On a recent cold and rainy September night, Obituary brought a little bit of death and mayhem to Philadelphia. The weather may have been spotty, but the show was anything but that, as the godfathers of death metal tore down the Trocadero. Along for the ride were Goatwhore, The Berzerker, Krisiun, and Warbringer. They all brought variety to the show and were well-received by the slim audience. The venue may have only been about a quarter filled, but the crowd got a great show out of all performers involved.
Warbringer
After two mediocre opening acts, the Californian thrash metallers completely jump-started the frantic atmosphere that would continue to linger until the very end of the night. The band tore through songs from both of their albums, including “Total War,” “Combat Shock,” and “Severed Reality.”
Last time they came through Philly, supporting Kreator back in April, Warbringer played a shortened set due to an injury to drummer Nic Ritter. This time around, they got a full half-hour and made the most out of it. A few dedicated fans even started a small, but intense mosh pit.
The Berserker
An unrelenting wall of sound, the Australian industrial grindcore band didn’t let up for one second. A loyal following was noticeable in the front of the stage and the band blasted through song after song with no real break. Drummer Todd Hansen was an absolute machine, blasting away with an innate precision. While quite different from the rest of the music that would follow, The Berzerker was a breathless spectacle of aggression and brutality that stood out long after the last note screeched out of the speakers.
Krisiun
Krisiun was a pleasant surprise, playing no-frills death metal that was tight and to-the-point. The crowd was quickly into them, banging their heads and singing a good portion of the song. The set list was short, but the band packed a lot in. While having no knowledge of the band beforehand, a closer look at their catalog is on my current agenda.Goatwhore
The evilest band to ever come out of the Deep South, Goatwhore put on a clinic as the main support act. Though their set was criminally short, barely hitting over the half-hour mark, the band almost one-upped the main act. The crowd was frantic for them; at times, even more so than they would be for Obituary. Their set list was geared towards their newest album, Carving Out The Eyes Of God, with the title track, “Apocalyptic Havoc” and “The All-Destroying” being the standouts.Obituary
Obituary was a solid live band, though they only played for a little over an hour. Their set was geared more towards the later years, with their latest album Darkest Day being represented with openers “List Of Dead” and “Blood To Give.” A few old favorites were pulled out, including closer “Slowly We Rot.” The band seemed to be having fun, as guitarist Ralph Santolla and bassist Frank Watkins were smiling from ear to ear almost the whole time. John Tardy’s vocals still sound brutal after all these years; however, he did struggle from time-to-time on some of the longer notes.
A few surprises were thrown out, including a faithful rendition of Celtic Frost’s “Dethroned Emperor” and an extended drum solo that was technically sound, but out of place with the rest of the material. John did interact from time to time with the audience, but it was mainly one song after the next, hammered out with a level of diligence that can only come from a road-tested group.
