to an end finishing with the death metal classics “Stripped, Raped and Strangled” & “Hammer Smashed Face” this has been truly a Cannibal Corpse show for the ages. A sold out show in London’s most beloved venue full of death metal fans is truly a sight to behold. All hail Cannibal Corpse!
Review: Joseph Mitchell
See all confirmed dates below.
For Tickets for the tour go to www.cannibalcorpse.net
CANNIBAL CORPSE w/ Municipal Waste, Immolation, Schizophrenia:
9/20/2024 Turbinenhalle 2 – Oberhausen, DE
9/21/2024 Doornrosje – Nijmegen, NL
9/22/2024 Rockhal – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU
9/23/2024 Elysee Montmartre – Paris, FR
9/25/2024 Beacon – Bristol, GB
9/26/2024 Barrowlands – Glasgow, GB
9/27/2024 O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, GB
9/28/2024 O2 Academy – Birmingham, GB
9/29/2024 Roundhouse – London, GB
10/01/2024 Halle O2 – Heidelberg, DE
10/02/2024 Grosse Freiheit 36 – Hamburg, DE
10/03/2024 Amager Bio – Copenhagen, DK
10/04/2024 Klubben – Stockholm, SE
10/05/2024 Rockefeller – Oslo, NO
10/06/2024 Tradgarn – Gothenburg, SE
10/08/2024 Astra – Berlin, DE
10/09/2024 A2 – Wroclaw, PL
10/11/2024 Barba Negra – Budapest, HU
10/12/2024 Vienna Metal Meeting – Vienna, AT
10/13/2024 Kino Siska – Ljubljana, SI
10/15/2024 Alcatraz – Milan, IT
10/17/2024 Komplex 457 – Zurich, CH
10/18/2024 Felsenkeller – Leipzig, DE
10/19/2024 Music Hall – Geiselwind, DE
10/20/2024 Batschkapp – Frankfurt, DE