"This is my first metal show actually," said the young man, "I'm just getting into it and my friends said to come to this show because there will be new band and some that have been around a while. Seemed like a good place to start."
With his friends nodding in approval, and some words of praise from seasoned concert goers, the Terrasitic Infestation Tour was a bold but incredible gate to pass to enter the metal world. Headlined by the might Cattle Decapitation, the tour celebrated the release of the band's latest album, Terrasite. Joining the San Diegans in their North American trek were Immolation, Sanguisugabogg, and Castrator.
Together, this immense lineup descended on the Warsaw in Brooklyn for an evening of blast beats and breakdowns served with a side of the venue's famous Polish cuisine.
Fusing gnashing death metal riffs with lyrics focused on feminism and, quite literally, dismembering the patriarchy, Castrator started off the night fast and furious.
Having joined the band in 2021, vocalist Clarissa Badini's roar reigned supreme in tandem with the stellar instrumentation. Performing cuts from their debut album, Defiled In Oblivion, it wasn't long before moshers rushed the dancefloor to get the first pits of the night going.
A true force to be reckoned with and celebrated, especially for their work to bring important messages to the metal community, Castrator's thirty minute set flew by all too fast.
Having toured last year with Exhumed and Vitriol, the anticipation is high for the band's next tour and sophomore album. "Put them on a tour with Crypta," remarked one fan after the set, "I want both bands to hit the stage and show these boys the power of women in metal!"
In just four short years since their formation, Ohio slammers Sanguisugabogg (pronounced Sang-weh-sue-ga-bog) have earned themselves a incredible following. Particularly popular with members of the crowd too young to order a can of Zywiec from the bar, it was this band that the aforementioned 'headbanger in training' and his friends had come to see.
With a foundation built on death metal but woven with hardcore beatdowns and infectious grooves, songs like "Face Ripped Off" and "Pissed" resulted in relentless circle pits and more than a handful of crowd surfers to keep venue security busy.
At the start of "A Lesson In Savagery", vocalist Devin Swank presented a crowd with a football. "We're going to play game called Murderball. I'm gonna throw a football in this pit, whoever holds onto it for this song and takes it over to our merch booth: you get hooked up with whatever you want, on us - completely free."
Between their exciting audience engagement, which in this case resulted in an all out war to capture and hold onto the football, and their intense music, it's no wonder why Sanguisugabogg is a rising star among today's up and coming death metal sluggers.
With their hometown of Yonkers just north of New York City limits, a homecoming show in Brooklyn saw the members of Immolation chatting it up with friends and fans throughout the venue before taking the stage. Celebrating thirty five years together, the hour long set, noted as being an extended one for this particular show, was packed full of fan favorites and deep cuts spanning three decades of death metal excellence.
Leading off with "All That Awaits Us" off Kingdom of Conspiracy, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in May, the quartet kept the pace with the first of six songs (eight including the two instrumental segues) from last year's Acts of God.
Turning the clocks back to 1991, longtime fans were delighted to hear the title track from Immolation's debut, Dawn of Possession performed for the first time in Brooklyn in four years.
Other heavy hitters from the 90s included "Once Ordained" and "Christ's Cage" off Failure For Gods and Here in After respectively. Again, to the surprise and thrill of seniors members of the cult of Immolation, both songs were back on the set list after a five year absence.
Closing out the set with "Epiphany" off 2017's Atonement, the metal veterans exited the stage to thunderous applause as the crowd was primed and ready to go for the final performance of the evening.
Already a well established name in the death-grind subgenre, Cattle Decapitation have evolved into something much fiercer and more complex over the last fifteen years. With the conclusion of the end-of-days story arch, which spanned four albums released over a decade from 2009's The Harvest Floor to 2019's Death Atlas), this year saw the dawn of a new hideous tale crafted by San Diego's finest.
Released in May of this year, Cattle's tenth opus, Terrasite was the star of their performance as the merciless riffs and drums of "Terrasitic Adaptation" started the show, followed by "We Eat Our Young". Continuously pushing the boundaries of metal vocals, the chorus of "Scourge of the Offspring" rang out as both bone chilling and awe inspiring as Travis Ryan's demonstrated his signature clean-rasp amid his iconic shrieks and growls.
Having peppered a few tracks from the Monolith of Inhumanity archives during their last North American tour earlier this year, this time it was "Dead Set On Suicide" that made its return to the stage for the first time in five years. Not forgetting their last two releases, three choice cuts from Death Atlas were joined by "Pacific Grim" off 2015's The Anthropocene Extinction.
Despite three sets of crushing music plus all Cattle Decapitation had thrown so far, the crowd had one last gasp of air left to push the Warsaw to its limits for "Kingdom of Tyrants", arguably one of, if not the greatest tracks the band has released.
Catching up with the young man and his friends as the house lights came on, it seemed that his first metal show would definitely not be his last. "I was terrified more than a few times," he said, wiping sweat away and laughing, "I can't wait to do this again!"
Ticket & photo pass courtesy of Earsplit PR/Earsplit Compound