OVERKILL, DEATH ANGEL, MOTHERSHIP In Cleveland, OH With Photos!
By
Geoff Ketler,
Cleveland Contributor
Sunday, May 5, 2019 @ 7:30 AM
| The Wings Over The USA Tour Descends Upon The House Of Blues
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All Photos By Geoff Ketler/Aces High Photography
Given their lengthy careers it is hard to believe that OVERKILL and DEATH ANGEL had never toured together – until now. This was later confirmed by DEATH ANGEL vocalist Mark Osegueda. As SLAYER polishes off a career, MEGADETH slows down their album cycle and we wait decades for each METALLICA record; bands like OVERKILL and DEATH ANGEL have continued to produce some of the best material in the genre the last fifteen years with accompanying world-wide tours. It is this blue-collar mentality that seems lost these days amongst the more “popular” metal bands. OVERKILL doesn’t own a vineyard and DEATH ANGEL isn’t exploiting anyone financially for a “meet n’ greet”. It was $15 for almost 4 hours of neck-wrecking fun; pure and simple.
Opening the show was the Dallas, Texas trio MOTHERSHIP. This groovy, grimy, stoner metal band knows how to kick off a show. It is difficult to sort of compartmentalize, but MOTHERSHIP seems to fall in along the lines of that revival of soulful, bluesy rock almost like MONSTER TRUCK or JOYOUS WOLF, but dirtier – much dirtier. Brothers Kelley Juett and Kyle Juett really know how to work the crowd over.
Setlist:
- “Lunar Master”
- “Hot Smoke And Heavy Blues”
- “Cosmic Rain”
- “Crown Of Lies”
- “Angel Of Death”
The opening riffs to “Thrown To The Wolves” shook the Cleveland House of Blues as DEATH ANGEL took their positions on stage amongst blinding strobes. Mark Osegueda's vocals were top notch tonight. His sustained screams penetrated you like an ice pick and guitarist Rob Cavestany's solos were particularly crisp. As an entire unit, the group was fluid and effortless, but precision cast. Although this was an opening slot and not a “co-headline” deal, I would have like to have heard more from DEATH ANGEL. That being said – the group made the most of their time on stage, specifically pointing out the May 31st street date for their new album, Humanicide, before ripping through the title track itself. It was well-received indeed. I cannot wait to hear more of that record and hopefully a headline tour. No matter the size of the setlist, “Claws In So Deep” always manages to find a way in there, which is fine – any selection from Relentless Retribution works for me. I could pontificate for hours, but the bottom line is that with a finite amount of time (45 minutes), decisions had to be made and 7 songs is what we got, with selections all the way back to The Ultra-Violence and Act III, as well as one song from each of the last three records.
Setlist:
- “Thrown To The Wolves”
- “Claws In So Deep”
- “Seemingly Endless Time”
- “The Dream Calls For Blood”
- “The Moth”
- “Humanicide”
- “The Ultra-Violence" / "Kill As One"
Like clockwork the New Jersey quintet, OVERKILL, pumps out a new album followed by a massive international tour; bringing east-coast thrash to the masses every couple of years. It is as pure and perennial as spring flowers or deciduous trees shedding leaves every fall. Like a fine wine, they just keep getting better with age. I have always been drawn to OVERKILL because of their overall ability to not take themselves too seriously accompanied by a knack for experimentation; ie covering EDGAR WINTER’s “Frankenstein” or decidedly composing lengthy progressive tracks with a few punk rock-esque tunes such as “Old School” and “Welcome To The Garden State” to boot.
With the departure of Ron Lipnicki, OVERKILL found their permanent replacement on drums in Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL). I was happier than a pig in shit when I heard this news a while back and could not wait to see this match made in thrash metal heaven together on stage. It would not disappoint. Like any good band with a massive catalogue, OVERKILL really managed to shake things up a bit with the set. The staples were all there; “Elimination”, “Rotten To The Core” and of course, the cover of “Fuck You”, but it was really cool to hear “Feel The Fire” and “Bastard Nation” as well as the return of “Necroshine” to the stage.
Vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth was as fiery as ever. A little eccentric, funny and weird – all at the same time, Bobby is the quintessential frontman and his voice is sounding better than ever. “Distortion” and “Last Man Standing” off of the still hot pressing of The Wings Of War made appearances in the set. The by-far longest tenured OVERKILL guitar duo of Dave Linsk and Derek Tailor were on all night. Accompanied by DD Verni on bass, they all possess a certain chemistry and it is downright fun to watch (or thrash around the pit to).
Setlist:
- “Last Man Standing”
- “Electric Rattlesnake”
- “Hello From The Gutter”
- “Elimination”
- “Deny The Cross”
- “Distortion”
- “Necroshine”
- “Under One”
- “Bastard Nation”
- “Mean, Green, Killing Machine”
- “Feel The Fire”
- “Rotten To The Core”
Encore:
- “Ironbound”
- “Fuck You” (THE SUBHUMANS Cover)
- “Welcome To The Garden State”
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Geoff Ketler/Aces High Photography
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