Cannibal Corpes, Behemoth, AEON, House of Blues, Houston
HOUSTON -It’s Thursday night, photo gear in hand I make the treacherous journey to the heart of downtown Houston, TX. Death Metal titans Cannibal Corpes and AEON have landed at the House of Blues along with and the mighty Behemoth. To say I’m a Metalhead is a gross misrepresentation of the term and this show is beyond exciting for me. I’ve been a fan of Cannibal Corpes since the early 90’s yet seemed to never catch these guys on tour. Banned in several countries for song lyrics and album cover art this group has literally carved (pun intended) their way to the top of the Death Metal food chain. This tour is in support of their newest studio release titled A Skeletal Domain (2014). The new album is somewhat different from some of the band’s past offerings but still intense as ever. George “Corpesgrinder” Fisher spewing his lyrical brutality, Alex Webster’s masterful bass and Paul Mazurkiewicz’s ruthless attack on the drum kit; it’s like getting slammed right between the eyes with a sledge hammer. Out of all the shows I’ve even been to these guys have the most insane stage volume. Louder than the house PA and having forgotten my earplugs this go it was at some points painful, but in a good way. The only attribution of the show I was disappointed in was the lack of stage presence. Aside from the flying hair of Fisher and Webster nobody moved. It was like watching the Beatles head bang when they played the Sullivan show.
Oh, you say you want stage presence?? Enter co-headliner Behemoth. The Polish BlackMetal band has 
been around almost as long as Cannibal Corpes yet only started touring the US a few years ago. When I arrived at the venue I jumped on the elevator with these two massive guys that are going to the same floor. I’m staring at them because they look really familiar but I can’t place them. We get off on level 3, I break left, they go right and it hits me; ORION (bassist) and INFERNO (drums) without make-up. How did I miss that?! But I digress… My anxiety for this portion of the show to start is unfathomable. Finally, the lights go out and a dense fog falls upon the stage. The aroma of incense and sandalwood overpower my senses and the screams of the crowd are deafening. At last, a single light hits the center of the stage. It is NERGAL. He strikes the first cords of “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” (The Satanist 2014). White stage lights blind me as I look through my camera. Eyes watering as I pull my camera away and look up at ORION, spraying a vial concoction from his mouth on the front row crowd. After running, duck and cover with my camera and now covered in some kind of liquid and saliva, I began shooting and thinking to myself, “This is the show I want to see!” The speed and intensity of the guitars, the relentless onslaught of drums, shrilling vocals with melodic tones; Black Metal at it’s finest. NERGAL works the crowd with a dominating power and the mob are lapping it up; ending the set with a thunderous “HAIL SATAN!”
So where does AEON fall into this massive visual attack and ear spank? Just about right in the middle. Their albums are as vicious as Cannibal Corpes yet melodic and dark as Behemoth. A maelstrom of fast and powerful riffs with brutal intensity yet technical and precise. Unfortunately, I did not get to see the very best of AEON. Their set was in the second slot which meant mediocre sound and a lackluster light show. I’m hopeful they will come back to the States soon and I’ll have the chance at a proper show.
Article and photos by: Chris Crane
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