All Photos By Diego Gonzales Pictures
I had to soak it the brutality that took place just over a week ago in Santa Ana at The Observatory. Formerly known as The Galaxy, not only is it is a prime stop for most of the heavier acts on tour but it is practically the only real venue to hold extreme acts, as well as the franchise House Of Blues nearby in Anaheim. I have respect for O.C. because it’s an area that gets many true music fans and not so much of the poser scenesters from Los Angeles who just show up to a concert just to be seen there. On this show in particular, many fans showed up on this SOLD OUT nite and would prove that brutal shows are back! Returning back to SoCal for this largely anticipated concert is not only one of Metal’s greatest bands but one of THE great and most successful Death Metal bands of all time.
Now we’ll all agree that the journey when you’re headed to a concert to show is part of the experience. Cruising down the 5 freeway with my buddy and fellow KNAC.COM contributor, photographer Diego Gonzales, we make our way from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County and what a journey. Locals know how arduous that drive is, so while blasting tunes, the conversation is just as deep and personal as it is hilarious and full of flashbacks.
We arrived and after a bit of tailgating which is mandatory, we headed in to catch openers SHADOW OF INTENT who started off the evening with something to prove in that they can hang with a cannibalistic crowd. The Melodic Deathcore band did do a killer job in warming up the crowd. The DeathCore band from Connecticut who is touring off their 4th independent release Elegy and makes me question,”why aren’t these guys signed yet?!” But perhaps they prefer it that way as they continue to establish themselves being the young band that they are. They show promise and I’m sure you’ll hear a lot from them for years to come.
Following SHADOW OF INTENT was the first band on this Metal Blade records showcase, REVOCATION, who made their label debut on 2014’s Deathless after their departure from another outstanding label, Relapse Records. They have transformed over the years since their inception in 2008. Originally a 3-piece, they added a fourth to strengthen their pretty unique style of Technical-slash-Progressive Death Metal. I’d say they’re a “musician’s band” in that their skills are spectacular and sometimes over the top and makes me feel that musicians would “understand” it more than the average metal music fan. Not to say that the average music fan is incapable but more often than not, a listener doesn’t want to try too hard to “get it”. Regardless, their music is excellently written and the setlist they put together for this tour fit the atmosphere real well. Lead vocalist David Davidson shows off his prowess with short breaks from vocals to display some scaling melodic solos spread within a set laced with lots of groove and grind. These guys are likely one of today’s great modern extreme bands that possess the full package.
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Following REVOCATION was another Deathcore act also on the Metal Blade label, WHITECHAPEL. It’s at this point in the nite where you see all the emo kids step up to check them out. Having just released an album last year, they weren’t just touring off their latest release Kin, they also had a new release under their belt in The Valley from 2019 that didn’t allow them much promotion, so here they had the chance to make up for the last couple of years of no tours and no concerts. They played 2 songs off The Valley, and 3 from Kin. I can see the appeal that WHITECHAPEL has. The modern wave of dare I say mainstream Deathcore garners a lot of attention. I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching MESHUGGAH-junior or MESHUGGAH-lite though. A very similar light show and it takes 3 guitarists to accomplish their new djenty, chuggy sound. Although I saw more phones in the air, I felt more energy off the crowd than I did off the band. For WHITECHAPEL I say, ”to each their own”. They entertained the sold-out crowd and did their job. After their set, it’s at this point where the emo crowd checks out and some leave all together in fear of what’s to follow.
Along with the help of the Pet Detective, CANNIBAL CORPSE have become a household name and have always been a great representation of the Death Metal scene. Their recent release Violence Unimagined was highly anticipated and came through with flying colors. Well, mostly blood red but was greatly received. This album marks the debut of Producer and Guitarist Erik Rutan who is now a full fledge member following his support to fill in on CC’s last tour nearly 3 years ago. It’s hard to describe what influence Rutan has added to the band if you’re aren’t already familiar with his work. Either bands he was directly involved with, played in or mix and mastered such HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, KRISIUN, DEVOURMENT - and many others to name. But it was 2006’s KILL that his contributions would ultimately make him an ideal member for CANNIBAL CORPSE in the future. Ripping through 3 tracks off the new record, Rutan shredded faces this evening with every solo throughout the nite. CC sounded uber tight and I suspect it was drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz who was in the driver’s seat sporting headphones that likely was playing to what we musicians call a “click” to help control the tempos of the song. He and the band sounded on-point. The band bursted into the nite with "The Time To Kill Is Now" with vocalist George “CorpseGrinder” Fisher belting out “KILLLL!!”. His windmill headbanging sets off a tornado pit as the set list for the show becomes a “best of” compiling all their sick hits over the past 3 decades. CorpseGrinder makes it perfectly clear that he is king of headbanging and that we dare not try to take his crown. The crowd had no intention of taking the challenge, only wanting to take the pummeling that was held up for 2 years and released on this night in Santa Ana, the only way CANNIBAL CORPSE could and to leave us all Stripped, Raped and Strangled.
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Diego Gonzales Pictures
