SUMMER SLAUGHTER TOUR BECOMES DEATH METAL MARDI GRAS
Article By: Mario Andre Laracuente
Photos By: Alexis Benitez
DALLAS, TX(August 18, 2016) – Ahhhhh, the Summer Slaughter Tour, or as some like to call it, Death Metal Mardi Gras. The music, the merch, the people and the party, always make for a unique
atmosphere that screams, or better yet, growls, “LET’S GET CRAZY”! This year’s festival crushed it with one of the most brut-iful lineups in festival history. Headlined by one of Death Metal’s all-time greatest acts, Cannibal Corpse (Buffalo, NY), the fest included Enterprise Earth (Spokane, WA), Ingested (UK), Slaughter to Prevail (Russia), Krisiun (Brazil), Revocation (Boston, MA), Carnifex (San Diego, CA), Suffocation (Long Island, NY), After the Burial (Minneapolis, MN) and Nile (Greenville, SC) all of which were ready to blow the roof off the Gas Monkey Live Music Hall. But Dallas was ready.
Since the show began early and it was a Monday, much of the crowd was a little late to arrive. Krisiun were the ones to began their assault on the growing audience. Right out of the gate, the guys seemingly, unleashed hell with a brutal combination of speed and technical musicianship. The crowd was still warming up, so there wasn’t a lot of movement in the beginning, but by the end of the set they were chanting “one more song!”.
Up next was Revocation. These boys slaughtered the place with their lightening speed drums and shrieking guitars. It was a lethal buffet of all you can eat double bass with a side of machine gun snare pops that the circle pit was devouring like ants on a chicken bone. Playing some older stuff as well as some of their newer songs such as “Arbiters of the Apocalypse” and “Only the Spineless Survive”, these guys proved that they belonged here and will be here for many more years to come.
After Revocation, the crowd was thirsting for more. Carnifex, Suffocation and After the Burial quenched that thirst. Carnifex came out with break neck speed riffing and drumming. The band was so insanely tight that if it were a hug it would have crushed and killed you instantly. Suffocation brought it next with a set list that included tunes such as “Cycles of Suffering”, “Entrails of You”, “Devoid the Truth” and “Infecting the Crypts”. Their set really got the crowd rowdy and fired up for the next band, After the Burial.
After the Burial hit the stage hard. With their fast pumping songs similar to an engine piston on Death Metal Hot Rod from hell. Their breakdowns, burging vocals and precision drumming had the
crowd bouncing halfway to the ceiling. The entire set, singer Anthony Notarmaso had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Screaming his way into their hearts and jokingly interacting with them between songs. During their final songs (“Collapse” and “Cruising Down the Mountain”) he had everyone in the crowd pull the person next to them into the pit and join each other in a mass metal therapy session. Lots of emotions were worked out in the pit that night and it seemed as though everyone that took part was better for it afterwards.
Closing out the night in the final two spots were Nile and Cannibal Corpse. Nile pile drove the crowd into the ground like a super sonic jackhammer. Playing many crowd favorites such as “Sacrifice Unto Sebek”, “Kafir!” and “Evil Cast out Evil”, Nile sounded like a band out to set some sort of instrumental speed record. It was more than impressive.
Last and definitely not least was Cannibal Corpse. By this time, the place was jam-packed and the people were ready to “Kill”! Opening with their groove filled anthem, “Evisceration Plague”, Corpse showed everyone right off the bat why their presence in Death Metal has been so strong for nearly 30 years. Playing classics such as “Stripped, Raped and Strangled”, “A Skull Full of Maggots”, “I Cum Blood” and “Hammer Smashed Face”, they took the crowd and transformed them into blood thirsty zombies with a taste for gore and violence. Between a few of the songs, front man, George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer, had to lay down the law on some hecklers that were giving him hell about how the Dallas Cowboys had beaten his hometown Buffalo Bills several times in the 90’s. It was all in good fun but George always got the last laugh. Closing down the 15 song set, the guys played “Devoured by Vermin” and the place exploded leaving the floor covered in blood, sweat and water.
Overall, this show was a 10! It truly had all you wanted in a Death Metal show. Lots of great music, wild people, energy and most importantly, lots of fun. As said before, Summer Slaughter is the Death Metal Mardi Gras and I look forward to attending the festival for many more years to come!
Check out our gallery of photos here!
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