A large portion of people missed Cattle Decapitation, me included, due to an enormous line. Tickets or not, we had to wait. By the time I walked in…
Obituary was among the few classic death metal bands I hadn’t seen yet. And the truth is, they are a better live band than recorded. Not that I’m complaining about their albums, but they just sounded incredible live. That old school thrashy element ever present in their death metal creates that fun factor in their pits. The only disappointment was the abrupt ending.
My 2nd time seeing Carcass was even better than the 1st time, when they opened for Slayer and Testament in 2016. For being around since the mid-80’s, they have no business being as brutal live as they are. The circle of doom in the pit grew very large throughout their set, and was just another piece of evidence that you can’t fuck with the originals.
When Viking’s raid Las Vegas, they’re welcomed with open arms. The people bring their oars, and we sail to Valhalla as one. 30 years in, Amon Amarth has created a unique place, not only in Death Metal, but Metal as a whole. The fact that a band that sounds as they do and can tour as a package of brutal bands can sell out full on medium sized venues is a testament to what they’ve accomplished. The stage setup with the head of a ship is still among the coolest things you’ll ever see.
 
They played 15 songs, the oldest only going back to their 5th album from 2004, up to their latest album from this year. The Viking Metal Kings of course finished with “Twilight of the Thunder God”. We feasted upon the corpses of the fallen, and shipped off to our normal lives as the tour rolled on. Until next time.
Review by Marcus Miller, Photos by Joey DeFalco